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Peter, who was 20 years old, purchased a new, high-powered sports car that was marketed with an intended and recognized appeal to youthful drivers. The car was designed with the capability to attain speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. It was equipped with tires designed and tested only for a maximum safe speed of 85 miles per hour. The owner's manual that came with the car stated that "continuous driving over 90 miles per hour requires high-speed-capability tires," but the manual did not describe the speed capability of the tires sold with the car. Peter took his new car out for a spin on a straight, smooth country road where the posted speed limit was 55 miles per hour. Intending to test the car's power, he drove for a considerable distance at over 100 miles per hour. While he was doing so, the tread separated from the left rear tire, causing the car to leave the road and hit a tree. Peter sustained severe injuries. Peter has brought a strict product liability action in tort against the manufacturer of the car. You should assume that pure comparative fault principles apply to this case. Will Peter prevail? A. No, because Peter's driving at an excessive speed constituted a misuse of the car. B. No, because the car was not defective. C. Yes, if the statement in the manual concerning the tires did not adequately warn of the danger of high-speed driving on the tires mounted on the car. D. Yes, unless Peter's driving at a speed in excess of the posted speed limit was negligence per se that, by the law of the jurisdiction, was not excusable. Answer: C. Yes, if the statement in the manual concerning the tires did not adequately warn of the danger of high-speed driving on the tires mounted on the car. Do you have the experience of taking music lessons against your wishes? Perhaps you have complained about it because you thought it took you much playtime. But now you'd better thank your parents for their time and money spent on your musical training. A recent study suggests music lessons can make children have better memories than their peers . The Canadian study showed that after one year of musical training, children did better on a memory test than those who didn't take music lessons. The researchers made the children aged between 4 and 6 into two groups -- one group of children took music lessons outside school, and the other didn't take any musical training. In one year, they took four tests in different times. The results showed brain development changes at least every four months. The children taking music lessons not only did better in musical listening but also made faster progress in other ways, such as reading, writing, math and IQ. People say music is the good medicine for a broken heart. Now it seems music can also help us to improve our memories. We are sure to find more and more in the wonderful world of music. The researchers made one group of the children aged 4~6 take music lessons for _ . A. six months B. a year C. two years D. a week Answer: B. a year Scientists have tried to come up with biological explanations for the difference between boys and girls. However, none were believable enough to explain the general picture. As one scientist points out, "There are slight genetic differences between the sexes at birth which may affect the subjects boys and girls choose. But the difficulty is that by the time children reach school age, there are so many other effects that it is almost impossible to tell whether girls are worse at science and maths, or they've been brought up to think of these subjects as boys' 'territory' ". Statistics show that in mathematics, at least, girls are equal to boys. A recent report suggests that girls only stop studying mathematics because of social attitudes. One of the reports' authors says, "While it is socially unacceptable for people not to be able to read and write, it is sill acceptable for women to say that they are 'hopeless' at maths. Our research shows that, although girls get marks which are as good as the boys' , they have not been encouraged to do so." The explanation for the difference, which is very clear during the teenage years, goes as far back as early childhood experiences. From their first days in nursery school, girls are not encouraged to work on their own or to complete tasks, although boys are. For example, boys and not girls, are often asked to 'help' with repair work. This encouragement leads to a way of learning how to solve problems later on in life. A further report on maths teaching shows that teachers seem to give more attention to boys than to girls. Most teachers who took part in the study admitted that they expect their male students to do better at mathematics and science subjects than their females students. All of this tends to encourage boys to work harder in these subjects, gives them confidence and makes them believe that they can succeed. Interestingly, both boys and girls tend to regard such 'male' subjects like mathematics and science as difficult. Yet it has been suggested that girls avoid mathematics courses, not because they are difficult, but for social reasons. Mathematics and science are mainly male subjects, and therefore, as girls become teenagers, they are less likely to take them up. Girls do not seem to want to be in open competition with boys. Neither do they want to do better than boys because they are afraid to appear less female and less attractive. What would be the best title for the text? A. Who's afraid of Maths at all? B. Are Boys Cleverer than Girls? C. Boys are Better at Maths than Girls by Birth D. Maths - A Difficult Subject Answer: B. Are Boys Cleverer than Girls? We all know that food makes us grow every day, but sometimes it can make us happy when we feel bad. Food such as sea fish, bananas, pumpkins and chicken can help us be happy. How can they affect our feelings? People living by the sea look 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 much 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 feeling because it's rich in Vitamin B6 and iron . 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 feel better. ,. (5) Which of the following is TRUE? A. Chicken is bad for us. B. Vitamin B6 and iron can make us happier. C. Eating a lot of fish can make us unhealthy. D. Clean air can help us become more confident. Answer: B. Vitamin B6 and iron can make us happier. Holidays are really important. Many of us will have childhood memories of summer holidays where we were taken away from home to experience new environments and learn in different ways. But holidays are expensive and, for those on low wages or living on benefits, they are often unobtainable. Even the cheapest holidays require travel and other additional costs that are difficult for many families to meet. For working parents, the long summer break can be a very difficult problem for childcare. When an annual leave allowance amounts to only five weeks, there is a need to spread this across the year. Couples can find themselves taking leave in turn in order to care for children who are on holiday. For some this makes even an affordable family holiday difficult. The schools that I visit in Nottingham are full of experienced staff committed to giving our children a caring and inspiring learning environment. The number of children receiving free school meals is quite large in Nottingham and many schools have breakfast clubs to make sure that children get a healthy start to the day. Most schools undertake programs of group or individual educational support. Schools also have an important role in safeguarding children's welfare through the ongoing touch and support with their pupils. During the long summer holidays, much of this is missed. While teachers are holidaying in the UK, many of their pupils spend the whole six weeks on the street where they live. The lack of free school meals for six weeks can result in pressure on a family budget and an inability to afford the inspiring experiences that help children to continue their learning. In setting out its plans for a five-term year, Nottingham City Council is seeking to reduce the summer holiday down to four and a half weeks, with a more balanced five terms of roughly eight weeks, each followed by a two-week break. We believe this will give real "down time" for school staff and pupils alike but will be short enough not to cause a real break in learning. We acknowledge that this change may be difficult for some school staff, particularly whose own children are educated in other authorities. However, this must be weighed against the benefits for city children for whom we all have the greatest duty of care. Ks5u The passage is probably written by _ . A. an experienced teacher B. a working parent C. an inspired student D. a city council member Answer: D. a city council member
Question: How would you like to teach yourself, rather than have teachers? According to the UK's Department of Education and Skills, students will teach themselves in the schools of the future. This means that there will be no more problems such as finding enough teachers. Estelle Morris, the UK Education Secretary, opened the 2002 Education Technology Conference in London recently. To start the conference, she presented a video showing a computer--generated model of the school of tomorrow. Greater use of computer technology and classroom assistants will help students develop their own way of learning, Morris said. She added that this is a more exciting as well as a more interesting way of learning. At the same time, teachers will be "freed from their traditional role as the source of all knowledge". Children of all abilities will "form the curriculum around their individual needs." They will "learn in their own time, at their own speed and in their own environment". At home or at school, they will follow their learning programmes by looking at online libraries and watching lessons by world-class teachers and subject experts. Instead of going on field trips, students will use virtual reality. If they don't understand something, they can ask other students--"take part in virtual communities with learners with similar needs"--or e-mail their teachers. They will hand in their work electronically to be "auto-marked". The classroom of the future is fast becoming a reality. And the Department of Education will soon produce a guide to help schools adapt buildings for new technology, Morris said. These ideas are based on the UK government's plan to create an education system that provides students with a strong grounding of knowledge and skills at primary school level. And provides the chance for students to develop their individual skills at secondary school level. If s a student is under the UK's newly-developed education system,he will be _ . A. provided with a basic knowledge from the beginning B. given more knowledge at primary school level C. helped to use computers better D. supplied chance to develop their basic skills Answer: A. provided with a basic knowledge from the beginning Question: About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a prefix = st1 /Chicagoneighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and-WHUMP!-it hit the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH. . . !!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gone cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?" "Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" begged the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were streaming down the boy's face as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up. " Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?" He's hurt and he's too heavy for me. " Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long walk back to the black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -- a long and slow walk. Josh never fixed the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. _ According to the passage, the last sentence means _ . A. trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life B. driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous C. protecting oneself from being hurt D. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble Answer: D. trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble Question: Bicycle lights may not exactly be a problem that needs solving, but the following can be said about most of them ---- they're easily stolen if left on an unattended bike. People riding at dusk can forget to turn them on, and those same people can forget to turn them off when they reach their destination. Well, the makers of the Blink/ Steady Bike Light have set out to address all of those shortcomings. The waterproof Blink/ Steady is so far only available as a tail light, although a head light is on the way. It's fixed onto the bike's seat post. A built- in photosensor tells when it's become dark enough for the light to be required, and allows it to come on once you begin the riding. According to the producers, it isn't fooled by things such as headlights or streetlights. The light also contains an accelerometer, also known as a motion sensor, which can tell when the bike is in motion. Between the two sensors, this means the light will come on only once it's dark enough, and the bike is moving. Even when stopped at red lights, the small movements of the rider will reportedly be enough to keep the light activated---- it'll go out after 30 seconds of complete inactivity. While this does mean that the two sensors are continuously powered up, they go into a very low---- power sleep pattern when the bike is sitting, unused. Light is provided by two5- watt LEDs, seeable over a range of 180 degrees. And power comes from two AAA batteries, which provided up to 200 hours of continuous run time. The designers and engineers behind the Blink/ Steady are now raising money for its commercial production. About US $95 will get you one if they become available. What can be inferred about the Blink/ Steady Bike Light? A. It will be turned off immediately if the bike stops. B. The traffic lights have no effect on the light. C. It won't use any power if the bike is unused. D. It must meet two requirements if it comes on. Answer: D. It must meet two requirements if it comes on. Question: If you go to Hawaii, you can stay at the Garden Hotel. When you go there for holiday, you will find everything as comfortable as you would expect in a first-class international hotel. Every bedroom has its own bathroom, telephone, special tables and colourful, modern sofa. In the Mitsui Restaurant, you can choose your meals from different dishes, both Eastern and European. You can also find the dishes anywhere in the country. In the Beach Bar, you can drink with your family and friends comfortably to the music of famous musicians . Or you can take your drink outside into the beautiful garden of the hotel. You can also swim in the swimming pool. In the hotel, you will find _ . It will not take you a long time to wait for your service. The Garden Hotel is right on the beach, only five minutes on foot from Hawaii's modern shopping centre. Here you will find all things at prices you can agree. The Waikiki Beachside Hotel is also one of the most famous hotels in Hawaii. Beachside Hotel is close to restaurants, bars, Honolullu nightlife, Waikiki beaches, Oahu and all of the Hawaii adventure activities! We are sure that your stay here at our Waikiki Beachside Hotel will be the best stay you have in Hawaii or the world. Every bedroom at the Garden Hotel has _ . A. a colourful telephone B. no bathroom C. a colourful sofa D. modern tables Answer: C. a colourful sofa Question: A boy who was cleaning shoes in the street said to a young man passing by, "Let me clean your shoes." The young man said, "No, thank you." "You may pay me only a pound, sir," said the boy. But the young man refused again. Then the boy told him that he would clean his shoes for nothing. The young man agreed to this, and soon one of his shoes was shining brightly. The man put the other shoe on the boy, but the boy refused to clean it unless he was paid two pounds for his work. The young man refused to pay anything and went away. But the dirty one looked so bad that he couldn't walk away. He had to turn back and gave the boy two pounds. In a very short time his shoes shone brightly. The boy refused to clean the second shoe, because _ . A. it was very dirty B. the young man paid only one pound C. it was difficult to clean D. he asked to be paid two pounds Answer: D. he asked to be paid two pounds
Question: I was born in Minneapolis. The city is in my blood. But I live in the country, and have been forced to deal with things that are difficult. One thing I've always had trouble with is birds. How could anyone enjoy staring out of the window for hours at these creatures? My mother had always been one of those ridiculous birdwatcher types. She tried to raise her children to have respect for wildlife, but with little effect on me. One evening, a bird had been sitting on the same perch , as if frozen, for ten minutes. My mother got a ladder and took the bird from his perch. She inspected him. It seemed that his tongue was hurt, and that he was unable to drink from the feeder. My mother handed him to me while she went inside for an eyedropper . Never in my life had I felt as frightened as when I was holding that tiny life in my hands. I placed the eyedropper inside the long beak. At first, the bird only trembled, but finally he managed to swallow. After a few minutes, he glided to a tree nearby and returned again. He flew to the tree and then back to me again and again. It didn't take me long to realize that he was sending me a message, a sort of "SOS". I walked toward the tree, where I found the tiny creature trembling in the evening air. I slowly reached into the grass to pick up the bird. "Please, be okay." He had asked me for help. Now he owed me a favor in return and I was asking him to stay alive. However, what I saw was another dead bird lying besides the bird. It must have been a very sad picture: a child wiping her face with her one free hand, while the other palm was cupped around a tiny, dying creature. Fate was taking its own course. Its pulse was hardly noticeable, and the body was growing colder. I realized there were some things I could change and some I must simply accept. In either way, the two worlds sometimes collide and strangers must ask for, and be willing to receive, help from others. Without this, survival is not only impossible, but meaningless. What did the author learn from her experience? A. Offering help brings happiness. B. People should help others even strangers. C. People cannot accept what they cannot change. D. The human world is different from the animal world. Answer: B. People should help others even strangers. Question: The class teacher thought that hobbies were important for children. So she encouraged all her students to have one, and sometimes she arranged hobby shows for their parents to see as a result. One morning the teacher told the class to have a holiday and get their hobby things to school before 5 p.m. A hobby show would be held the following afternoon. So in the afternoon, the students with nothing to show did their lessons at school as usual, while the lucky ones had a holiday to go home for their hobby works. When the afternoon lessons began, the teacher was surprised to see that Tommy was not there. "I don't believe Tommy has a hobby," she thought. However, at a quarter to five. Tommy arrived with a beautiful collection of butterflies in glass case. The teacher liked the samples very much and put them on a desk in the classroom. But, to her surprise, Tommy picked them up again and began to leave. "What are you doing, Tommy?" she asked. "Those things must stay here until tomorrow afternoon. That's when the parents are coming to see them. " "I know that," answered Tommy, "and I will bring them back tomorrow, but my big brother doesn't want them to be out of our house at night. " "But, aren't the butterflies yours?" asked the teacher. "No," answered Tommy. "They are my brother's." "But Tommy, you should show your own hobby here, not somebody else's. " "I know that," answered Tommy. What surprised her most was the answer. "My hobby is watching my brother collecting butterflies. " Which was the teacher's greatest surprise? A. Tommy was not at school as usual. B. 'Tommy picked the butterflies up again and began to leave. C. Tommy said his hobby was watching his brother collecting butterflies. D. Tommy came back to school before5 that afternoon. Answer: C. Tommy said his hobby was watching his brother collecting butterflies. Question: Last summer, two nineteenth-century cottages were rescued from remote farm fields in Montana, to be moved to an Art Deco building in San Francisco. The houses were made of wood. These cottages once housed early settlers as they worked the dry Montana soil; now they hold Twitter engineers. The cottages could be an example of the industry' s odd love affair with "low technology," a concept associated with the natural world, and with old-school craftsmanship that exists long before the Internet era. Low technology is not virtual --so, to take advantage of it, Internet companies have had to get creative. The rescued wood cottages, fitted by hand in the late eighteen-hundreds, are an obvious example, but Twitter's designs lie on the extreme end. Other companies are using a broader interpretation of low technology that focuses on nature. Amazon is building three glass spheres filled with trees, so that employees can "work and socialize in a more natural, park-like setting." At Google's office, an entire floor is carpeted in glass. Facebook's second Menlo Park campus will have a rooftop park with a walking trail. Olle Lundberg, the founder of Lundberg Design, has worked with many tech companies over the years. "We have lost the connection to the maker in our lives, and our tech engineers are the ones who feel impoverished , because they're surrounded by the digital world," he says. "They're looking for a way to regain their individual identity, and we've found that introducing real crafts is one way to do that." This craft based theory is rooted in history, William Morris, the English artist and writer, turned back to pre-industrial arts in the eighteen-sixties, just after the Industrial Revolution. The Arts and Crafts movement defined itself against machines. "Without creative human occupation, people became disconnected from life," Morris said. Research has shown that natural environments can restore our mental capacities. In Japan, patients are encouraged to "forest-bathe," taking walks through woods to lower their blood pressure. These health benefits apply to the workplace as well. Rachel Kaplvin, a professor of environmental psychology, has spent years researching the restorative effects of natural environment. Her research found that workers with access to nature at the office--even simple views of trees and flowers--felt their jobs were less stressful and more satisfying. If low-tech offices can potentially nourish the brains and improve the mental health of employees then, fine, bring on the cottages. The writer's attitude to "low technology" can best be described as _ . A. positive B. defensive C. cautious D. doubtful Answer: A. positive Question: When Mark first arrived in Thailand, he saw an old man selling something cheap in the street of Chiang Mai. The old man was one of the poor people in Chiang Mai and there was no difference from beggars . Most of them were some lonely old people. Their life had no support. Mark was a kind man, so he gave some changes to him without thinking. The old man told him to pick something he liked. Mark didn't choose anything and left. But the old man followed him closely. AT first, Mark didn't think a lot, just supposing he wanted to go home. But when he went out very far saw the old man still following him, he was a bit tired, thinking the old man must feel he was kind and wanted to beg more money from him. Mark turned back and told him not to follow him because he hadn't much money. But the old man seemed not to understand what he meant, still following him. The bag on his back made him sweat all over. Mark happened to meet his Thai colleague in the street and his colleague heard this. The colleague turned to ask why the old man was following his friend. The old man said out of breath, "My son, you gave me money, but didn't want my things, so I have to give you something. I see you are a foreigner, likely not to familiar with here. I just want to follow you and show you the way. All I can do for you is this." Mark was shocked. He said he didn't know why, when he felt the old man was just like his father. How did Mark feel about the old man at last? A. He felt the old man was kind and warm. B. He felt pity for the old man. C. He felt angry with the old man D. He felt doubt if the old man was a thief. Answer: A. He felt the old man was kind and warm. Question: Lomography was first officially introduced to China when the Lomography World Congress was held in Beijing in July, 2004. The Lomography World Congress is the greatest annual event of the Lomographic Society. It has been held in Madrid, New York, Tokyo, Cologne and Vienna, etc. The 2004's _ took place in Beijing and ran a full week. The first non-official affair of Chinese Lomographers was held in August, 2005 and it attracted much attention. A lot of energetic young people got together under the banner of "I Loma you" which was the slogan of this big party. In China Lomo is more of a symbol of fashion and youth, and most of the Lomographers are stylish young people who work with or study art. The organizer told the editor that the oldest Lomographer who came here is in his forties while the youngest one is about nine years old, but most of the people who are into Lomo are about 20 years old. In China the concept of Lomography is not only about Lomographyer taking photos with Lomo camera, but also a kind of spirit. "I think, generally, the Lomo spirit is everyone trying to love one's own life and discover the beauty of everyday life," the organizer said, "what I think more important is the idea of freedom and creativity. The 10 th Golden Rule is 'don't worry about any rules', I think it introduces to us a concept: It's you who make the rules and it's you who break the rules. So free your mind and let your creativity work, and your life will be fantastic." We can learn from what the organizer said that _ . A. everyone should make rules in your life B. no one can break the rules C. freedom and creativity can enrich your life D. the beauty of life is easy to discover Answer: C. freedom and creativity can enrich your life
A Special Halloween Party Ever since its opening, "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" has been the center of attraction for thousands of Disney vacationers during Halloween in Orlando. Started as a special one night event in 1995, this Halloween event at Disney World has been transformed and developed into one of the most family-fun events today, and runs throughout selected nights in September, October and November. "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" guarantees a unique Halloween experience right in the middle of the most magical place on Earth. Whether it's you or the kids, "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party" welcomes all with equal fun and entertainment opportunities. Visiting this special Halloween party once in your life is a dream that comes true. Even though it costs you a few extra dollars, there is every reason to visit it. It starts at 7 pm on every selected night and continues till midnight. During the show the entire Magic Kingdom Park is transformed into a heaven of Halloween adventures, including amazing fireworks, grand parade, and plenty of trick-or-treat opportunities. One of the most striking features of the event is--guests are allowed to visit in their favorite Halloween costumes . Unlike the usual party guidelines, there is no restriction for dresses at "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party". Both adults and kids are encouraged to choose their favourite Halloween costumes. The Party unfolds amazing Halloween activities. If you are a character lover, don't miss the various "Character Meet& Greet" opportunities. Let your child take photos with his or her famous Disney characters. Or you can have a magical trick-or-treat experience at the numerous candy locations all over the park with the kids. Also don't miss the unique "Mickey's Boo to You Halloween Parade", which is one of the rarest, must-see Disney shows. The parade also enables you to see all your favorite Disney characters in their own Halloween costumes. The skeleton dancers make the Parade a little scary too, but it's a great fun. The "Hallo Wishes Firework Display" is another grand show, which lasted for about 20 minutes and one should not miss at the party. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party _ . A is an event intended for all ages B attracts more tourists than usual C is usually held on Halloween night D lasts longer than regular Disney parties Answer: A How could I turn down an opportunity for a weeklong cruise on a luxury motorsailer in the Andaman Sea? Without a second thought, I packed my bags and jumped on a plane to Singapore, and the following day I found myself looking out the airplane window at the beautiful waters surrounding the island of Langkawi off the coast of Malaysia. The last time I was in Langkawi was in 2001, when it was relatively quiet. Langkawi has come a long way since then; there are 4, 5, and even 6-star hotels, as well as spas, golfing, horseback riding and even a cable car taking visitors to the highest point on the island. At the Langkawi International Airport I met my shipmates and we were driven to Pantai Tengah with a quick pit stop for sunblock and duty-free goodies. Many other shopping opportunities abound since Langkawi was designated as a duty-free zone in 1987 to entice tourists to the island. A luxurious yacht tender picked us up. Phillipe, the first mate, maneuvered the tender between sailboats and as we went around a small island there she was, S/V Blue Gold. This majestic 10-passenger sailboat--all 165 feet of her--had been built in Italy and recently underwent a full retrofit. Once aboard, the crew welcomed us with refreshments and big smiles. Before we got too comfortable and settled into the plush comforts of the boat, Alain, the captain, took us on a tour of Blue Gold's impressive accommodations. The master suite had a king-size bed, with a lounge area and "his & hers" wardrobes. The VIP cabin had a queen-size bed, also with a lounge area. Both had ensuite bathrooms. The first evening aboard was the perfect start to our voyage--a small cocktail party followed by a light meal of seared tuna salad. It was exactly what our jet-lagged bodies craved, and we all slept very well aboard what would become our new home for the next 7 days. In the morning after breakfast, we sailed to Pulau Ta Ngah (also spelled "Pulau Tengah"; pulau means island in Malay). In the 1970s the site had been a Vietnamese refugee transit camp. Not long after the end of the war, the camp was shut down and the island was gazetted as a marine park by the Malaysian government. Officially "uninhabited," it does boast a golf course, but we were unable to determine if it was still in operation. The most intriguing event on the island occurs in July when the giant leatherback turtles lay their eggs on a beach on Ta Ngah. Where is Langkawi? A In Pulau Ta Ngah B In Malaysia C In the Atlantic Ocean D In The Arctic Answer: B Bats use the organs on the side of their heads to A receive short radio pulses B hold up their sunglasses C create lift for flight D attract a potential mate Answer: A Theangelshavefinallybeenconnectedtogether andthebowshaveallbeencarefully fixed across the branches.After three months of hard work, 16-year-old Suzy Jordan's tree is finally appearing at the yearly Festival of Trees in honor of her best friend, Emily Austin. "All that's needed now is a real angel,"says Suzy,"to help 13-year-old Emily recover from a recent bone marrow transplant and finally remove the leukemia " "Emily is the strongest person I know.There's always such brightness about her,"says Suzy,a student ar Orem High School. Last year,when Emily's cancer was _ ,she helped Suzy and other students decorate a red-and-white Christmas tree for Primary Children's Medical Center at the Festival of Trees. "It was so much fun for her,"says Emily's mother, Laurie,"she's seen the inside of the hospital more than a school since she was 5". But the good conditions didn't last long.In August, Suzy learned that her friend's leukemia returned, becoming worse.And she knew exactly what to do show her support. "Emily was so excited about helping out with the festival tree last year that I decided to surprise her by giving away a tree of my own,"she says. Because of being in hospital, Emily won't be able to see the tree."But I'm taking pictures to surprise her,"says Suzy."I want her to know that she'll always be an angel to me." Suzy's tree has given Emily's family hope for a miracle ."It has given Emily hope that she has a chance to be a normal girl and do all the things other girls do,"says Laurie Austin. Suzy's greatest hope is that she'll be able to give away more trees to the festival, with one big difference."The best wish of all,"she says,"is that Emily will be there with me, putting on the decoration." Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? A Emily probably got the leukemia eight years ago B Emily is excited and surprised to see the Christmas tree C Emily is fond of decorating Christmas trees D Emily faces her illness actively and strongly Answer: B They are among the 250, 000 people under the age of 25 who are out of work in the Netherlands, a group that makes up 40 percent of the nation's unemployed. A storm of anger boils up at the government-sponsored youth center, even among those who are continuing their studies. "We study for jobs that don't exist," Nicollets Steggerda, 23, said. After thirty years of prosperity, unemployment among 10 member nations of the European Community has reached as much as 11 percent, affecting a total of 12.3 million people, and the number is climbing. The bitter disappointment long expressed by British youths is spreading across the Continent. The title of a rock song "No Future" can now be seen written on the brick walls of closed factories in Belgium and France. One form of protest tends to put the responsibility for a country's economic troubles on the large numbers of "guest workers" from Third World nations, people welcomed in Western Europe in the years of prosperity. Young Europeans, brought up in an extended period of economic success and general stability, seem to be similar to Americans more than they do their own parents. Material enjoyment has given them a sense of expectation, even the right to a standard of living that they see around them. "And so we pass the days at the discos, or meet people at the cafe, and sit and stare," said Isabella Cault. "There is usually not much conversation. You look for happiness. Sometimes you even find ." Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A British youths have pity on the unemployed on the Continent. B British youths care about unemployment in France and Belgium. C British youths show their disappointment over joblessness. D British youths have confidence to find work on the Continent. Answer: C
Customs are social habits. They have been handed down through generations among groups, social classes, etc. Customs can be described as ways of doing things. They are particularly strong in social practices on the occasions of births, marriages and deaths. In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs. For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is usual bridal wear in many Western countries. Every people has special customs for New Year. The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs. And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st. One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap up their babies tightly .This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are usually dressed in loose garments. From this passage we know_. each people has his special custom for New Year SAN FRANCISCO -- Sales for Apple's third generation iPad has hit record in the first days after it was on the market, Apple and carrier AT&T said on Monday. The new iPad went on sale on March 16 in the United States along with nine additional countries and areas. "We had a record weekend, and we are thrilled with it," Apple's CEO Tim Cook said Monday at a conference. Shortly after the conference call, AT&T said the launch of the new iPad set a new single-day record for its sales. "On Friday, March 16 AT&T set a new single-day record for its iPad sales, showing strong demand for the new iPad on the nation's largest 4G network," said the mobile carrier in a brief announcement. The new iPad is Apple's first 4G-capable product, featuring retina display, HD camera and faster processor. Before hitting stores, the new iPad pre-sales were sold out worldwide in two days. BEIJING -- A Chinese farmer was sentenced to 13 years in prison Monday for stealing art pieces from the Forbidden City last year, court authorities said. Shi Baikui, 27, was fined 13,000 yuan ($2,059) and was deprived of his political rights for 3 years, according to the ruling announced by the Second Intermediate People's Court in Beijing Monday morning. Shi, from East China's Shandong Province, broke into the heavily guarded former home of Chinese emperors in the heart of Beijing, and stole nine art pieces made of gold and jewels, on May 8, 2011, the court said in a statement. While hurriedly escaping, Shi left behind five of the pieces in the Forbidden City's compound . Failing to immediately sell the treasures, he threw the other four pieces away the next day, the document said. Six pieces were recovered and the three missing were worth about 150,000 yuan ($23,760) in total. Shi was arrested by police at an Internet cafe in Beijing's Fengtai district 58 hours after the theft. We can infer from the news that the new iPad _ . is more advanced than the last version On a sunny day last August, 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 it 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 they were in the water, Tim decided it would be 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 swam 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 the two boys go to the sea? To get back their football. An American called Simon goes to London to see his friend, Rick. Rick tells him that his flat is on the first floor. When he gets there, Simon goes straight to the first floor of the building. But people there tells him that there is no Rick on that floor. Do you know why? In fact, English people call the first floor of a building the ground floor. The floor above the ground floor is the first floor, but Americans call it the second floor. The story shows that there are a few culture differences between English and America, though they both speak English. English people usually hide their feelings. They seldom start a dialogue with strangers . For example, on the train they often spend their time reading newspapers or books. But Americans are quite different. They're more active and easier to talk with. English people and Americans use different _ for many things. English people usually use football, eraser and mail, but Americans use soccer, rubber and post. What's the best title for the passage? Differences in culture Canada is a very large country .It is the second largest country in the world .By contrast it has a very small population . There are only about 29 million people there . Most Canadians are of British or French _ ,and French is an official language of Canada as well as English .About 45%of the people are of British origin ,that is ,they or their parents or grandparents , etc ,come from British . Nearly 30%are of French origin . Most of the French -Canadians live in province of Quebec . Over the years ,people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world .They are from many countries in the world .They are from most European countries and also from China, besides other Asian countries . However , Canada was not an empty country when the Europeans began to arrive . Canadian Indians lived along the coast , by the rivers and lakes and in forests . Today , there are only about 350 000 Indians in the whole country , with their own languages . In the far north live the Inuit . There are only 27 000 Canadian-Inuit . Their life is hard in such a difficult climate . The official languages of Canada are _ . . French and English
"I sometimes get up at three or four in the morning and I surf the net." "I often check my e-mail forty times a day. " "I often spend more than three hours during one time on the net." "I spend more time in chat rooms than with my 'real-life' friends." Do you know any people like these? They are part of a new addiction called Internet addiction. Internet addicts spend at least thirty to forty hours online every week. The use of the Internet can be an addiction like drug use. People lose control of the time they spend on the Internet. For example, one college student was missing for several days. His friends were worried, and they called the police. The police found the student in the computer lab: he was surfing the net for several days straight. Studies show that about 6% to 10% of Internet users become addicted. And people worry about the teens because the Internet is changing the playing field for some of them. They spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family. Is "surfing the net" a hobby or an addiction for you? You may have a problem if you have these symptoms : 1You do not go to important family activities or you do not do school work because you like to spend hours on the Internet. 2You can't wait for your next online time. 3You go out with your friends less and less. 4You plan to spend a short time online, but then you spend several hours. The example in the passage shows that _ . A some of the Internet users have already been seriously addicted B Internet addicts usually stay in the computer lab without sleep C Internet problems are more serious among college students D the police often help to find those Internet addicts Answer: A. some of the Internet users have already been seriously addicted A villa designed to resist earthquakes with "self-healing" cracks in its walls, thanks to nanotechnology applications with self-healing polymers , is to be built on a Greek mountainside. The villa's walls will include special particles that turn into a liquid when squeezed under pressure, flow into cracks, and then harden to form a solid material. The NanoManufacturing Institute (NMI), based in Leeds University, will play a key role in an EU project to construct the home by December 2010. The project, called "Intelligent Safe and Secure Buildings" (ISSB) is funded under the EU's Sixth Framework program. This potentially life-saving scheme is led by German building manufacturer Knauf. The villa will be built in Amphilochia, in western Greece, where Knauf currently runs a manufacturing plant. If the experiment is successful, more tremor-resistant homes could be built in earthquake zones across the globe. NMI chief executive Professor Terry Wilkins said, "What we're trying to achieve here is very exciting. We're looking to use polymers in much tougher situations than ever before on a larger scale." Monitors contained in the villa's walls will be able to collect vast amounts of data about the building over time. Wireless sensors will record any stresses and vibrations, as well as temperature, humidity and gas levels. The walls are to be built from new load-bearing steel frames and high-strength gypsum board. Prof Wilkins said, "If there are any problems, the intelligent sensor network will be able to alert residents immediately so they have time to escape. If whole groups of houses are so constructed, we could use a larger network of sensors to get even more information. If the house falls down, we have got hand-held devices that can be used over the ruins to pick out where the embedded sensors are hidden to get some information about how the villa collapsed. Also, we can get information about anyone who may be around, so it potentially becomes a tool for rescue." It can be inferred from the passage that tremor-resistant home _ . A is still being tried out B is already under construction C has been in wide use D will be put into wide use soon Answer: A. is still being tried out If you're planning to visit lots of museums and attractions in Paris, the following five are not to be missed. The Notre Dame Description: The Notre Dame is a magnificent Gothic cathedral in the oldest part of Paris. Location: Place du Parvis Notre Dame Opening hours: 07:45 to 18:45 Monday to Saturday Admission: Donation only Website: www.cathedraledeparis.com The Eiffel Tower Description: The Eiffel Tower is the most famous symbol of Paris. Take the lift or stairs up to the top for fabulous views of the city. Location: Champ de Mars Opening hours: Open daily throughout the year -- January to June and September to December 09:30 to 23:45, July and August 09:00 to 00:45 Admission: 11EUR to the top Website: www.tour-eiffel.fr L'Arc de Triomphe Description: This grand arch was built by Napoleon to honour the French Army. Location: Place de l'etoile Opening hours: Open daily throughout the year -- April to September 10:00 to 23:00, October to March 10:00 to 22:30 Website: www.monum.fr / prehome / prehome.dml The Louvre Museum Description: The Louvre Museum is a spectacular Renaissance building. Collections: Egyptian, Roman and Oriental antiquities, and European paintings from the 12th to the 19th centuries, including Leonardo's Mona Lisa. Location: Rue de rivoli Opening hours: 09:00 to 18:00 every day except Tuesday Admission: 8.50EUR. Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month. Website: www.louvre.fr The Orsay Museum Description: This art gallery has an impressive collection of art from 1850 to 1950. Collections:Impressionism(Renoir,.Monet,Degas),post-impressionism (Van Gogh, Gaugin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne). Location: 1 rue de bellechasse Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 09:30 to 18:00, Thursday 09:30 to 21:45, closed on Mondays Admission: 7.50EUR. Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month. Website: www.musee-orsay.fr This passage is most probably a(n) _ . A news report B essay C official paper D advertisement Answer: D. advertisement Tomorrow is Saturday. I'm not going to work, and my brother isn't going to school. We are going to play table tennis. We are going to have lunch in a restaurant. We're coming home at five. My parents are going to visit my grandparents. They are going to get home at half past five. We are going to help my mother cook the dinner. After supper, I am going to dance with my friends, and my brother is going to watch TV with my parents. My brother is a_. A student B teacher C worker D manager Answer: A. student (1)Shirley Temple, the once-famous child movie star, died at the age of 85 on February 10, 2014. She was born on April 23, 1928. She was good at acting and dancing. In 1934, she starred in the movie Bright Eyes. From then on she became famous around the world. Later she starred in other movies and won a Juvenile Oscar in February, 1935. For many Americans born in the 1930s and 1940s, Temple was not just an on-screen star but also a close friend in their childhood. She was remembered by the world as the forever "little angle". An American movie star said, "Little Shirley Temple encouraged the whole country during the Great Depression ." (2)Shi Li and Cui Jiping are husband and wife. They are disabled. They complete the first Chinese encyclopedic dictionary for deaf people and people with hearing problems. The dictionary includes words on medicine, education, psychology, law, history and culture about deaf people's life. This book provides a learning tool for this special group of people and it helps them know about the world more easily. They spent six years and over 1,000,000 yuan on the book. They first collected material for the book by themselves, then they invited a lot of experts across the country to write. The book is warmly welcomed by the deaf. One of the readers said, "The book shows that we're not alone. We can have our own way to communicate with the world. " From the passage we know that Temple _ . A was not good at dancing B began to star in her first movie when she was ten years old. C was unfriendly to her fan D encouraged the whole country during the Great Depression Answer: D. encouraged the whole country during the Great Depression
Accident Report Form Accident A car hit a tree. Four people were in the car. Weather condition There was a heavy rain. Cause The driver named Li Jun drank too much. Date of call March 20th, 2009 Time of call 8:30 p.m. Name of caller A man called Zhang Wei. (He was taking a walk there at that time.) Place Zhongshan Road, Nanjing Conditions of victims Mr. Green hurt his head. Mrs. Green hurt her left leg. Their daughter felt frightened. Their dog died. Action Policemen arrived at 8: 40 p.m. and sent the victims to Gulou Hospital at 8:45 p.m. Whose left leg was hurt? A. Mrs. Green's. B. Mr. Green's C. Their daughter's D. Their dog's Answer: A We need a logo--a graphic image--that will be the perfect symbol of our great new Wellsville Skate Park. We would like those of you who are counting the days until the grand opening to design an appropriate logo that can be used on stationery, business cards, fliers, brochures, posters and T-shirts. An appropriate, well-designed logo will provide an opportunity for young artists to receive recognition as well as great prizes. If you are interested, here are the things you need to know: Logo Requirements * Design must be original . * Design can include no more than two colors. * The words "Wellsville Skate Park" must appear in the logo. * Logo should be submitted on 8x11 papers in every shape. Do not fold. Submission Details * Name and address of the designer must appear on the back of the logo design. * Contestants need to include a one-page written explanation describing the key features of the design. Deadline * Mail entries will be accepted between April 10 and May 15. Entries must be postmarked no later than May 15. * Winning designs will be posted on our website at www. wellsville. skatep. com on May 20. Prizes * First Prize: A digital camera * Second Prize: One-year pass to Wellsville Skate Park * Honorable Mention: A T-shirt with the prize-winning logo. MAIL ENTRY FORMS AND DESIGNS TO: Wellsville Skate Park Logo Contest Riverside Recreation Center 1295 New Rockford Hwy, Riverside, VA23226 How will winners be announced? A. By mail. B. By telephone. C. On the website. D. On the radio. Answer: C I passed all the other courses that I took at my university, but I could have never passed botany. This was because all botany students had to spend several hours a week in a laboratory looking through a microscope at plant cells, and I could never once see a cell through a microscope. This used to make my professor angry. He would wander around the laboratory pleased with the progress all the students were making in drawing the structure of flower cells, until he came to me. I would just be standing there. "I can't see anything,"I would say. He would begin patiently enough, explaining how anybody can see through a microscope, but he would always end up angrily, claiming that I could too see through a microscope but just pretended that I couldn't. "It takes away from the beauty of flowers anyway."I used to tell him."We are not concerned with beauty in this course,"he would say."We are concerned with the structure of flowers." "Well," I'd say."I can't see anything." "Try it just once again," he'd say, and I would put my eye to the microscope and see nothing at all, except now and again something unclear and milky. "You were supposed to see a clear, moving plant cells shaped like clocks." "I see what looks like a lot of milk." I would tell him. This, he claimed, was the result of my not having adjusted the microscope properly, so he would readjust it for me, or rather, for himself. And I would look again and see milk. I failed to pass botany that year, and had to wait a year and try again, or I couldn't graduate. The next term the same professor was eager to explain cell-structure again to his classes. "Well,"he said to me, happily, "we're going to see cells this time, aren't we?" "Yes,sir," I said. Students to the right of me and to the left of me and in front of me were seeing cells; what's more, they were . Of course, I didn't see anything. So the professor and I tried with every adjustment of the microscope known to man. With only once did I see anything but blackness or the familiar milk, and that time I saw, to my pleasure and amazement, something like stars. These I hurriedly drew. The professor, noting my activity, came to me, a smile on his lips and _ He looked at my cell drawing. "What's that?"he asked."That's what I saw,"I said."You didn't, you didn't, you didn't!"he screamed, losing control of himself immediately, and he bent over and looked into the microscope. He raised his head suddenly. "That's your eye!"he shouted."You've adjusted the microscope so that it reflects!You're drawn your eye!" In what writing style did the writer write the passage? A. Realistic B. Romantic C. Serious D. Humorous Answer: D Space Junk Everything seemed normal in space. Astronauts were working on a space station. Suddenly, Mission Control1 ordered them to leave the station. They rushed to the escape pod.2 Inside the pod, they waited for further orders. A small piece of space junk was speeding toward the space station at 28,000 kilometers (17,500 miles) per hour. The crew could be in danger! Ten minutes later, Mission Control sent an all-clear order. The station and crew were safe. Leftover Litter More than 1,600 pieces, large and small, became space junk. There are other kinds of space trash, too. Astronauts drop tools. They lose screws and drop gloves. Even chipped paint can become space junk. So can regular trash that's tossed from space stations. Small Scraps, Big Damage All this trash can cause problems. Litter that's orbiting Earth can travel at 7.7 kilometers (about 5 miles) per second. That's fast! No wonder space junk can crack windows, chip heat shields,3 and rip solar panels. Sometimes space junk falls to Earth. Friction with particles in Earth's atmosphere causes most junk to burn up. Really big pieces slam into the ground. Some splash into oceans. That's why scientists track space junk. They use radar and telescopes. These tools can track objects larger than a grapefruit. Millions of pieces are much smaller than this. These small pieces can do big damage. Yet there is no way to track them. Scientists are thinking of ways to clean up space. One way is to shoot lasers at space trash. The lasers would push the litter farther away. The only problem is Earth's gravity would eventually pull it back. It would become a problem again later. Here's another way. Make spacecrafts with giant nets. The nets would catch the litter. Then the litter could be dumped into Earth's atmosphere. The litter would burn up. Scientists still need to find other solutions. No doubt they will. Collecting space junk before it falls to Earth would most likely have a positive effect on the natural environment by A. protecting space stations that orbit Earth from the junk B. keeping the junk from falling into Earth's habitats C. transforming space junk into useful materials D. permitting humans to leave junk in space Answer: B The first chocolate was eaten by people in South America hundreds of years ago. In those days, the people did not really eat chocolate. They used the cocoa bean to make a chocolate drink and they enjoyed it very much. Many years later, the cocoa bean was brought to other countries and people came to love the taste of chocolate. In 1824, John Cadbury opened a small shop in Britain. One of the things he sold was chocolate drink. In 1831, he opened a factory to make chocolate drink. He wanted to encourage people to drink chocolate instead of other drinks. A few years later, a man called Joseph Fry found a way to make chocolate instead of only drinking it. But at that time chocolate was very expensive and only the rich people could buy it. Later, ad more and more chocolate bars were produced and sold, it became cheaper. However, at first only plain chocolate (a kind of chocolate without milk and with very little sugar) was produced. Milk chocolate came later and this was made by adding milk to the chocolate. The first milk chocolate bar was made in Cadbury's factory in 1897. Their most famous chocolate, Cadbury's Milk Bar, was made in 1905, It has been the most popular chocolate in Britain and around the world for over 100 years. The Cadbury factory is still in Britain and the chocolate produced there is eaten all over the world. Every year, thousands of visitors visit the factory in order to see how chocolate is made. John Cadbury opened a factory to make chocolate drink in_. A. 1824 B. 1831 C. 1897 D. 1905 Answer: B
Census Bureau data released Thursday show that 48 of the 50 most populous U.S. cities have grown since 2010, compared with only 40 of the top 50 in the first two years after the 2000 Census. Of the top 100, 93 have grown since 2010, compared with just 72 a decade ago. Many of the biggest, such as New York, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego and Dallas, are outpacing the nation's 1.7% growth rate since 2010. "Urban America is recovering faster than more remote places," said Robert Lang, a professor of urban affairs. Only two big cities - Detroit and Cleveland - lost population between 2010 and 2012. The urban recovery is led by mid-sized cities including Austin and Fort Worth and Charlotte. Austin grew 6.6% in two years, becoming the USA's 11th-largest city. In 2000, it was No. 17. Other trends: * New York City grew 2%, adding about 161,500 people since 2010. By far it is the USA's most populous city. * The population of New Orleans continues to grow. In 2005 a terrible natural disaster happened to the city, causing the population to decrease. Now it has a population of three hundred and sixty-nine thousand. The number has grown by 7.4% since 2010. * Government budget crunches have put state capitals in difficulty. Half are behind the growth rate of their regions. Perhaps the biggest exception to the capital crunch is Austin. It has grown more than 26% since 2000. Population expert William Frey says Austin enjoys a number of qualities that make it attractive. It's a high-tech city with a state university. And it's in Texas, an attractive place for newcomers. "In some ways it's a model of what other cities would like to become," he says. Frey notes that Charlotte, which grew 5.4% since 2010 has grown into a high-tech and financial center whose industries do business not just with those in other U.S. cities but with the rest of the world. William Frey thinks Austin's growth _ . Answer: Wonderful Events HORSE RACING 100 YEARS OF PICTURES ALL YEAR ROUND THEN AND NOW (Photo Show) Races Starting at 3 p.m. February 1 - April 30 Every Sunday City Art Museum Racetrack only 20 Miles Away 750, High Street Lots of Parking Space Tuesday to Sunday City Stadium 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free Presents No Children Allowed WEEKEND SALES DANCE PARTY This Saturday 2-6 p.m. CELEBRATE AN IMPORTANT DAY EVERYTHING 20-50% OFF Bring Your Friends Visit Us at Block G. Grandview Mall SUNDAY NIGHT, GOUNTRY CLUB Realize Your Dream, Save Time and Live Band from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Money Y= 10, and adult Fall in Love with our Prices Y= 2, a child What can you do if you only have time between 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday? Answer: Alyssa got to the beach after a long trip. She's from Charlotte. She traveled from Atlanta. She's now in Miami. She went to Miami to visit some friends. But she wanted some time to herself at the beach, so she went there first. After going swimming and laying out, she went to her friend Ellen's house. Ellen greeted Alyssa and they both had some lemonade to drink. Alyssa called her friends Kristin and Rachel to meet at Ellen's house. The girls traded stories and caught up on their lives. It was a happy time for everyone. The girls went to a restaurant for dinner. The restaurant had a special on catfish. Alyssa enjoyed the restaurant's special. Ellen ordered a salad. Kristin had soup. Rachel had a steak. After eating, the ladies went back to Ellen's house to have fun. They had lots of fun. They stayed the night because they were tired. Alyssa was happy to spend time with her friends again. Why did Alyssa go to Miami? Answer: Last night I drove a long way (about 500 km) to return home. It was late and I was driving fast because I wanted to get home as soon as possible. So several times when I was driving behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road, I wanted to shout at the driver ahead. Then I came to a crossroad with a traffic light. As I drove near, it turned red. I stopped my car at once. I looked left,right and behind. I found no cars or persons -- I was alone on the road. The person who would come to the crossroad was at least a mile away in any direction. Certainly going through the light would cause no danger. I could pass the traffic light. But strangely enough, I just stopped there, waiting for several minutes until the light went green. I asked myself why I refused to run the light. Surely it was unnecessary for me to be afraid of danger or being fined , because there were no cars or police around at all. But I remained waiting until the light changed. When I finally got home, it was near midnight. My wife had fallen asleep. The question of why I stopped for that light came back to me again, because I stopped another two times for the red lights as "special" as the first one. I stopped, not because of the law, but because it was a good habit I had developed. In fact, we were used to doing something right just because we have made obeying the rules a good habit. We do it just because we should do it. I thought if another man met with the same thing, he would make the same choice. I believed so. And I could be trusted by others. I believed that everyone would and could control himself/herself well. It was amazing that we trusted each other to do the right things, wasn't it? The author is a person who _ . Answer: Are you interested in travelling in the dangerous mountains in America? Here are some tour plans for you to choose. Tour 1 Garland Valley Bring your drink and lunch for this walk in a beautiful area of the Blue Mountains. Garland Valley is close to the town of Garland but is part of the National Park. Many wild animals live in this area, including many rare birds. This is a great walk for bird-lovers. The trip lasts four hours. Book in advance. Cost: $ 15 When: May 8, May 15 Tour 2 Flashlight Adventure Put on your warm clothes, bring a flashlight and a pair of glasses, and come for a night walk along the Dungog Valley. A guide will lead the tour. Many of the animals you will see on this trip can only be seen at night. The guide will tell you about the lives of the animals you see. Numbers are strictly controlled on night trips, so be sure to book early. This walk lasts two and a half hours. Cost: $ 12 When: May 8, May 15, May22 Tour 3 Black Bear Count There have been fires in this area in the last few years and the Office of the National Park is not sure how many black bears are still living. Some bears have been seen since the fires, and the Office has asked for young people to help count them. The entire trip will last three hours. Remember to book in advance. Cost: Free When: May 8 Advice to be followed: Please bring enough water and food for all walks. Wear good walking shoes---no high heels. Wear a hat for day walks. Dress warmly for night walks. Children must be with an adult. Make sure your flashlight works well and bring extra batteries for night walks. Follow all instructions from guides during the walks. The mountains are so dangerous that you have to care. Where are these tours likely to take place? Answer:
The very wealthy English Baron Fitzgerald had only one child, a son, who understandably was the apple of his eye. His wife died when the child was in his early teens. So Fitzgerald devoted himself to fathering the kid. Unfortunately the son died in his late teens. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald's wealth greatly increased. He spent a lot on art works of the masters. Later Fitzgerald himself because seriously ill. Before his death, he had carefully prepared his will as to how his wealth would be settled--to sell his entire collection at an auction . Because of the large quantity and high quality of his collection, a huge crowd of possible buyers gathered for the auction. Many of them were museum directors and private collectors eager to bid .Before the auction, the art works were shown, among which was a painting of Fitzgerald's son by an unknown artist. Because of its poor quality, it received little attention. When it was time for the auction, the auctioneer gaveled the crowd to attention. First the lawyer read from Fitzgerald's will that the first art work to be auctioned was the painting of his son. The poor-quality painting didn't receive and bidders...except one--the old servant who had served the son and loved him, and who for emotional reasons offered the only bid. As soon as the servant bought the painting for less than one English pound, the auctioneer stopped the bidding and asked the lawyer to read again from the will. The crowd became quiet, and the lawyer read from the will:"Whoever buys the painting of my son gets all my collection."Then the auction was over. Why did the old servant bid for the painting of Fitzgerald's son? Answer: He was devoted to the family. The other day when I was passing a clothing store, I fell in love with a skirt. I knew it would suit me best at first sight. But when I looked at the price tag , I knew I had to give it up. The love for beautiful clothes has been planted in my heart the day when I was born to be a woman. Several years ago I read an article in a magazine. The article stated that when a woman is at her best time, she is usually poor or tasteless, so she can't get the right clothes; when she can afford to buy the clothes she likes, she often finds that they do not suit her anymore. On the way home, I was quite disturbed by such thoughts. It was just a pity, like many other pities. I thought to myself this way. But when I was about to enter the building where I was living, I saw the big mirror placed in the entrance. I saw a girl in it who was in cheap but cleanly washed sweater and jeans. _ was rather young, healthy and energetic. For quite a while I was touched by what I had seen in the mirror. Then I almost forgot the tale: A person without shoes cried until he saw a man without feet. Being young without good clothes is like the person without shoes. I should have felt grateful that I haven't lost my feet. We can learn from the text that the author considered her love for beautiful clothes as _ . Answer: natural Shakespeare, perhaps more than any other writer, made full use of the great resources of the English language. Most of us use about five thousand words in our normal employment of English; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty-five thousand! There is probably no better way for a foreigner (or an Englishman!) to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare used it. Such a study is well worth the effort, even though some aspects of English usage, and the meaning of many words, have changed since Shakespeare's day. However ,it is surprising that we should know comparatively little about the life of the greatest English author. We know that Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford--on--Avon ,and that he died there in 1616.He almost certainly attended the Grammar School in the town ,but of this we cannot be sure .We know he was married there in 1582 to Anne Hathaway and that he had three children .We know that he spent much of his life in London writing his masterpieces .But this is almost all that we do know . However, what is important about Shakespeare's life is not its incidental details but its products, the plays and the poems. For many years scholars have been trying to add a few facts about Shakespeare's life to the small number we already possess and for an equally long time critics have been theorizing about the plays. Sometimes, indeed, it seems that the poetry of Shakespeare will disappear under the greatest masses of comment that has been written about it. Fortunately this is not likely to happen. Shakespeare's poetry and Shakespeare's people (Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, Falstaff and all the others) have long delighted not just the English but lovers of literature everywhere, and will continue to do so after the scholars and _ and all their works have been forgotten. This text is about _ in Shakespeare's works. Answer: the richness and variety of the language People without homes have always been present in America. In the past,they were called hobos,bums,or drifters. It was not until the early 1980s that these people received a new name,when activists named them the homeless. The types of people who were homeless also changed in the 1980s. No longer were they primarily older men. They were younger,with an average age of 35. Their numbers consisted of women,children,adolescents and entire families. They were of many races and cultures. No longer were they only in the inner city. They lived in rural areas and in large and small cities. No longer were they invisible to the people with homes and jobs. The homeless of the 1980s lived in packing crates and doorways. They slept on sidewalks and in public parks. They begged money from passersby. Counting the numbers of homeless people is difficult. However,in 1984 the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated the homeless population at between 250,000 and 350,000. In 1990 the Census Bureau counted about 459,000 people in shelters,in cheap hotels,and on the streets. In 1995 the National Alliance to End Homelessness estimated that there were 750,000 homeless Americans. The homeless of the 1980s also began to speak out for themselves. Some spoke to Congress and to government committees controlling funding for social programs. Street newspapers,such as Chicago's Streetwise and Boston's Spare Change,had stories,poems,and essays that expressed the homeless viewpoint. The visible and vocal presence of the homeless prompted help from volunteers and government agencies. But what is still needed is a solution to the _ of America's homeless population. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? Answer: Not only the disabled belong to the homeless family. Your friends' lives may look more exciting than yours on Facebook,but new research shows that is because they are faking it. A recent survey has found around twothirds of people on social media post images to their personal information to make their lives seem more adventurous.And more than three quarters of those asked said they judged their peers based on what they saw on their Instagram,Snapchat or Facebook pages. The British survey,by smartphone maker HTC,found that,in order to make our own pages and lives appear more exciting,six percent also said they had borrowed items to include in the images in order to pass them off as their own. More than half of those surveyed said they posted images of items and places purely to show off,causing _ among friends and family. Behavioural psychologist Hemmings said the trend was unsurprising due to the rise of social media."We're living in a world of instant communication."she said."Fashion and style used to live and die in magazines;now people are in search of authentic ,peertopeer recommendations as well,making social media an equal power house to magazines and newspapers." "With images being shared in an instant we desire to know what our friends are wearing,or what super stars are buying, as soon as they have got them." Such is the influence of social media sites like Instagram,76 percent of those asked also said seeing items on social media influences them to buy them,with men more likely to take style advice and buy what they see. What can we learn from Jo Hemmings? Answer: The trend reflects the development of social media.
Once there was a large ,fat woman who had a small, thin husband .He had a job in a big company and was given his weekly pay every Friday evening. As soon as he got home on Fridays ,his wife used to make him give her all his money, and then she used to give him back only enough to buy his lunch in the office every day. One day the small man came home very excited. He hurried into the living-room. His wife was listening to the radio and eating chocolates there. "You will never guess what happened to me today, dear." he said. He waited for a few seconds and then added, "I won ten thousand pounds on the lottery!" "That's wonderful!" said his wife happily. But then she thought for a few seconds and added angrily, "But wait a moment! How could you afford to buy the lottery ticket?" How much money was the husband allowed to keep every day? A Just enough to buy chocolates. B Just enough to buy a sandwich. C Just enough to buy his lunch in a restaurant. D Just enough to buy his lunch in the office. Answer: D Hank Viscardi was 26 years old when he put on his first pair of long trousers and his first pair of shoes. For the first time he saw himself as he had always wanted to be a full five feet eight inches tall. Hank had been born without legs. Until he was seven, his world was a world of repeated operations. At last he had not legs, but stumps that could be fitted with a kind of special boots. Out of the hospital, Hank often found people staring at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him "Ape Man" because his arms dragged on the ground. He went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years instead of the usual twelve. After graduation, Hank worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, Hank had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. Hank would soon have to use a wheel chair. Hank felt himself go cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs. Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror and saw himself for the first time, five feet eight inches tall. But this was not the end yet. He had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed the stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it. When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, the man without legs. When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers _ . A he did everything the other soldiers did B he did most of the things the other soldiers did C he did some of the things the other soldiers did D he took some special training Answer: A A victor is, by definition, someone who wins a struggle or contest. However, that doesn't mean he or she will live a proud and happy life ever after, as Katniss Everdeen is about to discover in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Catching Fire, out in Chinese theaters on Nov 21, is set in a futuristic society called Panem. Every year its government holds a televised fight to the death. Two teenagers from each of the 12 districts of Panem are chosen to compete. In the new film, last year's victors Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and her partner Peeta are back home after winning the 74thHunger Games. Katniss just wants to live a normal life. However, that never seems to happen. She has nightmares, which remind her that she is a killer. Her worst nightmare comes true when the annual Hunger Games arrive again. The teenager finds herself back in the competition along with Peeta. Since Katniss brings hope to Panem through her courage, President Snow plans to use this year's Games to kill off Katniss and Peeta and in turn _ the fires of rebellion. "This is the next step of Katniss' heroism and the next part of her journey to finding out who she is really going to be," Lawrence told Reuters. Fast-paced and full of action, Catching Fire looks to outdo the success that the first film had in 2012. With a 97 percent rating on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes, it is enjoying positive reviews. Critics have praised it for being faithful to the book written by American author Suzanne Collins. The Hollywood Reporter said that Catching Fire outshines the first movie a lot. Jennifer Lawrence, who won a best actress Oscar this year for her 2012 movie Silver Linings Playbook, has helped Catching Fire find success, Forbes pointed out. The 23-year-old actress does well playing a young lady who hates what she was forced to do to stay alive yet is determined not to give up. "Lawrence's down-to-earth personality in real life won the hearts of the public. So given a wildly popular first film that blew everyone away, a rising fan base and a lead performer beloved by the mainstream press and viewers, the sequel was always going to be big," Forbes noted. After reading the passage, we can infer that _ . A President Snow thinks highly of Katniss and Peeta's victory B Katniss decides to fight in the 75 thHunger Games because she loves it C Critics hold a negative attitude to the first movie of Hunger Games D The personality of the leading actress contributes to the success of Catching Fire Answer: D As they migrate, butterflies and moths choose the winds they want to fly with, and they change their body positions if they start floating in the wrong direction. This new finding suggests that insects may use some of the same methods that birds use for traveling long distances. Scientists have long thought that insects were simply at the mercy of the wind. Fascinating as their skills of flight are, migrating behavior has been difficult to study in insects because many long distant trips happen thousands of feet above ground. Only recently have scientists developed technologies that can detect such little creatures at such great heights. To their surprise, though, the insects weren't passive travelers on the winds. In autumn, for example, most light winds blew from the east, but the insects somehow sought out ones that carried them south and they positioned themselves to navigate directly to their wintering homes. Even in the spring, when most winds flowed northward, the insects didn't always go with the flow. If breezes weren't blowing in the exact direction they wanted to go, the insects changed their body positions to compensate(, ). Many migrating birds do the same thing. The study also found that butterflies and moths actively flew within the air streams that pushed them along. By adding flight speeds to wind speeds, the scientists calculated that butterflies and moths can travel as fast as 100 kilometers an hour. The findings may have real-world applications. With climate warming, migrating insects are growing in number. Knowing how and when these pests move could help farmers decide when to spray their crops. It is not easy to study the migrating behavior of the insects because _ . A the little creatures can fly very fast B their flight is long and high above ground C the wind's direction is hard to forecast D they have no regular migrating courses Answer: B WELLINGTON, September 19 (Xinhua) -- If your teenage son won't get out of bed in the morning, then take comfort from the fact that he might be sleeping his way to a healthier future, according to a new research from New Zealand. Researchers in human nutrition at the University of Otago have found that teenage boys who sleep less have more body fat when compared to girls, for whom lack of sleep has no noticeable effect on their body fat ratios. The study of 386 boys and 299 girls aged 15 to 18 found that average-sized 16-year-old boy weighing 69.5 kg and 176 cm tall, who slept for eight hours a day, had a waist size l.8 cm bigger and l.6 kg, or 9 percent, more body fat than the average-sized boy who slept 10 hours a day. "The boys who slept eight hours a day would also have l.8 kg more lean (bone and muscle) mass compared to the boys who slept 10 hours, but that's only a 1.4-percent increase, compared to the 9- percent increase seen in body fat," said lead researcher from the Department of Human Nutrition, Dr. Paula Skidmore. "Our results suggest that for older teenage boys, making sure that they get enough sleep may help to maintain a healthier body. It seems to be that, within reason, the more sleep the better for boys," Skidmore said in a statement Thursday. "It was unexpected that we did not find the same result in girls, who may actually be more aware of their diet and more in tune with a healthier lifestyle." The researchers ruled out the effects of food choice and number of screens, such as televisions, games and consoles, which the teenagers had in their bedrooms. What's the research really about? A Boys and girls. B Food and weight. C Sleep and health. D Screens and fat. Answer: C
Catch yourself daydreaming while washing the dishes again? If this happens often you probably have a pretty capable working memory and a sharper brain, new research suggests. This mind wandering, it seems, actually gives your working memory a workout. Working memory is the mental work space that allows the brain to _ multiple thoughts at the same time. The more working memory a person has, the more daydreaming they can do without forgetting the task at hand. Researchers studied groups of people from the University of Wisconsin-Madison community, ranging in age from 18 to 65. The volunteers were asked to perform simple tasks, like pressing a button every time they took a breath or clicking in response to a letter popping up on a computer screen; these tasks were so easy that their minds were likely to wander, the researchers figured. The researchers checked in periodically, asking the participants if their minds were on task or wandering. When the task was over, they measured each participant's working memory capacity by having them remember letters while doing math questions. Though all participants performed well on the task, the researchers noticed that the individuals who indicated their minds had wandered more than others also scored higher on the working memory test. "What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren't very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources allocate them to think about things other than what they're doing," said Jonathan Smallwood, a study researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitve and Brain Science. When our minds run out of working memory, these off-topic thoughts can take the main stage without us consciously meaning them to; for instance, arriving at home with no memory of the actual trip, or suddenly realizing that they've turned several pages in a book without understanding any of the words. "It's almost like your attention was so absorbed in the mind wandering that there wasn't any left over to remember your goal to read," study researcher Daniel Levinson, said in a statement. People with overall higher working memory were better able to stay focused when the task at hand required it. Those who had low working memory often had their thoughts drift away from the task, and did less well at it. The findings add to past research suggesting these mind drifts can be positive moments. For instance, daydreaming has often been associated with creativity--researchers think that our most creative and inventive moments come when daydreaming. It's likely that the most intelligent among us also have high levels of working memory, Levinson noted. What can be concluded from Jonathan Smallwood's words? A. People who often have daydreams probably own a pretty capable working memory. B. On the working memory test, people with wandering minds will get high score. C. Absorbed in the mind wandering, your attention left no space for your goal. D. Dealing with some easy jobs, people with higher working memory will daydream. Answer: D. Dealing with some easy jobs, people with higher working memory will daydream. As a sled runs off the snow and on to the asphalt it's runners start A. fly off B. turn sideways C. to heat up D. cooling down Answer: C. to heat up When people are dirty, they take a bath or a shower. Animals don't have soap , but they do keep themselves clean. Many animals with hair, such as dogs and cats, keep themselves clean by licking their hair. They also use their teeth to pull out small dirty things from their hair. When they lick their hair, it is almost as if they are using a wet brush to clean themselves. Birds take baths to stay clean. First they walk through water that is not deep. Next they beat their wings to dry themselves. Birds also take sand baths on the ground. It is thought that they do this to drive away parasites . Even fish need cleaning. Fish have very little parasites that live in their mouths. Some fish live by eating these parasites off other fish. Such fish are called "cleaner fish". Larger fish will open their mouths so that the cleaner fish can get in to clean. Some animals that live in groups clean each other, such as monkeys. They often clean one another. One monkey may clean an area that the other monkey can't reach. How interesting it is! You may probably read this passage in a _ . A. weather report B. school report C. science book D. history book Answer: C. science book There are 5 channels on British television and each channel has several news programs all day long. Some programs are only for 3 minutes but some are one hour long. The people who read the news are called news presenters and because they appear on television every day, they are very famous. This is a popular news presenter in England called Trevor McDonald, in the news studio. He presents a program called "News at Ten"every Monday to Friday evenings. Another popular news presenter is Kirsty Young. She has a more modern style of reading the news, as you can see, she sits on the desk not on a chair! Television news presenters need to have worked as journalists because they have to write most of the news that they read. Sometimes an important new event happens after the program has started, so the presenter has to be able to read something without looking at it first. They must always keep calm even when there are many changes during the program. At the end of "News at Ten"Trevor McDonald says "And finally...". Then he reads an unusual or interesting item. It's a famous saying in England now. Who sits on the desk to read the news? A. Kirsty Young. B. Trevor McDonald. C. All the news presenters. D. Some journalists Answer: A. Kirsty Young. By the time we finished, herring covered the bottom of the boat as deep as my calves . For the first time in days, my father seemed happy as a herring choker . Then he looked at the western sky, and his smile faded. The storms were sweeping out of Canada hard and fast. No one could predict their arrival. All fishermen feared them. "We're going back," my father said. He pulled the cord and started the motor. We were only two miles out, but the shoreline looked to me as far away as the moon. Over the distant hills, black clouds ran toward us like wild horses. We made it only halfway home before we met the storm. The wind came first. It lifted the lake in whitecaps. The weight of the herring made us ride low in the water, and the waves broke over our bow. My father struggled to hold us on course. I'd put on my raincoat, but I had no life jacket. Then the rain fell so hard we couldn't see the land. The boat was filling with water. I was scared, but I saw my father sitting straight, holding the boat steady into the wind, and I felt hopeful. He didn't look hurt at all. I was starting to think we were going to make it. That's when the motor died. My father pulled the cord hard, but the motor wouldn't catch. We would go down in no time. "Grab an oar ," he cried above the wind. He always carried two oars for just such a moment. We began to pull hard. My father grunted, from pain or effort I couldn't tell. He dug his oar into the violent lake and bowed into the wind again. With all my strength, I pulled on my own oar. _ I was tired. My arms felt heavy and on fire. I didn't know how much longer I could push that oar through the water. As if he heard my thinking, my father called to me, "I need you, Karl. Only a little longer." So I kept rowing. Just when I thought I had no more strength, I heard it. The sound of waves breaking against the shore. We moved into the shelter of our small cove and rode the swells toward the landing. My mother rushed through the rain to greet us. "I've been so worried," she said. She hugged me and then my father. "Nothing to worry about," he assured her. He put his hand on my shoulder. "You did well, son. How do you feel?" Tired as I was, I managed a smile. "I feel like a herring choker." We can learn from the passage the author felt _ after arriving home safe. A. he were a real man B. he needed his father's praise C. he shouldn't have gone out to the lake D. he would be a herring choker when he grew up Answer: A. he were a real man
When Bill is very young, he loves picture. His mother often draws some for him on old pieces of paper. She is very bad at drawing, but bill likes her pictures and always wants more. Then, when he is a little older, Bill's mother gives him some pencils and a drawing book, and he begins drawing pictures, too. But they are never good .When Bill is five years old, his mother gives him a small blackboard and some pieces of a baby on the blackboard, he draws lines and rubs them out too for ten minutes , but when he looks at his picture , he is not happy. "Well", he says at last to his mother, "I'll put a tail on it and make it a monkey." Bill _ when he is very young. often wants his mother to draw pictures for him Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of the most loved children's books of all time, and many adults enjoy it as well. It tells the story of a young girl named Alice, who follows a rabbit entering a magical world called Wonderland: she has many experiences which seem to change the rules of reasoning or common sense. The popularity of the book comes from its imagination, interesting story, and art work. The writer of the book is Lewis Carroll. In fact, Lewis Carroll was not the writer's real name. His real name was Charles Dodgson. One day, he took a boat ride down the Thames River to have a picnic with three little girls who were friends of the family. To keep them entertained on the ride, he told them a story in which Alice, the middle child, was the main character. They enjoyed the story very much. Charles later wrote the story down under the name Alice's Adventures under Ground and gave it to Alice as a Christmas present. Later, he gave a copy to his friend George MacDonald. George read it to his children and they loved it. George suggested to Charles that he make a book from his story. Charles then wrote more parts to the story until it was around 35,000 words. It was first printed in 1866, with art work by John Tenniel, under the name Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The book was an immediate success. One of its first fans was Queen Victoria. She immediately requested a collection of all of Lewis Carroll's works. She was surprised to find that they included many works on math. In fact, Charles Dodgson was a highly respected mathematician. This can be seen in many puzzles and plays on reasoning that appear in his books and poems. Since the story was first printed, it has kept selling up to the present day. It has been translated into over fifty languages and has had several movies based on it. The story is even mentioned in the popular 1999 film The Matrix by the character Morpheus. The passage is mainly about _ . the birth of a book and its lasting influences Dear Mom, I'm sorry that I can't go back home for Mother's Day next week. On that day, I'll have to go to an important meeting for my boss, who helps me a lot with my work and life here. But I'll find time to see you at home soon. Mom, thank you for everything you've done for Tim and me. After Dad died of a heart attack at home ten years ago in a road accident, you had to work in a supermarket in the daytime and in a restaurant at night. But you always gave us two your love and care. Though you don't have to work now, I still remember your coming home and feeling tired many evenings. Tim is going to finish his studies next month. He said he would move back from school and look for a job near home. I'm glad you won't live by yourself any more. Let's plan to take a trip in the near future. It's been years since the three of us took a trip together. Happy Mother's Day. I love you, Mom. Best wishes, David What can we learn about David's mother? She still works day and night. The Story of a Broken Bowl Henry is a boy of nine. Three years ago he began to go to school. He studied hard and does well in his lessons. His parents like him very much. Henry's grandpa is a single man. But once he lost a leg in a traffic accident. And now he can't work. He often tells the boy all kinds of interesting stories. Sometimes he makes a kite or a cage. And he teaches the boy how to catch the singing birds and how to give them food. The boy admires him very much and always stays with him when he's free. But Henry's mother didn't like the old man. She always thought him useless and dirty, and didn't let her son play with him but the boy didn't listen to her. When they sat at table, she put some food on another table and filled a broken bowl with rice and porridge. The old man was very sad but he dared not say anything. Henry was angry with his mother about it. One day he saw a broken bowl on his way home. He picked it up and put it into his bag. His mother found it and asked, " Why have you brought a broken bowl home, dear?" " I keep it for you." said Henry, "When you're old like my grandpa, I'll fill it with rice for you !" Having heard this, the woman began to cry. Since then she's been good to the old man. His parents like Henry because _ . He does well in his lessons To take the apple as a forbidden fruit is the most unlikely story the Christians ever cooked up. For them, the forbidden fruit from Eden is evil . So when Columbus brought the tomato back from South America, a land mistakenly considered to be Eden, everyone jumped to be the obvious conclusion. Wrongly taken as the apple of Eden, the tomato was shut out of the door of Europeans. What made it particularly terrifying was its similarity to the mandrake, a plant that was thought to have come from Hell .What earned the plant its awful reputation was its roots which looked like a dried-up human body occupied by evil spirits. Tough the tomato and the mandrake were quite different except that both had bright red or yellow fruit, the general population considered them one and the same, too terrible to touch. Cautious Europeans long ignored the tomato, and until the early 1700s _ . In the 1880s, the daughter of a well-known plant expert wrote that the most interesting part of an afternoon tea at her father's house had been the "introduction of this wonderful new fruit--or is it a vegetable?" As late as the twentieth century some writers still classed tomatoes with mandrakes as an "evil fruit". But in the end tomatoes carried the day. The hero of the tomato was an American named Robert Johnson, and when he was publicly going to eat the tomato in 1820, people journeyed for hundreds of miles to watch him drop dead. "What are you afraid of?" he shouted. "I'll show you fools that these things are good to eat!" Then he bit into the tomato. Some people fainted. But he survived and, according to a local story, set up a tomato-canning factory. The tomato was shut out of the door of early Europeans mainly because _ . it was religiously unacceptable
Barack Obama, a black man, is the president of the United States now. He was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii and has lived in many places. His mother was from Kansas and his father was from Kenya. Obama went to Columbia University in New York and got a law degree at Harvard University in Massachusetts. His wife is Michelle Obama. She also worked as a lawyer and later worked for the University of Chicago. They have two young daughters. Obama wrote a bookDreams from My Father. "I always live in the dream of my father and American people, " Obama once said. He was born in a poor family. And he was taken good care of by his grandparents when he was young. He also lived and worked in Africa. Then he got good education in Harvard University. On November 4th, 2008, he became the president of America for the first time. Where was Barack Obama born? Answer: There is no better way to enjoy Scottish traditions than going fishing and tasting a little bit of whisky at a quiet place like the Inverlochy Castle. When Queen Victoria visited the castle in 1873, she wrote in her diary, "I never saw a lovelier spot ," And she didn't even go fishing. Scotland is not easily defined. In certain moments, this quiet land of lakes and grasses and mountains changes before your very eyes. When evening gently sweeps the hillside into orange light, the rivers, teeming with fish, can turn into streams of gold . As you settle down with just a fishing pole and a basket on the bank of River Orchy, near the Inverlochy Castle , any frustration will float away as gently as the circling water. It's just you and purple, pink, white flowers, seeking a perfect harmony. If you are a new comer to fishing, learning the basics from a fishing guide may leave you with a lifetime's fun. For many, fishing is more than a sport; it is an art. Scotland offers interesting place where you can rest after a long day's fishing. Set against a wild mountain and hidden behind woodland, the beautiful Inverlochy Castle Hotel below the Nevis is a perfect place to see the beauty of Scotland's mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest of all British mountains, and reaching its 1343-metre top is a challenge. But it's not just what goes up matters; what comes down is unique. More than 900 metres high, on the mountain's north face, lies an all-important source of pure water. Its name comes from the Gaelic language "usquebaugh" or "water of life"; and it is the single most important ingredient in Scotland's best known drink: whisky. What is the main purpose of the passage? Answer: A lipid bilayer allows certain molecules to pass through and blocks other molecules. Which structure is most often protected by a lipid bilayer? Answer: My grandfather was a teacher.He was the headmaster of a school for boys between the ages of thirteen and eighteen.I know that he was a kind and gentle man at heart,because when I was young (and he was old),he gave me presents and seated me on his knees,and told me stories.But I believe the boys at his school were afraid of him. At school,when he walked into a classroom full of noisy boys,those boys went red in the faces,and looked down at their shoes.If a boy brought his poor,careless work,which was not the best that boy could do,my grandfather picked up the boy's work and threw it across the room,shouting,"Do it all again,and bring it back early tomorrow morning!" If the boy was late,or if he forgot to bring the work,he had to do it again.My grandfather never forgot. He was a very different man at school,from the man I saw day by day in his own home. My grandfather didn't like to receive _ . Answer: My son ,Izzy, was a nine-year-old boy and had been begging me to please let him find his way home by subway, by himself. After all, we live in New York City, and getting around by public transportation is a basic part of life. It is also the first step toward feeling grown-up. So on that sunny Sunday,I gave him a subway map, a transportation card,$20 for emergencies, and a couple of coins so that he could call me if necessary. I didn't give him a cell phone because nine-year-olds lose things. A few days later, I wrote about his adventure,or non-adventure for a newspaper. Little did I realize the idea that a kid could tour the city on his own, and that a mom would let him, was big news. It turned out that many TV shows called me and asked for an interview. Bloggers were going crazy, so I started a blog, too, and letters came pouring in. Finally I found out why this was such a big story: we have become fearful for our children. Fear is hardly a new thing for parents, of course. But the fear of letting our children out of sight for even a second-that's new. How did this happen? How did it become too scary to let kids be kids? I asked the question when the reporter Trevor Butterworth interviewed me. "News reports," he answered. "News reports scare the pants off you. What is scarier than a kidnapped kid no matter how far away?Because there are so many such stories, it starts to feel as if kidnappings are happening all the time. That's why the kid-on-the-subway story surprises the whole world." Izzy probably did a good job. He simply proved that kids could leave home alone and return home safely! But he didn't think it was a big deal. "It was fun," he said. "But I missed some classes because of the interviews." Sometimes it really pays to be brave. The author gave her son all the following when he traveled alone EXCEPT _ . Answer:
Question: Today, I will tell you a story about AbdulRahman, a friend of mine, who was the victim of the big name DHL. I am sure that 90% of you have at least heard of it. It is known for being the best company when it comes to shipping. It is thought to be fast ,reliable and safe. AbdulRahman's brother bought him a mobile phone while he was in the United Kingdom. He wanted to send it to him here in Kuwait . AbdulRahman specifically asked him to send it through DHL. He trusted the company that much, as most people do. But in the end, even though the company told him that it would take up to 5 days for the phone to arrive at AbdulRahman's door, he never received it. And after two weeks of him calling them and hearing the same response "We will investigate the matter, and let you know of our decision by next week. We might pay you back up to 50% of the item's cost." So they are not paying him the full price of the thing they have lost, or as we think, they have stolen. We have reason to think that way, because according to the records, the mobile phone went "missing" while it was in a "sorting facility" of the company. Last Tuesday, they stopped telling him "We are investigating the matter" and officially said, "We ended the investigation. Your shipment is missing." We are still waiting to hear their "decision" about whether they will try to make it up to him, by "maybe" paying him up to 50% , and nothing more. The passage was mainly written to _ . A. introduce a famous shipping company B. give advice on sending things abroad. C. show the importance of shipping companies D. complain about the service of a shipping company Answer: D Question: What is a library for? Most libraries have books and other things to read. Many of them have things to listen to. Some libraries even have computers. Very few people would think of a library as a place to live in. One library in New York City turned into a home for 250 people for a few days. These were all people near the library. They slept on the floor. Why did the people move into the library? The people moved into the library because the city wanted to close it to save money. These 250 New Yorkers loved their library. They didn't want to lose it. So they moved in. They knew that the library couldn't be closed if they were living inside it. At last the city agreed to keep the library open, and the people all went home. Where did the story happen? _ . A. In New York City. B. In a school in New York City. C. In the streets in New York City. D. In most libraries in New York City. Answer: A Question: A study suggests that although most students at UK universities are happy with their courses, dissatisfaction has grown as fees rise.The study highlights a big variation in teaching time, and lists different ideas about the value of getting university degrees. Katharine Collins, a second-year college student The course has been very interesting, but I was expecting a little more one-to-one time with my teacher. We do about four assignments each term, each of which is about 3,000 words.However, sometimes they are not that helpful.We hope to be given the right to write feedback after every assignment, but we had no feedback at all throughout the first year.We are given grades about three weeks after we hand the assignments in.There is no feedback on where we have gone wrong or how we might improve. Lee Millington, a creative-writing student I choose the courses because of its reputation.There is a lack of one-to-one teaching.I would like personalized feedback from an expert in my field of writing.Some of the lectures have been quite helpful but they try to use too many different styles of writing.For example, if you want to be a poet, you might find that the lectures focus too much on novels. I think there is too much attention paid to sharing our work in workshops and giving each other feedback.I think there should be more time given to actual teaching, rather than to feedback from people who are at a similar level to me. Reporters from Hounsdown Secondary School, Ella, 16 When I work independently, I feel I have more freedom to develop my ideas and come up with more original viewpoints.The price of university will still be worth it to get the qualifications necessary for better jobs. Tyier, 16 Although the cost of university is very high now, I think university is required for gaining a good and well-paid job. Agencies Who will most tend to be a professional novelist among the students mentioned in the passage? A. Ella. B. Tyler. C. Lee. D. Katharine. Answer: C Question: Lots of people have hobbies. Some people collect old coins or foreign stamps; some do needlework; others spend most of their spare time on a particular sport. A lot of people enjoy reading. But reading tastes differ widely. Some people only read newspapers or comics, some like reading novels, while others prefer books on astronomy, wildlife, or technological discoveries. If I happen to be interested in horses or precious stones, I cannot expect everyone else to share my enthusiasm. If I watch all the sports programs on TV with great pleasure, I must put up with the fact that other people find sports boring. Is there nothing that interests us all? Is there nothing that concerns everyone--no matter who they are or where they live in the world? Yes, dear Sophie, there are questions that certainly should interest everyone. They are precisely the questions this course is about. What is the most important thing in life? If we ask someone living on the edge of starvation, the answer is food. If we ask someone dying of cold, the answer is warmth. If we put the same question to someone who feels lonely and isolated, the answer will probably be the company of other people. But when these basic needs have been satisfied--will there still be something that everybody needs? Philosophers think so. They believe that man cannot live by bread alone. Of course everyone needs food. And everyone needs love and care. But there is something else--apart from that--which everyone needs, and that is to figure out who we are and why we are here. Being interested in why we are here is not a "casual" interest like collecting stamps. People who ask such questions are taking part in a debate that has gone on as long as man has lived on this planet. How the universe, the earth, and life came into being is a bigger and more important question than who won the most gold medals in the last Olympics. The author believes that _ . A. no existing subject can interest everyone in the world B. different people may have different interests and concerns C. everyone has to figure out who we are and why we are here D. people in modern society pay more attention to philosophical questions Answer: C Question: The future of agriculture must achieve several goals at the same time. First, it now appears that we will have to double world food production in the next 40 years due to population growth, increasing meat consumption and pressure from biofuels . We will also have to reduce the environmental impacts from our farming practices, which have caused widespread damage to soils, ecosystems, waters and even the atmosphere. In fact, agriculture's impacts are as bad as climate change as an environmental concern. Besides, we will have to improve food security for the world's poor. While the Green Revolution of the 1960s made it possible to feed hundreds of millions more people than in earlier eras, the number of the under-nourished in the world has started to rise again. Finally, we will have to increase the recovering ability of agriculture from shocks. Today, our high-efficiency, globalized world has many benefits, but it is vulnerable to destruction, whether from droughts, diseases or sudden price rises. We must start building better food systems to better keep us away from future shocks. Currently, there are two models of agriculture: local and organic agriculture vs. globalized and industrialized agriculture. Each has been strongly supported and severely criticized, but neither of these models, standing alone, can fully meet our needs. Organic agriculture teaches us important lessons about soils, nutrition and pest management. Unfortunately, organic food provides less than 1% of the world's calories, mostly to the wealthy. It is hard to imagine organic farming developing to feed 9 billion. Globalized and industrialized agriculture has benefits of high output and low labor demands. Without it, billions of people would have starved. However, it has come with enormous environmental and social costs, which cannot be sustained. Rather than voting for just one solution, we need a third way to solve the crisis. Let's take ideas from both sides, creating new, hybrid solutions that increase production, save resources and build a more sustainable agriculture. There are many promising avenues to pursue. A new "third way" for agriculture is not only possible but also necessary. Our problems are huge, and they will require everyone at the table, working together toward solutions. We can learn from the passage that _ . A. everyone can afford to enjoy organic food at will B. we will vote to decide which farming system to take C. the writer is quite optimistic about future agriculture D. only experts can find a better agricultural solution Answer: C
Question: Do you know how to be a healthy kid? Here are some rules you should follow. First, eat different food, especially fruits and vegetables. You may have a favorite food, but you'd better eat something different. If you eat diff You can't watch TV for more than two hours a day errant food, you will probably get more nutrients your body needs. Second, drink water and milk as often as possible. When you are really thirsty, cold water is the No. 1 choice. Milk is a great drink that can give you more calcium your body needs to grow strong bones. Third, listen to your body. How do you feel when you are ill? When you're eating, notice how your body feels and when your stomach feels comfortably full. Eating too much will not make you feel comfortable and make you feel fat. Fourth, limit screen time. Screen time is the time you watch TV, DVDs and videos, or using computers. It is good to take more exercise such as basketball, bike riding and swimming. You can't watch TV for more than two hours a day. Fifth, be active. One thing you'd like to do, as a kid, is to find out which activity you like best. Find ways to be active every day. You shouldn't watch TV for _ a day. A. more than two hours B. less than two hours C. more than three hours D. four hours Answer: A Question: Many people take it for granted that black is a color of bad things while white should always mean something good. This may be because, in their opinion, black is related to darkness and white to purity. However, that is not always the case. Did you know that the same one color may mean something differently in different places of the world? In the English-speaking world, black is the color of mourning--people wear black at the funeral. Red is concerned with danger or bloodshed . Yellow is the word for fear. If you are afraid, you are yellow. Yet none of these sayings is true outside the English-speaking world. In China and Korea white is the color of mourning. In Russia, China and some other countries, red stands for beauty, life and excellence. In Italy and Germany, you are yellow with anger, not with fear. Even within the English-speaking area, it is not difficult to find color contradictions .A redcap in the United States is a porter in a railway station. In Britain, however, a redcap is a military policeman. Both names are logical, because both men wear red caps. Similarly, the British term for an American white-collar worker is sometimes called a black-coated worker. One does not have to cross an area to find color differences. Would you rather be red-blooded or a blue-blooded? If we go back to the origin, we find that both terms are logical as both names suggest. The expression "blueblood" comes from Spain, where some noble families proudly told the world that they had "blue blood". Actually they meant that they had no Moorish or Jewish blood. But then why "blue" blood? Because they were fair-skinned, and it is only natural that their blood vessels stood out appearing blue. The best title for this reading selection is _ . A. The Origin of Blue Blood B. Colors that Carry Bad Meanings C. The Meaning Concerned with Certain Colors D. The Development of the Symbolic Use of Colors Answer: C Question: In 1809, Mary Kies received the first U.S. patent issued to a woman. Kies , a Connecticut native , invented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. First Lady Dolley Madison praised her for improving the nation's het industry. Unfortunately , the patent file was destroyed in a big fire in 1836. Until about 1840, only 20 U.S. patents were issued to women. The inventions were related to clothes, tools ,cook stoves and fireplaces. Patent is the "ownership" of an invention and only the inventor(s) can apply for it. In the past , women were not allowed to have equal rights of property ownership and many women patented their inventions under their husbands' or fathers' name. Women were also prevented from receiving higher education necessary for inventing. Here are a few examples to be noticed, and from these examples, we know enough reasons for encouraging girls and women to pursue technology-based courses and careers. The women inventors took annually granted U.S. patents rising fro;m 2.6 percent in 1977 to 10.3 percent in 1998. The majority of the U.S. woman-inventor patents are in the chemical technologies. In 1996, every eleven U.S. patent grant included one woman inventor. In the past 20 years, about 83 percent of the U. S. patent grants to women were for utility patents , 16.5 percent for design patents, and 0.5 percent for plant patents. About 35 percent of the U.S woman-inventor patents granted during the 1977 to 1996 period originated form California , New York or New Jersey. Today, hundreds of thousands of women apply for and receive patents every year. About 20% of all inventors are currently female and that number will quickly rise to 50% over the next generation. In the past 20 years, _ in the U. S. A. about 80% of the patent grants were for utility patents. B. over 50% of the woman-inventor patent share was for utility patents. C. only few patent grants to women were for design patents. D. no grants to women were for plant patents. Answer: B Question: Phones make our lives easier. Usually they are a convenient type of technology to have around because they can help us communicate with all types of people for any reason whatsoever. As long as somebody else has a phone, you can contact them. This means you can keep in touch with friends and family, contact businesses, and generally communicate with people no matter where they are. Sometimes, however, phones can cause problems or be an annoyance. One phenomenon that is dreaded in the United States is telemarketing. Telemarketers call your phone in order to try and convince you to buy their products. They often start the conversation with a friendly voice or tone to try and convince you they can be trusted. Once most people realize they are talking to a telemarketer, they will end the conversation as quickly as possible. Some will be polite and make up an excuse to end the conversation. Others are less tactful and criticize the telemarketer, yell at them, or simply hang up the phone. Although most people don't buy things from telemarketers, a few people do, so telemarketers keep on calling. If you have a phone in America you most likely have received a call from a telemarketer. To avoid telemarketers some people buy new technology. "Caller ID" allows you to see the number that is calling your phone before you answer. If you do not recognize the name and number of a caller you can simply ignore the call. Unfortunately there usually is no way to tell if an unknown number is somebody important, but unknown, or a telemarketer. Even though technology can help some people eschew annoying telemarketers, they can't be avoided altogether. Why doesn't technology solve the annoying phenomenon of telemarketers? A. Caller ID only shows the name and number of friends and family. B. Technology only works when somebody important is calling. C. If you use caller ID then you can't receive phone calls from important people. D. Some unknown numbers might be telemarketers, but they also might be somebody important. Answer: D Question: In 1988, Mary Anderson was at the Miami airport checking in for a flight to Norway to be with her husband when she was told she wouldn't be able to check her luggage without paying a $100 surcharge . Mary had no money as her new husband had left for Norway and she had no one else to call . " I was completely desperate and tried to think which of my things I could manage without ," says Mary . As tears ran down her face , a voice behind her said , "That's okay, I'll pay for her ." Rather surprised , Mary turned around to see a tall man whom she had never seen before . He had a gentle and kind voice that was firm and decisive . Although this happened twenty years ago , Mary still remembers the authority that radiated from the man . Mary was pleased to bring her luggage to Norway and told the stranger she would give his money back . The man wrote his name and address on a piece of paper and gave it to Mary . She thanked him repeatedly . When she finally walked off towards the boarding gate, he waved goodbye to her . That man turned out to be Barack Obama . Mary paid the money back to Obama the day she joined her husband . At that time he had just finished his job as a poorly paid community worker in Chicago , and had started his law studies at Harward University . In the spring of 2006 , Mary's parents heard Obama was considering a run for President . They wrote a letter saying that they would support him. At the same time , they thanked Obama for helping their daughter 18 years earlier . And Obama replied , " I want to thank you for the lovely things you wrote about me and for reminding me of what happened at Miami airport . I'm happy I could help her then , and I'm delighted to hear that your daughter is happy in Norway . Please send her my best wishes . Sincerely , Barack Obama, United States Senator ." How did Mary feel when someone offered to help her ? A. Amazed B. Puzzled C. Delighted D. Annoyed Answer: A
For most kids, homework is just part of their daily lives, but have you ever imagined that one day you won't need to do any homework at all? Such a thing has just happened in a school in the UK. Nottingham East Academy, a school in the UK, has established a non-homework policy recently. The school plans to give an extra lesson and provide more activities for students to do at school. So the students no longer need to do homework after class. When the school announced this policy , students , parents and teachers were all shocked. The school , Nottingham East Academy , is the country's largest school. It has a total of 3,570 students. Barry Day, the president of the school, thinks that homework is unnecessary and can easily cause argument both at home and at school. He once told the local newspaper ," People give homework for children to do simply because they think it should be given. Actually, homework doesn't help with education at all." Letting kids leave their homework at school is becoming popular in the UK. Several other schools are welcoming the policy and are taking similar measures .Tiffin Boy's school has started giving students less homework. Students now spend less time on homework. The time has dropped from two or three hours to just forty minutes a night. Nottingham East Academy is asking students to read for pleasure with their parents at home instead. Barry Day thinks homework unnecessary because _ . Answer: For kids and many adults, a San Diego vacation means theme parks and other attractions. Before heading to a park, call or check its website for updated hours of operation; many parks have seasonal or holiday hours. Ticket prices listed here are for general admission, single-day use only. Sea World San Diego A 6-minute ride called Journey to Atlantis, which is to open in late May, tells the legend of the island nation. After the ride of Greek fishing boats, folks can visit a new exhibit of dolphins, which have not been on display at the park since 1998. DETAILS: General admission is $46.95 for adults, $37.95 for children aged 3-9, free for children 2 and younger. 1-800-380-3230 or www.seaworld. San Diego Zoo There's not much in the way of new attractions. The zoo has a baby panda, Mei Sheng. Nighttime Zoo, a program popular with families, starts June 26. DETAILS: General admission is $21 for adults, $14 for children aged 3-11, free for children 2 and younger. 1-(619)-234-3153 or www.sandiegozoo,org. Maritime Museum of San Diego The HMS Surprise, the 18th-century British warship featured in the film Master and Commander, is on exhibit through Nov. 30. DETAILS: The ship is in use for tours from 9 am to 8 pm daily. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and children aged 13-17, $5 for kids aged 6-12, and free for kids 5 and younger. 1-(619)-234-9153 or www.sdmaritime.org. Old Town Trolley Tours Visiting relatives or friends in San Diego? They can get a hometown pass and ride for free with your paid admission. DETAILS: The main ticket booth is in Old Town at 4010 Twiggs. Hours are from 9 am to 5 pm, daily $25. www.historictours/sandiego. If you want to enjoy the performance of dolphins, you should go to _ . Answer: Online Money Earning Yes, you can earn money online without any investment or without anytime limit. There is no need to stop any other work. Here I tell you the complete method for online earning. The Method You can earn money through "Bux.to" by clicking on ads on "Bux. to" site. First you need to open an account at "Bux. to". "Bux. to" is a new international and FREE English based service that allows advertisers to reach thousands of potential customers by displaying their ads on our "Surf Ads" page. An exact calculated percentage of all advertising income is paid to our members. "Bux. to" makes money through advertising. How you make money You view websites in 30 seconds through the "Surf Ads" page. Once the 30 seconds is up, you'll either get a green tick sign or a red "x". The green tick sign means you've earned $0.01and the "x" means you have not earned money for the visit. You'll get red x's when you have more than one website from the "Surf Ads" page open. When this happens, you get no credit. Earnings example You click 10 ads per day =$0.10 20 referrals click 10 ads per day =$2.00 Your daily earnings =$2.10 Your weekly earnings =$14.70 How to get paid At present, it only makes payments through "AlertPay". AlertPay is the payment processing solution that we use to pay members. Your AlertPay address is the e-mail address you use to register with AlertPay. You can get a free AlertPay account at http:// alertpay. com. What is the author's purpose of writing this passage? Answer: What exactly is a lie? Is it anything we say which we know is untrue? Or is it something more than that? For example, suppose a friend wants to borrow some money from you. You say, "I wish I could help you but I'm short of money myself." In fact you are not short of money but your friend is in the habit of not paying his debts and you don't want to hurt his feelings by reminding him of this. Is this really a lie? Professor Gerald Gullion of theprefix = st1 /UniversityofSouthern Californiahas made a scientific study of lying. According to him, women are better liars than men, particularly when telling a "white lie", such as a woman at a party telling another woman that she likes her dress when she really thinks it looks awful. However, this is only one side of the story. Other researchers say that men are more likely to tell more serious lies, such as making a promise which they have no intention of fulfilling. This is the kind of lie politicians and businessmen are supposed to be particularly skilled at: the lie from which the liars hopes to profit or gain in some way. Research has also been done into the changes of people's behavior in a number of small, clearly unimportant ways when they lie. It has been found that if they are sitting down at the time, they tend to move about in their chairs more than usual. To the trained observer they are saying "I wish I were somewhere else now". They also tend to touch certain parts of the face more often, in particular the nose. One explanation of this may be that lying causes a slight increase in blood pressure. The nose is very sensitive to such changes and the increased pressure makes it itch . Another gesture which gives away is what the writer Desmond Morris in his bookMan Watchingcalls "the mouth cover". He says there are several typical forms of this, such as covering part of the mouth with fingers, touching the upper-lip or putting a finger of the hand at one side of the mouth. Such a gesture can be understood, as an unconscious attempt on the part of the liar to stop himself or herself from lying. Of course, such gestures as rubbing the nose or covering the mouth, or moving about in a chair cannot be taken as proof that the speaker is lying. They simply tend to occur more frequently in this situation. It is not one gesture alone that gives the liar away but a whole number of things, and in particular the context in which the lie is told. One reason people sometimes rub their noses when they lie is that _ Answer: It is normal for parents to question their children's hairstyle or the clothes they wear. But today teenagers and their parents argue over something else: money. Children are spending lots of it. Parents used to say to their children, "You're wearing that?" Now they say, "You paid how much for that?" Children in the US today spend five times more money than their parents did when they were young. So what are all these children buying? The list is long: ipods trainers , cellphones and jeans are typical items that children "have to" buy. And they will do anything to get them. They ask their parents over and over until they buy them. But parents also need to take the blame for spending so much money. They want their children to have the best stuff. They end up competing with other parents over what their children have. So no wonder children find it hard to learn the importance of saving money rather than spending it all the time. And it's hard to save when companies use advertising and clever slogans to encourage young people to buy their products. They even encourage children to keep asking their parents for something until they get it. Today, you don't even need to have money in order to buy something. Banks give out credit cards and loans all the time so people are saving less and less. We are used to there being lots of money around. And if you don't have much you can always borrow some. But this hasn't always been the case. When our grandparents were young there was very little money and everyone had to save hard for things they bought. They only bought things they needed, not things they just wanted. The older generation made the wise expression, "Money doesn't grow on trees." This is as true now as it was 50 years ago. They give money a great deal of value. And we all have a lot to learn from them. Nowadays people find it hard to save money because of all of the following reasons EXCEPT that _ . Answer:
The best thing about going to school is learning how to read. Books are great friends. They can help you to learn about anything you want to know. They can go anywhere with you. You can read about animals, faraway places, people, and anything else. Books are written by people called authors . Authors think of things they want to write about. They make a plan for a book and start to write .Some authors write books that give us information and teach us things. Authors are very important people because they help us learn. Find a good book to read and read every day ,You will enjoy your time with a good book. What can you read about in books? All of the above Beijing, July 25 (Xinhua) --- Two people found dead on a rain-flooded road in Beijing Sunday night are doubted to have been killed by lightning, as the heaviest rainstorm in 13 years hit the city from Sunday through Monday morning and is expected to last into Monday evening. The victims, a man and a woman were found dead on a road outside a plant in Nancai Industrial Park in Shunyi District at 9 p.m. Sunday. The northern district of Miyun recorded rainfall of 243 mm in 22 hours before 6 a.m. Monday, said Wei Jianmin, chief forecaster of the Beijing Observatory . He said the rain is important to fill up Beijing's important water source of the Miyun Reservoir , which has received 17 million cubic meters of water during the rain so far. Although the rain had little effect on traffic Monday, it caused a disorder in the city's busy air traffic. According to Beijing Capital International Airport's website, 329 flights were called off due to the rainstorm. Meanwhile, traffic on a rail link between Beijing and Chengde City in neighboring Hebei province was put off after several sections of the track were flooded in rainwater Sunday night. Workers are still rushing to clear the railway. The city acted Sunday evening to take measures against rainstorm-caused disasters. More than 6,000 people living in the hilly regions of Miyun and Pinggu districts in Beijing's outskirts were brought to safe grounds Sunday evening before floods threatened more than 10 villages and caused four landslides there. The China National Meteorological Center on Monday morning continued a rainstorm warning, forecasting rains to hit Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Liaoning and Hebei provinces in the north, as well as eastern Shandong and Jiangsu provinces in the next 24 hours. According to Wei Jianmin, _ . there was a rainfall of 243 mm in 22 hours before 6 a.m. in northern district of Miyun Choose the best answer (,) I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment , and sat down in my seat.Just before take-off,a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the empty seats. After flying for about an hour,an announcement was made that sack lunch were available for $5.As I reached for my wallet to buy one,I overheard the soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch."No ,that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch.I'll wait till we get to Chicago."His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers.None were buying lunch.I walked to the back of the plane,and handed the flight attendant a $50 bill." Take a lunch to all those soldiers." After we finished eating. I went again to the back of the plane,heading for the restroom.A man stopped me."I saw what you did.I want to be part of it.Here,take this."He handed me $25. Soon after I returned to my seat,I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle. When he got to my row,he stopped and said,"I want to shake your hand.I was a soldier and I was a military pilot.Once,someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot."I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs.A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand,wanting to shake mine.He left another $25 in my hand. We landed in Chicago,I picked up my belongings.Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me and put something in my shirt pocket.Another $25. Upon entering the terminal ,I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to their base.I walked over to them and handed them $75."It will take you some time to reach the base.It will be about time for a sandwich.God Bless You."I said. These soldiers were giving their all for our country.I could only give them a couple of meals.It seemed so little. The soldiers didn't buy sack lunches because _ . They thought the sack lunches were too expensive Dear Parents, Welcome to our fifth grade class in Room 35 at Anne E. Moncure Elementary School. We have a very busy and exciting year in store for us! Before I give you a short preview of some of the subjects to be covered during the course of this year, let me first introduce myself. I am Elaine Bogucki and I have lived in Stafford County since 1987 with my husband. This will be my fourteenth year at Anne E. Moncure Elementary School and I consider myself very fortunate to be among such a professional faculty . I realize that teaching your child is a _ , as well as a very great responsibility. I will do my best this year to ensure that each student has a motivating and safe learning experience in the classroom. However, I cannot do this alone: I need your help. We both need to be partners in the learning process. I need each of you to encourage your child at home by helping to ensure that they have completed their assignments, and help them study for tests, if necessary. I will keep you informed of all assignments and subjects that are covered in class with a weekly summary. Finally, I have prepared some information that may help answer some of your questions about our subjects and classroom. I know that with your help we are going to have a great year! Sincerely, Mrs. Elaine Bogucki Mrs. Elaine Bogucki _ . will tell the parents about their child's assignments and subjects per week A French billionaire used to have a rough time when he was young. Later he carved out a career for himself in the field of drawing sales. Within ten years, he had become a young media tycoon in France. He died of cancer in 1998. A French newspaper published his will after his death, in which he claimed:"I was a poor guy. Before I reach the threshold of heaven, I leave my secret of how to become rich to the world. Anyone who can answer the question 'What is the most absent for the poor? ' will have discovered my secret of becoming rich. He will have my congratulations. My deposit of one million francs in the private safe of my bank will be the prize for his wisdom in uncovering the riddle of poverty." Many people responded to the publicized will. The answers, as one might imagine, were various. The majority of them thought the most absent for the poor was money. Some stated that what the poor most needed was opportunity. Still others thought that the poor needed skills to make money. The rest of the answers claimed that poverty could be attributed to the absence of help, love, attractiveness, name-brand clothes, and even a presidency of a state. On the first anniversary of the billionaire's passing, his lawyer and representative opened his private safe in the bank; the secret of getting rich was unfolded. The billionaire believed that the most absent of the poor was the ambition of getting rich. It was a nine-year-old girl who _ . Why did she regard "ambition" as the most absent for the poor? The day she was officially awarded the one million francs, she said: "Every time my elder sister brought her boyfriend home, she always warned me not to be ambitious. Not to be ambitious! So, I thought perhaps ambition was something that brought what you wanted." What will the winner get if he finds out the billionaire's secret of becoming rich? The billionaire's francs
Question: Yamilette Colon was close to leaving a school. "I'm not even going to lie to you, and I was bad, '' said Colon, who admitted she had a gift for attracting trouble. Three years later, though, Colon, now 18, is a school honor student on track for a May diploma, spurred in part by a sense of self-pride, but also, she says, by the economic disaster that has closed plants, deprived of jobs and dimmed the future for many young people in this depressed county. "It's a huge factor," Colon said, "What it comes down to is, the longer you stay in school, the more education you will get, and the more money you will make." That's a big shift in attitude in a community where 24 percent of adults older than 25 have not a high school education, where only 66 percent of students graduate from high school in four years, and where generations of kids dropped out because it was always easy to find a suitable job. But across the country, education leaders say they're seeing what may be one bright spot in the discouraging downturn: more students choose to stay in or return to school. "I'm hearing kids clinging to their education as the economy gets worse,'' said Clyde Riley, principal at the Tipton Street Center alternative school, where Colon is one of 240 students in a district that serves some 13,500. Here and elsewhere, long waiting lists for adult education and GED (General Education Development) classes, enrollments at community colleges and, perhaps, a surge in returns by high school dropouts and a decline in those who leave in the first place, may all point to a renewed focus on education, experts say. "If there's anything good coming out of this recession, it's to make educational lemonade out of these lemons." said Bob Wise, who now heads a national policy group. Which of the following is true according to the passage? A. Most dropouts did quite well in their lessons. B. All the dropouts think school life boring. C. Some dropouts found it easy to get a job. D. Dropouts return because they have earned enough. Answer: C Question: Many people like to eat out because they can eat quickly and the food is not expensive. Some families go to fast food restaurants. But in the past people went to diners. Do you want to know the story of the first American diner? In 1872, a man named Walter Scott had the first "diner". It was not really a diner. It was only a simple food cart . People on the street walked up to the cart to buy food. The cart served late-night workers who wanted a cup of coffee and a late night meal. The meal was a sandwich or boiled eggs. In 1887, Samuel Messer Jones built the first big enough diner to allow customers to come inside. However, they had no chairs to sit down. Three years later, people built diners with counters and stools and people sat down while they were eating. Before long, many diners stayed open around the clock. In other words, people were able to eat in a diner at any time. Diners changed in other ways, too. The earliest menu which only included sandwiches and coffee became bigger. Soup and dishes were added to the menu, and a breakfast menu appeared, too. In addition, diners were no longer carts on wheels. Diners today are usually buildings with large windows, shining counters and stools, tables and chairs, where people can eat all three meals. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage? A. Walter Scott B. Food carts--the early diners C. American fast food restaurants D. The history of American diners Answer: D Question: America's No.1 health problem? A report published by the American Institute of Stress claims the biggest threat to health today is neither cancer nor AIDS. The report says: "It has been estimated that75-90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems" It is no exaggeration to say that people today are being attacked by stress. According to the National Consumers League, " Work is the top source of stress for adults who have problems and stress in their lives (39%),followed by family (30%).Other sources include health (10%), concern about the economy (9%)and concern about international conflict and terrorism (4%)." However , stress is hardly unique to the United States .A British survey in 2013 estimated that "over half a million individuals in Britain believed in 2012 that they were experiencing work -related stress at a level that was making them ill ." As a result of "work -related stress, depression or anxiety ,"there are "an estimated thirteen and a half million reported lost working days per year in Britain ."\ The picture is no less bleak in mainland Europe .According to the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work , "work-related stress has been shown to affect millions of European Workers across all types of employment sectors ." One survey revealed that there are "about 41 million workers affected by work-related stress each year." What about Asia ? A report issued by a conference held in Tokyo concluded: " Job stress is a common concern among many countries in the world , both developing and industrialized countries ." The report observed that "several countries in East Asia , including China and Korea, have rapidly industrialized and economically grown .These countries now have a lot of concerns on job stress and its harmful effects on workers' health." What did the author indicate by quoting "America's No.1 Health Problem." (Para. 1)? A. He wanted to talk about health problems in America. B. He meant to introduce the topic of stress C. He hoped to emphasize the stress in America D. He wanted to tell readers something about American Institute of Stress Answer: B Question: Most friendships die a nature death: people move, change jobs, or start different stages of life. Other friendships, however, end unexpectedly. When a friendship is over and you don't understand why, it can be especially painful. Sometimes a friend ends your relationship without telling you why. The loss of friendship might be worth _ . Knowing when a friendship is over and why it ends may help you build stronger friendships in the future. See if you can find a problem. When a friendship is over, examine your relationship. Perhaps you remember your friend complaining that you're always late. Maybe you seldom return your friend's phone calls. When a friend ends your relationship, try to find out the reasons why the friendship is over. Writer a letter to your friend . Express you feelings about the friendship. Do you miss seeing them? Do you have any regrets? Would you act differently if you were still friends? Make it an honest communication. * Express you feeling of being hurt or anger. Write or talk about how you feel in a letter. When a friendship is over, it's important to communicate exactly how hurt you feel, and why. Write until you have nothing left to say. When a friend ends your relationship, you do have the right to express yourself. * Communicate that you are open to pick up the friendship . When a friendship is over and you want to reconnect some day, send Christmas, or birthday cards. Say hi and send greetings through mutual friends. When a friendship is over, don't give up until you're ready. * Decide to make your present friendships better. An adviser once told me that simply talking about your relationship strengthens your relationship. Talk to your present friends. Are they happy with your friendship? If a friend ends your relationship, learn something from it. When a friendship is over, you may do all the following EXCEPT _ . A. ask your friends whose fault on earth it is B. talk about how you feel about your friendship C. write a letter to your friend to tell your regrets D. send your greetings to your friend before giving up Answer: A Question: Eating foods high in trans-fats(fats present in artificial form in industrially-produced cakes and fast food...) and saturated fats increases the risk of depression, according to a Spanish study, confirming previous studies that linked "junk food" with the disease. Researchers also showed that some products, such as olive oil, can fight against the risk of mental illness. Authors of the wide-reaching study, from the universities of Navarra and Las Palmas, followed and analyzed the diet and lifestyle of over l2,000 volunteers over six years. When the study began, none of the participants had been diagnosed with depression; by the end, 657 of them were new sufferers. "Participants with an increased consumption of trans-fats presented up to a 48 percent increase in the risk of depression when they were compared to participants who did not consume these fats," the head study author said. "The more trans-fats were consumed, the greater harmful effect they produced in the volunteers." The research team found, at the same time, that after assessing the effect of polyunsaturated fats made up of larger amounts of fish and vegetable oils and olive oil, these products are associated with a lower risk of suffering depression. The report, published in the online journal PLOS ONE, noted the research was performed on a European population that enjoys a relatively low intake of trans-fats--making up only 0.4 percent of the total energy taken in by the volunteers. "Despite this, we observed an increase in the risk of suffering depression of nearly 50 percent," said researcher Miguel Martinez. "On this basis we think it of great importance to take this effect into account in countries like the United States, where the percentage of energy _ from these fats is around 2.5 percent." The report pointed out that the current number of depression sufferers in the world is around l50 million people, and has increased in recent years. This rise is attributable, according to the authors, "to great changes in the sources of fats consumed in Western diets, where we have replaced certain types of beneficial fats in nuts, vegetable oils and fish with the saturated and trans-fats found in meats, butter and other products such as mass-produced cakes and fast food." More and more Westerners are suffering depression because _ . A. they have less time for exercise B. they eat more nuts, vegetable oils and fish C. the sources of fats in their diets have changed D. less meat, butter, and cakes are included in their diets Answer: C
In the 13th century, the Italian traveler, Marco polo , traveled a long way to China , During his stay in China , he saw many wonderful things . One of the things he discovered was that the Chinese used paper money . In western countries , people did not use paper money until the 15th century . However , people in China began to use paper money in the 7th century . A Chinese man called CaiLun invented paper almost 2000 years ago. He made it from wood . He took the wood from trees and made it into paper . He then put these pieces of paper together and made them into a book . Now paper still comes from trees . We use a lot of paper every day ! If we keep on wasting so much paper , there will not be any trees on the earth . If there are no trees , there will be no paper . Every day , people throw away about 2800 tons of paper in our city . It takes 17 trees to make one ton of paper . This means that we are cutting nearly 48000 trees every day . Since it takes more than 10 years for a tree to grow , we must start using less paper now . If we don't , we will not have enough time to grow more trees to take the place of those we use for paper . So how can we save paper ? We can use both sides of every piece of paper , especially when we are making notes .We can choose drinks in bottles instead of those in paper packets . We can also use cotton handkerchiefs and not paper ones . When we go shopping , we can use fewer paper bags . If the shop assistant does give us a paper bag, we can save it and reuse it later . Everyone can help to save paper . If we all think carefully , we can help protect trees . But we should do it now , before it is too late . Which of the following is NOT the way of saving paper ? A To use both sides of every piece of paper B To use the paper bags from shops more than once C To use cotton handkerchiefs instead of paper ones D To grow more trees Answer: D American society is not nap -friendly. In fact, says David Dinges, a sleep specialist at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, "There's even a prohibition against admitting we need sleep". Nobody wants to be caught napping or found asleep at work. To quote a proverb: "Some sleep five hours, nature requires seven, laziness nine and wickedness eleven." Wrong. The way not to fall asleep at work is to take naps when you need them. "We have to totally change our attitude toward napping," says Dr. William Dement of Stanford University, the godfather of sleep research. Last year a national commission led by Dement identified an " _ " which one member said was as important as the national debt. The commission was concerned about the dangers of sleepiness: people causing industrial accidents or falling asleep while driving. This may be why we have a new sleep policy in the White House. According to recent reports, President Clinton is trying to take a ha1f-hour snooze every afternoon. About 60 percent of American adults nap when given the opportunity. We seem to have "a mid afternoon quiet phase," also called "a secondary sleep gate." Sleeping 15 minutes to two hours in the early afternoon can reduce stress and make us refreshed. Clearly, we were born to nap. We Superstars of Snooze don't nap to replace lost shut-eye or to prepare for a night shift.Rather, we "snack" on sleep, whenever, wherever and at whatever time we feel like it. I myself have napped in buses, cars, planes and on boats; on floors and beds; and in libraries, offices and museums. The research done by the Dement Commission shows that Americans _ . A don't like to take naps B are terribly worried about their national debt C sleep less than is good for them D have caused many industrial and traffic accidents Answer: C Collecting Barbie Dolls is a favorite hobby of many women and girls throughout the world. Since Barbie first appeared at the American International Toy Fair in 1959, she has become the most popular doll in the world. Many collectors of Barbie Dolls collect the dolls just for fun. They often collect some dolls they like or think are special. However, there are some serious collectors. They have hundreds of dolls, and spend almost thousands of dollars each year. Many Barbie collectors not only collect the dolls, but also collect items of the dolls. Many collections include different items of Barbie's fashion clothes. If you become a serious collector of Barbie Dolls, you will be likely to want to join a Barbie collectors' club. The more you know about Barbie and her history, the more you want to grow your collections. No matter which kind of collector you are, casual or serious, Barbie dolls can be a fun and interesting hobby for girls and women of all ages. How many years of history do Barbie Dolls have? A More than eighty years. B About one hundred years. C Less than ten years. D About fifty years. Answer: D Jim: Let's play volleyball, OK? Tony: Sorry, I don't have a volleyball. But I have a basketball. Jim: I don't want to play basketball. I only want to play volleyball. Tony: Who has a volleyball? Do you know? Jim: Maybe Tom has one. Let's go and ask him. (Say to Tom.) Hi, Tom! Do you have a volleyball? Tom: No. I don't. Does Peter have one? Tony: Oh, yes, he does. Tom: Hi, Peter! Do you have a volleyball? Peter: Yes, I do. But it is at home. Tom: Sorry to hear that! Tony: Well, let's play basketball. OK? Jim: OK! Tom: Peter, please join us. Peter: OK! Let's play! ,. Where is Peter's volleyball? A On the bed. B At school. C Under the desk. D At home. Answer: D During his college years, Rogers spent his summer holidays at an Idaho logging camp . When Roy, the manager, had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge. "What if the workers refuse to follow my orders?" Rogers asked. He thought of Tony, a worker who was always giving the other men a hard time. "Fire them," Roy said. Then, as if reading Rogers' mind, he added, "I suppose you want to fire Tony if you get the chance. I'd feel bad about that. Tony is the most reliable worker I've ever had. I know he complains a lot, but he comes first and leaves last. There has not been an accident on the hill where he works for eight years." Rogers took over the manager's job the next day. He went to Tony and spoke to him, "Tony, did you know that I'm in charge today?" Tony didn't show any respect or interest. "I was going to fire you because you once gave me a hard time, but I want you to know I'm not," he told Tony, adding what Roy had said. When Rogers finished, tears streamed down Tony's face. That day Tony worked harder than ever before --and he smiled for the first time! Rogers went back to school after that summer. Twelve years later he met Tony again. He was in charge of one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how he managed to become so successful. Tony replied, "If it were not for that time you spoke to me back in Idaho, I would not be myself today. That one minute changed my whole life." Have you got one minute to appreciate someone? It can make a difference for a lifetime. Which of the following statements about Tony is TRUE? A He worked hard but he always complained. B He never showed respect to his co-workers. C Nobody liked Tony because of his bad temper. D He didn't care about his work. Answer: A
Recently, a young man saw a beggar at a street in Chongqing. "I know you. Let me take a picture of you." With the words, the young man took a picture and then gave him ten yuan. The beggar is named Xia Haibo, born in Hubei Province. Being 25 years old, he is quite a special beggar in some ways---he doesn't beg on his knees, as other beggars do when begging. Rather, he often stands in a crowded street , either reading a book or thinking over something. As a beggar, he has opened his blog on the Internet and his blog has been clicked more than 500,000 times now. He likes reading---he has read a lot of poems written by Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. He has also read many old Chinese poems. He has kept writing and recently, he planned to publicize his writings. As a beggar, he is so special that many people call him "the greatest beggar in history". In 1998,Xia was enrolled by Tianmen Middle School as the best student in town. However , a year before he took the national college entrance exam ,he was diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis . In order to cure his disease, his father borrowed 60,000 yuan. However, with this money , he didn't recover from the disease. He did not want to become a burden for his family any more. So he went to Wuhan , making a living by begging. So far Haibo has been to Beijing, Guangzhou, Haikou, Fuzhou, Xiamen ,Changsha and Kunming. "Begging has become a job. I earn about 2,000 yuan every month," Xia said. However, he doesn't plan to go on living like this . "By July 24 in 2009, when I have been begging for two years, I will stop my begging life. I promise ,"he said. According to the passage, which may be the beggar's plan for the future? To write his books and try to get them published. Mr Swales wanted to find out what his students' parents did. He had just called Jodie when some girls burst out laughing. Shirley shouted, "Jodie's Daddy is a Garbage man !" Everybody in the class laughed out loud, except Jodie. She felt her face turn red. "Silence!" Mr Swales said, "Being a garbage men is a difficult and useful job. We should all be grateful to Jodie's father." Jodie's father came to walk her home from school as usual, but she didn't run up to him the way she always did. When they got back home, Jodie went to her room and cried for a long time. Her father came into her room, "What happened, Jodie? Why are you so sad?" Jodie told her father what had happened and looked at him. He didn't seem angry or hurt. "Well," he said, "they are right. Being a garbage man is a dirty job. Tomorrow's Saturday. Come to work with me, Jodie." The place really smell too good. Jodie wrinkled her nose. "Don't worry, kid. In five minutes you won't smell a thing." said her father. Everybody there was working hard, and they seemed to have a good time. Jodie's father handed her a pair of gloves and told her to get the little plastic bags and throw them into the truck. It was fun, but also hard work. Jodie's arms soon got tired. At last, no more garbage was left and Jodie felt very happy. "Garbage is disgusting , but when we clear it away, everything's nice and clean. You can make yourself happy only by making others happy. That's why I like being a garbage man so much." Jodie gave her dirty, smelly garbage man daddy a big kiss, She said, "When I grow up, I will be a garbage girl!" Now whenever someone asks Jodie what her daddy does, she says, "He's a garbage man! Everybody makes garbage, but my daddy takes it away!" Jodie gave her father a big kiss mainly because _ . he was unselfish Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh's Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you're happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you're in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We're using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it. I hope I'mreminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you've seldom seen before. It's not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity. Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there's more here than that. Van Gogh paintedthis while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape hisprisonto true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems ... In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair and collapse in hopelessness. Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he isstruck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around. And so the sky flows across the canvas full of vitality and power. The stars don't just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky. What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That's what the angels sing about. Doesn't it make you want to sing, too? What is the main purpose of this passage? To tell us how to appreciate the Starry Night. A traveller was staying in an Egyptian village. One day, she held up her camera to take pictures of the children. Suddenly the young ones began to shout at her. The traveller's face turned red and she apologized to the head for what she was doing, and told him she had forgotten that people in some places believed a person would lose his soul if his picture was taken. She explained to him the operation of a camera for a long time. Several times the head tried to say something, but he couldn't. When she believed that the head didn't fear any longer, the traveller then let him speak. With a smile, he said, "The children were trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens cap!" When the head smiled, it's clear that _ . the traveller didn't know what the children meant Letter One Dear Editor, After I finish my homework, I often go online and chat with my friends. Sometimes I play Internet games. But my parents hate to see me playing games on the computer. Maybe they have heard too much news about how QQ and Internet games harm children. Once I went to a net bar to play games after school. But after that I told my parents that I was playing basketball at school. I said so because I didn't want to make them unhappy. I feel bad about it. However, I need to rest for a while by playing computer games after studying for a long time. I really want my parents to understand that. Do foreign parents do the same to their children? Please help me. Li Ping, Nantong Letter Two Dear Li Ping, I think it's not strange for parents to keep their children away from anything bad. Foreign parents will do the same as your parents! They may not let their children watch TV for too long a time, or like your parents, they don't want their children to play computer games. Talk to your parents and be honest to them, I think. Tell them what you are doing and why you are doing so to make them understand you. _ They aren't fools as you think sometimes! Our parents seem to know what is the best for us. Remember: to be honest is the best way. Good luck, Rebecca From the passage we can learn that Li Ping often _ . talks to his friends on the Internet
The world's oldest person, Ms. Baines, died. She celebrated her 115th birthday with congratulations from Barack Obama, President of the United States. Over her life she lived through the terms of 21 US presidents. Gertrude Baines passed away peacefully in her sleep at the Western Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles, where she had lived for her last ten years. Emma Camanag , the hospital's leader ,said she was a respectable lady. "It is really an honor for the hospital to take care of her over the last 10 years and we will greatly miss her. It is just like we have lost a relative ," said Emma. Ms. Baines, who was born in Shellman, Georgia, in 1894, had no living relatives. She grew up in the southern US during difficult times. During that time, African American people were required to use separate, often poor, public services. She married young and later divorced . Her only child, a daughter, was born in 1909 and died of a terrible disease at the age of 18. Ms. Baines worked as a maid in Ohio before moving to Los Angeles where she lived on her own until she was well over 100. She once told an interviewer , "As for the secrets of long life, I do not have any disappointments in my own life." She gained some fame when she voted for Mr. Obama in the US presidential election , saying she supported him "because he's for the colored people". It was only the second time in her life she had voted, the first time being for John F. Kennedy. Ms. Baines became the world's oldest person in January. Japanese woman, Kama Chien, 114, has now taken over the title. Ms. Baines voted for Mr. Obama because he _ . A was very popular in the hospital B did even better than John F. Kennedy C did good things for African Americans D congratulated her on her birthday Answer: C Last July, my 12-year-old car died on California's Santa Freeway. It was an hour before sunset, and I was 25 miles from home. I couldn't reach anyone to pick me up, so I decided to take a bus. Not knowing the routes, I thought I'd just go east. A bus stopped. I got on and asked the driver how far she was going, "Ten more miles," she said. There was another bus I could take from there. This clearly was going to be a long night. I got off at the end of the route and she told me which bus to look for. After waiting 30 minutes, I began to think about a very expensive taxi ride home. Then a bus came up. There was no lighted number above its windshield. It was out of service, but the door opened. It was the same driver. "I just can't leave you here," she said. "This isn't the nicest place. I will give you a ride home." "You will drive me home on the bus?" I asked, _ . "No, I will take you in my car," she said. "It's a long way," I insisted. "Come on, " she said. "I have nothing else to do." As we drove from the station in the car, she began telling me a story, A few days earlier, her brother had run out of gas. A good man picked him up, took him to a service station and then back to his car. "I'm just passing the favor along," she said. When I offered her money as a thank-you, she wouldn't accept. "Just do something nice for somebody. Pass it along," she said. The writer changed his mind after waiting 30 minutes because _ . A he became impatient and a bit worried B a taxi ride would be more comfortable C he knew the driver would never return D the bus driver had given him wrong information Answer: A On the night of November 14, 1978,a six-year-old Korean boy was flying to the United States. All he knew was that he was on a plane heading for somewhere. The plane landed at Kennedy International Airport, where he was greeted by a family. This young boy was me. I have grown up in a town where there were few Asians, so I stuck out in the crowd. I made friends quickly and they treated me just like anyone else. You may ask if anyone made fun of my appearance. Well, of course, I met that' kind of person. I just shrugged it off. As an adopted child, I have something that others don't have. I have had the benefit of two families. I'm lucky to have got a chance to start a new life. But we must try never to forget our past. Someday I will go back to Korea to find out what kind of culture I left behind. There is only one thing that I regret about being adopted. When I argue with my parents and they realize they are losing the argument, they sometimes wonder what I would be doing if I were back in Korea. I don't understand this because I thought the purpose of adopting someone was to give them a better chance of growing up in a family. Some day when I am older, I want to adopt a girl and raise her the way my parents have raised me, but I would do it better, for I know what went well and what did not. If someone sticks out in the crowd, it means that he/she _ . A is very good-looking B is very kind-hearted C is easily noticed by others D is disliked by others Answer: C Why do areas in the middle of a large continent generally have more extreme differences in temperature than areas near the coastline? A There are generally more clouds near the oceans. B Landlocked areas are usually at a lower altitude than coastline areas. C Coastlines are usually surrounded by mountains that block air masses. D Oceans change temperature slowly and regulate the temperature of nearby land. Answer: D A scientist plans to investigate the nervous system of sea slugs. What should the scientist do first? A Develop a theory about sea slugs that can be tested. B Go to the ocean to observe the behavior of sea slugs. C Obtain several sea slugs and conduct experiments with them. D Review the research other scientists have done on sea slugs. Answer: D
Which of the following distinguishes the organisms in the kingdom Fungi from other eukaryotic organisms? A Fungi are unicellular. B Fungi reproduce sexually. C Fungi obtain nutrients by absorption. D Fungi make food through photosynthesis. Answer: C. Fungi obtain nutrients by absorption. Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman Let us imagine how Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's most famous work, might be updated, 200 years on. Austen's popularity is rooted in her intelligence. But today she would certainly have had a very different life, as would her characters. Here's my own suggestion. . . It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men, however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism. " My dear husband," said his hopeful wife one day, " have you heard that the local store, standing empty for so long, is taken over by a bright young businesswoman?" Her dull and indifferent husband replied that he had not. "But it is, it is," she replied excitedly. Mr Dull-Husband made no reply. "Don't you want to know her plans?" she cried with some impatience. "Well, clearly you think it matters to your silly little head. .. so I'd better listen. " "Well, my dear, the rumour is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England, though _ She will move in herself next month. " "What is her name?" "Bingley. " "Is she married or single?" "What a question! And none of your business. But her coming will be a fine thing for our five boys. " "How so? How can it possibly affect them? " "My dear love; those lazy boys need something to wake them up. There are bound to be jobs going. " " Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place. " " Nonsense, my love, how little you've noticed the world has changed. She's got a first-rate degree and some sort of business qualification, I'm told. She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call. " " Me? No. Perhaps you can take an interest. You still have your looks, after all. She may even offer you a job. " "Oh, that's not likely. These new chances belong to the younger generation. But now you mention it, I think I'll go along all the same. " And Mrs Bennet went along. That was 10 years ago. She is now managing director of a FTSE-listed company. ... It would remain the case, of course, that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the company board, that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues, her bonus of a more "female" dimension and her lifespan among the city's business leaders shorter than theirs. Still, she'd no doubt have enjoyed Davos--and might even have hobnobbed with influential figures. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A Austen was born 200 years ago. B Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice. C Austen's success lies in her wisdom. D Austen's updated work gains popularity. Answer: C. Austen's success lies in her wisdom. Your immune system would be less effective if you didn't get enough of this A fake vitamin C B green gummy bears C unconscious time D computer time Answer: C. unconscious time London started its first major bike hire scheme on July 30th. Transport For London (TFL), the agency responsible for moving people around England's capital, put 5,000 bicycles in 400 different places around the city. The idea is to cut traffic, reduce pollution and provide a greener way of getting around London's streets. The scheme had a few small problems on its first day as people could not lock the bikes properly once they had finished riding them. As a gesture of goodwill, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced all rentals on the first day would be free of charge. The bikes are available for free for the first 30 minutes but costs go up sharply since then. Renters have to pay $1.60 for the first hour and $78 for 24 hours. The bikes are clearly designed for very short trips. TFL says it sees a "cycle revolution" happening in London. It predicts there will be around 40,000 new cycle journeys every day on the rental bikes. Mr. Johnson says he wants to see a return to the turn of the 20th century, when 20 per cent of journeys in London were made by bicycle. The scheme has received a lot of positive feedback in the first two days. Many Londoners believe it is a great alternative to London's overcrowded and overpriced trains and buses. One person, Andy Clark, told the Reuters news agency, "It's a great idea. I've seen it operating in Paris and Barcelona and thought why don't we have one?" The Londonist Blog said the bikes were very strong and were "designed to bear a beating from both careless cyclists and drunken people". At the beginning of the scheme, there was some difficulty with the _ . A rental B time C distance D lock Answer: D. lock Young women are more adventurous than young men when travelling abroad in gap years.One in three female backpackers visits more than three countries during a year out and travels alone, according to new research. By contrast, the majority of their male counterparts visit only one country and tend to travel in groups, says a survey by the Gap Year company, which provides information and services for students considering taking a year out. More women than men say that their prime reason for taking time off is to see the world and experience different cultures.Men are more likely to rank "having fun" higher on their list of _ .Women are more likely to value the challenge of a foreign trip, and many cited reasons such as learning a language and meeting new people. The more adventurous gap years taken by women seem to work to their benefit; more than three quarters of those surveyed have reported increased confidence, self-reliance and independence, whereas only half of the men had that experience. The research also shows that women are more likely to do voluntary work while travelling, with more than one in ten helping with teaching or development projects.One of the reasons given for this is a wish to see the country in an authentic light. A greater proportion of women than men face objections or criticism from their families over their gapyear plans.Among the men surveyed, lack of money is the main barrier to travel. Carolyn Martin, a doctor from London,is a typically confident female traveller.Starting in Cape Town, she travelled around southern Africa and Australia with a string of unusual and sometimes dangerous jobs. "I had one job chasing elephants off the runway in Africa by banging a stick against a pan," she recalled."It was OK but one day I did get chased by one." She said that she had travelled alone because "you meet more people". Which of the following would be the best title of the passage? A Girls Get the Best out of Gap Years B Boys Lack Courage in Gap Years C For Fun or for Adventure? D Young Women Are More Adventurous Answer: A. Girls Get the Best out of Gap Years
We each have a unique genetic (,) make-up. Every cell of your body has the same set of about 100,000 separate genes made of DNA. These are the instructions for producing a person. Genes decide everything from the colour of your skin to the way your brain works. You have one of several billion combinations of DNA which come from the random mixing of your parents' genes. Except for identical twins , no one has the same combination as another person. You are unique! You are unique in another way too: in the way you are raised and all the experiences you have from before birth to adult life. These experiences influence you, your behaviour and attitudes, and the choices you make. But are genes or life experiences more important in shaping your appearance and personality? Scientists are studying twins to find out. One set of twins occurs every 70 births---some are identical and others are non-identical twins. Identical twins are special because they share exactly the same genes and often the same environment. Non-identical twins are more like ordinary brothers and sisters. Some identical twins have been adopted and brought up in different homes. With identical genes but a different home environment, scientists can study twins to see how much a particular feature depends on the genes we inherit. For example, we know that eye problems, like short-sightedness, are mostly genetic. But resistance to pain is largely dependent on experiences. Genes also influence our eating habits. Identical twins brought up apart often like to eat at the same time of day and feel full after eating the same amount. Non-identical twins in similar circumstances have more varied eating habits. Identical twins are also more likely to follow the same patterns for marriage and divorce than non-identical twins. Scientists are trying to identify the different genes that influence our behaviour. Some people are thrill-seekers and get into risk-taking and adventurous activities. They take up extreme sports like bungee jumping and possibly take drugs. Scientists have discovered a gene which affects _ . We could ask, "Are our lives determined by our genes or our upbringing?" Scientists are learning more all the time, but it is certainly true that both are important in making us who we are. Which of the following is most affected by experience according the passage? Answer: Pain resistance. Dear Sir, Good day! I want to become a pilot , because my cousin is a pilot . I think he is great. He is cool when he wears his pilot uniform. If I become a pilot , my parents will be proud of me and I can travel around the world . I am in the third grade in a university. I'm tall with medium build; I'm quite healthy and strong. I like playing sports .If I have a chance to become a pilot, I will have a great time flying in the blue sky. I believe I can be a good pilot .The problem is that I can't afford my dream .You know, to be a pilot needs a lot of money. My parents are both workers. They don't have much money. Could you help me find a sponsor ( ),sir? And how can I get a scholarship ? I am _ your help, sir? If you have time, you can e-mail me at www,cn,com . Your help will mean a lot, sir. Once again good day and thank you. Yours Wei What's Wei's problem ? Answer: He doesn't have much money. An old man decided to write a letter to God: Dear God, I am nearing the end of my life. The doctors tell me I am dying of cancer and have a few months to live. In fact, as You know, throughout my entire life I've had nothing but bad luck. But no matter what You have inflicted on me, I have never lost my faith in You. In return for this loyalty , I ask just one thing of you. Please prove Your existence to me by sending me $100 in cash, and I will die a happy man. Yours insignificantly, An Old Man The letter arrived at the local post office where the employees noticed it was addressed To God: Heaven. They all knew the old man and, after reading the letter with tears in their eyes, took pity on him, ninety dollars was raised and posted to him. The old man was _ and immediately wrote a "thank you" letter to God. The post office received the letter and all gathered around to read it. Dear God, I thank You with all my heart for taking time from Your busy schedule and answering my request...I am now a happy man. Yours (in the very near future), An Old Man P.S. I only received $90 of the $100 I asked for. I bet those thieving bastards down at the post office pinched the rest. Which of the following statements is NOTtrue? Answer: The old man needed $100 very much. When first entered, Vanak Restaurant does not look like much of a restaurant, but once the pleasant smells of kabob hit the senses, you are incapable of calling it anything else. Owned by a local couple, this Persian restaurant has an inviting, homelike atmosphere that many restaurants lack. The space is small with only a few dining tables and nearly no decoration, but the environment is truly charming. Lying in a hardly noticeable street corner, the restaurant still attracts all customers, especially those experienced in the delights of Middle Eastern cooking. A common sight is that of old Persian men sitting in the corner talking loudly about world topics, watching news events on TV, drinking a black tea known as Persian chai, and reading local Persian newspapers all the while trying to finish off their plate piled with food. The variety of food at the restaurant is limited, but the amount of each dish is fairly large.Most of the meals can serve two people and are under $10, so not only is it affordable but practical as well. The food especially appeals to health-conscious eaters because each dish is very healthy, made with limited fat and oil and served straight off the grill . The main dish that the restaurant is popular for is its kabobs, which are different style of grilled meat. One delicious and extremely healthy dish is the Joojeh Kabob, which is made of grilled chicken pieces served with either rice or bread.Another great kabob is the Chelo Kabob, a kabob consisting of grilled beef. Although the restaurant is small, the atmosphere and the food is delicious.It is a place that should not be overlooked. When first entering the restaurant, one can find that it _ . Answer: has pleasant smells of kabobs The hand, the eyes, and the brain work together to make human beings different from other animals. No other animals have all three parts to work together. No animals can do what human beings can do. Humans can do many things and feel many things with the hand. The hand can hold onto things and make things because the thumb works with the fingers. This fifth finger is strong. Most animals don't have thumbs. The thumb can press against the other fingers. Without a thumb to press against the fingers, it is difficult to hold onto anything. The thumb and fingers can also fit the flat surface of a box and the curved surface of a pencil. We can feel that something is hot or cold, soft or hard, smooth or rough. The hand, with thumb and fingers, is one of the best tools we have. Most animals see a flat picture. Their eyes can only see how high and how wide something is. Some animals see a different picture with each eye. Some don't see in colour. Humans see one picture with both eyes working together. We can see how high and how wide something is. We can also see how far in front of or in back of something a thing is. The brain tells other parts of the body how to work. Some of the things the body does are _ ; that is, we don't have to think about them. For example, we don't have to think to make our heart beat or our stomach work. The brain tells the eyes and hands how to make useful and beautiful things. That is how human beings become tool makers and artists. That is how human can have richer and better lives than other animals. According to the passage, when you say you hold onto something, you mean _ Answer: you have it in your hand and keep it there by putting your fingers firmly roundit
China Earthquake Leaves 5,000 Homeless Beijing--An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale left 5,000 people homeless, killed at least one person and injured 39 others in southwest China on Thursday, with more accidents expected. By late Thursday, 4,900 people were declared homeless after the quake destroyed their homes in a mountainous area lying on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. The dawn quake left one dead and 39 injured, destroyed 268 houses and damaged 1,132 other buildings so seriously that they were considered uninhabitable . Another 2,400 houses suffered less serious damage. The center of the earthquake was near the scenic Lugu Lake, a tourist place, where the local school was badly damaged. In the beginning people thought that the economic losses would add up to about 180 million yuan (22 million dollars). Governments in Yanyuan and the neighboring Yunnan country of Ninglang have joined forces in the rescue efforts and tents, clothes and medicine are badly in need of for the earthquake victims. The mountainous place, heavy rain and several aftershocks all prevented rescue efforts on Thursday. The rain could cause more badly damaged homes to fall down. More dead and injured are expected" as rescuers have yet to reach many faraway areas". It is very hard for rescue workers because most houses are scattered around the mountains, which are inhabited by Yi and other ethnic minority groups . The quake hit the area at 5:10 a.m. Beijing time (2,110 Wednesday GMT).Earthquakes regularly affect _ , with two quakes measuring 5.0 and 6.2 on the Richter scale killing at least three people and injuring more than 1,500 in Ninglang in November 1998. The area is about 100 kilometers from the historic Yunnan town of Lijiang, which was struck in 1996 by an earthquake that killed more than 250 people and injured 14,000. (Reports from China Daily,May 25,2001) All of the following things belong to the things that are most needed after the earthquake except _ . A clothes B food C medicine D tents Answer: B One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem -- inability to read. In the library, I found my way into the "Children's Room." I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle. There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer. Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together. My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them. I never told my mother about my "miraculous" experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held. Why could the author manage to read the book through? A He was forced by his mother to read it. B He identified with the story in the book. C The book told the story of his pet dog. D The happy ending of the story attracted him. Answer: B A boy was going to study at the best school in town. In the morning, his grandfather took him to the school. When they went into the playground, the children came up. "What a funny old man," the boy said, making a face. "Hey, fatty ,"another one shouted. The children _ the pair(,) and jumped up and down. Without saying a word, the old man took his grandson out of the school gate. "Wonderful! I don't have to go to school!" the boy said. "You do, but not this one," his grandfather said. "I'll find you another school to go to." Grandfather took his grandson back to his house, asked Grandmother to look after him, and then went out to look for a school alone. Every time he got to a school, the old man went into the playground, and waited for the children to come out at break time. In some schools the children completely ignored the old man, and in others, they made fun of him. When this happened, he would turn sadly and leave. Finally, he went into the very small playground of a very small school, and stood tiredly against the wall. The bell rang, and the children came out into the playground. "Sir, are you all right? Shall I bring you something to drink?" said a voice. "We've got a bench in the playground. Come and sit down," came another voice. Soon a young teacher came out into the playground. The old man greeted him and said, "Finally, I've found my grandson the best school in town." How did the grandson feel when his grandfather took him out of the school gate of the first school? A Worried. B Happy. C Calm. D Afraid. Answer: B Close contacts between Japan and the rest of the world were created in the twentieth century. In the last forty years, business contacts between Japan and the West have become very important. Many foreign companies now have offices in Japan and Japanese businessmen do business around the world. Differences between Japanese and Western ways of doing business, however, often _ and make doing business in Japan difficult for foreigners. The American businessman, for example, wants to start talking business immediately. He does not want to wait. The Japanese businessman, on the other hand, likes to arrive at decisions after giving them serious thought. Another thing foreign businessmen have difficulty in understanding is when a Japanese means "Yes" or "No". This is because of cultural differences between Japanese and Western society , Which make it difficult for a Japanese to say "No" directly. In the USA, it is easy to say "No" to something one does not want to do. But in Japan, it is very difficult to say "No". To refuse an invitation or a request with "No" is felt to be impolite. It is thought to be selfish and unfriendly. So instead of saying "No" directly, the Japanese have developed many ways to avoid saying "No". These can help them avoid hurting other people's feelings. However, this often makes their ways of doing business rather difficult for foreigners to understand and follow. What often makes foreigners feel difficult to do business in Japan? A Their different ways of doing business. B Their different lifestyles. C The fact that the Japanese never say "No". D The fact that the Japanese are slow to take action. Answer: A As a professor I have grown accustomed to the opinion regarding American education. We are repeatedly told that American schools are failing, that colleges are not teaching, and that the students of today are not as good as the students of the past. There are, of course, problems with the education system. Because of economic inequality some schools are significantly better than others and the ideas of equality of education and equality of opportunity are cruel jokes. However, the mere fact that there are some serious problems does not mean that all the _ claims are true. One stock claim is that America has fallen behind the world in education in terms of performance on various tests. While the fact that America is behind other countries is a point of concern, there are at least three points worth considering here. The first is the above-mentioned economic inequality which will tend to result in poorer performance when taking the average for America. The second is that many countries have put considerable effort into improving their education systems and hence it is worth considering that America's decline is also due to the improvement of others. The third is the matter of the measures-- do they, in fact, present an accurate picture of the situation? I am not claiming that the data is bad. I am merely raising a reasonable concern about how accurate our picture of education is at this time. Another stock claim is that American students are doing badly on standardized tests. While there is clearly value in assessment, it is reasonable to consider whether or not such tests are a proper and adequate measure of education. It is also worth considering whether the puzzle with these tests is itself causing damage to education. That is, as teachers teach for the test and students learn for the test, it might be the case that what is being taught is not what should be taught and what is being learned is not what should be learned. According to the professor, many people's attitude towards American colleges is _ . A negative B positive C approving D indifferent Answer: A
Question: The American humorist,Will Rogers,used to say,"All I kown is what I read in the newspapers".This was an exaggeration for humorous purposes,but it is true that newspapers are an important source of information.Many people begin their day by reading the paper.In this way they learn what is going on in the world.Sometimes,however,they don't have time to read the news carefully and must be satisfied with a quick look at the front page;at other times they may be in such a hurry that they have time only to glance at the headlines. There are newspapers to satisfy every reader.In the big cities there are many types of papers,with several different editions every day. In small towns there are fewer newspapers and perhaps only one edition each day.In some areas the paper is printed weekly. Most newspapers have several sections,especially on Sundays when the edition is larger than usual.There are,in addition to the front page with the most important news,the sports section,the society page,the comics,the amusement section,a business page,and the editorials. Another type of publication which helps keep the population informed is the magazine. Some magazines are published weekly,others are put out monthly.There are news magazines,literary magazines,and magazines for such special interests as photography,sports,art,and music,Some are primarily for men,others for women,and there is a selection of children's magazines,too. In the United States, there are publications for every taste and interest. The best title for this passage is _ . A. Newspaper Should Be Reed Every Day B. Different Newspapers Should Be Provided to Satisfy Their Readers C. Many Types of Newspapers Must Be Published in Big Cities D. Newspapers and Magazines Answer: D. Newspapers and Magazines Question: When McKenna Pope, 13, went shopping for a Christmas gift for her little brother, she planned to buy him an Easy-Bake Oven, a toy that allows kids to bake treats. Her brother, Gavyn Boscio, 4, loves to cook. But McKenna changed her mind when she discovered that Hasbro, the toy company that produces the popular oven, only makes the toy in purple and pink--and only features girls on the box and in commercials. So instead of buying an oven, McKenna cooked up another plan. She started a campaign to get Hasbro to make a gender-neutral oven. "I don't want them to make a boys' Easy-Bake Oven and a girls' Easy-Bake Oven," McKenna, from Garfield, New Jersey, told the Associated Press. "I want them to make an Easy-Bake Oven for kids." The Easy-only Bake Oven was first introduced in 1963. At the time, the stereotype was that only women cooked. Today, that's changed, in part thanks to famous male chefs like, Bobby Flay, who used an Easy-Bake Oven when he was a kid. Over the years, Hasbro says the company has featured boys on the packaging and offered the product in several different color1 schemes. But this year, just the purple and pink model is available. McKenna wants that to change, and she's not alone. Her petition , posted on change.org, has received more than 45,000 signatures. By next summer, McKenna should have her wish. On December 17, Hasbro invited the New Jersey teen and her family to their headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, to meet with the Easy-Bake Oven team. They showed her a prototype, or model, of their newest Easy-Bake Oven, which is scheduled to hit stores in 2013. The new color1 scheme is black, silver and blue. The company also told McKenna they plan to feature boys in ads. McKenna was happy with what she saw at Hasbro. "They really met most or even all of what I wanted them to, and they really amazed me," McKenna said. She added that Gavyn thought the new design was "awesome". How did McKenna probably feel when she found out what kind of oven Hasbro produces? ks5u A. Excited. B. Interested. C. Disappointed. D. Relaxed. Answer: C. Disappointed. Question: Some people believe that international sport creates goodwill between the nations and that if countries play games together they will learn to live together.Others say that the opposite is true;that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred.There is probably some truth in both arguments,but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sports encourage international brotherhood. Not only was there the incident of tragedy involving murder of athletes,but the Games were also ruined by less incidents caused principally by minor national contests. One country received its secondplace medals with visible anger after the hockey final.There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match,the losers objecting to the final decisions.They were convinced that one of their goals should not have been disallowed and that their opponents' victory was unfair. Their manager was in a rage when he said,"This isn't hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Federation are finished." The president of the Federation said later that such behavior could result in the suspension of the team for at least three years. The American basketball team announced that they would not yield first place to Russia,after a disputable end to their contest.The game had ended in disorder.It was thought at first that the United States had won by a single point,but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play.A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other,and another player popped it into the basket. It was the first time the US had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. An appeal jury debated the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then voted not to receive the silver medals. Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played competitively rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that athletes should compete as individuals or in nonnational teams,might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of Olympics there is far too much that encourages aggressive patriotism . The author thinks that in recent years Olympic Games have _ . A. showed little international friendship B. greatly encouraged international brotherhood C. created goodwill between the nations D. created only misunderstanding and hatred Answer: A. showed little international friendship Question: What should we do if a fire happens? Look at the following. 1. Shout----Shout as loudly as you can ,because people may be asleep. 2. Call 119----Never try to put out a fire yourself. Tell 119 where you are and what is on fire. 3. Keep down close to the floor----There's less smoke down there, so it's easier to breathe and see where you are going. 4. Test the door---- the door is cool, open it carefully. If the door is hot, don't open it! Try to find a different way out. 5. Get out---- not stop to pick up anything. A fire can become very big in afew seconds! 6. Don't use the lift ----ways use the stairs. The lift may go wrong and keep you inside. 7. Don't go back---- if you have left your pet or favorite toy inside, don't go back for it. Animals have a very good sense of smell. They often get out of building before people. The lift is dangerous in a fire because _ . A. it is too small B. it may go wrong C. it may keep you inside D. both B an C Answer: D. both B an C Question: After a serious earthquake happened, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to his son's school, only to find that the building where his son studied had collapsed and looked like a pancake. He was shocked. He didn't know what he should do for a while, then he remembered the words he had said to his son, "No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you! "And tears began to fill his eyes. He started digging through the ruins . As he was digging, other helpless parents and the firemen arrived and tried to pull him off the ruins, saying, "It's too late! They're all dead! There's nothing you can do! " To them he replied with one line, "Are you going to help me now? " And then he kept on digging. No one helped, however. He went on alone because he needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead? " He dug for eight hours. . . 12 hours. . . 24 hours. . . 36 hours. . . then, in the 39th hour, he pulled back a rock and heard his son's words. He shouted his son's name, "ARMAND! " He heard back, "Dad!?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, 'No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!' You did it, Dad! " "What's going on in there? How is it? " the father asked. "There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're frightened, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When t he building fell down, it made a triangle , and it saved us. " "Come out, boy! " "No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, because I know you'll get me! No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me! " We can learn from the passage that . A. it took the father one day to find his son and other students B. his wife died in the earthquake C. his son was the last one to come out of the ruins D. the son didn't believe his father would come to save him Answer: C. his son was the last one to come out of the ruins
In China, more and more middle school students are getting shorter sleeping time than before. Most students sleep less than nine hours every night, because they have much homework to do. Some homework is given by their teachers, and some by their parents. Also, some students don't know how to save time. They are not careful enough while they do their homework, so it takes them a lot of time. Some students spend too much time watching TV or playing computer games. They stay up very late. Some students have to get up early every morning on weekdays to go to school in time by bus or by bike. It may be a long way from home to school. Schools and parents should cut down some of the homework so that our children can enjoy more than nine hours of sleep every night for their health. For children, we should make best use of our time. When we have enough time for sleeping, we will find it much better for both our study and health. Some homework is given by their teachers, and some by _ . A. the children themselves B. other students C. their parents D. Nobody else Answer: C. their parents Making a film takes a long time and is very hard work. Writing the story for the film may take many weeks. Shooting the film often takes at least six months. Actors and camera men work from very early in the morning until late at night. Each scene has to be acted and re-acted, filmed and re-filmed, until it is just fine. Sometimes the same scene has to be acted many times. The film studio is like a large factory, and the indoor stages are very big indeed. Scenery of all kinds is made in the studio. Churches, houses, and forests are all built of wood and cardboard. Several hundred people work together to make one film. Some of these people are the actors and actresses. The director of the film, however, is the most important person in a film studio. He decides how the scenes should be filmed and how the actors should act. Most people go to see a film because they know the film stars are in it. Sometimes the film may be very poor. It is best to choose a film made by a good director. Some famous directors make their films very real; people feel that they themselves are among the people in the films. The best title for the passage is " _ ". A. Writing the Story B. Actors and Actresses C. A Director D. Making a Film Answer: D. Making a Film Many people go to church on Sunday, but others don't. Many people sleep late on Sunday morning, but others don't. Some people work on Sunday, but most don't. However, almost everyone reads the Sunday paper. Often the paper is waiting outside the door when the family gets up. The newspaper boy has put it there. The paper has many advertisements and many different parts. The parents in the family like the front page and the world news part. Many men also read the sports pages and the financial pages. Most men don't read the women's pages, but the mother of the family usually does. The women's pages have the news about parties and some good ideas about food, health and clothes. Most Sunday papers have interesting stories. Children enjoy them. Old people read the death notices. They tell about people who have died during the week. There is something for everyone in the Sunday paper. This passage tells us _ . A. what people usually do on Sundays B. when people get up on Sundays C. something about Sunday papers D. people can know from the paper who died during the week Answer: C. something about Sunday papers It was Christmas, and there was a big party in the house. Guests came and went, but the party went on. Then the bell rang. Several people shouted, "Come in!"and a small man opened the front door and came in. Nobody knew him. But the host went to meet him, and took him to the bar for a drink. The man sat there happily for an hour and a half and drank.Then suddenly he stopped and looked at the host. "Do you know," he said, "nobody invited me to this party. I don't know you, 'I don't know your wife, and I don't know any of your guests. My wife and I wanted to go out in our car, but one of your guests' cars was in front of our gate, so I came here to find him and my wife is waiting in our car for me to come back. Which sentence is Not true about the party ? A. All the guests stayed there until the party was over . B. There were lots of people at the party . C. There were some drinks at the party . D. Not all the guests knew each other Answer: A. All the guests stayed there until the party was over . One Saturday morning Ann was going on business. Before starting, she took her son Sam to her friends, Bill and Kate, and asked them to look after him for the day. Sam, an independent boy of six years old, had black hair and was wearing a pair of jeans and a bright yellow shirt. At eleven o'clock Bill took Sam into town. Sam walked along behind Bill, looking at the windows of all the shops they passed. After lunch they went to the park and walked about. The whole place was very crowded. Bill stopped to buy some chocolate. When he turned round to give some to Sam, the boy wasn't there. Bill ran round calling Sam, but he couldn't find him. About an hour later, just in front of a shop, he saw the black hair, the pair of jeans and the bright yellow shirt. The boy looked as if he was waiting for someone to come out of the shop. Bill ran across the road, took the boy by the hand and hurried off, as it was quite late. The boy began to cry and pull hard, but Bill, who didn't know much about children, couldn't understand a word the boy was saying. All the boy made was a lot of noise. When they got home at last, Bill went straight to the kitchen, with the boy still crying. At the door Bill stopped with an amazed look. There, sitting at the kitchen table with Kate, was a small boy with black hair, in a pair of jeans and a bright yellow shirt. Why did Bill take the boy by mistake? A. Because the boy was waiting for Bill. B. Because the boy was lost and crying. C. Because the boy's clothes were like Sam's. D. Because the boy asked Bill to take him home. Answer: C. Because the boy's clothes were like Sam's.
I am Jerry. My family is in New York. We have got a big house. There are three bedrooms . One is for my parents. One is for my sister Betty. One is for my brother Tony and me. I haven't got any grandparents, aunts or uncles in my family. My father is forty-three years old. He is a hotel manager. My mother is forty. She is a secretary in a factory. Betty is sixteen years old. Tony is nine years old and I'm twelve years old. We are students. I love my family. There are three _ in the house. A hotels B restaurants C offices D bedrooms Answer: D. bedrooms A recent study, which was published in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association, offers a picture of how dangerous it is to get a lift from a teenage driver. Indeed, a 16-year-old driver with three or more passengers has three times the possibility of a serious accident, compared with a teenager driving alone. The authors also found that the death rates for teenage drivers increased greatly after 10 p.m., and especially after midnight. With passengers in the car, the driver was even more likely to die in a late-night accident. Robert Foss, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, says the higher death rates for teenage drivers have less to do with "really stupid behavior" than with just a lack of driving experience. "The basic issue is that adults who are responsible for giving out licenses fail to recognize how complex and skilled driving is." he says. Both he and the author of the study believe that the way to mitigate the problem is to have states set up so-called graduated licensing systems, in which getting a license is a process with several stages. A graduated license requires that a teenager first prove himself able to drive in the presence of an adult, followed by a period of driving with night of passenger restrictions before graduating to full driving rights. Graduated licensing systems have reduced teenage driver crashes, according to recent studies. A suggested measure to be taken to reduce teenagers' driving accidents is that _ . A driving in the presence of an adult should be made a rule B they should be forbidden to take on passengers C they should not be allowed to drive after 10 pm D the licensing system should be improved Answer: D. the licensing system should be improved Which process initiates the passage of half of a parent's DNA to offspring? A meiosis B mitosis C fertilization D differentiation Answer: A. meiosis The doctor handed me my medicine and said sorry to me because his register had already closed. He asked if I would mind using the register at the front of the store. I told him not to worry and walked up front. One person was in line ahead of me, a little girl no more than seven with a bottle of medicine on the counter . She held a little green and white coin purse closely to her chest . The purse reminded me of the days when, as a child, I liked dressing myself up in my grandma's clothes. One day, wearing her large clothes and hat, I went out to buy something. I gave a fake dollar to the shop owner, but he handed back some real coins for my purse. "Keep the change!" he told me with a smile. Now, with both hands shaking, the little girl pulled out a dollar bill and some coins for her medicine. As she tried to count her money, I could see right away that she was about a dollar short. Quickly, I put a dollar bill onto the counter. The child collected her change into her coin purse and ran out. As I walked to my car, I felt a tug on my shirt. There was the girl, looking up at me with her big brown eyes. She gave me a smile, and put out her little hand. It was full of coins. "Thank you," she said. "That's OK," I answered, smiling. "Just keep the change!" Which of the following statements about the little girl is Not true according to the passage? A She was careful. B She didn't have enough money for the medicine. C She was kind. D She returned the money to the writer. Answer: D. She returned the money to the writer. Hunter and Nina are husband and wife. They get up at about 4:50 in the morning. When many people are still sleeping in their warm beds, they are working. They work outside and clean something. They don't work when it is raining. They also work on weekends Her name is Sara. She sometimes goes to work in the morning, and sometimes goes to work at night When she is onduty. She works in a big building. There are many sick people in it. She wears a white hat and a white dress. She says, "I help doctors. I meet many people every day. I look after them. They need my help. That's my job. It's hard, but I like it." Her name is Ann. She goes to work by bus every day. She works in a building. It opens at 8. a.m and closes at6.p.m.. There is a lot of good food, nice drinks and other things when she works. Children like to go there. She meets a lot of people every day. She often says, "Can I help you?" when she meets people. She says, "My work is not easy. I must stand all day and be friendly to everyone. He is Jim's father. He usually leaves home very early. He doesn't work in a factory. He goes to work on foot or by bike. It is far from his home. He usually works in the day and has his lunch outside in the sun. His work is very hard. Which of the following statements is not right? A Hunter and Nina get up early in the morning. B Maybe Sara works in a hospital. C Children never go to Ann's workplace. D Jim's father works very hard. Answer: C. Children never go to Ann's workplace.
Jim is an American. He is now living in China. He gets up at about half past six and has breakfast at seven o'clock. After breakfast,he says goodbye to his parents and leaves home at half past seven. He usually goes to school on foot. He gets there at five minutes to eight. He has his first class at eight. Morning classes are over at ten past twelve and he has lunch five minutes later,at about a quarter past twelve. After lunch he plays with his friends. Afternoon classes begin at half past one. Usually there are two lessons in the afternoon. They finish at half past three. Usually he plays games or other things at school,and he gets home at about a quarter past five. He has supper at six and then does his homework and then watches TV. He goes to bed at about half past ten. He goes to bed at _ in the evening. A 9:00 B 10:00 C 10:30 D 11:30 Answer: C. 10:30 Chen Kai is a Chinese boy. He is a student. He is 13 years old. He lives in Guangzhou. Chen Kai likes _ . Now he receives a letter from Sam, his pen pal in America. The letter is in English. Sam is 14 and he is a student, too. He speaks English very well. In the letter, Sam says he wants to visit China and study some Chinese. ,. Chen Kai is _ . A a student B a teacher C fourteen D from Canada Answer: A. a student When Jackie Robinson walked onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, on April 15, 1947, he changed baseball forever. As the first African American to play in the Major League in modern times, many believe he changed the country forever. Robinson was born in 1919. He lived in a time when rules controlled what African Americans could do. He was a top athlete, playing football, basketball and baseball. But playing for a major League team was off limits to Robinson because of his race. Branch Rickey, president and manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, signed (......) Robinson in 1947. He believed that Robinson not only had the skills, but the courage to face the challenge of becoming modern baseball's first black player. It wasn't easy. Robinson sometimes faced boos from fans. But he became a star, anyway. In 1962, he became the first African-American player chosen to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2005, he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award Congress can give to an American. By breaking baseball's color barrier , Robinson opened the door for many to follow his footsteps, not only in baseball, but in other areas of life as well. After he stopped playing the game, Robinson worked as a manager for a coffee company. He wrote a newspaper column . He also started a bank. We can know that Jackie Robinson's story _ . A changed many Africans' ideas B had an effect on many black people's lives C encouraged black people to fight with whites D started a hot discussion about the color barrier Answer: B. had an effect on many black people's lives Bob, Jim and Alice are good friends. They all study in the same class in Red Star Middle School. The weekend is coming and the weather is going to be sunny and warm. Now they are talking about their plans. Bob is going to the hospital on Saturday. It is not far from his house, so he wants to go there by bike. He is going to visit a sick boy called Ben in the hospital. He wants to make Ben happy and give him some interesting storybooks. He is going to stay there for the whole day. Jim is going to ride to Great Zoo with his father on Sunday. He wants to see the pandas, tigers, lions and elephants. He wants to stay there for the whole day. On Saturday, Alice is going to the Green Park with her friends on foot. She is going fishing by the lake, going boating on the river and playing on the slide . She plans to stay there for the whole afternoon. How is Jim going to the zoo? A By bus. B On foot C By car. D By bike. Answer: D. By bike. Miss Liu is an English teacher. She is very young. She works very well and the students all like her. There are twenty-six boys and twenty-four girls in her class. Now some of them are playing on the playground. Jim and Bill are jumping. Sam and Mike are running. Lucy and Simon are singing. The other girls are playing games with their teacher. They're happy. All the students _ . A like Miss Liu B are running C are playing games D are jumping Answer: A. like Miss Liu
A mansion may symbolize the American dream. But the fact is, for most immigrants, the closest one they ever get to is the neighboring bushes. Such is the case with 63-year-old Catalino Tabia, Calif. He's a gardener with a 6'h grade education. He came to America to make his dreams come true, but ended up fulfilling everyone else's."I always wanted to be somebody," Tabia said."But now I just want the opportunity to help others." That is why, not long ago, Tabia started the Bay Area Gardeners Foundation. It's a charity aiming at helping smart kids like Noel Chavez, whose dream was to become the first in his family to graduate from college.Unfortunately, since Noel is still waiting for his citizenship, he's not qualified for financial aid.And after just a few months of going to school full-time and working full-time, he was ready to give in. "I'm working too much. I'm not going to do it. It's impossible. But then you get some help, and that's my break. " The break was a $ 1,500 scholarship from the Gardeners Foundation. In the last two years, the foundation has awarded 13 such prizes to low-income kids, regardless of citizenship. And Tabia plans to give out hundreds more. How does a gardener come up with that kind of cash? "I was thinking and thinking and suddenly, the clients V " he said."That's where the money is coming from. We work for clients with a lot of money. " Tabia and his gardener friends just started knocking on those mansion doors-and the checks have been rolling in ever since. "There might be some gardeners at your graduation," someone said to Noel."I'm sure there will and I'm going to invite them," he replied. Tabia is now hoping this idea catches on with the gardeners around the country. And whether that happens or not, and whether he realizes it or not, Tabia has already finished what he came to America to do-become somebody. What do we know about Noel? Answer: He will invite gardeners to attend his graduation ceremony. An earthquake is literally an earth-shattering experience! There you are enjoying an afternoon nap, having a cup of coffee in the morning, or even sleeping on a cold winter night when -- WHAM! -- the entire crockery shelf _ , and all the plates and cups break into pieces. A painting on the wall nearly knocks you down as it falls. What should one do in an earthquake? The prime-time news gives no warning, nor is there a time of year, like the monsoon season, when an earthquake always occurs. Unlike a tornado or hurricane, there is no known way of predicting an earthquake. Though about 500, 000 earthquakes occur each year, only 100 of them cause damage! However, an earthquake can strike any time of the day or night, so it needs to be prepared for when you have the misfortune of being caught in the middle of one. If you're indoors, stay indoors, unless you're on the ground floor, where you can easily run outside. The best thing to do if you're indoors is to hide under a strong piece of furniture like a bed or desk. Do not head for the stairway if you're living on an upper storey, because stairways can collapse. If you're driving, get out of traffic and stop on a wide and open road. Do not stop on a bridge, or in another case, under one. Stay inside your car until the shaking stops. Before you restart driving, look out for fissures , breaks in the road, and bumps or cracks. Inside your home, be careful not to turn on the gas until you' re sure the cylinder is safe, and there is no leak. Avoid using your telephone unless there's an emergency. You could be occupying lines that are needed by other people. Lastly, if you're not trapped or seriously hurt, do not expect fire fighters, army or police to help you. They may be busy rescuing people in greater need than you! What should you do if you are on the first floor of a building? Answer: Run outside immediately. Congress enacted a statute providing that persons may challenge a state energy law on the ground that it is in conflict with the federal Constitution in either federal or state court. According to this federal statute, any decision by a lower state court upholding a state energy law against a challenge based on the federal Constitution may be appealed directly to the United States Supreme Court. The provisions of this statute that authorize direct United States Supreme Court review of specified decisions rendered by lower state courts are Answer: constitutional, because Congress may establish the manner in which the appellate jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court is exercised. For many years, artists have flocked to Paris, France, to paint or to learn to paint. Perhaps artists first went there because of the city's beauty. They went to paint pictures of the broad, tree-lined streets, the great churches, and the graceful river bridges. The artists felt comfortable in Paris because the people of the city had always enjoyed art. Paris had great art museums, filled with famous paintings and statues from many countries. And the people of Paris had always welcomed new ideas. In this city, artists felt free to experiment with new ways of painting. As soon as famous artists painted in Paris, students came to learn from them. People came to buy paintings. People called art dealers set up galleries where paintings were bought and sold. Others kept shops that sold artists' paints and supplies. Students and artists who were not yet famous could live in Paris for very little money. They learned by studying great art in the museums, and they learned from one another. They held art fairs, hanging their paintings outdoors along the streets. Today, New York City and Florence, Italy, are also famous art centers. But the world's main art exhibits are still held in Paris. Important judges of art live there. Most of the new ways of painting that have started in the last hundred years began in Paris. So artists and art dealers still go to Paris because it is the world's leading art center. On the whole, this story is about. Answer: the world's most famous art center Mr. Black was the manager of a hotel in Atlanta. One weekend all of the hotels were full because of a large business meeting being held in the city. On Sunday night, three men came into Mr. Black's hotel and asked for rooms. Mr. Black told them that there were no more rooms available. The men didn't know what to do because they had no place to stay in. Mr. Black wanted to help them. He remembered that there was an empty room at the far end of the first floor -- Room 112. It was a very small room, and had rarely been used as a guest room before. So, he asked the three men if they would mind sharing that small room. They replied that they would be very satisfied so long as there was a room for them to stay in for the night. Mr. Black then told them that the room would cost them $ 30 in total. On hearing this, each of the three men gave Mr. Black $ 10 before they left for their room. However, Mr. Black soon began to think that $ 30 was really too much for that small room. He called his assistant over and said, "Here is $ 5. Give it back to the three men in Room 112. Each of them paid me $10. That's too much." The assistant took the money. While he was on the way to that small room, he thought, "How can three men divide $ 5? I'll give each of them only $ 1 and keep the $ 2 left to myself. The men will be happy to get anything back, and I can also make some money that way. After all, Mr. Black will never know anything about it." So, the assistant returned only $1 to each of the three men. Each man had first paid $ 10. After the assistant returned $1 to him, each man had actually paid only $ 9. There were three men. $ 9x3="$27." The assistant kept $ 2. $ 27 + $ 2=" $" 29. Where is the missing dollar? How were the manager and his assistant in behavior? Answer: The manager was honest but the assistant was not.
Do this and you'll be welcome anywhere. Why read this book to find out how to win friends?Why not study the technique of the greatest winner of friends the wodd has ever known?Who is he?You may meet him coming down the street.When you get within ten feet of him,he will begin to wag its tail.If you stop and pat him,he'll jump out of his skin to show you how much he likes you.And you know this show of love.There is no secret motives:he doesn't want to sell you any real estate,and he doesn't want to be your husband or wife. Did you ever stop to think that a dog is the only animal that doesn't have to work for a living?A hen has to lay eggs;a cow has to give milk;and a canary has to sing.But a dog makes a living by giving you nothing but love. When I was five years old,my father bought a little yellow--haired young dog for fifty cents.He was the light and joy of my childhood.Every afternoon amund four thirty,he would sit in the front yard with his beautiful eyes staring at the road,and as soon as he heard my voice or saw me through the bush,he was off like a shot,racing breathlessly up the hill to greet me with leaps of joy and barks of cheer. Tippy was my good companion for five years.Then one night--I shall never forget it--he was killed within ten feet of my head,killed by lightning.Tippy's death was the terrible event of my childhood. You never read a book on psychology,Tippy.You didn't need to.You know that one can make more friends in months by being really interested in other people than one can in two years by trying to get other people interested in him.Let me repeat that.You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Generally speaking,in what tone is the passage written? Light Everybody in London knew Mr. Scrooge. He was very rich but also very mean. The most important thing in his life was money! At six o'clock Bob Cratchit, Scrooge's clerk, went to Mr. Scrooge. "Excuse me. sir. Tomorrow is Christmas Day, can l stay at home?" "Stay at home," shouted Scrooge. "I don't pay you to stay at home!" "But it is Christmas," said Cratchit. "Very well," said Scrooge. "but you must work double hours on Boxing Day!" "Yes sir, certainly sir, Merry Christmas, sir." "Get out," shouted Scrooge. "Christmas! Everybody talks about Christmas!" said Scrooge. "It's just an excuse not to work. People want money too. Always money! For doing nothing!" Scrooge put on his hat and coat and left the office. It was Christmas Eve and everyone was shopping. It was dark and Scrooge was alone. He saw a person dressed in black. "Are you the Spirit of Christmas to come?" asked Scrooge. The Spirit didn't speak. It pointed to a group of people. The people were talking. "Is he dead?" asked one man. "Yes. No-one will cry for him," said another. "He was a horrible, unkind man. He never gave money to us poor people. He wasn't a happy man." "Who's dead?" asked Scrooge. The Spirit pointed down. It was a grave . There were no flowers and no people there. "Who is it?" asked Scrooge nervously. The Spirit pointed again. "No, I don't want to look, I want to go home." But the Spirit didn't move. Very slowly Scrooge rubbed the snow away. On the grave were the words EBENEZER SCROOGE. It was morning. Christmas morning. Scrooge was in bed! "I'm alive, I'm alive, how wonderful!" He jumped out of bed, singing and dancing as he went around the room. "What a beautiful day it is. I love Christmas. I love everybody." He went to the butcher's and said, "Take the biggest turkey you have to Bob Cratchit's house." Scrooge met the two men collecting money for the poor. "Please take this," said Scrooge to the men and gave them a big sum of money for the poor. From that Christmas Scrooge was a new man. He helped the poor and was kind to everyone. He became a happy man and everybody loved him. Why was Scrooge happy in the end? He helped others and others loved him. A penguin, while a bird, would avoid living in a native forest A chemical property of a mineral is evident if the mineral bubbles when acid is placed on it I first went to Harrow in the summer term. The school had the biggest swimming pool I had ever seen. It was a good joke to come up behind a naked boy, and push him into the pool. I made quite a habit of this with boys of my own size or less. One day I saw a boy wrapped in a towel on the side of the pool. He was no bigger than I was, so I thought him _ . Coming secretly behind, I pushed him in, holding on to his towel so that it would not get wet, I was surprised to see an angry face come out from the water, and a being of great strength masking its way by face strokes to the shore. I fled, but in vain. He overtook me, seized me violently, and threw me into the deepest part of the pool. I soon climbed out on the other side, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of younger boys." Do you know what you have done?" they said, "It's Amery; he is in Grade Six. He is champion at gym; he has got his football honor." I was frightened and felt ashamed. How could I tell his position when be was wrapped in a bath towel and so small." He didn't seem pleased at all, so I added in a most brilliant word," My father, who is a great man, is also small." At this be laughed, and after some general words about my rude behavior and how I had better be careful in the future, signified the incident was closed. The writer felt" ashamed" because . he played a joke on an outstanding athlete
My name is Mimi. I'm black and white. I like sitting on the chair in the sun in winter. Do you know my favorite food? It is fish. I don't like apples. I can climb trees. I can sing " Miao, miao". What am I? Can you guess? What's Mimi's favorite food? A. Eggs. B. Fish. C. Rice. D. Fruit Answer: B From good reading we can get pleasure, companionship, experience, and instruction. A good book may absorb our attention so completely that for the time being we forget our surroundings and even our identity. Reading good books is one of the greatest pleasures in life. It increases our contentment when we are cheerful, and lessens our troubles when we are sad. Whatever may be our main purpose in reading, our contact with good books should never fail to give us enjoyment and satisfaction. With a good book in our hands we need never be lonely. Whether the characters in it are taken from real life or are purely imaginary, they may become our companions and friends. In the pages of books we can walk with the wise and the good of all lands and all times. The people we meet in books may delight us either because they resemble human friends whom we hold dear or because they present unfamiliar types whom we are glad to welcome as new acquaintances . Our human friends sometimes may bore us, but the friends we make in books need never weary us with their company. By turning the page we can dismiss them without any fear of hurting their feelings. While human friends desert us, good books are always ready to give us friendship, sympathy, and encouragement. Of all the gifts from reading books, the most valuable one is experience. Few of us can travel far from home or have a wide range of experiences, but all of us can lead varied lives through the pages of books. Whether we wish to escape from the seemingly dull realities of daily routines or whether we long to visit some far-off place, a book will help us when nothing else can. To travel by book we need no bank account to pay our way; no airship or ocean liner or stream-lined train to transport us; no passport to enter the land of our heart's desire. Through books we may get the thrill of _ adventure without danger. We can climb high mountains, brave the perils of an Antarctic winter, or cross the scorching sands of the desert, all without hardship. In books we may visit the studios of Hollywood; we may mix with the merry crowds of the Paris boulevards; we may join the picturesque peasants in an Alpine village or the kindly natives on a South Sea island. Indeed, through books _ . The possibilities of our literary experiences are almost unlimited. The beauties of nature, the enjoyment of music, the treasures of art, the triumphs of architecture, the marvels of engineering, are all open to the wonder and enjoyment of those who read. What is the most suitable title for this passage? A. Reading and traveling B. Experiencing the world C. Traveling with books D. Gifts from reading Answer: D Rockwatch--The Best Club on Earth If you are young and interested in geology , then Rockwatch is the club for you. When you apply for membership, you'll receive a Rockwatch Rox file each. It has the information and top tips you will need to start enjoying geology. It's designed to serve as your own field notebook as well. In it you will find your membership card fullcolour minimap thumbsup guide fact cards Rockwatch Magazine Our lively magazine is mailed to members three times a year. They can read reports and news from around the world, and articles on everything from diamonds to dinosaurs, earthquakes to erosion . Rockwatch Events With each magazine you will receive a Rockwatch events calendar. Rocky activities suitable for families are listed and include road shows and guided walks. The Rockwatch Rock Artist Are you an artist, or a photographer? This is your chance to turn Rockwatch Rock Artist of a year and win amazing prizes in our annual competition. Special Offer Rockwatch members can have specially discounted Wildlife Watch membership. Wildlife Watch is the biggest environmental action club for young people, with 100 groups across the country. You can join both clubs together by filling in the boxes in the membership form. When applying for Wildlife Watch membership, a Rockwatch member can enjoy _ . A. free membership B. a special discount C. a Rock Artist prize D. guided road shows Answer: B Seal seizes raft This seal really rocked the boat when he found himself an unusual place to hang out. After the seal came across a boat in the harbor where he lives, he fell inside and wouldn't _ for four days. "One morning the seal just pulled himself aboard," says Ed Stubbings, who owns the boat-turned-bed. Probably thinking the boat was a rock, the seal made himself at home. The seal didn't move an inch-----not even to eat or drink. Stubbings was a little worried that the 500-pound animal might sink it. Luckily on the fifth day, the seal fell back into the water and swam off. Alligator gets new tail When Mr. Stubbs the alligator swims through his pool at the Phoenix Herpetological Society, he looks like any other gator-----except that his tail is made of rubber. Mr. Stubbs is the first alligator known to wear an artificial tail. Mr. Stubbs was brought to the society nine years ago. "His tail was missing when he arrived," says President Russ Johnson. Mr. Stubbs couldn't walk or swim properly. "We showed him how to swim in the water," Johnson says. "But that hurt his back." Later, the scientists used rubber to build an artificial tail attached to Mr. Stubbs's back legs. "Once we put the tail on him, he walked with ease," Johnson says. Dog delivers papers Morgan started her "paper route" when she was young. One day as Morgan and her owner Bill set out on a walk, she spotted a rolled-up paper. To Bill's surprise, Morgan grabbed the object in her mouth, walked back to the house, and dropped it on the doorstep. Morgan enjoyed the activity so much that she wanted to deliver every paper she saw on her walks. Now three-year-old Morgan brings the paper to her owner and neighbors, even in bad weather. "Morgan has a natural instinct to carry things with her mouth," dog behaviorist Pat Miller says. "And she feels rewarded by the activity, so she keeps it up." What made Morgan deliver papers? A. Her owner Bill's praise. B. Her neighbors' rewards. C. Pat Miller's encouragement. D. Her natural ability. Answer: D Recently, a small group of birdwatchers spent three weeks around Mount Vernon. They were busy counting wild birds on Mount Vernon's wetlands, south of Washington, D.C. They began in the middle of December and worked until the beginning of January, 2015. The birdwatchers were among 70,000 volunteers who collected information for the National Audubon Society, a U.S. conservation group. They counted birds in more than 2,400 areas in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean Sea and other parts of the Americas. The Audubon Society's first "Christmas Bird Count" took place 115 years ago in 1900. At that time, a man named Frank Chapman suggested a new Christmas tradition that people count birds instead of shooting them around the holiday. Harry Glasgow has taken part in the Christmas Bird Count for the past 10 years. This year, he was one of the volunteer birdwatchers at Mount Vernon. "I think it's a tremendous use of a lot of unofficial talent around the nation to keep track of birds. Birds are one of the surest indicators of the health of ecology." Last year, the bird count recorded over 66 million birds of 2,403 different species. Gary Langham is chief scientist with the National Audubon Society. "The Audubon climate report says that half the birds in North America -- 314 out of 588 species -- are seriously threatened by climate change. The impacts sort of cut across all birds, all sizes, all kinds, all places." Information from the bird counts has shown that birds are staying farther north during the winter months because of warmer weather. Birdwatcher Jaime Reidy has noted the difference close to Washington, in the state of Virginia. "You get to see them at odd times of the year, a little earlier, staying a little later." Gary Langham says other conditions are affecting bird populations. "You can imagine the birds that live along the beach or along the rocky shore line as sea levels are rising around the world. That is impacting them, you know." David Yarnold is president of the Audubon Society. In his words, "Christmas Bird Count data is becoming important not only in documenting current climate change, but in predicting the future effects of climate change on North American bird populations. If we know what to expect, we can start taking actions now to do something about it." For what reason did the birdwatchers count wild birds around Mount Vernon? A. To find out what affects birds' migration and populations. B. To collect information for the new Christmas tradition. C. To compare the birds in Washington with those in other places. D. To raise people's awareness of protecting wild birds. Answer: A
Steven Jobs was born on February 24,1955,in San Francisco,California,and was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs.In 1961 the family moved to Mountain View, California.At that time people started to refer to the area as "Silicon Valley". As a child, Jobs preferred doing things by himself, not interested in team sports or other group activities.He enrolled in the HewlettPackard Explorer Club. There he saw his first computer at the age of twelve. He was very impressed, and knew right away that he wanted to work with computers. At that time almost all computers were so large that one could fill a room, and so costly that individuals could not afford to buy them.Advances in electronics, however, meant that the parts of a computer were getting smaller and the power of the computer was increasing. By 1980 the personal computer era was well underway.Apple was continually forced to improve its products to remain ahead, as more competitors entered the marketplace. Apple introduced the Apple III, but the new model suffered technical and marketing problems.It was removed from the market. Early in 1983 Jobs unveiled the Lisa.It did not sell well,however, because it was more expensive than personal computers sold by competitors.Apple's biggest competitor was International Business Machines (IBM). By 1983 it was estimated that Apple had lost half of its market share ( part of an industry's sales that a specific company has) to IBM. In 1984 Apple introduced a revolutionary new model, the Macintosh.The Macintosh did not sell well to businesses,however.It lacked features other personal computers had, such as a corresponding high quality printer. The failure of the Macintosh signaled the beginning of Jobs's downfall at Apple. Late in 1988 the NeXT computer was introduced, aimed at the educational market.The product was very userfriendly,and had a fast processing speed, excellent graphics displays,and an outstanding sound system.Despite the warm reception,however, the NeXT machine never caught on. It was too costly, had a blackandwhite screen, and could not be linked to other computers or run common software. Which of the following statements is RIGHT? Answer: Apple and IBM competed for sales of personal computers. A vehicle stops when brakes are pressed because Answer: the tires are being halted by pressure Today, home-ownership has reached extremely high levels. Modern generations tend to believe there is something wrong with them if they rent. However, is high home-ownership really as rosy as people imagine? Staring at data first, we realize that the most successful, stable, attractive country in the Western world is Switzerland. It has tiny unemployment; wealth; high happiness and mental-health scores. Does it have high home-ownership rates? Absolutely not. In Switzerland, about seven in ten of the population are renters. Yet, with Europe's lowest home-ownership rate, the nation thrives. Now go to the other end of the misery distribution. Spain has approximately the highest home-ownership rate in Europe (at more than 80%). But one-quarter of its population are unemployed. A likely reason is that high levels of home-ownership mess up the labour market. In a sensibly functioning economy it is easy for people to move around to drop into the vibrant job slots thrown up by technological change. With a high degree of owner-occupation, everything slows. Folk get stuck. Renters can go to new jobs. In that way they do the economy a favour. As Friedman said, the rate of unemployment depends on the flexibility of the housing market. Next we come to economic breakdown. Most analysts accept that at heart it was the housing market--obsessive pursuit of homes, the engendered mortgage lending and an unavoidable house-price crash--that sank the Western world. Germany, say, with its more efficient rental market, had a far smoother ride through trouble. As for the monetary system, in the past few decades, in the hope of getting untaxed capital gains way above their true labour earnings, many people threw their spare cash into buying larger houses or building extra bedrooms. TV programmes about how to make easy money, beautiful rising house prices, and most importantly, our falulty tax system encouraged that. When at some point market broke down, everyone suffered. Our countries ought, instead, to design tax systems that encourage people to invest in productive real activities and in innovation. Renting leaves money free for better purposes. That also points to the role of sensible budgeting over a person's lifetime. Why should we think that when we die it is necessary to have paid off an entire house? Our children do not deserve it. Let them pay for themselves. We should rent--and enjoy our lives with the money saved. Finally, moderation usually pays off. Our scientific understanding of how economies function is horribly limited. This suggests that the golden rule should be to avoid extremes. A 50-50 mix of home-ownership and renting, not the 70-30 split that is now observed in so many Western nations, makes sense. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? Answer: Renting allows more money into more creative economic activities. For poets, bird song is a beautiful expression of nature in full bloom. But for scientists, the chirps of birds are far more meaningful than just pretty sounds. Latest studies show the way that young birds learn to sing is similar to that of a human baby learning to speak. "The question we're trying to answer is how a young bird learns its song," says Professor Michale Fee of MIT. Bird's creative, trial-and-error type of learning provides an ideal model for studying similar processes in humans. An example is how a baby's babble turns into the recognizable syllables of mama and papa. Also the part of the brain that is involved in bird song is very similar to that of a human. So birds may have something to teach us about our own brains, Fee said. The study shows that young birds like to create new and imperfect songs. Gradually, the youngsters' songs become less different and more similar to the sound of their parents. Scientists disabled part of a young finch's brain and stopped the learning in midstream. The bird still sings. But never learns the right songs. Fee's team found that the part of the brain involved is called the anterior forebrain pathway. Its neurons produce random bursts that make the young bird make new sounds and compared it with that of their parents. They also find out that once a bird is old enough that part of the brain will be less active. The study does not enable us to really understand the meaning of bird language. But Fee believes it will eventually be applied to human brain diseases, such as Parkinson's disease. The subject discussed in the passage is _ . Answer: how birds learn songs A person wants to show that they have lost money with their business, and they want to show someone. They decide to use a graph that shows Answer: ups and downs
After seven years of preparation, England _ the 2012Summer Olympic Games on Friday. NBC estimates that 4 billion viewers tuned in from around the world to watch teh opening ceremonies in London England. Oscar-winning flimmaker Danny Boyle directed the opening ceremonies. The show cost $42 million and required 15,000 volunteers. An Exciting Opening Boyle's ceremonies took audiences through a history of England. The performmance began in the English countryside, continued with the building of factories and cities and ended up in the modern age, with performers texting and using cellphones. Next, the athletes, coaches and officials from the 205 nations competing made their way into the stadium during the Parade of Nations. The ceremonies ended with the lighting of the Olympic flame and Paul McCartney, former member of the famous rock band The Bealtes, singing the song "Hey Jude". Super Surprises The opening weekend of competition took some unexpected turns. American swimmer Ryan Lochte surprised the world when he beat teammate Michael Phelps to win a gold medal in teh 400-meter individual medley . It was the first time Phelps did not win a medal in an Olympic race since 2000, when Phelps was 15. " I had a chance to put myself in a good spot, and I didn't do it," Phelps said after the race. "It's pretty upsetting, but the biggest thing now is to try to get back and move forward." Even more surprising was China's 16-year-old Ye Shiwen"s unbelievable performance in the women's 400-metre individual medley. Ye set the first swimming world record this year, even swimming faster than men's gold medalist. Lochte, during the final 50meters of the race! Though many expected to see American gymnast Jordyn Wieber take home gold in the women's all gymnastics final, Wieber did not qualify for the event. Only two gymnasts from each country can qualify, and Wieber was beaten by teammates Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman. With the Games just getting under way, there are likely many more surprises. What else will surprise fans around the world? You'll have to watch to find out! What is the best title for the text? Answer: Robert is sixteen now. He'll finish middle school in two years. His father has a shop and got much money. He hopes his son can go to university and makes him study hard. But the young man likes to play cards. He has to go out when his parents fall asleep. One night, when Robert came back, his father happened to see him. The old man was very angry and told his son to live upstairs. Robert has to go up and down quietly. Of course it troubles him. He thought and thought but didn't find a way. Last evening Robert listened carefully. And he was sure his parents went to sleep, he went out to play cards with his friends. He won some money and was happy. And he got back, he took off his shoes and was going upstairs. He heard a noise in his parents' bedroom. He stood behind the door and saw a man come out. He understood it was a thief . He stopped him at once. The man was very afraid and brought out all the things he stole in the room. "Tell me how you didn't wake my parents up," said Robert. "Or I'll take you to the police station!" Robert listened carefully because he wanted to know _ Answer: "Have you ever been out on a boat and felt it lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves came over you?" asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the prefix = st1 /UniversityofEdinburgh."There is certainly a lot of energy in waves," he said.Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity.Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean."The wind starts out by making little ripples , but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves," Taylor said." Waves are one of nature 's ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey. When waves come toward the shore, people can set up dams to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine .The turbine can then power an electrical generator to produce electricity . "The resource is huge," said Janet Swain of the World watch Institute."We will never run out of wave power." Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal.Oceans cover three-quarters of the Earth's surface - that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world, though there are some weak points yet to overcome. Swain said that wave power still costs too much money.She also said that its effects on sea animals are still unknown.What is more, wave power could affect fishing and boat traffic. Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out." Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world," Swain said.In the future when you turn on a light, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity! The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to _ . Answer: According to a report , more than a million workers will fail to take their full annul leave this year in UK. That's to say, totally, those workers will give up 6.2 million days of vacation, with an average of five days for each worker. For their employers, they feel happy because that is equal to a potential $500 million of 'free' work, which, according to an economist will boost the output of the economy by about two percent. The report also showed that the main reasons employees give up their remaining annul leave are due to pressures at work and their failing to appreciate that taking a break could make them more productive and, in turn, boost the economy in the long term. The research, done by price comparison website Travel Supermarket, found that more than one in four of those who will give up their remaining holidays (28 percent) will do so due to pressures at work. Bob Atkinson, travel expert for Travel Supermarket said: "As the economy is not so satisfying, it's no surprise that people are cautious to take all their leave, especially if they feel stressed and uncertainty at work." Nine percent of the 2,020 people surveyed also said they would feel guilty about taking the leave because their work would have to be taken care of by their colleagues. A further three percent said they would be concerned about how taking time off would look to their employer, while the same percentage said they did not want to miss anything interesting or beneficial at work in the time they would be away. Vicky Redwood, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "Suppose that there are about 250 working days in a year, getting an extra five 'free' days of work from their employees could in theory boost the output of the economy by about two percent. On the other hand, if workers are less productive as a result of not getting enough breaks from work, taking all the annual leave, in fact, will perhaps increase the economy." From what Vicky Redwood said, we can infer that _ . Answer: Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors.A mistake on a two-penny stamp has made it worth a million and a half times its face value. Do you think it impossible? Well,it is true.And this is how it happened. The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the former British colony of Mauritius,a small island in the Indian Ocean. In l847 all order for stamps was sent to London Mauritius was about to become the fourth country in the world to put out stamps. Before the order was filled and the stamps arrived from England,a big dance was planned by the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces on the island.The dance would be held in his house and letters of invitation would be sent to all the important people in Mauritius.Stamps were badly needed to post the letters.Therefore,an islander,who was a good printer,was told to copy the pattern of the stamps.He carelessly put the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid", two words seen on stamps at that time,on the several hundred that he printed. Today, there are only twenty-six of these misprinted stamps left-fourteen One-penny Reds and twelve Two-penny Blues, Because there are so few Two-penny Blues and because of their age, collectors have paid as much as$16,800 for one of them. In l847 most countries of the world were _ Answer:
China's first and only Grand Slam winner Li Na formally announced her retirement on Friday, leaving the Chinese tennis yearning for the next superstar. Following is part of her farewell and retirement letter: For close to fifteen years, we've been a part of each other's lives. As a tennis player representing China on the global stage, I've trekked around the world playing hundreds of matches on the WTA tour, for China's Fed Cup team, at the National Games and at several Olympic Games. You've always been there for me, supporting me, cheering me on, and encouraging me to reach my potential. Representing China on the tennis court was an extraordinary privilege and a true honor. Having the unique opportunity to effectively bring more attention to the sport of tennis in China and all over Asia is something I will cherish forever. But in sport, just like in life, all great things must come to an end.2014 has become one of the most significant years in my career and my life. This year was full of amazing highlights, which included winning my second Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open and sharing the extraordinary experience with my country, my team, my husband and my fans. It was also a year filled with difficult moments, such as having to deal with the inevitable - making the decision to end my professional tennis career. The amazing moment in Australia was filled with joy, happiness and extraordinary sense of accomplishment. It took me several agonizing months to finally come to the decision that my chronic injuries will never again let me be the tennis player that I can be. Most people in the tennis world know that my career has been marked by my troubled right knee. The black brace I wear over it when I step on the court has become my tennis birth mark. After four knee surgeries and hundreds of shots injected into my knee weekly to ease swelling and pain, my body is begging me to stop the pounding. My previous three surgeries were on my right knee. My most recent knee surgery took place this July and was on my left knee. After a few weeks of post-surgery recovery, I tried to go through all the necessary steps to get back on the court. One of my goals was to recover as fast as I could in order to be ready for the first WTA tournament in my hometown of Wuhan. As hard as I tried to get back to being 100%, my body kept telling me that, at 32, I will not be able to compete at the top level ever again. Which statement is NOT true about Li Na? Answer: Every profession or trade, every art, and every science has its technical vocabulary, the function of which is partly to refer to things or processes which have no names in ordinary English, and partly to secure greater exactness in expression. Such special dialects, or jargon, are necessary in technical discussion of any kind. Being universally understood by the devotees of the particular science or art, they have the precision of a mathematical formula . Besides, they save time, for it is much more economical to name a process than to describe it. Thousands of these technical terms are very properly included in every large dictionary, yet, as a whole, _ Different professions, however, differ widely in the character of their special vocabularies. In trades and handicrafts and other professions, such as farming and fishing, that have occupied great numbers of men from remote times, the technical vocabulary is very old. It consists largely of native words, or of borrowed words that have worked themselves into the very fiber of our language, hence, though highly technical in many particulars, these vocabularies are more familiar in sound, and more generally understood than most other technicalities. The special dialects of law, medicine, and philosophy have also become pretty familiar to cultivated person, and have contributed much to the popular vocabulary. Yet, every profession still possesses a large body of technical terms that remain essentially foreign, even to educated speech. And the proportion has been much increased in the last fifty years, particularly in the various departments of natural and political sciences and in the mechanic arts. So new terms are coined with the greatest freedom, and abandoned with indifference when they have served their turn. Most of the new coinages are restricted to special discussions and seldom get into general literature or conversation. Yet no profession is nowadays, as all profession once were, a closed guild . The lawyer, the physician, the man of science, and the cleric associate freely with his fellow creatures, and do not meet them in a merely professional way. Furthermore, what is called popular science makes everybody acquainted with modern views and recent discoveries. Any important experiment, though made in a remote laboratory, is at once reported in the newspapers, and everybody is soon talking about it--as in the case of the Roentgen rays and wireless telegraphy. Thus, our common speech is always taking up new technical terms and making them commonplace . ks5u What is the passage mainly about? Answer: The pounding was driving Edward crazy. A new neighbor had just moved into the apartment below him. The newcomer was deaf, or seemed to be, because he played his stereo loud enough for the whole building to hear. On the first day he heard the stereo rocking over, Edward marched downstairs and politely told the newcomer that his stereo was too loud. He asked the new tenant to turn the volume down and keep it down as long as he lived in the building. The tenant appeared surprised and embarrassed, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was that loud." So, Edward returned upstairs, feeling good, because he had taken a stand and politely let the newcomer know that loud music was not going to be tolerated. The next day all was quiet, and Edward continued to be pleased with himself. The following day, Edward thought it must be Fourth of July, because a marching band was playing on his street. In fact, it was the new neighbor who was playing his music loud again. Edward was not one to repeat himself, feeling that each time you repeated yourself, you diminished the value of your words. So, he did what he always did with rude neighbors-grin and bear it. Eventually, they would move away. What else are you going to do? In Los Angeles a year ago, a woman had complained to her upstairs neighbor that he was playing his drums too loud and too often. The drummer repeatedly ignored her. One day the woman walked upstairs and shot the drummer in the head and his girlfriend in the chest. The woman was sentenced to prison for 20 years. The dead drummer won't bother anyone with his drums, but the woman might be wishing now that she had learned to grin and bear it. If she were still living in her apartment, she could always move. When you're in prison, you don't have that option. The woman killed her neighbor because _ . Answer: What is the best measure to use in determining the effect of solar energy on Earth's atmosphere? Answer: Pollution is extremely difficult to contain in a Answer:
Jack and Mike are on holiday in France. Mike loves visiting old buildings. Jack likes, too. In the village Jack and Mike see a beautiful old church, but when they come into the church, some people are there. They don't know what the people are doing. "Oh! Just sit quietly, and do like the others!" Mike says. Because they don't really know French, so they stand, kneel, and sit to follow other people. Then the priest says something. The man next to Jack and Mike stands up. "We should stand up, too!" Jack whispers to Mike. So, Jack and Mike stand up with the man. Suddenly, all the people smile! After that, Jack and Mike walk to the priest. "What's so funny?" Jack asks in English. With a smile on his face the priest says, "Boys, there is a new baby born, we ask the father to stand up." Mike smiles and says, "We should understand what people do before we do like them. " Why are Jack and Mike in the church? Answer: One cold morning in winter, I went alone to a hillside to do some hunting. I sat there waiting for about an hour. Suddenly, a big beautiful deer appeared less than 20 feet away from me. There was no cover near him. Surely I could shoot him. To my surprise, he came toward me! He was curious, I suppose, or maybe he was stupid. For this was not a youngster, but a fully grown-up one. He must have known about men and their guns. But this deer came closer, and I still waited. His big eyes never moved away from my face. His wonderful head with a set of antlers was clear in sight. I was getting a bit nervous as he walked closer. A big deer can do a lot of damage. Well, he walked right up to where I was sitting. Then he stopped and looked at me. What happened next was hard to believe. But it all seemed quite natural. I held out my hands and scratched his head right between the antlers. And he liked it. The big, wild, beautiful deer bent his head. I scratched and touched his head and body. His nose touched my shoulder. I fed him with my last sandwich. Well, he finally went his way, down the hill. Shoot him? Not me. You wouldn't, either. Not after that. I just watched him go, a strong deer carrying a proud head. I picked up my gun, and started walking back. Suddenly, I heard two shots, one after another. If you have hunted much, you will know what two shots mean. They mean a kill. I had forgotten that there were other hunters around. You will now understand why I gave up hunting from that day on. How the deer behaved toward the writer shows that _ . Answer: The pen is more powerful than the sword. There have been many writers who use their pens to write things that were wrong. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of them. She was born in the U. S. A. in 1811. One of her books not only made her famous but has been described as one that excited the world, and was helpful in causing a civil war and freeing the enslaved race. The civil war was the American Civil War of 1861, in which the Northern States fought the Southern States and finally won. This book that shook the world was called Uncle Tom's Cabin. There was a time when every English-speaking man, woman, and child had read this novel that did so much to stop slavery. Not many people read it today, but it is still very interesting, if only to show how a warm-hearted writer can arouse people's sympathies. The author herself had neither been to the Southern States nor seen a slave. The Southern Americans were very angry at the book, which they said did not at all represent the true state of affairs, but the Northern Americans were widely excited over it, and were so inspired by it that they were ready to go to war to set the slaves free. Why could Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe's book cause a civil war in America? Because _ . Answer: Brave Type: 3D cartoon Comedy Running time: 95 minutes Merida, a princess, refused to marry a person that she dislikes. This causes trouble for her family and the whole country. Merida turns to a witch for help. In doing so, her family and the country are in danger. Merida must save her family and the country before it is too late. The Grey Type: Action Running time: 117 minutes The Grey is based on the short story "Ghost Walker" written by Ian Mackenzie Jeffers. It's about a number of oil men who are in trouble in Alaska after a plane crash . They have to fight against grey wolves that threaten their lives. Mirror Mirror Type: Comedy Running time: 106 minutes You must know the story of Snow White. Would you like to see this story again? Come to see Mirror Mirror. It's a comedy about Snow White. Lily Collins and Julia Roberts are the main actresses in this interesting movie. Chimpanzee Type: Documentary Running time: 78 minutes This movie is directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield. It's a 2012 nature documentary film about a young chimpanzee named Oscar. He is alone in the African forests until he is raised by another chimpanzee. The chimpanzee takes care of Oscar like his own child. Which movie lasts the longest time? Answer: The easiest thing to break is Answer:
Question: Earlier this month, blogger Lisa Henderson announced that she and her husband John had decided not to have Christmas. The family, who lives in Utah, will still put up decorations, but presents from Santa are a no-go this year. "John and I feel like we are fighting a very hard uphill battle with our kids when it comes to their rights," Henderson wrote on her blog. "It is one of the biggest struggles as a parent these days in middle class America. Our kids have been acting so ungrateful lately. ... John said, "We shouldn't just celebrate Christmas. And, so that's what we did." Instead, the Hendersons are putting the money they would have spent on gifts toward service projects in order to teach their three sons the "pleasure of giving." The children will still receive gifts from grandparents and other family members, but this year, she said, their letters to Santa will be asking him to find someone who needs presents more than they do. In an interview with ABC News, 11-year-old Caleb Henderson admitted that he and his brothers had been behaving badly. "We would hit each other. We were fighting and crying," he admitted, and Lisa said that _ But so far, Henderson told Fox News last week, the family is having a sudden turning this into a different kind of gift. They have already held a clothing drive and sent boxes of clothes and candy to a village in the Philippines that was hit hard last year by Typhoon Haiyan. "The children were excited and kept wanting to give more and more," she reported on her blog. Many readers responded positively to Henderson's post. Some sharing their own stories of limiting Christmas in order to teach their children to be charitable or grateful. "As parents you're giving your kids something so much more special than a bunch of gifts on Christmas," one wrote. But Henderson received negative follow-ups as well on her blog. Responding to critics, she updated her blog with a statement that reads, in part: I just wanted to explain a couple of things. First, my kids are in no way hurt for things.... They have reacted by making gifts for each other and packing them into each other's stockings stealthily . They are learning exactly what we wanted them to learn, because they are not moving around feeling sorry for themselves. They are thinking of others. The second thing I wanted to explain is why I wrote this post. Some people seem to think I wrote this for attention. Ummm, the attention you get from posts like this is not good and actually extremely difficult to deal with.... The reason I wrote this post is I want to empower parents to feel like it's okay to take a stand. ... I wanted to share what we are doing, so any parents that feel they are struggling with the same issues in their home can see what others are doing and get ideas for their family. My intention is to help support other parents and to raise amazing kids. Which of the following can be the best title? A. Why These Parents Decided Not To Celebrate Christmas. B. How Americans usually Spend A Traditional Christmas. C. A Hard Battle between Kids And Parents At Christmas. D. What American People Do To Have A Nice Christmas. 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. The writer has _ good friends. A. two B. three C. four D. five Answer: C Question: From the health point of view we are living in an amazing age. We are free from many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once deadly illnesses can now be cured by modern medicine. It is almost certain that one day medicines will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased greatly. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable killing of men, women and children on the roads. Man vs the motor-car. It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen. It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel , his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man's very worst qualities.People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They say, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and completely selfish.All their hidden angers and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving. The surprising thing is that society smiles so gently on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the deaths become nothing more than a number every year, to be easily forgotten. It is high time a world rule was created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are unbelievably lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. A rule which was universally accepted could only have an obviously beneficial effect on the accident rate.Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict tests for safety each year. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can damage a person's driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Speed limits should be required on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for car factories, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may not sound good enough. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the number of deaths. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars. What does the author mean by saying "his car becomes the extension of his personality" in Para. 2 ? A. Driving can represent his manners. B. Driving can show his hidden qualities. C. Driving can bring out his character. D. Driving can show the other part of his personality. Answer: B Question: Let Children Roam Free Everyone agrees that playing outside keeps children thinner. The loss of opportunities for outdoor play is one of the main causes of childhood obesity. What is more remarkable is the growing evidence that children's mental health and emotional well-being are enhanced by contact with the outdoors, and that the restorative effect appears to be strongest in natural settings. Researchers are convinced of the depth of the connection between children's well-being and the environment, claiming that contact with nature may be as important to children as good nutrition and adequate sleep. But now children seem to get less touch with outdoor activities. The root causes of the dramatic loss of children's freedom lie in changes to the very fabric of their lives over the last 30 years or so. The growth in road traffic, alongside poor town planning and shifts in the make-up and daily rhythms of families and communities, have left children with fewer outdoor places to go. These changes coincided with the "culture of fear": a generalized anxiety about all imaginary kinds of threats, even though children are statistically safer from harm now than at any point in human history. These physical, economic and social changes and fears have been made use of by manufactures and advertisers, whose products and messages both reinforce the logic of keeping children virtual prisoners, and force us to compensate them in the only way our cash-rich, time-poor society seems to know: by spending money on them. Government must bear some of the blame for keeping children prisoners indoor, through their promotion of planning policies that favour cars over communities and profit over people. The real planning crimes lie in housing companies occupying attractive parks and green spaces, and in town plans that force families to depend largely on their cars. There is no doubt that traffic danger, unlike stranger danger, is a real threat to children and a constant worry for parents. Around 100 child pedestrians are killed every year, a figure that puts the UK near the bottom of Europe's child road safety league. It is no surprise that figures show a steady fall in children walking or cycling over the last twenty years, to the extent that while over 90% of children own a bicycle, just 2% cycle to school. Also, 30% of children aged eight to ten never play outside without an adult watching over them. In a single generation, the "home habitat" of a typical eight-year-old----the area in which children are able to travel on their own- has shrunk to one-ninth of its former size. Health experts have even created a new word, "obesogenic", to describe those aspects of our lives that make us fat, and top of the list is the design of streets, towns and cities. Children have less outdoor freedom nowadays because _ . A. it is easier to travel by car. B. of fewer outdoor play areas C. of published safety statistics D. more houses will be built Answer: B Question: . As the world's largest terrestrial carnivore ,the polar bear is the king of the great white north. Adult males can measure more than 9 feet in length and weigh between 770 and 1,430 pounds. The bear's body and neck are elongated, and the head is narrow and long with small, rounded ears. Polar bear populations can be found in northern Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia, and there have been reports that polar bear tracks have been found as far north as the North Pole. The 5,000,000-square-mile range of the polar bear circles the Arctic and contains stretches of open water where seals are easily caught. Polar bears live on the annual Arctic sea ice that provides a platform from which they can hunt. They hunt seals on the sea ice by breaking into seal dens in the sea ice. The dens aren't visible from above,but seeing is less important than smelling to a polar bear -- with their keen sense of smell,polar bears can sense the breathing holes of seals in their dens beneath the snow and ice. As the southern edge of the Arctic ice cap melts in summer, polar bears are stranded on land and spend their summers fasting ,living off body fat stored from hunting in spring and winter. It might come as a surprise that this species faces an uncertain future. Climate change is causing the disappearance of sea ice from which polar bears hunt seals. Sea ice in the Arctic is melting earlier and forming later each year. With about 22,000 polar bears living in the wild,the species is not endangered at the moment, but its future is far from certain. People have reached an agreement that controls the hunting of polar bears and directs each nation to protect their habitats, but it does not protect the bears against the biggest man-made threat to their survival : global warming. If current warming trends continue, scientists believe that polar bears may disappear within 100 years. What is the key reason for polar bears' dying out? A. The climate is changing due to people's activities. B. The ice on the land of the Arctic is disappearing day by day. C. The sea ice is melting earlier and forming later. D. People are killing too many polar bears. Answer: A
A wet towel will dry when it is left in the Sun. Which process occurs to make this happen? evaporation The First Hello The man from the telephone department got off the bus, and made his way to the tea stall, wiping the sweat off his head, face, then slipping his handkerchief under his shirt to wipe his neck and back. It was a year ago that the phone line had been installed, six months later men from the public works department had come to put up the phone booth -- a neat box-like structure, with a glass window, and wooden ledges, yellow in colour. And days after that, a painter had taken an entire day to colour in broad, black brushstrokes, the words: STD Booth, local and STD allowded. No one could tell that the last word had been misspelled. Besides, he had taken the entire day. After he had a cup of tea, he had left, waving cheerfully. And now months later, someone else was here again. Everyone watched the man as he sat on the bench. No one said a word, and soon the sound of him slurping his tea filled the hot afternoon. A few leaves fell, heavy in the heat, and sometimes a car passed, on its way to the main city farther away. When the man had finished, he made to pay but the tea shop owner who sat behind his steaming kettle and the washed upturned cups, waved him away. "You are our guest here." So the man took his handkerchief out again and wiped his face. They crowded around him as he shut himself up in the phone booth. When the children pressed their nose against the glass, he shooed them away, as he took out a shiny black instrument and placed it on the narrow shelf. A sigh of satisfaction passed through everyone that soon changed to an excited yell as they saw him dial a number, pressing a finger into the ringed dialer of the phone and letting it go all the way in a half-circle. A while later, they hear him say into the mouthpiece, "Hello." "Hello, " the children around the booth took up the cry, the teashop owner broke into a smile and the men waiting for a bus smiled and said hello to each other. The sadhu who sat under the banyan tree nodded wisely. As the sound carried, more hellos were heard. The women winnowing grain giggled as they tried the word tentatively, the shepherds feeding their flocks called out to their sheep, laughing as they used the word. "It's a big occasion," said the headman, in an awed voice. "It is, " agreed those around him. The telephone man emerged and handed over a small chit of paper to the headman. "This is the telephone number." The headman looked at it reverently as if it were a mantra . The others around him read out the numbers slowly, digit-by-digit. The telephone man was now too tired to notice the cheering around him. He knew he had to wait long before the bus to take him back arrived. As he sipped his second cup of tea, he remembered something else. "Oh, you can't start using the phone now. The minister will come next month and inaugurate it." No one said a word. No one was surprised. They had waited so long; a month more did not really matter. What can be inferred from the story? It was a distant village free from modern technology. My father is seventy-five years old this year. But he looks very young. He looks like a sixty-year-old man. Now he can do everything all by himself. For example, he cooks, washes clothes, does the housework and so on. Every morning, my father goes out with a radio. He listens to the music or the news and goes to the park to play taijiquan. In the park, he talks and laughs with other old people. After coming back from the park, he begins to have breakfast and then he goes to the university for the old. He learns drawing there. In the afternoon, he plays on the computer for about one or two hours. After supper he watches TV and learns about the world. He goes to bed at about eight o'clock. He never stays up. He likes to share his ways of keeping healthy with others. Are you healthy? If not, what do you learn from my father's secret of keeping healthy? ,. The passage doesn't tell us whether the writer's father can _ . swim Expressions about water are mostly as common as water itself. The expression "to be in hot water" is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get "in hot water". When we are in hot water, we are in trouble. It can be any kind of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes. "Being in deep water" is almost the same as being in hot water. When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imagine a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don't have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market. "To keep your head above water" is a color1ful expression that means staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep its head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job. "Water over the dam" is another expression about past events. It is something that is finished, and cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam and cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she has made, you might tell her to forget about it. You say it is water over the dam. Another common expression "to hold water" is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container. If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes; if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating. "Throwing cold water" also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposals. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much. The best title for this passage should be _ . Expressions and their stories "Get yourself up and make something of yourself,buddy!"Though my mother has passed away,her words are as clear in my head today as when I was a boy. "Christ!"I said,"I have made something of myself. I want to sleep late as I like." "If there's one thing I can't stand,it's a quitter."Her voice in my head is more powerful than my will to refuse,so I pull myself from bed. Before I was out of primary school,mother could see I lacked the gifts for either making millions or winning the love of crowds.So she began pushing me toward working with words. _ .There seemed to be a word gene that passed down from her mother's grandfather* The greatest proof was my mother's first cousin Edwin.He was the managing editor of the New York Times and had gained a name in his career. In 1947 1 graduated from Johns Hopkins and applied for a job with the Baltimore Sun as a police reporter.It paid$30 a week .When I complained the wage was shameful for a learned man,mother refused to sympathize."If you work hard at this job,"she said,"maybe you can make something of it." After a while,I was asked to cover diplomats at various African embassies. Then, seven years later I was arranged by the Sun to cover the White House,a task that was as close to heaven as a journalist could get.However,whatever achievement of mine only seemed insignificant in her eyes.Uncle Edwin's success was really annoying during my early years as a reporter.What a thrill,I thought. Then,out of my wildest childhood fantasy,the Times came knocking.It was sad that Uncle Edwin had passed away by this time.In 1979 I won the Pulitzer Prize.Unfortunately,my mother's brain and health broke down the year before,leaving her in a nursing home,out of touch with life forevermore .She never knew of my Pulitzer. I can probably guess how she'd have responded." That's nice,buddy.It shows if you work hand,you'11 be able to make something of yourself one day," The author regards Uncle Edwin's success as a thrill because _ . few reporters can become the managing editor of the New York Times
California sea lions are the fastest of all the sea lions, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometers an hour when swimming. Males are much larger than females, measuring 2 to 2.5 meters and weighing 200 to 453 kilograms. Females only measure 1.5 to 2 meters and weigh 50 to 113 kilograms. They can also move fairly well while on land. California sea lions can be found living along the Pacific coast of North America. They prefer to live in waters near rocky and sandy shores. On land, they often gather in large groups as many as 1,000 of them. While at sea, they travel in much smaller groups of around 10 or more. They communicate with one another through a series of sounds. Their diet consists of a wide variety of fish and other sea animals. They are able to hold their breath for up to 10 minutes by slowing down their heart rate, allowing them to hunt for their prey for a longer period of time. They have been known to continuously hunt for up to 30 hours at a time, with their eyesight and hearing playing an important part in finding their food. Being so large, they do not have that many natural predators that they need to be on the lookout for. Eleven months after getting pregnant, the female will give birth to one baby on land. If the baby can survive long enough, they can live to be 20 to 25 years old. California sea lions are not listed as an endangered species. This is largely because of laws such as the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Hopefully such acts will continue to show results. Which of the following descriptions about California sea lions might NOT be true? The kings of ancient Egypt planned strong tombs to keep their bodies safe after death and to hold their treasure.The Great Pyramids along the Nile are on its west bank.The ancient Egyptians compared the rising of the sun to the beginning of life and the setting of the sun to the end of life.This is why their dead bodies were buried on the west bank of the Nile. The people of Mexico also built pyramids.They did not build the pyramids for tombs.They used to build a pyramid and then a temple on top of it.The pyramids of Mexico are not as high as the pyramids of Egypt,but they are bigger.Each of the pyramids has a wide stairway that goes from the bottom to the top. The biggest pyramid in Mexico is almost 2,000 years old.Scientists think it took 10,000 men more than ten years to build it.On the top they built a temple of the sun.The temple is no longer there,but people still call it the Pyramid of the Sun.Near it is another huge pyramid,the Pyramid of the Moon. All the pyramids along the Nile are on its west bank,because in ancient Egypt people thought _ . Telemedicine is the name for when doctors give advice to patients by telephone or the Internet, or when health care providers in rural areas connect with specialists in big cities. Telemedicine has existed for a long time, but the rise of smart phones, tablets and webcam-equipped computers is raising telemedicine to new levels. Some health care systems in the United States now offer Virtual Urgent Care, patients see a doctor by video chat without having to leave home. Diana Rae is a nurse educator in the western state of Washington. She recently showed how Virtual Urgent Care works. She used an iPad tablet and skype -- the video chat service. Doctor Green has the patient describe her symptoms, then the doctor performs a physical exam by demonstrating what he wants her to do. Doctor Green decides that the problem is a silence infection. For medicine, he prescribes an antibiotic. He says about 3 out of 4 patients have health problems that can be treated like this --through Virtual Urgent Care, that means a video chat could replace a visit to the doctor's office. The Franciscan Health System is based in Tacoma, Washington. Franciscan charges $35 for this kind of virtual house call, that is much less than the cost of going to an emergency room, a doctor's office or an urgent care clinic. After trying the video conference, Diana Rae says, "I would've paid twice that for the convenience of getting taken care of without having to sit in a waiting room, wait, and get exposed to everyone else's germs." Franciscan has a deal with a company called Carena to add virtual urgent care by Skype or phone. Carena is one of several companies doing this kind of work around the country. But a company official says state rules have not kept progress with developments in telemedicine. The workers who provide virtual urgent care must be separately licensed in each state where the company does business. For now, that means Carena doctors can treat patients in Washington state and California for example, but not in neighboring Oregon or Idaho. Doctor Green decides that the problem is a silence infection _ . All of the processes listed below cause changes in Earth's surface. Which of the following is the slowest to change Earth's surface? A class planted trees and shrubs in an empty dirt lot beside the school. The roots of the plants can help protect the soil. The soil is most likely being protected from what?
Blind imitation is destroying yourself. To common people, imitation appears attractive; to creative people ,imitation is misleading. In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful, When I first learned to cook, I used recipes and really cooked some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why did I have to follow someone else's way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child's bicycle. They help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without depending on them. In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we hold poor role models. As a child, if you watched people whose lives pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you'll get the results of the weak choices of others. In the field of entertainment, our culture appreciates famous people. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be awful. If you are going to follow someone, concentrate on their talent, not their bad character or behaviors. People like the person who is willing to act on their sudden inspiration to create something particular. Think of the things and people that have affected you most deeply. They moved you because their creations were caused by inspiration, not desperation . The world is changed not by those who do similar work before them but by those who do creative work. Creative people are full of new ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; It is what to do with the material to knock at the door of imagination. Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given and leave behind what does not serve you. Then you can say, "If I have announced my success, it's by learning lessons from my ancestors' failure." The author thinks the world moves on because of those who Answer: For hundreds of millions of years, turtles have struggled out of the sea to lay their eggs on sandy beaches, long before there were nature documentaries to celebrate them, or GPS satellites and marine biologists to track them, or volunteers to hand-carry the hatchlings down to the water's edge lest (for fear that) they become disoriented by headlights and crawl towards a motel parking lot instead. A formidable wall of bureaucracy has been erected to protect their prime nesting on the Atlantic coastlines. With all that attention paid to them, you'd think these creatures would at least have the gratitude not to go extinct (die out). But Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness, and a report by the Fish and Wildlife Service showed a worrisome drop in the populations of several species of North Atlantic turtles, notably loggerheads, which can grow to as much as 400 pounds. The South Florida nesting population, the largest, has declined by 50% in the last decade, according to Elizabeth Griffin, a marine biologist with the environmental group Oceana. The figures prompted Oceana to petition the government to upgrade the level of protection for the North Atlantic loggerheads from "threatened" to "endangered"-- meaning they are in danger of disappearing without additional help. Which raises the obvious question: what else do these turtles want from us, anyway? It turns out, according to Griffin, that while we have done a good job of protecting the turtles for the weeks they spend on land (as egg-laying females, as eggs and as hatchlings), we have neglected the years spend in the ocean. "The threat is from commercial fishing," says Griffin. Trawlers (which drag large nets through the water and along the ocean floor) and longline fishers (which can deploy thousands of hooks on lines that can stretch for miles) take a heavy toll on turtles. Of course, like every other environmental issue today, this is playing out against the background of global warming and human interference with natural ecosystems. The narrow strips of beach on which the turtles lay their eggs are being squeezed on one side by development and on the other by the threat of rising sea levels as the oceans warm. Ultimately we must get a handle on those issues as well, or a creature that outlived the dinosaurs will meet its end at the hands of humans, leaving our descendants to wonder how creature so ugly could have won so much affection. What does the author mean by "Nature is indifferent to human notions of fairness" (Line 1, Para. 2)? Answer: It often happens that a number of applicants with almost the same qualifications and experience all apply for the same position. In their educational background, special skills and work experience, there is little, if anything, to choose between half a dozen candidates. How then does the employer make a choice? Usually on the basis of an interview. There are many arguments for and against the interview as a way of selection. The main argument against it is that it results in a wholly _ decision. As often as not, employers do not choose the best candidate. They choose the candidate who makes a good first impression on them. Some employers, of course, reply to this argument by saying that they have become so experienced in interviewing staff that they are able to make a good assessment of each candidate's likely performance. The main argument in favor of the interview is that an employer is concerned not only with a candidate's ability, but with his or her suitable personality for the particular work situation. Many employers, for example, will overlook occasional mistakes from their secretary if she has a pleasant personality. It is perhaps true to say, therefore, that the real purpose of an interview is not to assess the assessable aspects of each candidate but to make a guess at the things that are hard to measure, such as personality, character and social ability. Unfortunately, both for the employers and applicants for jobs, there are many people of great ability who simply do not interview well. There are also, of course, people who interview extremely well, but are later found to be very unsatisfactory employees. Candidates who interview well tend to be quietly confident, but never boastful , direct and straightforward in their questions and answers; cheerful and friendly, but never over-familiar; and sincerely enthusiastic and optimistic. Candidates who interview badly tend to be either very shy or over-confident. They either talk too little or never stop talking. They are either over polite or a bit rude. People argue over the interview mainly because they have _ . Answer: Which function do kidneys provide to maintain homeostasis? Answer: Hi, I'm Harry. I'm fourteen years old. I live in Taipei, Taiwan. I am a second grader in a junior high school. I'm interested in playing computer games and watching TV. My favorite food is pizza. Hello, my name is Dolly. I was born on January 12th. There are four people in my family -- my mother, my father, my sister and me. My favorite food is green tea. Now, I am a junior high school student. My hobbies are watching TV and climbing mountains. My best friend Tom lives in Canada. Maybe some day, you will be her friends, too! My name is Eric. My hobbies are fishing, reading books and playing computer games. My favorite subject is History, because my dad is a History teacher and I read a lot of books about history. I'm very bad at English, because it's hard for me. My favorite sport is ping-pong. I play ping-pong with my dad and my cousins every weekend. Which of the following is NOT true? Answer:
XI'AN---Seven people died in a fire early on Wednesday morning in Xi'an, capital of Shanxi Province. A restaurant with a karaoke hall in the southern suburbs caught fire around 2 a. m. and seven waitresses who were sleeping on the second floor of the restaurant were killed. The restaurant was completely destroyed and the waitresses, the local police said, were killed by _ smoke from burning decorations. MANILA---Four people were killed yesterday in the central Philippine island of Tacloban when a bomb they had dug up exploded, local police were quoted as saying. The four people were digging to set up a septic(poisonous)tank in their house when they dug up the bomb. It went off, killing all four people, local police were quoted by radio station DZBB as saying. The police did not say where the bomb came from. Unexploded bombs from World War II are still discovered around the Philippines once in a while. TEL AVIV---An Israeli couple kissed for 30 hours and 45 minutes which, a spokeswoman said yesterday, was a world record. The couple, both in their twenties, started kissing on Monday at 8:30 p.m. along with 250 other couples in a contest. "For nearly 31 hours they didn't eat, drink, talk or even go to the bathroom. And the whole time, they were standing up", said Arielle Goldman, who handled public relations for the event. She said a representative of the Guinness Book of World Records was on hang to witness the event, recorded on video. The previous record was 29 hour and 37 minutes, Goldman said. The winning couple received two round-the-world plane tickets and $ _ . (277 words) Why did so many couples take part in the contest? A. Because it was a good chance to enjoy themselves. B. Because they were poor and wanted to gain the 2,500 dollars. C. Because they wanted to attract people's attention. D. Because they aimed at the honor and prize. Answer: D Strawberry fields dotted with hunched-over workers picking and packaging, then pushing the delicate red fruit to waiting trucks -- it is a typical winter scene embedded in the patchwork of homes and farms that make up eastern Hillsborough County. That scene is changing, though, as the labor pool shrinks and technology comes knocking. Wish Farms owner Gary Wishnatzki and his engineer partner Bob Pitzer are banking on technology. As strawberry season wrapped up in February, their driverless strawberry-picking machine drove into the fields for some test runs. The results were impressive and enlightening , Wishnatzki said. For some three years now, farmers have been forced to abandon millions of dollars worth of strawberries in fields, mostly in Hillsborough and Manatee counties, because they lacked laborers, industry experts say. The problem has been just as serious in California, Arizona and other farm communities. The reasons for the shrinking worker pool are numerous. Migrant workers who have picked the fields for years are aging. Young adults in migrant families already in the United States are getting better educations and have more choices these days, including the construction industry, which again is on the upswing. Stricter security is allowing fewer undocumented workers to cross the border from Mexico. And Mexicans are having much smaller families now -- just over two children per family, compared with 7.3 per family in 1960, according to a Pew Hispanic Center report released in 2012. And since Mexico's economy bounced back faster than that of the U.S., more Mexicans have been able to find work closer to home, according to the study. "We came up with a concept we perceive as a necessity," Wishnatzki said. "The labor pool has been shrinking for over 10 years now. It has been pretty harmful." So in 2012, he and Pitzer formed their partnership, Harvest CROO Robotics, to develop a mechanical picker. The Harvest CROO design has multiple picking heads that will move across a field, picking 25 acres over a three-day period, the typical time for picking fruit as it ripens. It has a "vision system" to distinguish between red and green strawberries and is able to get under the leaves to find and pick the ripe berries. Picking strawberries is nothing like using a combine on a corn field, coming through and thrashing down the plants. Strawberries are delicate and ripen in various intervals, which Harvest CROO is taking into account in developing its machine. A strawberry-picking machine will never completely replace the need for human labor in the fields, Wishnatzki said, but if the machines can supplement labor enough to keep the industry profitable, he and Pitzer will have met their goal. The "vision system" is designed to _ . A. take pictures B. locate leaves C. find the ripe berries D. help the color-blind Answer: C Scientists have produced new evidence suggesting eating lots of red and processed meat damages health. They found big meat eaters had a raised risk of death from all causes over a 10-year period. In contrast, a higher intake of white meat was associated with a slightly reduced risk of death over the same period. The US study, based on more than 500,000 people, found those whose diet contained the highest proportion of red or processed meat had a higher overall risk of death, and specifically a higher risk of cancer and heart disease than those who ate the least. People eating the most meat were eating about 160g of red or processed meat per day-- approximately a 6oz steak. Those who ate the least were only getting about 25g per day-- approximately a small piece of bacon. Just the opposite, those who ate the highest proportion of white meat had a lower risk of overall death, and a lower risk of fatal cancer or heart disease than those who ate the lowest proportion. Meat is a major source of saturated fat, which has been associated with breast and colorectal cancer. In addition, lower meat intake has been linked to a reduction in risk factors for heart disease, including lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The latest study adds to a growing body of research linking high red and processed meat consumption to an increased risk of ill health. Ed Yong, of the charity Cancer Research UK, said, "Evidence from large studies tells us that cutting down on processed food, such as bacon or burgers, can reduce the risk of dying from cancer and other diseases." Dr Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina stressed there were health benefits from eating some red meat. But he added: "The need is for a major reduction in total meat intake, an even larger reduction in processed meat and other highly processed and salted animal source food products and a reduction in total saturated fat." Dr Mark Wahlqvist, a nutrition expert from Australia, said eating small amounts of red meat--around 30g a day--provided a good source of key nutrients. He said, "Fresh, lean red meat of these amounts is likely to be of more benefit than harm." According to the passage, how should we eat red meat in a healthy way? A. We should eat red meat as we like. B. We should eat proper amount of red meat per day. C. We should reduce the amount of fresh, red lean meat. D. We should completely cut out red meat from our diet. Answer: B Spending beyond one's means is becoming a national problem for Americans.Borrowing has become so easy that it takes great willpower for people to refuse it."I received a number of gold MasterCard and gold Visa card offers in the mail during the past two months,"said one computer engineer at AT &T Bell Laboratories in Chicago."I got three of them in one day last week." Lenders are providing easy credit for borrowers.Many banks now offer every borrower a great variety of credit,a service once offered almost only to big companies.Norwest Bank Minneapolis offers lending programs for cars and boats that can cut monthly payments nearly m half .Carmakers,too,are lengthening easier terms.Ford Motor Credit states that 45 % of its recent lendings has been for sixty months,rather than the sixty-six-month period that was usual before. The total consumer debt in the United States rose 73 percent between 1974 and 1984,as the debt for each man,woman,and child increased from $10,264 to $26,566.Huge debt now is present in our economy at all levels.As a nation,we are more than $7 trillion in debt,and the total keeps increasing astonishingly. As we have over borrowed,so have we overspent.In late 986,the share of after-tax income that Americans saved sank below 2 percent for a short time,less than half the figure at which we saved only 10 years ago.Americans now are buying from foreigners between about $50 and $100 billion more Mercedes and Toyotas, Paris fashions,and tours to Europe than the Boeing 747s, agriculture machinery , or Kansas wheat that the foreigners bought from America. The country could not produce and pay for all the things it wanted. To make a long story short, we Americans have serious problems in keeping down spending and keeping up personal savings.It is high time for us American people to learn the basics of long-term money management. Ford Motor Credit lengthens 45%of its lending to 60 months in order to _ . A. help more Americans to settle their debts B. encourage people to buy foreign cars C. make better use of its money D. attract more customers Answer: D The quality of drinking water in Shanghai will meet European Union standard by 2010 and, a decade later, citizens in Shanghai will drink the best water in the world. These were the goals set out by the Shanghai Water Authority. With the city's population expected to increase only slightly and the economy to boom by 2020, Chen Yin, an official in the water authority, said Shanghai's water consumption will not increase from its present amount. Zhang Yue, director of the Urban Construction Division under the Ministry of Construction, said, "Shanghai is the first city in the country to publicize these ambitions. They will not be easy to achieve." He said water saving will help keep the sustainable development of China's economy. Saving one cubic meter of water means saving the city's infrastructure costs by 10,000 Yuan. Last year, Shanghai saved 300 million cubic meters of water either from readjustment of industrial structure or the employment of new technology. "The aim is to arouse public awareness of the seriousness of water shortages," Chen said. "The abundant surface water and amount of rain of the city are so misleading that they result in improper use of water." Shanghai lacks drinkable water. The Huangpu River, which supplies 80 percent of the city's drinkable water, is nearing exhaustion. The city, therefore, has been exploring new sources from the Yangtze River and growing forests along it to conserve quality water. Besides penning regulations, the authority is popularizing technology among the public to efficiently cut the amount of water used. At present, the city has 600,000 family toilets, each using 13 liters of water per flush. These are to be renovated to use only 9 liters of water per flush. The authority is renovating the first 200 toilets for households - at a cost of Yuan each. In three years, all the toilets will be renovated, which saves the city nearly 15 million Yuan every year in water conservation. Another task the city is engaged in is the treatment of sewage to improve the water environment. At present the city can only treat 44 percent of its daily 5.04 million tons of waste water. To meet the total demand, 27 more sewage treatment factories are to be established with an estimated investment of 18 billion Yuan. People in Shanghai get their daily water mainly from _ now. A. the underground B. the Huangpu River C. the rain D. the Yangtze River Answer: B
Traveling in Viet Nam was like visiting a mysterious neighbor. You have lived next door to each other for years but knew very little about what happened on the other side of the fence. I traveled there last August. A simple 180-kilometre trip from a Chinese border town to Hanoi, capital of Viet Nam, took an adventurous eight hours. That's because the country still doesn't have a modern expressway system. The major passage going through the peninsula is only a two-way road. Also, many areas are mountainous. Vietnamese drivers are impatient and fearless. They compete with each other at full speed no matter how scared the passengers feel. When the bus shook us violently many times, the driver made a joke to make us feel better. "See, this is just a gift Vietnamese people give you, a free passage service." It was midnight when I reached the hotel. Turning on the television, I was surprised by something : All the characters in the TV dramas spoke in the same voice. At present, modern Korean dramas and historical Chinese dramas are popular with the Vietnamese. But it seemed they didn't have enough money to dub all these programmes. So, the same boring woman would appear behind every drama to speak for the roles. The next morning when I opened the window, I found myself in a huge "garden". The buildings in the streets were dressed in all kinds of colors you can imagine. Vietnamese residents are allowed to paint their houses as they like. Each one is different and the colors bring the city alive. All the characters in the TV dramas spoke in the same voice be-cause _ . A they all had the same accent B few people show interest in dubbing C the persons who dub may be looked down upon D they had no ability to afford so much money Answer: D. they had no ability to afford so much money " Drink your milk.It is good for you! " You've probably heard that many times, and it is true.Milk contains calcium, which is a necessary nutrient for keeping bones and teeth healthy and strong.The US government even requires milk as part of the National School: Lunch Program, saying that students should drink one cup of fat - free milk at each meal. Last Thursday, however, a group of doctors asked the government to remove the lunch program.The Physical Committee for Responsible Medicine says, "Milk is high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal? protein," all of which have negative effects on health.The PCRM says there were better and healthier ways to get calcium such as eating beans, broccoli, cereals and tofu.Orange juice and soymilk that have calcium added to them also supply the nutrient."One of the only reasons people talk about dairy, or promote it at all, is because it is going to help build strong hones." says Dr.Neal Barnard, president of the PCRM.But milk may not be the best way to get calcium your body needs. Of course, calcium is important for health bones and teeth, but there are other things that affect your bone strength, such as genes, how much vitamin D you take in and getting an hour' s worth of exercise every day. Some nutritionists disagree with the idea that milk isn' t important.Keri Gans, a dietitian, says, " I think it is irresponsible to take this beverage that children enjoy, especially among those who are unable to meet their nutrient needs for the day, and remove it from lunch time." The US government is studying the request of the PCRM, but a decision may be a one way to take off.Meanwhile, Marion Nestle, a professor at New York University, put it best: " Milk demonstrably has nutrients.Other foods have the same nutrients.It' s just a food.Like other foods, too much might be a problem." What does the above text mainly talk about? A The best way to get the most calcium. B The connection between milk and health. C Different opinions about the importance of milk. D Whether to take milk off the school - lunch menu. Answer: D. Whether to take milk off the school - lunch menu. "Drink your milk. It is good for you!" You've probably heard that many times, and it is true. Milk contains calcium, which is a necessary nutrient for keeping bones and teeth healthy and strong. The US government even requires milk as part of the National School Lunch Program, saying that students should drink one cup of fat-free milk at each meal. Last Thursday, however, a group of doctors asked the government to remove the lunch program. The Physical Committee for Responsible Medicine says, "Milk is high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal protein," all of which have negative effects on health. The PCRM says there were better and healthier ways to get calcium such as eating beans, broccoli, cereals and tofu. Orange juice and soymilk that have calcium added to them also supply the nutrient. "One of the only reasons people talk about dairy, or promote it at all, is because it is going to help build strong bones." says Dr. Neal Bamard, president of the PCRM. But milk may not be the best way to get calcium your body needs. Of course, calcium is important for health bones and teeth, but there are other things that affect your bone strength, such as genes, how much vitamin D you take in and getting an hour's worth of exercise every day. Some nutritionists disagree with the idea that milk isn't important. Keri Gans, a dietitian, says, "I think it is irresponsible to take this beverage that children enjoy, especially among those who are unable to meet their nutrient needs for the day, and remove it from lunch time." The US government is studying the request of the PCRM, but a decision may be a one way to take off. Meanwhile, Marion Nestle, a professor at New York University, put it best: "Milk demonstrably has nutrients. Other foods have the same nutrients. It's just a food. Like other foods, too much might be a problem. " Which of the following opinions does the PCRM support? A Milk is harmful to students' health. B Students should drink more milk each day. C Orange juice is higher in calcium than milk. D Milk is the best way to get calcium. Answer: A. Milk is harmful to students' health. If a living animal is going to be in an ideal situation, at a minimum it will have A a residence B a beating C a sled D a liver transplant Answer: A. a residence At the middle school level, there are many academic clubs in which students can participate.Students can choose clubs that focus on an area of interest. Mathcounts Club Mathcounts tries to increase excitement towards mathematic achievement. It hopes to provide students with the foundation for success in science, technology; engineering and mathematics careers. Schools select individuals and teams to participate in competitions. Local competitions are held in February with winners progressing to state competitions and then on to the national level. Mathcounts works to challenge student math skills, develop self-confidence and give rewards for their achievements. Envirothon. The Envrothon program focuses on natural resources knowledge and exposes students to diverse environmental issues, and ecosystems .The ecology field competition for five-member middle school teams offers competitions in wildlife, soils, forestry, current environmental issues and aquatics. Students Work and learn in middle school clubs and can compete at the local and state level. Future Problem Solvers Future Problem Salvers is an academic club that uses a six-step process to solve problemsthat may happen in the future. Students who are in the talented and gifted program, who like to "think out of the box," or who enjoy thinking about futuristic problems max like this club. Teams,comprised of four students read future scenes and write up solutions in: a booklet using the six-step process. Teams that score high enough can go to the .state competition and,then to the international competition. Builders Club Builders Club is open to any middle school student who wishes to perform community service. Each Builders Club is co-sponsored by a Kiwanis club. and the middle school. The members learn by doing, and they learn organization; teamwork,and leadership. Builders Clubs can sponsor a "Teacher of the year" program, provide a recycling collection point, organize canned food and clothing drives to support local shelters, adopt a resident at a local senior citizens home; adopt a highway; tutor, etc. Middle school academic clubs offer students a place to explore interests or talents: The clubs they join in middle school can help guide choices in high school and beyond. What is the common feature of the four clubs? A Competitions B Leadership. C Scientific researches D Teamwork Answer: D. Teamwork
''If you can see the magic in a fairytale), you can face the future"-- Danielle Steel Who have not read fairytales? We all have had the experience of taking great delight in the beauty and innocence of fairytales.May it be Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty...Fairytale is a word which cannot be new to us. But haveyou ever travelled ages back to the earliest of times and uncovered the fascinating facts about these stories? The history of the fairytale is particularly difficult to track.The oral tradition of the fairytale came long before the written page.The oldest known fairytales date back to ancient Egypt around 1300B.C.and now, after travelling through various periods of time, they have grown and matured in various aspects and have become the most popular forms of stories for young children The characters and themes of fairytales are simple and similar:Princesses and goose girls, youngest sons and brave princes, wicked, stepmothers, fairy godmothers, talking animals, glass mountains, witches, castles and the like. The tale goes into an unreal world and in this never-never land our heroes kill the enemy, succeed to kingdoms and marry the ever beautiful princesses. W. H Auden said, "The way to read a fairytale is to throw yourself in." It is very true indeed or you will not be able to feel the _ of reading a fairytale. So whenever you read a fairytale, imagine you arethe hero/heroine and you will be carried to a mysterious land where everything will be as you want. Every child believes in fairies , dragons, etc. Yet, as we grow up we fail to believe in these fantasy-based characters.Fairytales are told to children when they are young. This is very essential indeed, for if in the beginning of our lives, our minds are touched by the beauty, innocence and the morals in these tales, we will be able to obtain the optimistic side of happenings.In life, sometimes, believing in such mystics can lead to greathappiness. Well, I don't know about you, but I do believe in fairies...and who knows I may someday meet one because, after all, believing is just the beginning! And as J.M. Barries said, " _ ." And I wouldn't want anyone dead on my account, would you? Why is it important to tell the fairytales to the children when young? Because when they see the magic in the tales in the beginning, they can face the future Some people have travelled to Canada while others may have just heard of it . As is known to all, the Canadian red and white maple leaf flag is officially called The National Flag of Canada. The Canadian flag shows a stylized red maple leaf with 11 points on a white background, with red borders down each side. The Canadian flag is twice as long as its width. The white square containing the red maple leaf is the same width as the flag. Canada is a very large country, too. It is the second largest country in the world.By contrast, it has a very small population. There are only about 29 millinon people there. Most Canadians are of British or French origin, and French is an official language as well English. About 45 % of the people are of British origin, that is, they or their parents or grandparents, etc, come from Britain. Nearly 30 % are of French origin. Most of the French-Canadians live in the province of quebec. Over the years people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world. They are mostly from European countries and also from China, as well as other Asian countries. However , Canada was not an empty country when the Europeans began to arrive. Canadian-Indian lived along the coast, bythe rivers and lakes and in forests. Today there are only 350,000 Canadian-Indians in the whole country, with their own language. In the far north live the Inuits. There are only 27, 000 Canadian-Inuits. Their life is hard in such a harsh climate. Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage? Nowadays Inuit still have difficult living conditions. 350 million yuan in one week puts famous actress Zhao Wei at the top of the list of most profitable female directors. Before her the place belonged to Xue Xiaolu, the director of Finding Mr. Right, which hit Chinese screens early this year. With the box office success of So Young, people are once again turning their nostalgic eyes to youth -- an era of passion and pain, of hope and heartbreak. The reason why youth is such a soft spot for many people is that its intangible nature cannot be truly grasped until it is lost. "It is the period between education and employment, between dependence and independence,"says Zhang Yiwu, professor of Chinese literature at Peking University. But Jiang Chuling, the writer of So Young, says youth shares many similarities with home. When you leave home, you start missing it. "I think youth is meaningless for young people. Only when you look back does it acquire a special meaning," she says. For Zhang Yueran, 31, who is regarded as one of the country's most promising young novelist, "heroism in youth" was a cultural asset of people born in the 1970s, but it was swept away by the materialism that is so common in today's world. Nostalgia for the post-1980s and post-1990s generation, according to Zhang Yiwu, comes from their frustration and anxiety. Born into the most affluent society in 100 years, this generation of single children is not as tough as their predecessors. "They have very high expectations toward life and their disappointment and frustration with reality is huge," says Zhang. "So they turn to the past for comfort, even though they are still young. " So Young tells a love story set in the 80s and 90s. The idea of reflecting about past time has helped the film win a lot of appreciation. One audience member said, "I think the story can really bring back memories for a lot of people. It's got something we've all experienced, but can lead us to different feelings. " "Everyone experiences youth and every generation considers their youth to have been special. But actually, most people's memory of youth is the same--it's a journey from inexperience to knowledge, from thoughtlessness to responsibility. And this journey is often marked by pain--the emotion that leaves the deepest scars within us", say Jiang. We can infer from the passage that _ . the film has been very popular among teenagers In the 1700s, a scientist was someone who thought about the way things work and tried to find out ways to make things work better. Today. that definition is still true. Every time Ben Franklin saw a question and tried to answer it. he was a scientist. Ben is most famous for his questions about electricity, hut he also experimented with many other ideas in nature. In 1743. Ben observed that northeast storms begin in the southwest. He thought it was strange that storms travel in an opposite direction to their winds. He predicted that a storm's course could be charted . Ben rode a horse through a storm and chased a whirlwind three-quarters of a mile in order to learn more about storms. So, in a way, Ben was a weatherman too! Since Ben spent so much time sailing go Europe across the Atlantic Ocean, he became very interested in both ocean currents and shipbuilding .Ben was actually one of the first people to chart the Gulf Stream. In November of 1783. Ben happened to be in Paris, France, working on a peace tre"0' to end the American war against England. From his hotel window. he was able to watch the world's first known hot-air balloon flight. The balloon lifted the Montgolfier brothers off the ground as the first human beings ever known to fly. Ben ,vas very interested in the idea of flight, predicting that one day balloons would be used for milita0 ( ) spy flights and dropping bombs during battle. Soon. balloons were actually being used for entertainment. military, and scientific purposes. Even though they could not yet be steered, many people volunteered to take a ride just for fun! Sadly, Ben Franklin died three years before the first American hot-air balloon voyage. In 1793, Jean-Pierre Blanchard lifted off from the Walnut Street Prison Yard in Philadelphia, beginning the hot-air balloon craze in America. Ben Franklin went to Paris in November of 1783 to----. sign a treaty Over the summer, a Chinese company , Xiaomi, took the No.1 position in China's competitive market and became the world's third largest phone maker. Xiaomi was founded in 2010 as a company to sell smartly designed phone at cheap prices over the Internet. A clever social media strategy and a business plan that emphasized selling services helped the company build enthusiastic support from young and trendy Chinese people. With people in China expected to buy 500 million smart phones in 2015, Xiaomi plans to solidify its position as one of the most powerful phone makers in the world's most important market. The company's founders, including the Chinese entrepreneur Lei Jun and the former Google executive Lin Bin, hope that they will take the brand globally. Although Xiaomi is already sold internationally, next year will be the true test of whether it can continue its rise beyond China. Avoiding markets like the United States and Europe, Mr. Lei and Mr. Lin are looking at huge developing countries like Brazil and India. And they hope to use e-commerce networks to sell cheap and high-quality phones, and create their Chinese success. Xiaomi fans have a high level of organization. They love Xiaomi. Han Yu, a 24-year-old boy studying for his master's degree, is one of those lovers. He helps Xiaomi test its user interface by looking for bugs and offering suggestions. Mr. Han moderates several pages on the company's online forum, which averages 200,000 posts a day and is where fans interact with the company. Much of his personal life revolves around Xiaomi and he said he was honored when his suggestions to create a private photo folders was adopted by Xiaomi. Although Xiaomi makes some money on phone sales, the company's plan is to increase profitability by selling services like entertainment and apps through the phone. The company has also started to sell other devices, like a smart television, a tablet and a fitness band. From the passage we know that _ . Xiaomi's strategy and business plan worked.
Scientists are experimenting to develop microbes that can live off surplus electricity and CO2 to produce Answer: organic products, such as methane, acetate and butanol as economic biofuels In July 1994 Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, was struck by 21 pieces of a comet . When the fragments landed in the southern part of the giant planet, the explosions were watched by scientists here on earth. But what if our own planet was hit by a comet? The year is 2094. It has been announced that a comet is heading towards the Earth. Most of it will miss our planet, but two fragments will probably hit the southern part of the Earth. The news has caused panic. On 17 July, a fragment four kilometers wide enters the Earth's atmosphere with a huge explosion. About half of the fragment is destroyed. But the major part survives and hits the South Atlantic at 200 times the speed of sound. The sea boils and an enormous wave is created and spreads. The wall of water rushes towards southern Africa at 800 kilometres an hour. Cities on the African coast are totally destroyed and millions of people are drowned. The wave moves into the Indian Ocean and heads towards Asia. Millions of people are already dead in the southern part of the Earth, but the north won't escape for long. Tons of broken pieces are thrown into the atmosphere by the explosions. As the sun is hidden by clouds of dust, temperatures around the world fall to almost zero. Crops are ruined. Wars break out as countries fight for food. A year later civilization has collapsed. No more than 10 million people have survived. Could it really happen? In fact, it has already happened more than once in the history of the Earth. The dinosaurs were on the Earth for over 160 million years. Then 65 million years ago they suddenly disappeared. Many scientists believe that the Earth was hit by a space fragment. The dinosaurs couldn't survive in the cold climate that followed and they became extinct. Will we meet the same end? 57.In writing the passage, the author intends to _ . Answer: warn of a possible disaster in the future Mother Teresa was born in Yugoslavia, on August 27th, 1910. She attended the government school near her home until she was eighteen. At that time, some doctors and nurses from Yugoslavia were working in India, and they often wrote to the school about their work. She decided to join them one day. When she finished school, she went first to Britain. Then a year later she went to India, where she began to train to be a teacher. After training, she was sent to Calcutta, where she taught geography at a school and soon after became headmistress . However, although she loved teaching, in 1946 Mother Teresa left the school and went to work in the poor parts of Calcutta. Later she trained to be a nurse in Panta, and then began her work helping the poor and comforting the dying in the streets of the city. Slowly, others came to help her, and her work spread to other parts of India. Mother Teresa is now a well-known person. Many photos have been taken of her, as she travels the world to open new schools and hospitals in poor countries. In 1979, she was given the Nobel Peace Prize for the lifetime of love and service she has given to the poor. Mother Teresa gave up teaching because she wanted to _ . Answer: look after the poor. Sheep Challenge Evolution A species of sheep lives on the Scottish island of Hirta. Hirta has plenty of grass for the sheep to eat, and no natural predators of the sheep live on the island. Some sheep have dark wool, and some have light wool. The sheep with dark wool tend to be much larger and stronger than the sheep with light wool. However, researchers have found that in the last 20 years, the sheep with light wool have increased in number. Usually, strength and size help animals survive and breed. A new sheep predator is introduced to the island. Which change to the sheep population will most likely occur first? Answer: a decrease in the population of sheep with light wool One day, Harry bought a pet hamster name Tom. Tom was round and furry and had a funny smell. Harry loved it when Tom would climb up his arm and into his shirt sleeve. Every day before bed Harry would put Tom into his cage and every morning Harry would take Tom out of his cage and carry him around in his front shirt pocket during the day. Harry would carry Tom everywhere he went. Harry's favorite thing to do was to watch Tom run around in his exercise wheel. Then one day Harry woke and to find that Tom was not in his cage. Tom had gone missing! This made Harry very upset. He looked everywhere for Tom, wondering where he could have disappeared to. Harry called his friends John, Rodney, and Bruno to ask if they knew where Tom was. They said that they didn't know. So Tom asked them if they would help him look for Tom. Only John and Bruno said "yes". to help Harry. After looking for Tom for two hours Bruno found Tom inside an old sock behind Harry's desk. No one knew how he got there. Which one of Harry's friends did not help him look for his pet hamster? Answer: Rodney
Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. " She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells in the seashore, I'm sure she sells seashore shells." Not very easy, was it? What you've just read is called a tongue twister . It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example. "Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers, Did Peter Piper pick a peck of picked peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of picked peppers, where's the peck of picked peppers Peter picked?" Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people's _ to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds. So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly, you'd better try picking out some tongue twisters and practicing them. Tongue twisters are helpful in improving _ skills. Answer: For 21 years,Georges Bwelle watched his ill father traveling to hospitals,which could not offer him all necessary help. Jamef Bwelle suffered only a broken arm at first,but it finally developed into a hematoma. That would affect him for the rest of his life. Bwelle spent years taking his father to overcrowded hospitals. It was not easy. They would leave home at 5 a.m. and ran to the hospital to be the first. There were a lot of patients. Some people could die because they were waiting. The situation hasn't changed much since Bwelle's father died in 2002. In Cameroon,there is one doctor for every 5,000 people while in the United States there is one doctor for every 413 people. And even if they could see a doctor,many Cameroonians couldn't afford it. When he saw his father and so many of his countrymen suffer,Bwelle decided to do something about it. He became a doctor himself.And he started an organization,ASCOVIME. It travels into the countryside on weekends to provide free medical care. Since 2008,he and his group of volunteers have helped nearly 32,000 people. Almost every Friday,his team jam into vans and travel to villages in need. In each trip they receive 500 people. Patients come on foot from 60 kilometers around the village for free treatment. The next morning,the team will do simple operations in a schoolhouse,town hall or home,and work into the early hours of Sunday morning. On Sunday,the team heads back to the city,tired but proud of their work. They know that their help can make a world of difference to those they help. For his devotion to his country and people,Georges Bwelle becomes one of the 2013 Heroes voted throughout the world. Jamef Bwelle's broken arm developed into a serious illness probably because _ . Answer: John von Neumann was the oldest of 3 children of an banker, and his speed of learning new ideas and solving problems stood out early. At 17, his father tired to persuade him not to become a mathematician because he may lead a poor life being a mathematician, and so von Neumann agreed to study chemistry as well. In 1926, at 23, he received a degree in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. in mathematics. From then on, mathematics provided well enough for him, and he never had to turn to chemistry. In 1930, von Neumann visited Princeton University for a year and then became a professor there. His first book was published in 1932. In 1933, the Institute for Advanced Study was formed, and he became one of the 6 full-time people in the School of Mathematics(Einstein was one of the others) World War II hugely changed von Neumann's areas of interest. Until 1940 he had been a great pure mathematician. During and after the war, he became one of the best mathematicians who put mathematics theories into practice. During the last part of the war he became interested in computing machines and made several fundamental contributions After the war, von Neumann continued his work with computers, and was generally very active in government service. He received many awards, was president of the American Mathematical Society and was a member of the Atomic Energy Commission. He died in 1957 of cancer. Von Neumann made several great contributions and any one of them would have been enough to earn him a firm place in history. He will be remembered as one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. Von Neumann really was a legend in his own time, and there are a number of stories about him. His driving ability is a part of his legend. He reported one accident this Way: "I was driving down the road. The trees on the right were passing me in an orderly fashion at 60 miles per hour. Suddenly one of them stepped in my path." How did World War II affect John von Neumann? Answer: At London College, the boys can go to the city in the afternoon. But they must return to the school before six. And Bob doesn't often obey the rule. One afternoon, Bob walked to the city and went to the cinema. When he got to the school, it was eight o'clock. He was a little worried. He ran quickly to the gate. It was closed. He went round the school building to another door. That one was closed, too. Then he saw an open window on the ground floor. It was the head teacher's office. Bob looked into the room, and no one was there. He quickly climbed up and jumped into the room. Just then he heard a voice. He looked around and hid under the sofa. One minute later, Mr. Scott, the head teacher, came in. He turned on the light and sat down on the sofa. Then he began to read. Bob lay under the sofa and looked at the head teacher's feet for an hour. He could not move. At last the head teacher stood up and walked towards the door. "Thank goodness, he didn't find me under the sofa." thought Bob. Then the head teacher stopped. He turned his head and spoke to the sofa, "Would you mind turning off the light when you leave?" he said and left the office. Bob got to the school _ . Answer: A famous building in New York City is turning 100 years old. A year-long celebration is planned for Grand Central Terminal, which is usually called Grand Central station, the sixth most-visited place in the world. The huge building has not changed much since it opened in February, 1913. About 750,000 people pass through Grand Central every day. Some just come to look at it, others to visit the stores. But most are there to catch the trains that enter and leave from the station. It is the largest train station in the world. There are 67 train tracks, all of them underground. The main part of the building has large, arched windows, a jeweled four-sided clock and ticket windows. Grand Central has been seen in many movies through the years. Dan Brucker is with the New York Transit Authority, which operates the station. Dan Brucker has worked for the transit authority at Grand Central for 30 years. In all those years, he has not lost his interest in the building. Justin Ferate, a historian, has been giving tours of Grand Central Station for 30 years. He says the station was designed to make travel a pleasure. "Why people don't run into each other in Grand Central is simple: each block of stone in Grand Central is the length of your leg. Each block of stone in Grand Central is the length of your arm. Each block of stone is a different color, so it's a checkerboard, based on you." A ten-year-long fight against plans to build a huge office building over Grand Central in 1968 helped create the modern preservation movement. Now, no one would think of changing the beauty of the station. A lot of people can't _ in Grand Central. Answer:
The origination of the "gap year" concept came in the decade following the Second World War when youth travel and cultural exchange was discussed among governments as a useful tool to create more of a global understanding to prevent future global wars. However, the first gap years actually started in the UK in the 1960s when the Baby-Boomer generation in the midst of the Swinging Sixties headed off to India on the infamous Hippie Trails ,inventing the independent travel market. Australian Graham "Screw" Turner, based in London in 1973, loaded a double-decker bus with the first paying customers and drove them to Kathmandu. They arrived three weeks late. Top Deck Travel, the company he founded, still exists today. In 1979 another Australian, Dick Porter, founded STA Travel to bring in the final piece of the puzzle. It was a high street travel agent for students and youth (those under 26) with which he was able to develop global youth travel as he opened student travel agencies around the world. In the UK in the 1980s the Baby-Boomers were accustomed to family life with their young children and so traveling less, and the next generation were influenced by the addiction to money, careers and wealth. The housing market crash meant fewer funds available for parents to fund youth travel. But steady UK and global growth continued as STA Travel opened up branches around the world. A combination of the Baby-Boomer's children reaching 18 (whose parents encouraged world travel as they did in their youth), the UK coming out of decline and new, exciting, color1ful media channels to bring gap year products to market resulted in an explosion of activity in the UK in the 1990s as gap year travel and gap year volunteering took off pre-, during, and post-university. Demand grew, prices for air travel fell, and the roots of it becoming a tradition of growth were set. The modern gap year pioneers came in the form of Tom Griffiths and Peter Pedrick who brought the gap year market onto the web in 1988 with the launch of www.gapyear.com. The two pioneers have invented products, offerings, phrases, and concepts that form the frame of the global gap year industry seen today. Known as the gap year guru. Tom Griffiths is recognized as a global authority on gap years and acts as a media spokesperson around the world. Which would be the best title for the passage? Brief History of the Gap Year For thousands of years, people thought of glass as something beautiful to look at. Only recently have they come to think of it as something to look through. Stores display their goods in large glass windows. Glass bottles and jars that hold food and drink allow us to see the contents. Glass is used to make eyeglasses, microscopes, telescopes, and many other extremely useful and necessary objects. Until the Second World War, most of the glass used for optical instruments was imported from Europe. However, during the war Americans could not get European glass, and they were forced to make their own. Therefore, new kinds of glasses were developed that had been previously unknown. These new effects were achieved by mixing other chemical elements with the sand. Some of these new glasses are very strong and can resist many kinds of shocks. Legend has it that a very hard glass was invented by a Roman who showed his discovery to the Emperor. When the Emperor saw the glass he feared that it would become more valuable than gold and sliver, making his treasure worthless. Therefore, he had the glassmaker killed, and the secret was not discovered again for hundreds of years. In the present century, safety glass was invented for use in modern cars and planes. Safety glass is made by placing a layer of plastic between two layers of plate glass. When the outside layer of glass is broken, the pieces do not scatter and injure people. Some glass of the type is strong enough to resist bullets . Although nowadays plastics have replaced glass under conditions where glass might be easily broken, there are new uses being developed, for the greatest advantage of glass is that its component parts are inexpensive and can be found all over the world. Why does the author tell us the legend? To give some information about hard glass. Tom had to fix some things around the house. He had to fix the door. He had to fix the window. But before he did anything he had to fix the toilet. Tom called over his best friend Jim to help him. Jim brought with him his friends Molly and Holly. Tom thought that Jim was going to bring Dolly with him but he didn't. The four of them got to work right away. Fixing the toilet was easy. Fixing the door was also easy but fixing the window was very hard. The window was stuck and could not be opened. They all pushed on the window really hard until finally it opened. Once the window was fixed the four of them made a delicious dinner and talked about all of the good work that they had done. Tom was glad that he had such good friends to help him with his work. What was the hardest thing for Tom and his friends to fix? Window Uganda is a country in East Africa and,as in many such countries,a high percentage of the population,about 80 percent,are village-dwellers living in huts,which are often no bigger than a garage. The walls of the huts are made of mud,which is held together by reeds and sticks,and the roofs of the older ones are thatched with grass,although an increasing number of newer village houses have roofs made from corrugated iron. Several generations of the same family live together in the huts,which are usually divided into two sections by a curtain. The inner section,the one furthest from the open door of the hut,is where everyone sleeps and food is prepared and served in the outer part. If the family owns chickens or goats,they are kept in a small room attached to the main house. Food is usually prepared on open fires although some people prefer to cook inside. However,this is quite dangerous and also means that the walls of the hut are stained by smoke and the atmosphere is acrid. The family sit in a circle on mats while they eat. Newer village houses are almost always made of corrugated iron and are bigger,with one or two separate bedrooms and the kitchen in a smaller building beside the main house. But,old or new,the houses are not powered by electricity,and all homes are lit by paraffin candles called "tadobba". Nor is there any running water in the houses. Some villages have their own well,but in many cases,collecting water involves a long and arduous walk to a river or spring,carrying plastic containers or pots made of clay. Children are the ones who have to fetch water,and they have to do this early in the morning before they go to school,or in the evening when they come home. They often have to climb high hills or walk through valleys with narrow paths through dense vegetation. It is no surprise that they grow up muscular and fit after such daily exercise,walking for several kilometres carrying such heavy weights. Most Ugandans live _ . in villages in small houses made of wet earth,grass and wood When companies do business overseas, they come in contact with people from different cultures.These individuals often speak a different language and have their own particular custom and manners.These differences can create problems. For example, in France, business meetings begin promptly at the designated time and everyone is expected to be there.Foreign business people who are late are often left outside to cool their heels as a means of letting them know the importance of promptness.Unless one is aware of such expected behaviors, he may end up insulting the people with whom he hopes to establish trade relations. A second traditional problem is that of monetary conversions .For example, if a business deal is conducted with Russia, payment may be made in rubles.Of course, this currency is of little value to the American firm.It is, therefore, necessary to convert the foreign currency to American dollars.How much are these Russian rubles worth in terms of dollars? This conversion rate is determined by every market, where the currencies of countries are bought and sold.Thus there is an established rate.although it will often change from day to day.For example, the ruble may be worth 0.75 on Monday and 0.72 on Tuesday because of an announced wheat shortage in Russia.In addition, there is the dilemma associated with converting at 0.72.Some financial institutions may be unwilling to pay this price, feeling that the ruble will sink much lower over the next week.As a result, conversion may finally come at 0.69.These "losses" must be accepted by the company as one of the costs of doing business overseas. A third unique problem is trade barriers.For one reason or another, all countries impose trade barriers on certain goods crossing their borders.Some trade barriers are directly related to exports.For example, the United States permits strategic military material to be shipped abroad only after government permission has been obtained.Most trade barriers, however, are designed to restrict import.Two of the most common import barriers are quotas and tariffs . According to the passage, conversion rates _ . vary from day to day
Have you ever heard of the saying, "If you want a friend, be one."? What does it mean? There are many different things that you can do to make friends. You may find out what they are if you watch someone make friends. Here is how one new teacher made friends with the students in her class on the first day of the school. When the bell rang, the teacher smiled at all the students. Then she said, " Good morning! How nice it is to have all of you in my class this year! I want to know each of you very much. I am sure we will enjoy working together." The teacher smiled, used a pleasant voice, and acted in a friendly way. She told the students her name and wrote it on the blackboard. Then she told them something she liked to do and hoped to do with them during the year. The students knew that she liked many of the same things they liked. _ Each of them wanted to know her better and be her friends. Then she let the students tell something about themselves. So they felt that the teacher knew them. Could you make friends as the teacher did? How do you know and like your classmates? One way is to find out more about them. During the break you can talk to them. You may ask them their names and the names of the schools they went to last year. They want to know about you, too. You may tell them about your interests or your holiday experiences. It is often easy to be friends with people who have the same interests and play the same games. As you talk, the others may be thinking, " I like to do the same things you do. It should be fun to be friends with you." Remember! Just talking together in a friendly way is one good way to make friends. How did the teacher get the students to feel that she would be a good friend? A. She laughed at each other and told them many things she knew. B. She told the students many things she likes to do. C. She laughed and made the students only know her well in a friendly way. D. She talked and acted in a friendly way to let the students know she really wanted to be friends with them. Answer: D. She talked and acted in a friendly way to let the students know she really wanted to be friends with them. Computer programmer David Jones earned $ 150,000 a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a check card . Instead, he has been told to wait another two years until he is 18. He works for a small firm in Liverpool, where most young people of his age are finding jobs. David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. Though he has high payment, he cannot drive a car, or get credit cards. David got his job four months ago, a year after leaving school with six O-Levels and working for a time in a computer shop. "I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs," he said. "I suppose $150,000 sounds a lot but I hope it will come to more than that this year." He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother $20 a week as he lives with his parents. But most of his spare time is spent working. "Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school," he said. " But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway. I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear. why is David so different from other young people of his age? A. He has got a job. B. He lives at home with his parents C. He does not get out much. D. He earns a high payment Answer: D. He earns a high payment In 1945, Owen, owner of both Blackacre and Whiteacre, executed and delivered two separate deeds by which he conveyed the two tracts of land as follows: Blackacre was conveyed "To Alpha and his heirs as long as it is used exclusively for residential purposes, but if it is ever used for other than residential purposes, to the American Red Cross." Whiteacre was conveyed "To Beta and her heirs as long as it is used exclusively for residential purposes, but if it is used for other than residential purposes prior to 1965, then to the Salvation Army." In 1950, Owen died leaving a valid will by which he devised all his real estate to his brother, Bill. The will had no residuary clause. Owen was survived by Bill and by Owen's daughter, Delia, who was Owen's sole heir. For the purpose of this set of questions, it may be assumed that the common law rule against perpetuities applies in the state where the land is located and that the state also has a statute providing that "all future estates and interests are alienable, descendible, and devisable in the same manner as possessory estates and interests.""In 1955, Alpha and Delia entered into a contract with John whereby Alpha and Delia contracted to sell Blackacre to John in fee simple. After examining the title, John refused to perform on the ground that Alpha and Delia could not give good title. Alpha and Delia joined in an action against John for specific performance. Specific performance will be A. ordered, because Alpha and Delia together own a fee simple absolute in Blackacre. B. ordered, because Alpha alone owns the entire fee simple in Blackacre. C. denied, because Bill has a valid interest in Blackacre. D. denied, because the American Red Cross has a valid interest in Blackacre. Answer: C. denied, because Bill has a valid interest in Blackacre. Many people think it is safe to use a cell phone while they are driving. Yet Scores of studies suggest that real multitaskers - those who can carry out multiple tasks equally well, make up just 2 per cent of the population. More surprisingly, the so-called "supertaskers" actually have differently structured brains to the other 98 percent. The brain areas that make supertaskers differ from the rest of the population are the same parts that are most different between humans and nonhuman primates , according to David Strayer, director of the applied cognition lab at the University of Utah. Scientists are unsure of the reason why some brains are different. In fact, we could all benefit from doing just one task at once. In most of us, scientists have located a "bottleneck in the brain" that may explain why we find it hard to do two things at once. The problem appears to be caused by a logjam of nerve messages. Faced with two almost simultaneous tasks less than 300 milliseconds apart, the brain's ability to deal with the second one slows down. The neural response to the second task was postponed until the response to the first was completed. This means that with e-mails, phone calls, text messages and online social media all competing for our attention, often against a background of television, radio or music, our brains can reach information overload. Scientists made the discovery after scanning the brains of volunteers attempting to multitask on a computer. The task was deliberately designed to involve the use of different senses and _ responses. Dr Rene Marois, one of the neuroscientists who carried out the experiment at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, said: "Our research offers neurological evidence that the brain cannot effectively do two things at once." The next step, the neuroscientists say, is finding out "why these areas cannot process two tasks at once." We can infer from the article that the brain takes 300 milliseconds to _ . A. make a neural response B. get ready for a response C. complete a task D. finish two tasks Answer: A. make a neural response "Mark Twain" was the name used by Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835~1910) when he wrote books.His father was a lawyer,but a poor one,who lived in Florida,Missouri.The family was so poor that Samuel did not receive much teaching.He had to learn all that he could from the people whom he met.His father died when he was very young,and then there was even less money than before. Many of the men in this part of America worked in the ships on the great Mississippi River,and he did this himself at one time (1857). Where did he find the name "Mark Twain"? It came from the great river itself.It was part of one of the cries used by men who worked in the ships.When a man called "By the mark twain!" he meant that the river was "two marks deep" there,that is to say,six feet deep ( "Twain" is an old form of the word "Two".) Samuel Clemens often heard these words when he was young,and he used them as a pen name all his life. During his work on the Mississippi he met travelers of all kinds,and this helped him a great deal when he started to write.But the number of travelers became smaller when war started in America in 1861.Many of the great ships on the river stopped work.Samuel left then and went to Nevada with his brother,who was at that time Governor of Nevada.There,near the town of Carson,Samuel became a gold miner,but he never made much money at the time.He soon saw that life in the gold mines was not for him.He also tried writing for the newspapers in Nevada,and this seemed more hopeful.He found that he could write. He went to Europe in 1867 and visited France and Italy.In 1870 he married Olivia Langdon,and two years later he was spending nearly all his time writing.Among his books is his own story (1908). He is now always known as Mark Twain,and many people do not even know that his family name was Clemens.He traveled in America and in England,and went to Oxford in 1907.He was one of the great American writers of the time,and could make his readers laugh--a thing which few writers can do.He died in 1910. What gave him a great deal when he started writing? A. His poor childhood. B. The Mississippi River. C. All kinds of travelers he met. D. His brother. Answer: C. All kinds of travelers he met.
There are many great movie directors of all time and the following are five of those who have largely impressed audience with their body of work. As a member of the New Hollywood gang, Francis Coppola is best remembered for The God Father series. His decision to cast Marlon Brando in the lead also met with fierce opposition from the studio bosses. Good sense became popular, and The God Father went on to become one of the most memorable movies ever. Critics may point out that he has become less creative after his seventies, but try as one might, no one can possibly take the place of this great director's work. Stanley Kubrick's movies focus on the themes like sci-fi, horror, dark humor and war. He used symbolism in most of his movies, giving us some wonderful screen visuals, as shown in 2001: A Space Odyssey. His actors in Hollywood complained about the endless number of retakes, but they appreciated the performance he milked out of them. People argue about films like Lolita, A Clockwork Orange and Paths of Glory, but these are now seen as classics. Steven Spielberg is a great success at the box office, and he is one of the world's most popular filmmakers today. As the creator of classics like Schindler's List, Jurassic Park, ET, Indiana Jones series, Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, no one can win his hold over the audience. His critics accuse him of being emotional and over the top, _ Woody Allen is a director who directs movies full of crime and hate. This comic genius has given us Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters and Midnight in Paris, which have also become classical. His movies constantly include characters who arouse the audience's sympathy and laughter at the same time, as they set out on a journey of self-discovery. Hollywood star power has never fazed Allen. Thankfully, awards and honors do not interest him, which results in creativity that is original. What do the directors mentioned in the passage have in common _ ? Answer: A few common misconceptions. Beauty is only skin-deep. One' s physical assets and liabilities don' t count all that much in a managerial career. A woman should always try to look her best. Over the last 30 years, social scientists have conducted more than 1,000 studies of how we react to beautiful and not- so-beautiful people. The virtually unanimous conclusion: Looks do matter, more than most of us realize. The data suggest, for example, the physically attractive individuals are more likely to be treated well by their parents, sought out as friends, and pursued romantically. With the possible exception of women seeking managerial jobs they are also more likely to be hired, paid well, and promoted. Un-American, you say, unfair and extremely unbelievable? Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties while acting just the contrary. Their typical experiment works something like this. They give each member of a group--college students, perhaps, or teachers or corporate personnel managers a piece of paper relating an individual' s accomplishments. Attached to the paper is a photograph. While the papers all say exactly the same thing the pictures are different. Some show a strikingly attractive person, some an average-looking character, and some an unusually unattractive human being. Group members are asked to rate the individual on certain attributes, anything from personal warmth to the likelihood that he or she will be promoted. Almost invariably, the better looking the person in the picture, the higher the person is rated. In the phrase, borrowed from Sappho, that the social scientists use to sum up the common perception, what is beautiful is good. In business, however, good looks cut both ways for women, and deeper than for men. A Utah State University professor, who is an authority on the subject, explains: In terms of their careers, the impact of physical attractiveness on males is only modest. But its potential impact on females can be tremendous, making it easier, for example, for the more attractive to get jobs where they are in the public eye. on another note, though, there is enough literature now for us to conclude that attractive women who aspire to managerial positions do not get on as well as who may be less attractive. The result of research carried out by social scientists show that _ . Answer: Sam, an unemployed piano tuner, said it was only the second thing he had ever won in his life. The first thing was an Afghan blanket at a church raffle when he was 25 years old. But this was much bigger: it was $120,000! He had won the Big Cube, a state lottery game. To win, a contestant must first guess which number a spinning cube will stop on. The cube has six numbers on it: 1X, 10X, 50X, 100X, 500X, and 1000X. If he is correct, the contestant must then guess which of two selected variables is going to be greater. So, just guessing which number appears on the cube does not guarantee that you will win any money. Sam correctly guessed 1000X, but he still had to choose between two variables. One variable was the number of cars that would run the stop sign at Hill Street and Lake Avenue in six hours. The other variable was the number of times that a teenage boy would change TV channels in a three-hour period. This was a tough decision. Finally, Sam flipped a coin. It came up heads, so Sam picked the teenager. He picked right. The stop sign was run only 76 times, but the teen clicked 120 times. Sixty-year-old Sam jumped for joy, for he had just won 1000 times 120, or $120,000. Sam dreamily left the lottery studio. Talking excitedly on his cell phone while crossing the street, he got hit by a little sports car. Sam is slowly getting better. He was in the hospital for a month. His hospital bill was $110,000. And the insurance company for the little sports car's owner sued Sam for $9,000 worth of repairs. Also, Sam still has to pay federal taxes on his winnings. Sam doesn't play the state lottery any more. He says it's better to be unlucky. Sam won the lottery because _ . Answer: Diamonds are no longer a girl's best friend, according to a new U.S. study that found three of four women would prefer a new plasma TV to a diamond necklace. The survey, specially by U.S. cable television's Oxygen Net-work that is operated by women found the technology gender gap has almost closed with most women buying new technology and using it easily. Women were found on average to own 6.6 technology devices while men own 6.9, and four out of every five women felt comfortable using technology with 46 percent doing their own computer trouble--shooting "People have the thought that women are not as advanced as men when it comes to technology and I was surprised at the equivalence men and women now have in terms of technology," Geraldine Laybourne, chairman and chief executive of Oxygen Network said. The Girls Gone Wired survey of 1,400 women and 700 men aged 15 to 49, which was conducted by market researcher TRU, found that given the choice, women would choose tech items rather than luxury items like jewelry or vacations. The study found 77 percent of women surveyed would prefer a new plasma television to a diamond necklace and 56 percent would go for a new plasma TV over a weekend vacation in Florida. Even shoes lost out. The study found 86 percent would prefer a new digital video camera to a pair of designer shoes. The study found over the next five years women see themselves increasing their activities in six tech areas: digital cameras, cell phones, e-mail, camera phones, text-messaging and instant messaging. Laybourne said this increasing use of technology among women was expected to continue. Which of the following statements is true according to the text? Answer: Twelve years ago, when I was 50,I wondered what 60 or 70 would be like? I looked around and saw only one style of living. It's not fair, I thought. Young people have so many styles to choose from, but older people have just one choice. So I decide to do something about it , something practical. I worked on my fitness by joining exercise classes in town. A few years later, my husband and I moved to a retirement community, and I wanted to teach aerobic classes. The community center wouldn't give me a room to teach in, so I had to walk around and find any available empty room. One day, the community center staff came to me and asked if I would help with the entertainment for a Hawaiian luau they were putting on. I said yes. Then I talked five other ladies into dancing with me. We performed the hula and a war chant and brought the house down. Someone had a camera and took pictures, and then sent them to our local paper. We got requests for more engagements, which in turn led to more publicity and yet more engagements. Soon we had invitations from all over the country. The Dancing Grannies were born! I think the real secret of the Dancing Grannies is out attitude. I was raised extremely poor ---no-food poor. If we wanted toys we had to make things up to play with ,so I learned early to be very creative. And you know,I think being poor was one of the best things that ever happened to me because I learned to look for treasures. That's what I'm still doing today--looking for the treasure in growing old. I'm getting better and better. It's true that _ have to be treated a bit differently, with a little care, but they still have a beauty of their own. What can we infer from the writer's performance? Answer:
He is only 12 years old but Utkarsh Tripathi brings out a handwritten newspaper every week on matters like the environment. He does all this to satisfy his wish to "serve the country". A Class 8 student of the Brij Bihari Sahai Inter College in Allahabad, Utkarsh has been bringing out the newspaper Jagriti for the last one year. And for the four-page, black-and-white newspaper, Utkarsh not only takes the role of a reporter, editor and publisher, but also gives it free of charge. Jagriti has about 150 readers belonging to various age groups in Allahabad, some 200 km from the state capital Lucknow. "Children make up major Jagriti readers ... my school friends, my seniors in school, teachers and also my neighbours," he said. According to Utkarsh's father Hari Prasad, who runs a coaching institute, his son has a gift for writing and wants to serve the country in some way. "More than two years ago, he began to read articles in Hindi Daily. One day he said that he wanted to start serving society from his school life itself. I then suggested why not work like a journalist and make people know their rights," he added. Utkarsh took the suggestion seriously and came up with Jagriti. "I try to cover social issues about environment, women foeticide and others in the editorial section, and also information about public welfare plans and important government policies for the betterment of the poor or children." Utkarsh said. Jagriti also has successful stories of scientists, political leaders and other outstanding people.But how does he get time from his studies to bring out a weekly newspaper? "I believe if anyone is passionate about something, he or she can take out some time to realize his dream." Utkarsh replied. Utkarsh's efforts are much appreciated by people in Allahabad. Nutan Devi, a local journalist, said, "For me it's real journalism ...It has renewed the objective of journalism that seems to have now got lost somewhere." Who are most likely to be interested in Jagriti? A Adults, especially the elderly. B Local journalists. C Children, especially Utkarsh's schoolmates. D Women around Utkarsh. Answer: C Sharks are the most frightening animals in the sea. Sometimes we can see sharks swimming in the sea around Hong Kong. People put nets around some beaches to protect swimmers. When there is a "shark's flag", people must slay on the beach. It will be too late if a shark can swim sixty kilometers an hour to you. There are 30 kinds of sharks and 25 kinds of them are dangerous. The whale sharks are very big. They can grow to 18 meters long, but they are not dangerous to people. The jaws and the tiger sharks are the most dangerous kinds of sharks. Do you know all sharks must keep swimming, or they will go down? All sharks can feel everything that happens around them. We must keep _ and don't make any noise when a shark is swimming near you. If a shark loses a tooth, a new one will grow out very quickly. So sharks always have many sharp teeth. Which is NOT true according to the passage? A It will be late if a shark can swim sixty kilometers an hour to you. B There are 30 kinds of sharks in the sea. C All sharks must keep swimming to go down in the sea. D Sharks's teeth can grow out very quickly. Answer: C The United States covers a large part of the North American continent. Its neighbours are Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. Although the United States is a big country, it is not the largest in the world. In 1964, its population was over 185,000,000. When this land first became a nation, after winning its independence from England, it had thirteen states. Each of the states was represented on the American flag by a star. All these states were in the eastern part of the continent. As the nation grew toward the west, new states were added and new stars appeared on the flag. For a long time, there were 48 stars. In 1959, however, two more stars were added to the flag, representing the new states of Alaska and Hawaii. Indians were the first people of the land which is now the United States. There are still many thousands of Indians now living in all parts of the country. Sometimes it is said that the Indians are "the only real Americans". Most Americans come from all over the world. Those who came first in greatest numbers to make their homes on the eastern coast of North America were mostly from England. It is for that reason that the official language of the United States is English and that its culture and customs are more like those of England than those of any other country in the world. Which of the following is the best title for the passage? A The States of America B The Language of America C The United States of America D The Culture and Customs of America Answer: C Sophia Richardson: Both my parents are really important to me. My parents are really more than friends. They're the people I can open up and talk to. Talking to them is like talking to one of my friends. They've been there for me and given me good advice on a lot of my problems. Stacey Avnes: My Jewish big sister is important to me. Her name is Lauren. We've been together for two years. My mom is a single and she is very busy. Lauren is someone who helps me deal with all this stuff because she's someone I can talk to. She's like a second mom to me and also a best friend. If I have any problem, I can call her and she'll come and pick me up and we'll go to the park and talk. Jean Park: It's my uncle who is important to me. When I'm with him, I'm grateful for the small things--- being alive and healthy; having a good family and friends. He's also very grateful for the small things and gives back to his community. Melaku Shierfaw: My father is important to me. He came here from a rich family in Africa. But when he came, he didn't take any money and started fresh. He showed that he could do everything by himself without the help of others and he's successful. It shows that I can do anything as long as I try. Kalin Scott- Wright: My great grandmother is in charge of our whole family. She was born in 1920. I know she went through a lot in her life. She was a very strong woman and she raised my mom and took her in. She had a kind spirit and loved me and my brother. She'll always be there for me although she's not alive any longer. What does Jean's uncle teach him? A To be grateful for the small things in life. B To be ready to help his community. C To treat others like friends. D To have a good family. Answer: A Once there was a granddaddy named Tom who hadn't seen his daughter Rachel in many years. Rachel had a daughter of her own named Melissa, but she and Tom had had a fight before Melissa was born. Because of that, Tom had never met Melissa. Tom's wife Marge had died many years before, so he lived alone. He liked living alone, but he missed Rachel. Tom spent most of his time working in his garden. He liked to plant pumpkins, peppers, and tomatoes. He hated peas and broccoli, so he never planted them. He liked zucchini and spinach, but he didn't have any of those plants to plant. One day Tom got a call on his phone. He picked it up and asked who it was. The voice on the other end of the line said, "It's me, Rachel." Tom was so surprised he almost dropped the phone. He said, "Rachel, is it really you? I can't believe it." Rachel said that she had been thinking about Tom and she wanted to make up for their fight. Tom was so happy. They were going to meet the next weekend. Even before he hung up, Tom could imagine himself hugging his daughter. He sat down and thought about everything he wanted to say to her. What was the name of the granddaddy's daughter? A Melissa B Marge C Tom D Rachel Answer: D
The Ministry of Health has called for more awareness from the public on the mental health of the young,as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day. More than 15 percent of the Chinese youth have been found with mental problems,and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression,the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily reported. The World Health Organization estimated that before 2020,the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent,and mental problems will become a major factor behind death and illness in the young worldwide. Deng Xiaohong,the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau,said rapid social change is one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems. If these mental diseases are not _ on time,occurrence of crime,drugtaking and other dangerous behavior are expected to rise. Experts said mental disease could be caused by many factors,such as the inability to handle interpersonal relations well,unstable emotions and pressure from the overload of study. A number of experts have also said the one-child policy is another reason leading to poor mental health in the young. Children were said to be too "spoiled" and "selfish" in one-child families. Schools in many cities were reported to roll out measures to help students maintain their mental well-being. Yin Jingmiao,a teacher of the Beijing No. 105 Middle School,told China Daily that the school invites psychologists to provide counseling to students three times a month. "Students can be arranged to have 40-minute counseling sessions," Yin said. The school also gives lectures on mental health to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams,to help ease any anxiety arising from the tests. What is the purpose of the passage? Mattie Stepanek died at the age of 13 from a rare disease called muscular dystrophy. Because of the disease, Mattie had to get around in a wheelchair, but it did not stop him from staying positive and inspiring others with his message of peace. As a best-selling author and role model, Mattie provided a voice for people who suffer from muscular dystrophy. He spoke to people about the disease and about his dream for world peace. "Mattie was something special, something very special," said Jerry Lewis, the chair of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a group that works to find a solution to the disease. "He was an example that made people want to reach for the best within themselves." Mattie moved many people through his speeches and interviews, but he may have touched the most people through his poetry. During his life, Mattie wrote five books of poetry. Three of those books were The New York Times best-sellers. His books all had the word "Heartsongs" in the title. Mattie called his inner voice that encouraged him to work for peace his "Heartsongs". When his first book came out, just 200 copies were printed to be handed out to friends and supporters. But after the news of the book spread, 500,000 more copies were printed. People think Mattie's poems are very thoughtful. Mattie first started writing poetry at the age of 3 to help him face the death of his brother, who also suffered from muscular dystrophy. The magazine Time For Kids once interviewed Mattie. He told the reporter, "Life is a gift. We have to make the best of it." Mattie said his task was to bring peace to the world. According to the passage, the disease muscular dystrophy may make a person _ . The information below is taken from a dictionary page. jaguar: n. a type of large, yellow-colored cat with black markings found in the southwestern region of the U. S. and in Central and South America. jargon: 1. n. speech that doesn't make sense. 2. n. an unknown language that seems strange or impossible to understand. 3. n. a language made up of two or more other languages: His jargon was a mixture of French and English. 4. n. the special vocabulary of a field or profession: Her report on computers was filled with jargon. jaunt: 1. n. a trip taken for fun. 2. v. to go on a brief pleasant trip: We jaunted to the country last Saturday. javelin: 1. n.. a spear most commonly used as weapon or in hunting. 2. n. a light metal or wooden spear that is thrown in track-and-field sport events. 3. n. the event in which a javelin is thrown. 4. v. to strike, as with a javelin. jazz: 1. n. a type of music that originated in New Orleans and is characterized by rhythmic beats. 2. n. popular dance music influenced by jazz. 3. n. empty talk. 4. ad. of or like jazz: a jazz band, jazz records. Jennet: n. a small Spanish horse. jest: 1.n. thing said or done to cause amusement; joke. 2. (idiom) in jest: as a joke ; in fun; not seriously. 3.v.make jokes Which meaning of the word javelin is used in the sentence below? Two wheeled conveyances are held together by Dear Dad, Today I was at the shopping mall and I spent a lot of time reading the Father's Day cards.They all had a special message that in some way or another reflected how I feel about you.Yet as I selected and read,it occurred to me that not a single card said what I really want to say to you. You'll soon be 84 years old,Dad,and you and I will have had 55 Father's Days together.I haven't always been with you on Father's Day but I've always been with you in my heart. You know,Dad,there was a time when we were separated by the generation gap.You stood on one side of the Great Divide and I on the other. The Father Daughter Duel shifted into high gear ( ) when you taught me to drive the old Dodge and I decided I would drive the '54 Chevy whether you liked it or not.The police officer who sent me home,after you reported the Chevy stolen,didn't have much tolerance for a stub!born 16 year old,while you were so tolerant about it,Dad,and I think that was probably what made it the worst night of my life. Our relationship greatly improved when I married a man you liked,and things really turned around when we began making babies right and left.Somewhere along the line,the generation gap disappeared.I suppose I saw us and our relationship as aging together,rather like a fine wine. But the strangest thing happened last week.I was at a stop sign and I watched as you turned the corner in your car.It didn't immediately occur to me that it was you because the man driving looked so elderly and fragile behind the wheel of that huge car.It was rather like a slap in the face delivered from out of nowhere.Perhaps I saw your age for the first time that day. I guess what I'm trying to say,Dad,is what every son and daughter wants to say to their Dad today.Honoring a father on Father's Day is about respect and sharing and acceptance and tolerance and giving and taking.It's about loving someone more than words can say,and it's wishing that never had to end. I love you,Dad. Love, Jenny Jenny wrote his father this letter to _
I am sitting in the examination hall among my classmates with a sheet of questions in front of me. The only difference between my classmates and me is that they are all busy filling out their sheets, while I am just sitting, staring at the wall in front of me. My mind silently fights to keep memories as I search for something to start this essay with--an essay about a man who was taken away from me before I was old enough to say his name. With no words coming to my rescue, I helplessly glance down at the title of the essay: "My Father". Since I do not have a clear recollection of him, I can only describe him on the basis of what I have heard from my mother and other s. They all told me that he was caring, hardworking, a man of his word and did everything to keep his family happy. They stop talking about him as suddenly as he disappeared from our lives. He went to work one day and never returned. My mother ran from hospitals to police stations and even to mortuaries but found no trace of him. He was gone as if he never existed. While growing up I could never understand what actually happened to him but there were times when I heard people talking in whispers about how he was taken away by security forces because he was against the state. I do not know how far that is true but what I would like to know is how that is possible? He was an ordinary man working day in and day out to make ends meet and put food on our table. He was least concerned about the state of affairs in Pakistan. I understand that my teachers are probably expecting me to write flowery words about him but how can I be expected to write about a man who never existed? Perhaps, it would be unfair to say he never existed. He still does in my memories. He was a fruit merchant and owned a shop. Every evening he would return from work with dates or sweets, his hands were never empty. I also remember that he took me to the Koh-e-Murad once; he told me that this was a very sacred place, asking me to fold my hands and ask Allah for whatever I wanted. I remember folding my hands and praying hard for every day to be a happy day. Ever since I have lost him, I have been faced with a deep sense of loss--a feeling which is difficult for me to describe in words. I wish I hadn't known the truth or that my life was different and normal from that of the other girls sitting around me in this examination hall. This sense gives me heartache and makes me jump from envy to severe hatred . I dislike the girls who are taken by their fathers to school; I hate children who boast about bed time stories read by their fathers. These events constantly remind me of his absence and how different my life is from other girls of my age. Strangely, I am just as hopeful as I am angry. Every knock on the door fills me with expectation; I immediately picture him walking through the door, a box of dates in his hands. Families get together and talk about good times but in my house, when we get together, we all gather in front of the television praying to catch a glimpse of his face. I follow every bit of news that could be connected with his disappearance. I see politicians, social workers and other influential power brokers fighting over the issue of missing persons. But do they know how long and dull our days have become under the heavy burden of this constant hope to hear news about his return? Do they care that I have spent my childhood with my sense that my father actually existed? I don't think they do. I don't think that they even understand that when he was taken away, I did not only lose him but I lost my mother as well. My mother, who does nothing all day but sit by the door in wait of his return, may as well have disappeared with my father that fateful day. Most days I wish for his safe return. But when optimism makes me tired out, there are days when I think it would be better if we just found his lifeless body somewhere; so that we could finally stop searching, so that we could finally find peace. What does the author think of her father? Answer: He showed much concern for his kids. When I was a child, my parents always told me that I should never talk to strangers. This was part of a whole list of things I should never do: Never accept food or candy from strangers, never get in a car with strangers, and so on. But if we didn't start a conversation with strangers, we'd never make new friends. We'd never get a job. We may miss the joy that comes from talking with strangers. And the more people you know, you more chances you can get. The following passage offers you some advice on how to break the ice. Don't just stare at your shoes. Go and say "Hi" to that new guy. It will be easier to break the ice if you know more about different cultures. British: Beautiful day, isn't it? The weather in Britain is changeable. So, it is one of the topics the British care most about. And there's a simple rule: Say "Yes" whether you agree with the person's idea on the weather or not. That's because the British start a conversation using the weather so that they can continue their talk. French: Where did you go on holiday? To talk with a French person, the safest way is to ask his or her last holiday. French students enjoy a 10-to-15-day holiday every two months. French employees get more than six weeks of holidays per year. American: So, where are you from? The US is so big and people move so often that location is always a source of talk. You can try to find a connection with the place they're from. For example, if someone's from Los Angeles, you could say:"Oh, I have a friend who studied there" To talk with a French person, the safest way is _ . Answer: his or her last holiday A capsule inn is a kind of cheap and small hotel where people just sleep in rectangular containers . After experiencing popularity in Japan for more than 30 years, capsule inns have now entered the Chinese market. This new style is becoming popular with many visitors, but some are less than what they expected. The capsule inn covers an area of more than 300 square meters, with 68 very small bedrooms for guests to rest. Each room is 2.2 meters long and about 1 meter wide. As small as the capsules are, they provide more than enough daily necessities for visitors. They do have plenty of _ . Each includes independent power sockets, clocks, lights, and flat screen televisions. People can also enjoy wireless Internet service. The basic fee for each capsule is 28 yuan, and guests will be asked to pay an extra 4 yuan every hour. The highest cost could reach 88 yuan per day. Ta Zan, capsule inn Manager, said, "Capsule inns are similar to Internet cafes. When they first appeared more than 10 years ago, people thought they might not succeed. But now it's a common thing in our lives." He believes that more capsule inns will open around the nation very soon. He is sure about the future of his business. Why does the manager compare his inn to Internet cafes? Answer: Because he believes both will have good development. "Memorize these words." "Learn this spelling rule." "Don't forget about the exam tomorrow." You remember things every day, but how do you do it? When you want to call a store or an office that you don't call often, you look in the telephone book for the number. You _ the number, and then you forget it! You use your short-term memory to remember the number. Your short-term memory lasts about half a minute. However, you don't need to look in the telephone book for your best friend's number because you already know it. This information is in your long-term memory. Your long-term memory has everything that you remember through the years. The major reason for forgetting something is because you do not learn it well at the beginning. For example, you meet some new people, and right away you forget their names. You hear the names but you do not learn them, so you forget them. You remember things every day, but you also forget things easily because you use _ remember them. Answer: your short-term memory You're sitting on the train home and the person opposite you yawns . Suddenly, you're yawning with him, though you're not tired. This phenomenon confused scientists for years until a recent study found that people tend to sympathize with fellow humans. Supporting this claim was the discovery that those children who were unable to form normal emotional ties with others did not experience contagious yawning, which showed that humans communicate regularly with out words. Hugo Critchley, a neuroscientist, has conducted an experiment recently, which will prove that happiness and sadness can spread like the common cold. According to Critechley, our mind and body are in constant exchange about how we're feeling. "Emotions are closely linked with states of internal responses," he explained. " There are also more visible changes in our gestures and facial expression. When we're in a group, these signals can spread to another person. For example, there's the obvious tendency to smile when smiled at and there are less obvious changes that reflect emotions of surprise, anger or sadness such as a change in our heart rate and blood pressure. Hugo Critchley further explained, "Our bodies synchronies and when we like the other person, we ever copy his behavior. Next time you chat with a friend, take note of how you're sitting-- it's pretty likely that you will be the same. Scientists believe it's our way of telling each other that we're partners. Through body language, humans give each other very subtle but clear signals that show emotions." So, what lessons can we learn from this? " Spend time with happy people-- otherwise your health could suffer," said Critchley." When we're sad, our body goes into fight or flight mode. But when we're happy, our body works normally and we feel relaxed and positive. So we look bright, our skin glows, we feel healthy and it affects everyone around us." From the passage we can learn _ . Answer: anger is less contagious than friendliness
Question: Sixty-five million years ago, an asteroid that crashed on Earth led to the disappearance of the largest animals that have ever walked our planet - the dinosaurs. At least, this is what some scientists believe. But that accident happened so long ago. People have come to believe that we are free of threats from asteroids and everything else from space. However, what happened on Feb 15 , 2013 was a reminder that we're just as _ as the dinosaurs once were. Two objects from space - a meteor and an asteroid called 2012 DA14 - visited Earth's atmosphere on the same day. The former fell in Russia, injuring 1,200 people, while the latter passed by Earth at a record-setting close distance. Scientists had been expecting the asteroid since last year, but the meteor was a surprise. NASA's telescope system only detects asteroids at least 50 meters in diameter , which is just about the size of 2012 DA14. But the meteor was much smaller, which made it harder to spot. But what if we do spot an asteroid that is headed right for Earth? There are several possible ways in which dangerous asteroids could be made to change its orbit. Which method is best depends on several factors and most importantly - how much time we have to stop it. If there is enough time before the hit, we can send off a heavy spacecraft to travel alongside the asteroid. The gravity from the spacecraft would gradually change the rock's orbit. Besides that, scientists could one day use sun-powered lasers to either make asteroids disappear or change their course. If there's not enough time, we'll have to go after the asteroid with a spacecraft and change its orbit with a crash. Finally, if things are truly desperate, there will be only one choice left - to use a nuclear bomb. That could turn the asteroid into a meteor shower, which would be even more dangerous. What is the main idea of the article? A. Learning about asteroids and meteors. B. The threats of objects from space and possible solutions. C. NASA's latest technology to discover visitors to the Earth from space. D. How to measure the damage of collisions from asteroids and meteors. Answer: B. The threats of objects from space and possible solutions. Question: 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 shows 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. 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 admitted the hidden 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. The phone app mentioned in the text _ . A. is a bit slow in reacting B. hasn't been put into service C. was introduced several years ago D. can't be downloaded to all phones Answer: D. can't be downloaded to all phones Question: Big Ben is not the name of a man. It is the name of a big clock in London. London is the capital of England. This clock has four faces. So, no matter where you stand, you can read the time on the face of Big Ben. Each face is the size of a bus. The _ are about four meters long. It is about the size of two people standing on top each other. If you go to London, you may want to visit the Houses of Parliament. In that place you will find Big Ben sits at the top of the clock tower in the Houses of Parliament. You will probably hear it and see it. The big clock makes such a loud noise. "Ding dong, ding dong." It goes, every quarter of an hour. The name of Big Ben comes from a big builder. Big Ben is in _ . A. China B. the USA C. Japan D. the UK Answer: D. the UK Question: If doctors want to test you for something, they'll usually take a blood or urine sample . But wouldn't it be much more convenient if they just asked you to breathe through a special instrument? In fact, your breath can say a lot about you. In traditional Chinese medicine, doctors draw a conclusion about the health state of a patient based on the smell of his or her breath; trained dogs and rats can identify the smells of the breaths of people suffering from certain cancers; traffic police also monitor drivers' alcohol consumption by testing their breaths. Just like blood and urine, your breath contains lots of " metabolites " --- the waste chemicals that the body produces, which vary from person to person. They are like personal health fingerprints, which is why scientists sometimes call them " breath prints", according to Science Daily. Compared to blood or urine testing, breath testing takes only seconds instead of hours, and it requires neither a needle nor a container to hold the body fluids . This means the test can be taken frequently to better detect early signs of diseases and monitor the progress of a medical treatment. On the other hand, as an identifier, you might think that breaths are not as reliable as fingerprints since they might change based on what you eat. However, researchers in Zurich, Switzerland mapped 11 healthy volunteers' chemical patterns by having them breathe through a special instrument, and they found that each pattern was unique and the patterns didn't change much throughout the day, reported BBC. "Our goal is to develop breath analysis to the point where it becomes competitive with the established analysis of blood and urine," said Malcolm Kohler, professor at the University Hospital Zurich. What is the author's attitude toward breath testing? A. Doubtful. B. Approving. C. Unconcerned. D. Worried. Answer: B. Approving. Question: After the chickens were let into the field, the population of worms A. decreased B. increased C. exploded D. fluctuated Answer: A. decreased
United States President George W. Bush is expected to issue a directive in the next few weeks. It will give the US Air Force a green light for the development of space weapons, US media reported last week. This would potentially start a new global arms race, some experts have warned. To keep that from happening, last Wednesday the White House explained that it was not considering putting weapons in space. It said it was making a shift in US space policy to allow for protection of satellites. But some defense analysts and arms control advocates argue that the policy will pave the way for the US to put both defensive and offensive weapons in space. "No one should be fooled," said Theresa Hitchens, an American weapons expert. The US is now restricted by a 1996 directive signed by President Bill Clinton. Plans for space weapons were vetoed by the Clinton cabinet. The directive emphasized the peaceful use of space , in agreement with almost unanimous global opinion. The US military has placed importance on space and has sent up numberous satellites for troop communications and to provide intelligence and data to guide bombs to their targets. The US Air Force wants to develop space- based weapons that could strike targets anywhere in the world within 90 minutes of receiving the order to open fire. These new weapons under development cover a wide range. They include hunter- killer satellites and orbiting weapons. And they use lasers, radio waves, or even dense metal tubes, known as " Rods from God", dropped from space to do the damage. There are many barriers to the setting up of this kind of program, experts say. First is the coast. It is estimated that the budget may be US $220 billion to US $ 1 trillion . The technical difficulties of developing reliable space weapons are also a problem. And, the program will draw strong criticism from around the world. Experts worry about starting a space arms race. According to this passage, which of the following is NOT true? International experts meeting in Australia say global carbon emissions can be reduced by more than 50 percent through simple energy saving measures. People at a conference in Australia, which increasingly relies on coal for power, say that reducing power consumption is an affordable way to both cut energy costs and reduce pollution. While many nations turn to cheap and dirty energy sources, such as coal, to meet their increasing energy needs, analysts in Australia say the best way to meet those needs is to improve energy efficiency. A range of simple solutions include using energy-efficient homes, household appliances and lighting, and driving electric cars. Encouraging homeowners and office workers to switch off their televisions and computers at the end of the day is also seen as an effective way to save electricity. Grayson Heffner, from the Paris-based International Energy Agency, says reducing consumption could greatly cut global carbon emissions. He calls efficiency strategies the "soft giant" of clean energy. "We forecast that energy efficiency will deliver something like three-quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions over the next 20 years. So in the short term energy efficiency is the main way that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions but oftentimes it is not so importantly stressed in the discussions," said Heffner. Energy experts working in China say the government is making significant cuts in power usage. Wan Xingwang, a Beijing-based representative of the Energy Foundation, a U.S. non-government organization, says the results have been impressive. "In the past five years China achieved about 19.1 percent of energy reduction of its GDP. That translates to something like more than 600 million tons of coal savings," said Wan Xingwang. While most nations have some sort of government-sponsored energy efficiency programs, energy analysts say initiatives by individuals and companies can also help cut demand. Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, a non-profit group based in Washington, says other developing nations are recognizing the benefits of cutting power consumption and taking action. What can we learn from what Grayson Heffner said? The Internet has revolutionized our lives to such an extent that for most people, the global network has become more than just a tool but rather an indispensable aid in everyday life. More and more people go online as wireless networks have brought the Internet closer and closer: it's on our mobile phones, in our cars and TV sets, in hospital surgery rooms and in fishing boats that battle the waves of the Atlantic. And this revolution has brought along with it a new way of shopping. Both big and small, e-commerce websites have literally flooded the Internet by the hundreds of thousands. Anything you can buy from a brick and mortar store you can also buy online: from food and clothes to guns and bombs, no matter what you're looking for, you're bound to find the right online store with just a few clicks of the mouse. This revolution has sent cold trembles down the backbones of brick and mortar business owners. And what was their reaction? They've opened online stores to go hand in hand with their conventional businesses. Nowadays, every "Mom and Pop's" cheesecake store also has a website. In a recent survey, 68% of small business owners have stated that they are scared of being put out of business by the powerful flood that e-commerce has become. So it's no wonder many of them have decided to join the revolution and establish some kind of an online presence even though most of them have stated that they dislike the Internet. But do the big players have reasons to be afraid? Are we going to start seeing ghostly, deserted Wal-Marts across the country? Probably not in the near future but the day will come when most people will just stop shopping offline anymore. A trip to Wal-Marts wastes time, burns gas and sometimes adds a few extra dots on the stress counter. The recent advancements in mobile technology and the introduction of mobile phones with improved web capabilities has even made some people order their groceries when they get out from work and have them delivered at their doorstep by the time they get home. And as "Time is money", this practice is lifesaving for people who work two jobs. Technology will continue to advance and e-commerce will follow closely in its footsteps. Everything will become easier and less time consuming, leaving us more time to enjoy the things that really matter in life: the ones we love, our friends and hobbies. What would be the best title for the passage? Life can be difficult, particularly for adolescents. Many young people get through the troubled years of adolescence and emerge into adulthood reasonably safe and sound. Too many youngsters, however, feel confused and ignored. Unable to climb out of the dilemma, these youngsters are socially and emotionally "at-risk". They may suffer from such painful symptoms as anxiety, depression or anger. Many parents, in an honest attempt to help their adolescent from emotionally drowning, seek professional treatment. They put a great deal of faith in professional clinicians to find a way out for their child. However, many of these parents begin to recognize that solving the problem is more complex than they had initially realized. It has been my clinical experience that some parents who bring their resistant youngster for treatment see their child as being solely responsible for the problem. In many cases, the adolescent feels angry and defective for being pushed into treatment. We can gain some insight if we look at things through the eyes of the adolescent. The child is usually reluctantly brought by the parents to clinicians as what I call the "identified patient". The youngster waits anxiously as the parents lay out the problem with the clinicians with remarks such as, "I don't know what's happening to my child lately, but he's not his old self. He doesn't listen to me anymore, has been getting failing grades, acts out at school, and stays in his room all the time.'' Such descriptions at the beginning of treatment by the parents may strengthen feelings of incompetence on the part of the child. Such a pattern at the beginning sets up an intention of resistance and leaves the potential for a positive outcome at risk. What many parents fail to realize is that the adolescent's problem serves as a symbol for what is happening within the family system. Unknowingly, a youngster may become rebellious or depressed as a way of attempting to calm the psychic pain experienced by his family. To some degree, the child's behavioral problems represent an effort to distract attention away from the unstable state within his family. In such cases it represents a courageous attempt by the teen to minimize home-related problems. Eventually the problems become too troublesome for the child and he continues to sacrifice himself for the sake of the family. Many times youngsters go to clinicians in the hope that treatment will aid in healing the entire family system. In my clinical experience, I have found that the troubled adolescent is more likely to find emotional healing if the parents are actively involved in the treatment process. In such cases where family members are involved in treatment, the adolescent's expectation for change tends to improve. With parental involvement, the teen begins to feel more competent, as other family members take the risk to explore difficult family issues. Which of the following is NOT parents' misunderstanding? One thing the tour books don't tell you about London is that 2,000 of its residents are foxes. They ran away from the city about centuries ago after developers and pollution moved in. But now that the environment is cleaner, the foxes have come home, one of the many wild animals that have moved into urban areas around the world. "The number and variety of wild animals in urban areas is increasing," says Gomer Jones, president of the National Institute for Urban Wildlife, in Columbia, Maryland. A survey of the wildlife in New York's Central Park last year _ the species of mammals, including muskrats, shrews and flying squirrels. A similar survey conducted in the 1890s counted only five species. One of the country's largest populations of raccoons now lives in Washington D.C., and moose are regularly seen wandering into Maine towns. Peregrine falcons dive from the window ledges of buildings in the largest U.S. cities to prey on pigeons. Several changes have brought wild animals to the cities. Foremost is that air and water quality in many cities has improved as a result of the 1970s pollution-control efforts. Meanwhile, rural areas have been built up, leaving many animals on the edges of suburbs. In addition, urban wildlife refuges have been created. The Greater London Council last year spentPS750,000 to buy land and build 10 permanent wildlife refuges in the city. Over 1,000 volunteers have donated money and cleared rubble from derelict lots. One evening last year a fox was seen on Westminster Bridge looking up at Big Ben. For peregrine falcons, cities are actually safer than rural cliff dwellings . By 1970 the birds had died out east of the Mississippi because the DDT had made their eggs too thin to support life. That year, scientist Tom Cade of Cornell University began raising the birds for release in cities, for cities afforded abundant food. Cities can attract wild animals without turning them harmful. The trick is to create habitats where they can be self-sufficient but still be seen and appreciated. Such habitats can even be functional. In San Francisco, the local government is testing different kinds of rainwater control basins to see not only which ones retain the cleanest water but which will attract the most birds. What is the passage mainly about?
When Steven was a young boy, he moved quite often with his family and so he never had many friends. He spent a lot of time on his own and liked to play with electronic things. Steven had a neighbour, Steve Wozniak. Steve was a little bit younger than Steven but also liked to play with electronic things. Steven made a microphone and Steve asked him many questions about it until he understood how it worked. Steven liked the fact that such a young boy was also interest ed in electronic things and so he taught him everything he knew. When they were a little older and knew more about electronic things, they made a "blue box". People could make free phone calls by breaking into the phone company's system with this box. They sold this to many people even though it was illegal , but this is not why they are famous today. Steven and Steve were the inventors of the first PC--personal computer. They called their first computer the Apple I. They invented it only for fun and to make themselves known among their friends. They did not think it would become so popular. They just liked playing computer games on it. Their computer made it cheaper and easier for people to own and use a computer. Their PCs were so popular that they made a new PC called the Apple II. Soon many schools, families and factories were using their computers. Without the two clever men, the personal computers might never have appeared. Why did they invent the Personal Computer? A For fun and to impress their friends. B To make money. C For a school project. D For schools, families and factories. Answer: A. For fun and to impress their friends. Five or six years ago, I attended a lecture on the science of attention. A professor who conducts research over in the medical school was talking about attention blindness, the basic feature of the human brain that, when we concentrate on one task, causes us to miss just about everything else. Because we can't see what we can't see, our lecturer was determined to catch us in the act. He had us watch a video of six people tossing basketballs back and forth, three in white shirts and three in black, and our task was to keep track only of the tosses among the people in white. The tape rolled, and everyone began counting. Everyone except me. I'm dyslexic , and the moment I saw that tape with the confusing basketball tossers, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep track of their movements, so I let my mind wander. I became curious, though, when about 30 seconds into the tape, a gorilla walked in among the players. She (we later learned a female student was in the gorilla suit) stared at the camera, beat her chest with her fist, and then went away while they continued passing the balls. When the tape stopped, the professor asked how many people had counted at least a dozen basketball tosses. Hands went up all over. He then asked who had counted 13, 14, and congratulated those who'd scored the perfect 15. Then he asked, "And who saw the gorilla?" I raised my hand and was surprised to discover I was the only person at my table and one of only three or four in the large room to do so. He'd set us up, trapping us in our own attention blindness. Yes, there had been a trick, but he wasn't the one who had played it on us. By concentrating so hard on counting, we had managed to miss the gorilla in the midst. Attention blindness is the fundamental organizing principle of the brain, and I believe that it presents us with a great opportunity. My take is different from that of many neuroscientists: Where they see the shortcomings of the individual, I sense an opportunity for cooperation. Fortunately, given the interactive nature of most of our lives in the digital age, we have the tools to control our different forms of attention and take advantage of them. It's not easy to admit that everything we've learned about how to pay attention means that we've been missing everything else. It's not easy for us logical, intelligent, confident types to admit that the very key to our success -- our ability to discover a problem and solve it, an achievement obtained in all those years in school and beyond -- may be exactly what limits us. No one ever told us that our way of seeing left out everything else. In the writer's opinion, attention blindness _ . A should be viewed as a shortcoming of the individual B might be overcome if we can discover problems and solve them C makes it possible for us to work together for a shared purpose D helps us to become logical, intelligent and confident types of people Answer: C. makes it possible for us to work together for a shared purpose Which statement best explains how periods on the periodic table are organized? A increasing atomic number from left to right B increasing number of neutrons from left to right C decreasing number of electrons from left to right D decreasing atomic mass number from left to right Answer: A. increasing atomic number from left to right In which type of rock are fossils generally found? A igneous B metamorphic C sedimentary D volcanic Answer: C. sedimentary A woman saw three old men sitting in her front yard. She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be very hungry. Please come in and find something to eat." "We do not go into a house together." they replied. "Why is that?" she asked. One of the old men answered, "His name is Wealth, this is Success, and I am Love." Then he said, "Now go in and discuss with your family which one of us you want in your house." Then the woman went in and told her family what was said. She said, "Let's invite Wealth. Let him come in and bring us nice things. We have been so poor." His husband disagreed, "My dear, why don't we invite Success? Don't you want me to be a successful man?" Then the daughter asked, "Would it be better to invite Love? Our life will then be filled with love!" "Let's take our daughter's advice," said the father and mother. So the woman went out and asked, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest." Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success, "I only invited Love. Why are you coming along?" The two old men answered, "If you had invited Wealth or Success, Two of us would have stayed out, but since you have invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him. Where there is love, there is wealth and Success." We can learn form the passage that _ . A if they invited Success, Wealth and Love wouldn't stay out B if they invited Love, either Wealth or Success would come in C if you want to get wealth, you must get Success first D once you get love, you will get Success and Wealth Answer: D. once you get love, you will get Success and Wealth
Once upon a time, there was a wonderful old man who loved everything on the land ---- animals and plants. One day while walking through the woods, the old man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He took it home. A few days later, a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and cut the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then came out easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, or they would be smaller. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man in his kindness and hurry did not understand was that the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening was nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were allowed to go through our life without any difficulties, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly. What can we know from the passage? A That old man was fond of everything except the butterfly. B It was the old man that stopped the butterfly flying. C The old man realized his mistake. D It's not hard for the butterfly to come out of the cocoon. Answer: B In 1638, John Harvard donated some money and about four hundred books to a new university. This was the beginning of the library at Harvard University. The gift was so important that the university was named for John Harvard. Thomas Bray began the first free lending library in the late 1600s. He set up more than 30 or these libraries in the American colonies. However, the idea for this kind of free library ended when Bray died in 1730. In 1731, Benjamin Franklin and some friends started the first subscription library in the United States. In a subscription library people pay money to become members, but they may _ the books without paying again. In the United States, every child had a free education. This idea soon led to free libraries. One of the first libraries that used tax money to buy books was a library in Peterborough, New Hampshire. This library was set up in 1833. Harvard University began _ . A in 1731 B in 1730 C in 1833 D in 1638 Answer: D President Barack Obama rode a bicycle at the White House Science Fair on April 22. But it wasn't an ordinary bike. As he pedaled, the President stayed in place, while the energy from his pedaling powered a water filtration system. He was testing an invention created by a team of 14 students from Northeast High School, in Oakland Park, Florida. Payton Karr, 16, and Kiona Elliot, 18, attended the fair as representatives of the project."We were hoping President Obama would ride the bike, but we didn't actually expect him to," Payton told TFK. " It really meant a lot." Kiona agreed. "It was pretty awesome to see the invention, which was invented by a group of 14 high school students and one teacher, along with the help of community members, got the interest of the leader of our nation," she said. The project was an idea that came about after one of the Northeast students, Kalie Hoke, visited Haiti after the terrible 2010 earthquake and saw how difficult it was to find clean water. The students invented a portable , bicycle-powered emergency water filtration system, which can provide 20-30 people with drinking water in a 15-hour period. The teens hope their invention will one day be used by relief organizations like the Red Cross. " They can take it to places after natural disasters so that water can be clean for the people there," said Payton. Payton and Kiona were among the 100 students from more than 40 states invited to the third annual White House Science Fair, in Washington, D.C., which is also attended by leaders in science and education. President Obama started the event in 2010 to _ students interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths)."Well, if you're a young person and you produce the best experiment or design, you ought to be recognized for that achievement," Obama said when he first announced the fair. President Obama praised the projects during a speech to attendees after the fair. "The science fair projects of today could become the products and businesses of tomorrow," he said. "If you're inventing things in the third grade, what are you going to do by the time you get to college?" The representatives of the bicycle-powered water filtration system _ . A were both community members B graduated from a famous university C finished the project with the help of their parents D were surprised that their invention interested Obama Answer: D Walking down a path through some woods in Georgia, I saw a small pool of water ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water or mud. As I reached the pool, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack. It was so unpredictable and from somewhere totally unexpected. I was surprised as well as unhurt though I had been struck four or five times. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing. And I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly! Having stopped, laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He charged towards me at full speed, attempting to hurt me but in vain. For a second time, I took a step backwards while my attacker paused. I wasn't sure what to do. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. I stepped back to look the situation over. My attacker moved back to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying. Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it up on himself to attack me for his mate's sake , even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety seemed admirable. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the pool. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed. Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge barriers facing me. Why did the writer change his direction while walking down a path? A To get close to a butterfly. B To look over the bad situation. C To escape a sudden attack. D To avoid getting his shoes dirty. Answer: D It is easy to lose patience with science today. The questions are pressing: How dangerous is air pollution? What about low-level radiation? When will that horrible earthquake strike California? And why can't we predict weather better? But the evidence is often described as "uncertain", forcing scientists to base their points of view almost as much on intuition as on science. When historians and philosophers of science listen to these questions, some conclude that science may not be able to solve all these problems any time soon. The unknowns can grow into riddles that are impossible to solve. Because of the unstable and changing state of the earth's atmosphere, for example, scientists have struggled for centuries to predict the weather with precision but failed. The case is different for scientists of astronomy. For example, they think that the gravitational force of a nearby space vehicle, though tiny, is able to change the path of a much larger planet if the vehicle spends enough time close to it. With the aid of Newton's laws of gravitational attraction, ground controllers can predict the path of a planetary probe -or satellite-with incredible accuracy. They do this by calculating the gravitational force from each of the passing planets until the probe speeds beyond the edge of the solar system.A much more difficult task is to calculate what happens when two or three times of such force pull on the probe at the same time. Such procedures can, of course, be very difficult, but for experiments, they are effective. This range of questions-from simple problems to those impossibly complex-has resulted in nicknames for various fields of study: "soft" sciences and " hard " sciences."Soft" sciences admit a great degree of uncertainty. Academicians tend to judge fields such as sociology, psychology, and political science as "soft" because they are assumed to be understandable, of unnecessary mathematical accuracy, and concerned with everyday affairs such as interpersonal relationships. However, "hard" sciences, such as astronomy and chemistry, are said to offer precise answers. Precise definitions for "hard" sciences vary, but the characteristics of "hard" sciences include: producing testable predictions; performing controlled experiments; relying on quantifiable data and mathematical models; a high degree of accuracy and objectivity; and generally applying a pure form of the scientific method What is the author's attitude towards science in this passage? A Objective. B Sceptical. C Disapproval. D Optimistic Answer: A
Joann is testing soils to see which kind is best for growing marigolds. Which of the following should she do? Plant the marigolds in three kinds of soil, and give them the same amounts of water and sun. It is a matter of common observation that although incomes keep going up over the years,people never seem to become much better off! Prices are rising continuously.The condition is termed one kind 0f inflation, the money supply is becoming inflated so that each unit of it becomes less valuable.People have got used in recent years to higher and higher rates of inflation. What could be bought ten years ago for one dollar now costs well over two dollars. It seems that this rate of inflation is tending to rise rather than to fall.If in the real world our money incomes go up at the same rate as prices,one might think that inflation does not matter.But it does when money is losing value,it lacks one of the qualities of a good money---stability of value.It is no longer acceptable as a store of value;and it becomes an unsuitable standard of deferred payments.Nobody wants to hold a wasting possession,so people try to get rid of money as quickly as possible. Inflation therefore stimulates people spending,and prevents people from saving. In a period of inflation,people are likely to _ . spend money as soon as possible More and more often we heard of people talking about Karaoke(OK). But what on earth it is about, still remains a question for many people. Karaoke is a sort of acoustic equipment which was invented in Japan around the middle of the 1970's. It means "a band without people" in Japanese. In fact, it is just a music tape without words. This equipment first appeared in some public houses and snack bars, and mainly for the customers to enjoy themselves. Most of the music in Karaoke was popular music. Therefore, at times, when anyone felt like it, he might sing songs to the accompaniment of the music that came from the equipment. Shortly after its invention, Karaoke was spread to the whole world. It was introduced to China and was welcomed by many people. Although you are not a good singer, or even sometimes you may sing out of tune, you can always enjoy yourself by singing Karaoke. Karaoke is just a _ . cassette tape with only music Andrew Carneigie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and, in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted partly from his ability to sell the product and partly from his policy of expanding during periods of economic decline, when most of his competitors were reducing their investments. Carnegie believed that individuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt strongly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the benefit of society. He opposed charity, preferring instead to provide educational opportunities that would allow others to help themselves. "He who dies rich, dies disgraced", he often said. Among his more noteworthy contributions to society are those that bear his name, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a library, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of national history. He also founded a school of technology that is now part of Carnegie-Mellon University. Other philanthropic gifts are the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institute of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a center for the arts. _ . His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today. Which of the following may NOT be philanthropic gifts to society according to the passage? _ the steel industry. TOSHIBA ELEVATORS LTD is one of the leading elevator companies in the world with more than 120 branch companies around the globe. SHENYANG TOSHIBA ELEVATORS LTD in Shenyang produces high-quality elevators. We are offering the following positions: * Plant Manager: Excellent Senior Engineer with experience in this field to manage our plant in Shenyang * Senior Engineers (Mechanical and Electrical): For production and Engineering Department, good command of Internet * Junior positions: For those who wish for success * One purchaser : Preferably with experience in a mechanical engineering company and international markets * Cost Accountant : 5 years experience in mechanical factory costing, good knowledge in Office 2000, CET level. For these senior level Positions, we expect preferably a university degree or an excellent job record. 3-5 years of experience on the job and good command of English. If you are ready to work with us, we will offer attractive salary packet and bright future. SHENYANG TOSHIBA ELEVATORS LTD Shenyang (024-82846556) Liaoning Province TOWER DAIRY PRODUCT COMPANY LTD is a well-known food company in Suzhou. We're offering the following positions: (1) Secretary * University graduate * Good at English speaking, writing&translating * Good PC knowledge and typing skill * Pleasant character with good personal skill (2) Accountants * College or university graduate * Good command of English and PC operation * Work experience (3) Production Trainees * College or university graduate * Food engineering/machinery or chemistry * Good command of English * 1-2 years experience in food factory * Leadership ability and PC knowledge (4) Production workers * Polytechnic school graduate * Food technology or chemistry * Knowledge of basic English *1-2 years experience in food factory TOWER DAIRY PRODUCT COMPANY LTD Suzhou (0512-86734157) Jiangsu Province Each position offered by TOWER requires the applicant to _ . have knowledge of English
It's such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it's pedestrian-friendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens. It's a library built with love. A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, "That's what we're going to do for our spring break!" Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn't see the point of building a library that resembles a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he'd built years earlier for daughter Abbie's toy horses, and made a door of glass. After adding the library's final touches , the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to "take a book, return a book," and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County. ks5u They stocked it with 20 or so books they'd already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids' favorites. "I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again," said Janey, a stay-at-home mom. Since then, the collection keeps replenishing itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day. The project's best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. "We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular." (317 words) The library was built _ . A. by a ship supply company B. on the basis of toy horses C. like a mailbox D. with glass Answer: C. like a mailbox Spending just a few hours a week online may make people feel more socially isolated , lonely and downhearted , according to a two-year study of nearly 100 families with the Internet. "We were surprised to find that social technology has such bad effects on social communications," the lead author, Dr. Robert Kraut of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said in a statement to the news. The findings suggest that "Rather than encourage students to use the Internet alone for research, teachers might give pupils online group homework to complete with classmates. Local groups might build websites that allow neighbors to discuss local affairs ." "Before the technology develops and can be really more _ , people shouldcontrol their wishes to use much of the Internet," Dr. Kraut and other experts advise. In order to control their children and encourage family activities, parents might think of putting the computer in the living room rather than in a child's room, they suggest. Dr. Kraut also suggests that when surfing on the net, especially when chatting with strangers on the net, children should not use their real names, and that they should not tell the addresses, telephone numbers to the strangers. Which of the following do the experts suggest? A. Teachers should ask the students to finish their homework alone on the Internet. B. Schools should build websites for students to discuss problems on the Internet. C. Instead of putting the computer in the sitting room, parents should put it in a child's room. D. Children should not give their real names, addresses or telephone numbers to the strangers. Answer: D. Children should not give their real names, addresses or telephone numbers to the strangers. The American newspaper publisher Arthur Sulzberger Sr died at the age of 86.Mr Sulzberger led The New York Times for more than three decades,before passing the business to his son.He took over the paper in 1963 when it was in financial trouble,and transformed it into the heart of a multibillion dollar media empire. His family announced he had died at his home in Southampton,New York State,after a long illness.His son,Arthur Sulzberger Jr,said in a statement that his father,whom he referred to by his childhood nickname of Punch,was "one of our industry's most admired executives"."Punch,the old Marine captain who never backed down from a fight,was an absolutely fierce defender of the freedom of the press," he said. The New York Times was bought by Mr Sulzberger Sr's grandfather Adolph Ochs in 1896.During Mr Sulzberger's tenure,The New York Times won 31 Pulitzer prizes. Born in New York City,5 February 1926,Sr served in Marine Corps during World War II and Korean War,joined The New York Times in 1951 after graduating from Columbia College,took over as publisher in 1963 after his brotherinlaw died suddenly,stepped down in 1997 and passed stewardship to his son,Arthur Sulzberger Jr. He oversaw a huge circulation boost at the paper,and increased its parent company's annual revenues from $100m in 1963 to $1.7bn by the time he stepped down in 1997.He also led the paper through highlevel clashes with the political establishment.In 1971,The Times published a series of stories saying that politicians had systematically lied over the US involvement in Vietnam.The source was thousands of leaked government documents known as the Pentagon Papers.The Nixon administration demanded that the paper stop publishing the stories on grounds of national security.But the paper refused,and then won the subsequent court case by arguing that the First Amendment of the US Constitution guaranteed free speech.The case is seen as a landmark in the history of free speech in the US.Mr Sulzberger said he read more than 7,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers before personally deciding to publish them. His family still holds a controlling stake in The New York Times.He was a strong believer in family ownership of newspapers.He once joked:"My conclusion is simple. _ works." In the political case in the 1970s,Mr Sulzberger _ . A. failed the case in the end B. lost the controlling stake in The New York Times C. gave in to the government D. succeeded in guarding free speech of the paper Answer: C. gave in to the government Accidents happen, but when they destroy the delicate balance of nature and cause the whole world to suffer, they become disasters, and we should do all we can to prevent them from happening again. Bhopal chemical leak, December 1984, Bhopal, India An explosion in the Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, released a deadly gas called methyl isocyanate , which is used to make pesticides. The gas formed a cloud that killed 2500 people; another 50000- 100000 people became ill. Trees and plants in the area became yellow and brittle. The explosion was caused by a mechanical failure that was not noticed in time to stop it. Exxon Valdez oil spill, March 1989, Alaska, U.S. On March 24, 1989, 11 million gallons of crude oil spilled into Prince William Sound from the tanker Exxon Valdez when its hull hit a reef and tore open. The oil, which is not yet cleaned up after billions of dollars have been spent and the millions of birds, fish, and other wildlife have died, was caused by human error and could have been avoided. Chernobyl, April 1986, USSR At 1:23 A.M. on Saturday, April 26, 1986, the reactor blew at nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, ripping open the core, blowing the roof off the building, starting more than 30 fires, and allowing radioactive material to leak into the air. Some 31 people were killed and 200 people were treated for radiation poisoning. Still at risk are 135000 people from the 179 villages within 20 miles, of the plant who were exposed to the radiation before being evacuated. Glaring violations of safety rules were at the bottom of this tragic event. Love Canal, 1953, New York, U.S. Love Canal, a small town in upstate New York near Niagara Falls, was destroyed by waste from chemical plants. Beginning in 1947, chemical companies could legally dump their waste products into the canal. The area developed a foul smell, trees lost their bark, and leaves fell throughout the year. A health survey found that the drinking water contained excessive levels of 82 industrial chemicals, 7 of which were thought to cause cancer. The people of Love Canal had an unusually high rate of cancer and birth defects. Eventually, many of the houses had to be abandoned. Today, the town has been partly cleaned up and some families have moved back to the area. Three Mile Island, 1979, Pennsylvania, U.S. On March 28, 1979, the worst accident in U.S. nuclear reactor history occurred at the Three Mile Island power station, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. No one was killed, and very little radioactivity was released into the air when coolant (the fluid that keeps a machine cool) escaped from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical failure and human error. After 10 years and $ 1 billion in cleanup costs, the lower extremes of the reactor are still so radioactive that workers must use remote - control equipment to remove the remaining fragment of fuel core. It can be inferred from the passage that the people in Love Canal _ . A. didn't know that chemical companies were dumping waste products into the canal B. didn't know that their water was becoming dangerous to drink C. tried to stop companies from dumping their waste products into the canal D. didn't mind that chemical companies were dumping waste products into the canal Answer: B. didn't know that their water was becoming dangerous to drink A federal law provides that all motor vehicle tires discarded in this country must be disposed of in facilities licensed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Pursuant to this federal law and all proper federal procedural requirements, that agency has adopted very strict standards for the licensing of such facilities. As a result, the cost of disposing of tires in licensed facilities is substantial. The state of East Dakota has a very large fleet of motor vehicles, including police cars and trucks used to support state-owned commercial activities. East Dakota disposes of used tires from both kinds of state motor vehicles in a state-owned and stateoperated facility. This state facility is unlicensed, but its operation in actual practice meets most of the standards imposed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency on facilities it licenses to dispose of tires. Consistent with United States Supreme Court precedent, may the state of East Dakota continue to dispose of its used tires in this manner? A. No, because a state must comply with valid federal laws that regulate matters affecting interstate commerce. B. No, because some of the tires come from vehicles that are used by the state solely in its commercial activities. C. Yes, because some of the tires come from vehicles that are used by the state in the performance of core state governmental functions such as law enforcement. D. Yes, because the legitimate needs of the) Yes, because the legitimate needs of the federal government are satisfied by the fact that the unlicensed state disposal scheme meets, in actual practice, most of the federal standards for the licensing of such facilities. Answer: A. No, because a state must comply with valid federal laws that regulate matters affecting interstate commerce.
Question: Animals may fight, make threatening sounds, and act aggressively toward members of the same species. These behaviors usually occur as the result of A. competition B. conservation C. decomposition D. pollution Answer: A. competition Question: Why do we dream?It's a question researchers have been studying for years. Now new research suggests that some dreams may result from the brain's effort to keep learning, even as we sleep. In a study in Boston, 100 volunteers were trained for an hour on a maze .They tried to find their way through the difficult puzzle as quickly as possible. Then half of the volunteers were allowed to sleep for 90 minutes. The other half stayed awake, reading or relaxing. The ones who slept were asked to describe their dreams when they woke up. After the rest, the volunteers were asked again to solve the maze. Those who hadn't slept showed no improvement or did even worse after the break. Sleepers who didn't report any maze related dreams did better but showed only a little improvement. However, four nap-takers who reported dreaming about the maze showed a surprising improvement. They scored 10 times higher after sleeping and dreaming about the maze. Even though the number of dreamers was small, the researchers noted that the gap in learning between the dreamers and non-dreamers was so wide that the finding was significant . The dreamers had all performed poorly on the test before dreaming about it. That suggests that struggling with a task might be the _ that leads the sleeping brain to focus on it and work on how to deal with it. "It's almost as if your brain is going through everything that happened today,"Dr Stickgold,a scientist at Harvard Medical School, said. "The things you're obsessed with are the ones that your brain forces you to continue to do with." What were the volunteers asked to do after the rest? A. To work on a new maze. B. To continue to do the maze. C. To talk with each other about their dreams. D. To tell what they thought about the maze. Answer: B. To continue to do the maze. Question: In many African countries, the care of orphans has been mainly led by foreign donor organizations. However, Sister Florence has changed all that. Using her own resources, Sister Florence is leading the work of raising orphans from different backgrounds. Sister Florence Wanjala's biggest motivation to start the orphan program was when she saw a little boy whose parents had died. The boy was living with a cruel grandparent and he would visit the grave of his mother, crying for support. Sister Wanjala wanted to give a helping hand and give him hope. From that time, she started feeling the call to help a larger number of orphans. She opened an office with a few friends and coordinated a program to help the orphans. All the registrations were done in the office and the program so far has 8000 children. Sister Wanjala said, "My dream is to help the orphan to live a holistic life and be a good Kenyan citizen to help this country. Many people think that the way to support orphans is to put them in an institution . Others support them up to the age of eighteen, but here, we do it very differently." For Sister Wanjala, _ She prefers the orphans to live in a foster home. She said, "I'm so encouraged and happy to see the orphans succeeding. When they come first or second in class, it shows how the program has helped them, and that's encouraging to me as I continue to coordinate the program."Through her charity work, more than 1000 orphans have been able to find a home. Sister Wanjala, as a mother, takes care of her own family. What can we learn from the text? A. Sister Wanjala finally adopted the little boy. B. Sister Wanjala found foster homes for 8000 orphans. C. Sister Wanjala was too busy to care for her own family. D. Sister Wanjala was not alone in helping orphans. Answer: D. Sister Wanjala was not alone in helping orphans. Question: It's a long-awaited day for China. The navy now has its first aircraft carrier , Liaoning. It's a unique experience to get to know the life in the carrier. The carrier is just like a small city on the sea. It has all the functions for daily life. There are 4 words to sum up its characters: big, small, much and high. The carrier Liaoning is such a huge one that the total length of the whole corridor could reach over 20 kilometers. But the living space for the sailors is quite small. That's because the carrier is designed for researching purposes, rather than comfortable living. Over 1,000 sailors, both men and women, are living onboard. They are arranged among over 3,000 tiny rooms below the deck.. For visitors, it's so easy to get lost. So the first thing the new sailors have to learn is their way around. The number of female sailors is much less than that of the males, taking about 5 percent of the total. But they play a key role in carrying out some special missions. Also, you will be surprised by the high level of education of today's sailors. The captain said that over 90 percent of the sailors are college graduates. Six hold Doctor's Degrees and 45 have a Master's. The whole team is young but vigorous. The complex work on the carrier requires high management abilities for the commanders onboard . What does the word "high" in Line 4 refer to ? A. The aircraft carrier is high since it is just like a small city. B. Most of the soldiers received good education. C. The expense to run a carrier is high. D. The high-level of their training. Answer: D. The high-level of their training. Question: Fifteen people were killed and 38 others injured in a road accident early Wednesday morning in Ens hi, Central China's Hu bei Province. The bus, travelling from Wanzhou in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Shen zhen in South China's Guangdong Province, had 53 _ on board,three more than permitted. At around 1 am on Wednesday, the bus increased speed gradually on a curve and plunged more than 30 metres into a valley below. Thirteen people, including one of the two drivers, died at once. Two others died on the way to hospital. Although the cause of the accident is still unclear, the local police said the driver paid no attention to the official warning signs on the expressway . It hit a section which had been closed as a result of snow. Because of the cold weather and icy roads,the expressway had been closed by police since Tuesday morning. But the bus drivers took the dangerous route, paying no attention to the warnings. The rescue team, which included more than 30 medical workers and 120 local villagers,joined together and rushed to the scene at the news of the accident. By 5 am, all of the injured had been sent to three local hospitals for emergency treatment. A hospital source said most of the patients were in a stable condition but a few were still in danger. According to a 2009 national public opinion poll, traffic accidents ranked as people's third biggest security concern. The expressway was closed to _ . A. protect the passengers from being frozen B. make the police have a good rest C. stop cars traveling around D. avoid the happening of traffic accidents Answer: D. avoid the happening of traffic accidents
FIVE Americans _ the three Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine last week. It was the first American sweep of the Nobel science prizes since 1983. It's rare for Americans not to receive any of the science prizes, especially in recent years. In 2004, seven Americans were among the 10 laureates for the science prizes. Last year, the figure was five out of 10. The huge sums of money invested in scientific research is one factor that has helped many Americans to win awards. Another reason is the vast number of researchers working in the US. American universities also often have a more "creative university environment"where people can focus on research for a long period without any pressure, said Anders Liljas, member of the Nobel Committee. New hope for AIDS patients? AMERICAN scientists Craig Mello (top) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Andrew Fire (above) of Stanford University School of Medicine won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine last Monday. Their discovery is a process that researchers hope to use to silence disease-causing genes . It offers new ways for disease treatment. Scientists now hope to develop a new technique that could be used to treat diseases, such as cancers, AIDS and Parkinson's disease. Like father, like son? AS the son of a Nobel Prize winning professor, Roger D. Kornberg (left) had a lot to live up to. But, nearly half a century after his father, won his award, Kornberg, 59, a Stanford University professor, won his own last Wednesday: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His research into how cells read their genes is very important. It could help lead to the development of new drugs to fight cancer , heart disease and other illnesses, experts said. First light of the universe TWO Americans won the Nobel Prize in Physics last Tuesday for measuring the oldest light in the heavens. It is considered as "one of the greatest discoveries of the century". It convinced scientists that the Big Bang theory of the universe's origin is correct. George F. Smoot (top), 61, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, and John C. Mather (above), 60, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, will share the US$1.4 million prize for their work. Beginning in 1989, they measured weak light that originated as early as 380,000 years after the Big Bang. The passage is probably taken from _ . How many people have I met who have told me about the book that they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many .This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments . We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families, always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life . In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English:"Have a nice day!" They speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us to enjoy the moment: to value this very day .How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding(or golf, or sailing)as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position . When I first became a reporter, I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal mental state. How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area?I wanted to know . Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure .He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains . What is probably the best title for the passage? Three months after the government stopped issuing or renewing permits for Internet cafes because of security concerns, some cafe owners are having financial concerns of their own. The permits were stopped suddenly three months ago by the government until new safeguards could be put in place to prevent misuse of the information superhighway, but for cafe owners it's a business breakdown with no fix in sight. "I handed in a request to open up an Internet cafe and received the conditions," said the businessman Obeidallah. "I rented a place in the Sharafiah district at SR45,000 and prepared the place with equipment that cost me more than SR100,000. When I went to the local government after finishing everything, I was surprised to find that they'd stopped issuing permits for Internet cafes." Having an Internet cafe without Internet is much like having a coffee shop without coffee. "I'm avoiding closing the place, but it's been more than three months with the situation ongoing as it is." Obeidallah said. "Who will bear the losses caused by the permit issue?" The decision took many cafe owners by surprise. "I asked to open an Internet cafe, and I was handed a list of all the things that were needed to follow through, such as a sign for the place, filling out forms," said Hassan Al-Harbi. "I did all that was asked and rented a place. And after the Haj vacation I went to the local government and they surprised me, saying that there are new rules that forbid the issuing of any more Internet cafe permits and that one can't even renew his permit. I've lost more than SR80,000," Al-harbi added. As for the government, officials say a method to deal with it is on the way. But security concerns come before profit . The cafe owners found the government's decision_. Mike's father, Mr. Lee, is a farmer. He lives on the farm. He is happy to see his son move to a new flat in the city. One day, Mr. Lee comes to visit his son with a big orange pumpkin, about 10 kg. He grows it all by himself. "I'll let my son share it with his neighbours . Everyone likes pumpkin. Then Mike and his neighbours will become good friends," Mr. Lee thinks. At noon, Mr. Lee gets to the community centre . The building is so tall. There are twenty floors. Mike lives on the sixteenth floor. But he is not at home. Mr. Lee thinks, "I'll give the pumpkin to Mike's neighbours. They will be glad too see the gift." And he does it. But to his surprise, the neighbour on the left says coldly, "Thank you, but I don't like it at all."The woman on the right says nothing and closes the door quickly. The old man feels sad. At last, he goes to the market, sells it and goes back home. "Are they really neighbours? " he says to himself. He doesn't know why. Who grows the big pumpkin? If You Decide to Go to the Moon By Faith Mcnulty, Steven Kellogg(illustrator)---This book is written in the second person and tells you the most important information you need to know if you go to the moon. I especially appreciate the information on how to get home. You know, just in case... Discover Space By Cynthia Pratt Nicolson, Bill Slavin---Like its companion book in this series, Discover the Planets, this delightful book provides a fun and educational look at the "final frontier". This book should surely be added to your young reader's library. This Rocket By Paul Collicutt---Here's an excellent book dealing with rockets from where they came from to where they are going. The illustrations will capture younger readers while older kids will enjoy the story. Voyage to the Planet and Beyond By Tim Haines, Christopher Riley---Published to accompany the Discovery television series of the same title, this book is about space travel (based on the experiences of real astronauts) to tell the imagined story of a 6-year space mission. Your future astronaut will get a joy from following the adventures in this book. Space (Our Planet) By Eduardo Banqureri---From the origin of the universe to the international space station, this book gives readers an up-close look at planet Earth and its solar system. Add this one to your space library, in the solar system section. The Planets By Gall Gibbons (illustrator)---This is an excellent kids book that discusses the movements, location, and characteristics of the known planets of our solar system. This passage is mainly to _ .
A serious threat to farmers in many parts of the world is erosion. Erosion occurs if a large area of land is cleared of trees and is then badly treated by the farmers. The rain and winds may gradually wash away, or blow away, much of the topsoil. When this happens, crops of wheat or corn become weaker and weaker until nothing grows well. If erosion continues, it will turn good land into a desert. In the past, when erosion appeared, farmers sometimes moved to a new place to farm. Sometimes they could not move, but continued to try to grow food in the unhealthy soil. This caused them to sink into poverty. Soon some people realized that there was little rich, fertile soil in the world, government began to try to stop erosion. One of the first experiments to stop erosion began in the prefix = st1 /United Statesin 1933. The experiment was carried out in the area of the Tennessee River. Floods and had farming in this area had ruined land that had once been rich. As a result, most of the people living around the Tennessee River were very poor. The government built big dams across the river and stored the water for use during the dry season when there was no rain. The government workers also helped farmers to fertilize their soil and to learn new farming methods which could stop erosion. At the beginning, the farmers were not interested. But soon, good healthy crops began to appear on the land where new methods where used. Ten years after the extremely prosperous, the great success of this experiment had led similar projects in the other parts of the world. The passage tells us that erosion is a problem which_. Answer: Ideas about polite behavior are different from one culture to another. Some societies, such as America and Australia for example, are mobile and very open. People here change jobs and move house quite often. As a result, they have a lot of relationships that often last only a short time, and they need to get to know people quickly. So it's normal to have friendly conversations with people that they have just met, and you can talk about things that other cultures would regard as personal. On the other hand there are more crowded and less mobile societies where long-term relationships are more important. A Malaysian or Mexican business person, for example, will want to get to know you very well before he or she feels happy to start business. But when you do get to know each other, the relationship becomes much deeper than it would in a mobile society. To Americans, both Europeans and Asians seem cool and formal at first. On the other hand, as a passenger from a less mobile society puts it, it's no fun spending several hours next to a stranger who wants to tell you all about his or her life and asks you all sorts of questions that you don't want to answer. Cross-cultural differences aren't just a problem for travelers, but also for the flights that carry them. All flights want to provide the best service, but ideas about good service are different from place to place. This can be seen most clearly in the way that problems are dealt with. Some societies have 'universalist' cultures. These societies strongly respect rules, and they treat every person and situation in basically the same way. 'Particularist' societies, on the other hand, also have rules, but they are less important than the society's unwrinen ideas about what is right or wrong for a particular situation or a particular person. So the normal rules are changed to fit the needs of the situation or the importance of the person. This difference can cause problems. A traveler from a particularist society, India, is checking in for a flight in Germany, a country which has a universalist culture. The Indian traveler has too much luggage, but he explains that he has been away from home for a long time and the suitcases are full of presents for his family. He expects that the check-in official will understand his problem and will change the rules for him. The check-in official explains that if he was allowed to have too much luggage, it wouldn't be fair to the other passengers. But the traveler thinks this is unfair, because the other passengers don't have his problem. Which of the following is true about "particularist societies"? Answer: Sam likes fish very much.He often buys fish in the shop and takes it home.But when his wife sees the fish,she says to herself,"Good!Now I can ask my friends to have lunch,and we can eat this fish.They like fish very much." So when Sam comes home in the evening,the fish is not there and his wife always says,"Oh,your cat ate it."And she gives Sam some bread for his supper.Sam gets very angry.He takes the cat and his wife to the shop near his house and weighs the cat.Then he turns to his wife and says,"My fish weighs one kilo .This cat weighs one,too.My cat is here,you see.Then where's my fish?" Who gets very angry? Answer: Britain Today Food British people like good food,and more than half of them go to a restaurant every month. Fast food is also very popular-- 30% of all adults have a hamburger every three months, but46% have fish and chips! Sports British people don't do a lot of sports. Only 17% of people go swimming every week,about 9% go cycling and 8% play golf--and only 6% of people play football( but 32% go to watch it ). Cinema and TV Films are very popular in Britain,and about 60% of people between 15 and 24 go to the cinema every month. At home, men watch TV for about three hours every day -- two quarters more than women. Holidays British people love going on holiday,and have 56 million holidays every year. Most of these holidays aren't in the UK--27% are in Spain,10% are in the USA,and 9% are in France. Maybe this is because the weather in Britain isn't very good! , Which of the followings can show the right percentage about Sports in Britain? Answer: A bumpkin went to a big city for the first time. He went into an office building and saw a short and fat woman stepped into a small room. After her, the door closed and the light on the top flashed. After a while the door opened slowly, a young beautiful modern girl walked out of the small room. The bumpkin opened his eyes wide in surprise. He said to himself in a low voice, "What a pity! I haven't brought my wife here!" We can see that the bumpkin had no knowledge of _ . Answer:
Thanksgiving Day is always celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.It is the most traditional American holiday.The first Thanksgiving was held in Massachusetts in 1621.After a year off great hardship,the colonist wanted to give thanks to God for their first harvest.They invited their Indian friends to join,them in a big feast . Today the holiday is still celebrated as a day for giving thanks.But it Wasn't a regular national holiday until President Lincoln declared that the last Thursday in November would thereafter be Thanksgiving Day in 1863.It is a day of reunion and it is customary to invite friends to share the meal.In some large cities,there are important football games that are played on Thanksgiving Day. For Americans,Thanksgiving Day is one of the few days of the year when the entire family gets together.Everyone is glad to see everyone else and there is a very busy exchanges of greeting.The women soon disappear into the kitchen to help prepare the dinner.The men,meanwhile,settle down to watch a football game on television,or to discuss business or politics.If weather permits,some of the more athletic men go outside to play ball with the children.Then everyone will sit down to dinner.in which traditional Thanksgiving foods such as stuffed turkey ,sweet potatoes,chestnuts ,and pumpkin pie are served. After dinner,people will sit around and talk. Which of the following statements about Thanksgiving Day is FALSE? Answer: Annette is using many tools to build a doghouse. For which of the following would Annette most likely use a tape measure while building the doghouse? Answer: On Monday, Sept.25, hundreds of people gathered outside the Library of Congress, in Washington D.C., to celebrate public libraries. For more than 100 years, libraries have played an important role in keeping America informed and educated. But how are these book-filled buildings changing with the times? You may be surprised to find out. Benjamin Franklin famously founded America's first lending library in 1731 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And the public library system developed greatly in the late 1800's. Businessman Andrew Carnegie donated millions of dollars to help build free public libraries across the country. Between 1886 and 1919, Carnegie's donations helped build 1,679 new libraries! Carnegie believed in the opportunities that libraries could offer Americans young and old. He knew that the more libraries there were, the more people would have access to books, lectures, news and more. "There are now more public libraries in the United States than McDonald's restaurants," said Clara Hayden, of Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library. Chances are that there is a public library in or near your community . After all, the United States is home to 9,225 public libraries. Today, libraries continue to develop and grow. Seven out of ten libraries offer free Internet access. This opens any doors for community members who cannot go online at home, including the opportunity to apply for jobs online. Libraries are also teaching kids about the fun of reading. One new program called Read! Play! ----- combines reading with playtime. As kids listen to a book being read aloud, they use Legos to build images from the story. "Today's libraries are always looking for creative programming to bring people into the library," Lego's Michael McNally said. Benjamin Franklin once said, "The doors of wisdom are never shut." As long as the doors of public libraries are open, his statement is most certainly true! The passage is most probably taken from _ . Answer: Traditional fairytales are being abandoned by parents because they are too horrible for their young children, a study found. Research revealed one in five parents dislike old classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel and are in favor of more modern books. One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the horrible details of Little Red Riding Hood. And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids as the themes of the story are about kidnapping and crimes. Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing. The survey of 2,000 adults was conducted to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM, which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six episodes based on traditional fairytales. The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn't consider reading a fairytale to their child until they had reached the age of five, as they prompt too many awkward questions from their children. Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to calm down children and send them off to sleep soundly. But as we see in GRIMM, fairytales 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 fairytales, but a five-year-old child with an over active imagination could take things too seriously. Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales, as we see in GRIMM, good will triumph over evil and there is always a moral to the story." The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares. However, half of parents said traditional tales are more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, such as The Gruffalo, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books. Why don't some parents want to read Rumplestiltskin to their kids? Answer: Motorist arranged to borrow his friend Owner's car to drive for one day while Motorist's car was being repaired. Owner knew that the brakes on his car were faulty and might fail in an emergency. Owner forgot to tell Motorist about the brakes when Motorist picked up the car, but Owner did telephone Spouse, Motorist's wife, and told her about them. Spouse, however, forgot to tell Motorist. Motorist was driving Owner's car at a reasonable rate of speed and within the posted speed limit, with Spouse as a passenger. Another car, driven by Cross, crossed in front of Motorist at an intersection and in violation of the traffic signal. Motorist tried to stop, but the brakes failed, and the two cars collided. If the brakes had been in proper working order, Motorist could have stopped in time to avoid the collision. Motorist and Spouse were injured.If the jurisdiction has adopted "pure" comparative negligence and Spouse asserts a claim against Cross, Spouse will Answer:
Can you speak to dolphins? Of course you can but you won't be able to understand them! We interviewed a biologist and asked her what research on dolphin communication has shown. This is what she told us. Just like dogs, cats and other mammals, dolphins communicate by using sound, vision , touch and taste. Each dolphin has its own signature whistle to identify itself and to call others. Dolphins don't have the ability to smell, but their hearing and eyesight are excellent. We also asked Jane if dolphins have got their own language. She told us that they have and that dolphins started talking to each other from birth. They make different sounds, including whistles, squeaks and click. Sometimes they even sound like a heavy metal band! We then asked Jane if any interesting experiments have been done. She told us that a very interesting experiment had been done with a mother dolphin and her two-year-old baby in an aquarium. They talked to each other over the telephone! The two dolphins were in separate tanks which were connected by a special under water system. Unfortunately the biologists couldn't understand what the dolphins were talking about because they haven't been able to decode dolphin language yet. However, it was very clear that the dolphins knew what they were talking about. Finally we asked Jane if there was hope that we would be able to understand dolphins in the near future. She told us that she and her team have been listening to dolphins for more than 17 years, using special equipment to record and analyze their language. Unfortunately they haven't been able to decode it yet, but who knows -- maybe one day we'll get a phone call from a dolphin. Which of the five senses haven't dolphins got? I had my first job at a local diner called the Buttercup Bakery when I was 22. I worked there for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow waitress Helen who had incredible self-respect and did what she loved--serving people. She made everyone smile and feel good, customers and co-workers alike. Being a waitress changed my life. One of my regular customers was Fred Hasbrook, an electronics salesman. Thanks to the newfound confidence I picked up from Helen, I dreamed of having my own restaurant. But when I called my parents to ask for a loan, they said, "We just don't have the money." The next day, I shared my dream with him and said, "Fred, I know I can do more if somebody would just have faith in me." He walked over to some of the other diner regulars and the next day handed me checks totaling $50,000--along with a note that I have to this day. It reads, "The only collateral on this loan is my trust in your honesty as a person. Good people with a dream should have the opportunity to make that dream come true." I took the checks to Merrill Lynch--the first time I had ever entered a brokerage house--where the money was invested for me. I continued working at the Buttercup, making plans for the restaurant I would open. My investments soured, though, and I lost the money. After great deliberation I decided to apply for a job at Merrill Lynch. Even though I had no experience, I was hired and ended up becoming a pretty good broker. Eventually I paid back Fred and my customers the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest. Five years later, I was able to open my own firm. I got a thank-you note from Fred, which will be imprinted on my head forever. He had been sick and wrote that my check had helped cover his mounting medical bills. His letter read, "That loan may have been one of the best investments that I will ever make." By saying that "Being a waitress changed my life." the author means that _ . If you haven't seen or heard anything about Road Rage in the last few months, you've probably been avoiding the media. There have been countless stories about this new and scary phenomenon, considered a type of aggressive driving. You have most likely encountered aggressive dnriving or Road Rage recently if you drive at all. While drunk driving remains a critical problem,the facts about aggressive driving are surely as disturbing. For instance,according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Association, 41,907 people died on the highway last year.of those deaths,the agency estimates that about two-thirds were caused at least in part by aggressive driving behavior. Why is this phenomenon occurring more than ever now and why is it something that seemed almost nonexistent a few short years ago?Experts have certain theories,and all are probably partially correct.One suggestion is over crowding.In the last decade,the number of the cars on the roads has increased by more than 11 percent,and the number of miles driven has increased by 35 percent.However,the number of new road miles has only increased by 1 percent.That means more cars in the same amount of space;and the problem is even serious in urban areas.Also,people have less time and more things to do.With people working and trying to fit extra chores and activities into the day,street levels have never been higher.Stress creates anxiety,which leads to short tempers.These factors,when combined in certain situations,Can _ Road Rage. You may think you are the last person who would drive aggressively,but you might be surprised.For instance, have you ever yelled out loud at a slower driver,sounded the horn long and hard at another car, or sped up to keep another driver from passing?If you recognize yourself in any of these situations,watch out! Whether you are getting angry at other drivers,or another driver is visibly upset with you,there are things you can do to avoid any major conflict.If you are easily influenced to Road Rage,the key is to discharge your emotion in a healthy way.If You are the target of another driver's rage,do everything possible to get away from me other drive safely,including avoiding eye contact and getting out of their way. www.sdzxlm.com According to the passage,what are the causes of overcrowding? In recent years, the price of gas has been rising sharply, and people have made many adjustments. There was, for a time, considerable unemployment in the auto industry, and three quarters of the garages and service stations have gone out of business. However; the bicycle and motor-scooter business has flourished ; and many people have found employment there: Now that Federal Motors has brought out its new Lilliput, which travels forty miles on a gallon, the auto business is picking up again. The factories that haven't switched over to two-wheel transportation are working on their new smaller models. There is talk, too, about bringing out new steam and electric automobiles that will be just as economical as the old cars. In the meantime, streetcars are gradually replacing buses all over the country because of the greater economy of electric power. And many people who have seldom used public transportation are now riding the streetcars while their automobiles rust in their garages. There's no market at all for their big, luxurious cars, for only the wealthy can now afford to operate them. Many people are now shopping in their own neighborhood, and small businesses are thriving. Ministers, educators, and editorial writers are pointing out that there has been a great improvement in family life. Families now stay at home more for their fun, and children and parents are becoming better acquainted. The stores report a booming business in parlor games, hobby materials, books, musical instruments and albums. People have lost their pale indoor look. The revival of the lost art of walking has brought a healthy pink back to many a cheek. This return to the heels has revolutionized the clothing styles; people now need to be ready for all kinds of weather: These conditions, however, may not last. Already our clever chemists are at work on new synthetic fuels which, they say, will put us right back where we wereon wheels. Shall we wish them success or not? What's the writer's opinion to these adjustment? Heavy atmospheric movement is desirable if you have
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn't help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked: "So, how have you been?" And the boy--who could not have been more than seven or eight years old--replied, "Frankly, I've been feeling a little depressed lately." This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn't find out we were "depressed", that is, in low sprits, until we were in high school. Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don't seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to. Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why? Human development is based not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders. In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation machine has been installed in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures. Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practiced. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials. According to the author, that today's children seem adultlike results from _ . If a large glacier is moving passed a beach, it can deposit this because it is made of ice The gray wolf used to live in most of the northern United States, including Colorado. In fairy tales, wolves can be pretty mean, but in real life, wolves are shy animals that are afraid of people. They are predators of deer, elk and antelope. But as more people settled in the country, they killed off many of them, so wolves started eating the cattle and sheep that the settlers brought with them. Because the settlers needed those cattle and sheep for their own families, and because many people are afraid of wolves, people started killing wolves until they became endangered. Many places would even offer money to anyone who would kill a wolf. The last wolf in Colorado was shot 50 years ago. Now, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife would like to see wolves reintroduced into their natural homes. This is happening already in Minnesota, but not in Colorado yet. There are lots of deer and elk in the Colorado mountains for them to eat now. In fact, many people feel that having the wolves back would be a help to the deer and elk herds . Without enough natural enemies, the herds get too big. Also, wolves and other predators usually catch the oldest or the sickest deer, so maybe they could help keep the other deer from getting sick and dying, too. But for ranchers , will the wolves come after cattle if there are plenty of deer to eat? It's hard to know. In Minnesota, they offer ranchers money to pay for animals that are known to have been killed by wolves. That way, the wolves have a chance, but the ranchers don't lose too much money. www.ks5u.com If you want to find out more about how to help wolves come home, click here. What's the ranchers' attitude to reintroducing gray wolves in Colorado? Paper cut can be seen in many parts of China during the Spring Festival. People put it on windows, doors and walls for the festival. A thousand years ago, paper cut was used for decoration . In Tang Dynasty women used paper cut as headdress. In Song Dynasty, it helped make gifts more beautiful. What's more, people would feel happier when they saw paper cut on windows, doors and walls. Now people use paper cut to express their wishes for welcoming the New Year. There are different kinds of paper cut in different parts of China. Pictures usually cover nearly all things, from flowers, birds to the famous people. Now, there are factories for paper cut in China. Paper cut has changed from decoration to a kind of art. At the same time, paper cut also appears in cartoons, magazines or TV programs. In Song Dynasty, paper cut helped to make gifts more _ . People do not analyze every problem they meet. Sometimes they try to remember a solution from the last time they had a similar problem. They often accept the opinions or ideas of other people. Other times they begin to act without thinking. They try to find a solution by trial and error. However, when all these methods fail, the person with a problem has to start analyzing. There are six stages in analyzing a problem. First the person must recognize that there is a problem. For example, Sam's bicycle is broken, and he cannot read it to class as he usually does. Sam must see that there is a problem with his bicycle. Next the thinker must define the problem. Before Sam can repair his bicycle, he must find out the reason why it does not work. For instance, he must determine if the problem is with the gears, the brakes, or the frame. He must make his problem more specific. Now the person must look for information that will make the problem clearer and lead to possible solutions. For instance, suppose Sam decided that his bike does not work because there is something wrong with the gear wheels. At this time, he can look in his bicycle repair book and read about gears. He can talk to his friends at the bike shop. He can look at his gears carefully. After studying the problem, the person should have several suggestions for a possible solution. Take Sam as an illustration. His suggestions might be: put oil on the gear wheels; buy new gear wheels and replace the old ones; tighten or loosen the gear wheels. Eventually one suggestion seems to be the solution to the problem. Sometimes the final idea comes very suddenly because the thinker suddenly sees something new or sees something in a new way. Sam, for example, suddenly sees that there is a piece of chewing gum between the gear wheels. He immediately realizes the solution to his problem: he must clean the gear wheels. Finally the solution is tested. Sam cleans the gear wheels and finds that afterwards his bicycle works perfectly. he has solved the problem. Which of the following is _ ?
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. Which of the following is NOT an enemy of paintings? Within a substance, atoms that collide frequently and move independently of one another are most likely in a When you travel in Hong Kong,you must be careful of the traffic rules,because the traffic keeps to the left and it's different from that of the interior of China.Before crossing the street,you must look to the right and then to the left.If the traffic lights are red,the traffic must stop,people can go across the zebra line.If the traffic lights turn green,the traffic can go,and people mustn't cross the road. In the morning and in the evening,when people go to or come from work,the streets are very busy.The traffic is the most dangerous. When you go somewhere by bus in Hong Kong,you have to be careful,too.Always remember the traffic keeps to the left.Have a look first,or you may go the wrong way.In Hong Kong,there are a lot of big buses with two floors.You'd better sit on the second floor.From there you can watch the city very well.How interesting! You can see the city very well on the _ floor of the bus. House For Sale Red Rose Garden, Pudong 3-storey home. 509 sqm total land area. 428.8 sqm built-in. 312.9 sqm garden. Asking for RMB 13 million. MP: 13761973547 Tel: 021-58609228 Fax: 021-58609728 Job Wanted Cherry, 24, a shining girl, good at oral English and Putonghua. Now I am working at an international trade company in Guangzhou. I am kind-hearted, hard-working and healthy, and would like part-time weekend work offering Putonghua lessons to foreign friends. If you are interested, please email me at cherrylf@hotmail. com. Beijing Snow World Ski Park Price: 18 yuan (Ticket). 50 yuan/hour on weekdays and 70 yuan/hour on weekends. 120 yuan/four hours on weekdays and 190 yuan/four hours on weekends. How many square meters is the garden of the house for sale? Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family's original plans for him included a career in the diplomatic service, but by the time he was twenty-three, with his parents'money, he opened a small art gallery in Paris. By 1931, the money had been used up. Dior's friends in the art gallery, asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing. His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft . In February,1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection. He was backed by a famous textile producer, Boussac, who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions. Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing, but he was good at fashion design. The New Look started an entirely different look to costume, with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust , usually with a low-cut neckline and a long full skirt. To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New look was a great success, for people were tired of tile extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions. It is said that dresses by Dior were "constructed like buildings", but young people were attracted to his design, and all over the western world, manufacturers plunged into the production of his new style. Dior's revolutionary designs lighted up a whole cycle of fashion, rounded, gentle, feminine, a delight in elegance. A New Look House of Dior opened in 1948, followed by one in London. Considered as King of Couture(women's clothing)for years, the Dior empire grew until it covered every country in the western world, and included furs, hosiery, jewelry, perfumes, men's wear and on and on. More than 1,000 people worked at the Paris headquarters then. His sudden death in 1957 when he was 53 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior. Even now, so many years after his death, his name is closely connected with fashion throughout the world, and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world, His first, great New Look, with its long skirts was an expression of freedom in the late 1940s. We can infer from the passage that _ .
Question: One night, I was sitting in my room half listening as my 15-year-old brother Tommy fought with my 12-year-old brother Kevin. I didn't pay attention when Kevin rushed up the stairs with the hurt on his face. About 20mintes later, as I was walking up-stairs I heard Kevin crying inside the bathroom. I knocked on the door and asked, "Hey, Kevin, do you want to talk?" No answer. I tried again, "Why don't you come out of there?" Again, on answer. I tried again, "Why don't you come out of there?" Again, on answer. So, looking around, I grabbed a stack of cards and a pencil and wrote, "if you don't want to talk, we can write notes to each other.." An hour later, I was still sitting on the floor outside the bathroom with two stacks of cards in front of me. One was blank and one was cards from Kevin on which he had translated all his _ feeling into words for me. As I read one of Kevin's notes, tears came to my eyes. It said, "No-body in this family cares about me. I'm not the youngest, and I'm not the oldest. Tommy thinks I'm silly and Dad wishes he had the other Kevin as a kid because he's better at basketball. And you're never around to even notice me." Tears came to my eyes as I wrote back to him. "You know Kevin, I really do love you and I'm sorry I don't always show it . I am here for you and you are loved in this family." There was no answer for a while, but then I heard a tearing sound coming from inside the bathroom. Kevin, who had run out of words wrote on a torn paper cup. "Thanks." I wrote back, "For what?" It returned to me with "Loving me." On it. Since then, I try my best to never only half-notice my family members any more. Kevin and I have a closer relationship now. And sometimes when one of us notices that the other is upset, we'll smile and say "Write it on a paper cup." ,. What could the reason that Kevin's Dad doesn't like him? A. Kevin is not as clever as his brother. B. Kevin is not good at playing basketball. C. Kevin doesn't like to make friends with others. D. Kevin isn't interested in playing basketball. Answer: D. Kevin isn't interested in playing basketball. Question: The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words. The key to their success: 20 tablet computers dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child. The goal is to find out whether kids using today's new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they're already amazed. "What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten," said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program. The fastest learner--and the first to turn on one of the tablets--is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device's camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia. With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. "Seven months ago he didn't know any English. That's unbelievable," said Keller. The project aims to get kids to a stage called "deep reading," where they can read to learn. It won't be in Amharic, Ethiopia's first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs. How does the Ethiopia program benefit the kids in the village? A. It contributes to their self-study. B. It trains teachers for them. C. It helps raise their living standards. D. It provides funds for building schools. Answer: A. It contributes to their self-study. Question: "In the old days," as one wife said. " The husband was the husband and the wife was the wife." In the past husbands each had their own way of going on. The wives' jobs were to look after them. "The wives wouldn't stand for it nowadays. Husbands help with the children now. They stay more, as well as have more interest, at home." We shall give some examples of what husbands do, firstly in sharing work with their wives; and secondly, in their largely independent domain of house repairs. "Some husbands, as well as doing much of the heavy work in the home, carrying the coals, and emptying the rubbish, act as assistants to their wives for at least part of the day." Mr. Hammond washes up the dishes every night and lays the breakfast for the morning. Mr. Clark said that on Sunday mornings he usually hovered around and read plays aloud for his wife while she did a bit of washing. Mr. Davis polishes the floors and helps to make the beds at weekend, and during weekdays, takes the dog out for one of his twice-daily walks. So it goes on.... What does Mr. Davis do at weekends ? A. He cleans the floors and makes the beds. B. He reads plays aloud and does the weekly shopping. C. He cooks food for his wife. D. He takes the dog out for a walk. Answer: A. He cleans the floors and makes the beds. Question: Join the Family Read-Aloud Celebration, held by the Gonda Family Library and the Family School Alliance at UCLA Lab School, from February 21 to March 14,2014. We ask you to spend time reading aloud to your children at least 20 minutes each day.We hope to help families develop a habit of reading aloud every day throughout and beyond primary school. We'll finish the celebration with a party on March 14 for the whole school. Ways to join: * Visit Book Corner for reading aloud suggestions. Come to the start of the activity on Friday, Feb, 21. * Add books to our list of favorite read aloud * Send us a photo of your family reading together (jkan,tor@ucta. edu). We will share it at the party. * Record your family's reading journey! . * Join us for th< party on March 14,57 p. rn. Go on a reading journey! Books can introduce your family to interesting people, exciting places, adventures and information. Let your journeys take you through these categories: Fiction Picture books * Poetry Science History * Sports Arts other Non-Fiction * Benefits of Reading Aloud Reading aloud helps a cloud to read with pleasure, create background knowledge, and build vocabulary. It also provides children with a reading model. Reading aloud doesn't just benefit young children. Parents should continue reading aloud as their children grow because listening comprehension is more important than reading skills in middle school. Jim Trelease, in his Read-Aloud Handbook, has noted that almost as big a mistake as not reading to children at all is stopping too soon Until about the eighth grade, children listen and comprehend on a higher level than their reading skills allow them to read independently, This means children can hear and understand stories that are more difficult and more interesting than anything they can read on their own If you want to join the activity, you're supposed to _ A. mail a book to the school B. make an appearance at the starting day C. read out loud from 5~7 p. m every day D. share your reading experience at the party Answer: B. make an appearance at the starting day Question: Finding a winter job is often a proof that you're growing up, and it's also a method for earning money to pay for what you dream of. It's never too early to start considering the future. Now, here are some good choices for you! Retail Sales Retail offers plenty of opportunity for teens who are looking for a job. This type of work can pay from $10 to $15 an hour depending upon the duty you are expected to take on. It can also be great for teens who are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. For more information, call us at 4005075. Food Service A job in the food service industry is a natural fit for sociable teens who enjoy communicating with the public. It allows employees to work as part of a team while learning about following instructions. It also comes with the opportunity to earn between $8 and $10 per hour. Just call 4005077 for more information. Babysitter This job requires someone who is highly responsible. Though it pays generally between $6 and $8 hourly, it also requires a lot of patience. This is a great choice for teens who wish to make a career in teaching, child care, social work or any other field that makes use of social skills or requires interaction with kids. Got a question? Just call 4005076. Housekeeping This type of work can bring in about $5 an hour and it will allow teens to learn the tourism industry, so hotels are often looking for more housekeeping staff, and parks often need more people to assist with keeping public areas clean and organized as well. Telephone:4005079 The text is mainly written for teens who _ . A. are faced with communication problems B. dream of becoming a housekeeper C. want a part-time job in the winter D. plan to start their own business Answer: C. want a part-time job in the winter
It was time to break free. I needed to run away and the Bloomsburg Fair was the best place to go. I don't know if you can call it running away when it was only an hour away from my home.But once I entered the fair grounds, I crossed over into another world.The loudspeaker offered background music over the sounds of people talking, bargaining and food sellers yelling for your attention. I belonged here.I didn't know if I had it in my blood or not, but I always wanted to have a small food stand and travel in my off season from fair to fair selling goodies.Perhaps one day.It certainly wasn't a priority in my life , Perhaps it should be. After I was there a while, I needed to get away to a quiet spot.Most of the time, I could find that anywhere the farm animals were kept. They needed the quiet.So I went there to find peace with the cows, goats, horses, pigs and yes, the turkeys.You'd think being this close to "Thanksgiving", they'd be a little scared, but they were not. It was in the dairy barn where I found peace this time.I so admired the young folks who tended to farm animals.I thought they had a greater appreciation for life.They participated in it firsthand.I once watched a young farmer help bring a baby cow into the world. My favorite scene was to come across a young cowboy lying in the hay asleep among the cows that had settled down for a rest.There, with his heads in a small soft spot alongside his favorite cow, I had seen him in a much deserved sleep.Perhaps better at rest there than in his own bed. I had the pleasure of speaking with a young teenage farm girl that day. "You look so comfortable," I said to her. "Oh I am," she said."Life makes it comfortable for me." "You mean being a farm girl?" "No, Life! That's the name of my cow," she said, smiling as she gently patted the cow's side. "I thought they called cows Betsy and Elsie.Why did you call her Life?" "I discovered life again here.It was the only meaningful name that came to mind.I had been raised in the big city and really hated _ .Then we moved to the country, running away from it.I think my parents called it a mid-life crisis," she said, laughing. "Oh, I can understand that.I've been in one since birth," I said. "It was on the farm that I learned to love life again.I was there when Life was born.It was so exciting.My whole outlook on the world changed.So I named her Life.Now, I can say I really love 'Life'," she said. "How amazing! I write stories and J am always trying to get people to enjoy life, to wake up each day expecting the best from it.But they all too often go to bed with so much bad stuff in their soul, and on their mind, that they wake up feeling bad and expect it to only get worse from there. All too often it does, just because that's all they choose to see in that otherwise perfectly beautiful day," I told her. "That's too bad.They need to see a cow born, a chicken hatch.I guess they need to wake up early and hug Life!" she said, laughing. "When was the last time you hugged Life" she asked me. "I am sorry to say even I have had trouble doing that lately," I said. "Come here!" she said. Then standing up and stepping aside, she said, "Go ahead...hug Life!" I paused for a moment and dropping all thoughts of looking silly, I did.I hugged a cow. What can be the best title for the passage? A Farm Life and Happiness B Hugging Life C A Farm Girl and Her Cow D Enjoying Freedom Answer: B. Hugging Life In the universe,as we all know,there is the sun,the moon,the earth and a good manystars.Through our geography lessons,we know the earth goes around the sun,and the moon goes around the earth.We have day and night because the earth keeps turning all the time.When our part of the earth turns to the sun,it is day.When our part of the earth turns away from the sun,it is night. Just because the moon is closer to the earth than the sun, it looks much bigger than the sun. Big things will look smaller when they are further, and small things also look bigger when they are nearer. The sun is big enough to give out very strong light. The moon can't give any light at all, but it looks quite bright, too. Why? In fact, the light from the moon comes from the sun. The moon looks much bigger and brighter than the stars. But actually the stars are much bigger and brighter than the moon.They look smaller than the moon also because they are further away from the earth. There are many other planets in the universe. But of all the planets, only on the earth there are living things and people can only live on the earth, too. But at 9:00 a.m. on October 15th,2003, Chinese pilot Yang Liwei was sent up to space. He stayed there for 21 hours.It was the first time for Chinese to get into space. When our part of the earth turns away from the sun, the other part of the earth is _ . A night B day C evening D Sunday Answer: B. day The name England comes from the words "Angle land".The Angles were people who came from northern Germany in the 5th and 6th centuries,after the Romans had left.The French name for England is Angleterre,which also means "Angle land".There were also invasions of southern England by Saxons and Jutes (people from another part of northern Germany).English people are sometimes called AngloSaxons.The Celts who used to live in this area were forced to move back into Scotland,Ireland,Cornwall and into Western France (the area known as Brittany). England at first became a series of kingdoms,the strongest of which was Wessex (the name comes from WestSaxon).The names of many of the areas in England come from this period--for example,the name Sussex comes from SouthSaxon,Essex from EastSaxon,and East Anglia from EastAngle.The Vikings then came from Denmark,and later the Normans invaded from France. Eventually England,Wales,Scotland and Northern Ireland were united,forming the United Kingdom. The English language is the main language spoken throughout England,although there are many different accents.It can be difficult to know how to spell or to pronounce some English words,because the language has been influenced by Latin and Greek (languages used at the time of the Romans,and used in religion and education until recent times),German (the language of the Angles,Saxons and Jutes),French(the language of the Normans),Gaelic/Scots (Celtic languages) and Danish (the language of the Vikings). There are now many people throughout the United Kingdom who speak a foreign language either as their first or second language;mainly due to immigration from Europe or the Commonwealth (countries which used to be part of the British Empire). In the history of England, _ once was the strongest kingdom. A Sussex B Wessex C Essex D East Anglia Answer: B. Wessex George Prochnik would like the world _ . He makes his case in a new book. Listening for meaning in a World of Noise. Here he explain himself (using his voice); "We've become so accustomed to noise, there's almost a deep prejudice against the idea that silence might be beneficial, if you tell someone to be quiet ,you sound like an old man. But it's never been important to find continuing quiet. Silence focuses us, improves our health, and is a key to lasting peace and satisfaction." "We need to excite people about the sounds you start to hear, if you merely quiet things down a little. During a Japanese tea ceremony ,the smallest sounds become a kind of art the spoons making a light ringing sound on a bowl, the edges of a kimono brushing against the floor. "Deaf people are very attentive in almost every aspect of life. If two deaf people are walking together, using sign language, they constantly watch out for each other and protect each other by paying steady attention to the other. They are connected yet also fully aware of their surroundings. Even deaf teenagers! We in the hearing world can learn from them. If we remove the powerful blasts of noise .we become aware of an extraordinarily rich world around us---of little soft sounds and the sound of footsteps, of bind songs and ice cracking . It's astonishing how beautiful things sound when you can really listen.." What does Proehnik say about us? A We are used to quietness B We have to put up with noise C We do not think silence to be beneficial D We do not believe lasting peace to be available Answer: C. We do not think silence to be beneficial If an animal is trained to do something, that is a learned what? A mode of conduct B sensation C emotion D feeling Answer: A. mode of conduct
At Carl Hayden High School in Phoenix, Arizona in the United States, four poor Mexican boys worked together on a strange electric machine. They were encouraged by their teacher Allan Cameron to build the machine. It only cost them $800 to build it. They used pipes , cameras, computer parts, and whatever they could find. All the other students wondered what it was. The machine was like a very small submarine . It could move around in a swimming pool. The boys could control its movement from outside the pool. Carl Hayden High School had been invited to a competition of high schools and universities. The schools were from the United States and Canada. The school that could build the best machine would be the winner. Many students came from schools that gave them lots of money and support. The Carl Hayden boys had hardly any support and very little money. Students from eleven schools traveled with their machines to the University of California, including students from the famous university, MIT. When students saw the machine made by the Carl Hayden boys, some of them laughed. Its name was "Stinky" because it had a very strong smell. But when the competition started, _ saw that "stinky" was no joke. It did better than all the other machines, including the ones from MIT, and it took first place in the competition. Since then, the boys from Carl Hayden High School have become famous. People have even offered them money for college, and a movie producer has asked them if it is OK to make a movie to tell their story. Which of the following about the competition is TRUE? The winner of it must build the best machine. Like people, plants experience stress. And also, like people, the response to that stress can determine success. Bad environmental conditions, such as drought, flood, heat and other stresses, affect yields more than crop pests and diseases. We are trying to find a way to equip plants with the ability to tolerate environmental stress and maintain high yields, said Stephen Howell, a professor of genetics and cell biology. Plant cells produce proteins and ship them to different parts of the cell. Under normal conditions, these proteins are folded into their normal, healthy structures as they are produced. When a plant is under stress, its cells produce poorly folded or unfolded proteins. Then a built-in system senses this and "sets off an alarm in the cell," said Howell. In response to the alarm, another protein (IRE1) starts working and creates a different process which activates the stress response genes whose products bring about defensive measures that help the plant survive. "As it turns out, responses that are activated under stress conditions actually inhibit the growth of plants," said Howell. "This allows them to preserve their energy to survive the stress conditions." For plants in the wild, this response is a help for survival, he said. In production of agriculture crops, however, this response reduces yields. "You don't want crop plants to stop growing," Howell said. "You want them to continue to grow and produce even though they are under stress." With the new understanding of this stress response, the next step may be to silence the alarm system, said Howell. "What may be important is to disable some of these stress responses. That may make the plant more productive under stress conditions." The energy preserved in the plants under stress conditions _ . helps the plants to survive The loneliest chimp in the world just got the best surprise--a hug from a new friend.Ponso has been by himself for nearly three years,finding himself alone after his wife and children died on the island where they were abandoned by a medical testing company many years ago. For years a nearby villager named Germain has been Ponso's only company,visiting him so often to bring bananas and bread--the chimp's only source of food on the tiny island.It was clear how much Ponso missed companionship when he was recently visited by Chimpanzee Conservation Centre Director Estelle Raballand.The chimp immediately embraced Estelle Raballand in a huge hug and laughed as she reached out for him,with his smile from ear to ear. For those who know Ponso's backstory,his immediate ease and trust in humans might be surprising.Ponso was one of 20 chimps,all between the ages of 7 to 11 years old,relocated to an island off the Ivory Coast after being used for testing by the New York Blood Centre.After the tests were completed in 2005,the lab reportedly transferred the chimps to a string of islands,occasionally dropping off food and water because there was none in the chimps' new homes. Disease and hunger soon left only Ponso,his mate and their two children standing.But at the end of 2013 they died within days of each other and Ponso was now completely alone. A group called SOS PONSO is trying to raise money for the poor lonely chimp,already achieving its goal of $20,000--all of which will be used for Ponso's care. How did Ponso feel about the visit of Estelle Raballand? Excited. Global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning jumped by the largest amount on record in 2010. Emissions rose 5.9 percent in 2010, according to an analysis released on Sunday by the Global Carbon Project. Scientists said the increase was almost certainly the largest absolute jump in any year since the Industrial Revolution. The increase solidified a trend of ever-rising emissions that will make it difficult, if not impossible, to stop severe climate change in coming decades. The burning of coal represented more than half of the growth in emissions, the analysis found. In the United States, emissions dropped by a remarkable 7 percent in the year of 2009, but rose by over 4 percent in 2010, the new analysis shows. "Each year, emissions go up, and there's another year of negotiations, another year of indecision," said Glen P. Peters, a researcher at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research. "There's no evidence that this path we've been following in the last 10 years is going to change." Scientists say the rapid growth of emissions is warming the Earth and putting human welfare at long-term risk. But their increasingly urgent pleas that society find a way to limit emissions have met sharp political resistance in many countries because doing so would involve higher energy costs. The new figures show a continuation of a trend in which developing countries have surpassed the wealthy countries in their overall greenhouse emissions. In 2010, the burning of fossil fuels and the production of cement sent more than nine billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere, the new analysis found, with 57 percent of that coming from developing countries. On the surface, the figures of recent years suggest that wealthy countries have made headway in stabilizing their emissions. But Dr. Peters pointed out that, in a sense, the rich countries have simply exported some of them. The fast rise in developing countries has been caused to a large extent by the growth of energy-intensive manufacturing industries that make goods that rich countries import. "All that has changed is the location in which the emissions are being produced," Dr. Peters said. Many countries, as part of their response to the economic crisis, invested billions in programs designed to make their energy systems greener. While it is possible, the new numbers suggest they have had little effect so far. Many governments in the world resist limiting emissions because _ . they are unwilling to accept higher energy costs Cities and towns in 35 countries took part. The year 2012 saw 6,950 towns and cities in more than 152 countries took part in Earth Hour movement. Last year 7,000 towns and cities in more than 154 countries took part in Earth Hour. This year, WWF is calling for people across the world to take part in Earth Hour 2014 - the biggest switch-off in history. For the eighth year, people are being asked to turn off their lights for one hour to call attention to the issue of climate change. The WWF's organizers say climate change is one of the greatest threats facing wildlife and nature. They also say when it comes to save energy and money, big changes start with small steps like turning out the lights. Earth Hour supporter Jamie Oliver has some great ideas of his own for helping the environment: "We can all make simple changes to help, like always choosinghigher-welfare meat, and even trying to have a couple of meat-free days a week. More little steps, such as taking a shower instead of a bath, leaving the car behind and walking to work, not leaving electrical appliances on standby and so on are the beginning of a low carbon lifestyle and a healthier world. This year, Earth Hour is asking people to take the movement "beyond the hour". Earth Hour is a call to stand up and get involved. We hope everyone will join us in turning off for a brighter future. According to the passage, all the following are small steps we can take Except _ . Taking a bath instead of a shower
It's that time of the year when couples show their love for each other by sending cards, flowers and chocolates. But Valentine's Day is not only about public displays of affection, and in recent years it has also become big business. In the UK alone, more than PS20 million is spent on flowers, while in the United States over $1 billion is forked out on chocolates. Although Valentine's Day has become a global industry with more than 80 million roses sold worldwide, the origins of the day are unclear. Nobody knows exactly who St Valentine was. It is said that the first recorded Valentine's card was sent by the imprisoned Duke of Orleans in 1415. It is believed that he sought solace from his imprisonment by writing love poems to his wife. Valentine's Day is now celebrated in many countries around the world. However, the traditions often differ from place to place. In Japan, for example, it is customary for the woman to send chocolates to the man, while in Korea April 14th is known as 'Black Day' when the unfortunate men who have received nothing on Valentine's Day gather to eat noodles and comfort each other. Technological developments have also played their part in keeping Valentine's Day relevant to the 21st century. Valentine's e-cards have been all the rage in recent years. Valentine's cards can also be used for less than romantic purposes. This year police in Liverpool sent Valentine's cards to criminals who failed to appear in court or have not paid fines. The cards contained the verse: "Roses are red; violets are blue. You've got a warrant and we'd love to see you." Who says romance is dead? The purpose of policemen sending cards in Liverpool was _ . to ask the criminals to come to the police station Tea to the Chinese is like coffee to the Americans. It's something that they can't live without. Chinese tea has a history of more than 5,000 years. It was most popular during the Tang Dynasty. China has many kinds of tea. White, yellow, green, oolong , black and dark tea are the six main kinds. People in different places drink tea in their own way. People in Guangdong and Fujian love to drink "Kung Fu Tea" in small tea cups. They clean the teapot first with boiling water to warm it up. Then they fill the teapot with tea leaves before putting in the boiling water. In Beijing, people love jasmine flower green tea. In Tibet, butter tea is a popular drink to build up energy. There are rules to follow when we serve tea to others. Most importantly, remember to make the cup only seven-tenths full. If the cup is too full, it makes the cup too hot for them to hold. Which of the following is NOT one of the six main kinds of tea? Butter tea. The earthquake that shook Japan on March 11, 2011 was the strongest earthquake in that country's recorded history and the fourth strongest recorded on Earth since 1900. It cracked open the ground, knocked people off their feet, and made tall buildings move. Then things got even worse. It created huge waves called a tsunami . Walls of water as tall as 30 feet flooded into the coast and swept six miles inland, wiping out everything in the way. Many human survivors were separated from their pets. Many animal lovers went out of their way to help pets in need after the tsunami. And some pets helped their owners, too. When Kamata heard the tsunami alert , he decided to visit his neighbours to warn them of the coming danger. He put his dog, Shane, in the yard so they could leave as soon as he returned. But later, as he headed home, the tsunami flooded into the city, destroying his path. Kamata was forced to run to higher ground, to a school that served as a shelter. He feared he would never see Shane again. Six hours later, Kamata heard that a dog was waiting outside the school. He went to look: It's Shane! The dog swam through the tsunami and found Kamata, even though Shane had never been to the school. After the huge earthquake ended, 83-year-old Tami Akanuma thought that she and her small dog, Babu, were safe. But Babu was anything but calm. She cried and walked worriedly, as if really wanting to go for a walk. That's strange, since Babu didn't like taking walks. But Akanuma took her out. Outside, Babu headed up a hill instead of toward their normal route near the water. When Akanuma slowed down, the little dog pulled her higher. Once they reached the hilltop, Akanuma looked back and was surprised: The path they had taken was flooded and her home had been destroyed by fast-flowing water. Little Babu helped his owner escape in time. Why did Kamata think he would never see Shane again? He was afraid Shane had been killed by the tsunami. These days picture news is very popular with young people. Here are some chosen from the Internet by Jack. Read on to find out which one you like best. SPRING is coming, together with butterflies ! On March 31,the Natural History Museum in London, UK, had a butterfly show. Children came over and played with these beautiful creatures. They also got to know how butterflies grow up. Colorful butterflies flew freely at the show. They sometimes landed on visitors. Look! A large blue butterfly sits on the nose of the girl. Earlier in April 2014, Sanlian Taofen Bookstore became the first 24-hour bookstore in Beijing. It hopes to encourage more people to read books. "We welcome everyone who loves to read books at any time." The general manager of the store told China Youth Daily. Although many people can now buy books online, many readers still like the feeling in bookstores. They can touch the books and smell the print. This year, many children in the UK will have a new language to study: Chinese. Starting in 2014, students aged 7-11 in the UK need to study one of seven foreign languages. They can choose from French, German, Spanish, Italian, Latin, Greek and Chinese. The British government is offering to train a group of Chinese-language teachers. They will teach Chinese to more than 3,000 primary school students. China and the UK work together in many fields. So it's important that the future generation can speak Chinese. Which of the following is TRUE according to the second news? You can read in the bookstore only during the daytime. A new study gives us the warning that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025. A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East. P-A-I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three-thousand-million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same. Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase. The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera, which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning. The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture. The report also says long-term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have. It can be inferred that _ . There is connection between providing clean water and slowing population growth
Polar bears are born in dens on land and their mother stays with them for the whole winter without eating anything. The mother and the babies come out from the dens around March, _ from a long winter and must immediately go hunting to find food to stay alive. Now, the only hunting they know is to catch seals from floating ice in the open ocean. In March, polar bear mothers and babies have to swim from the land in Spitsbergen to the edge of the polar ice cap. Normally this is a short swim, since in March the polar ice cap is very close to the land, and the polar bears, and even the babies, are good swimmers. However, last year we saw that the polar ice cap had become smaller in size due to global warming. Swimming hundreds of miles, especially when they are hungry and have babies following them, is really hard, and many bears are dying because of starvation. The polar bear population in the Spitsbergen area was once threatened by hunters. In the 1970s, a ban on hunting was imposed and the polar bear population has been steadily increasing from just a few hundred to about 2,000 to 3,000. This was a great success story. However, now, because of global warming, the population is again in danger. If we do not stop making so much carbon dioxide, we will lose these beautiful animals forever. The polar bears are just one example of animals that have become endangered because of man's appetite for energy obtained by burning fossil fuels. All life on earth could be in danger unless we change our ways. What can we do? To reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air we must save and make energy without burning coal and oil. Instead, we can use the sun or the wind to generate electricity. We must also cut down on needless driving and turn off things that use electricity when we are not using them. In addition, we have to stop cutting down forests and start planting more trees. Why do the bears swim to the edge of the polar ice cap? A. To get back to the ocean. B. To catch seals for food. C. To get to a colder place. D. To teach their children how to swim. Answer: B. To catch seals for food. Charles went on a bike ride last week when he was on vacation. His father took him Saturday morning. It had rained Thursday and Friday. They got in his father's truck and put their bikes in the back. Father and son went to a bike path in a town near them. Trees were on both sides of the path. It was nice and warm outside, but Charles like riding on the road between the trees. There was a lot of shade. Charles saw several friends and people from school when they were riding. He got to ride with Harry and Peter. They also rode with Peter's sisters, Anne, Kelley, and Beth. His friend Paul also went by. They only said, "Hi," to each other. Charles fell once. He fell after seeing a girl he liked. Her name was Claire. She came over to see if he was okay. He had a small cut on his arm. His father put a bandage on his arm and they rode back to the truck. Charles and his father stopped for ice cream. They both got sundaes and ate them when they got home. They were glad they went for a ride because it also rained on Sunday. What is the name of the girl Charles likes? A. Anne. B. Claire. C. Kelley. D. Beth. Answer: B. Claire. Picasso, the famous Spanish painter, was born in 1881. His father was an art teacher. Picasso began to paint very early. He was admitted to the Royal Academy of Art at the age of 15. After 1900, he spent much time in Paris, living there from 1904 to 1947, when he moved to the south of France. Throughout his career, Picasso moved from style to style with ease. He practiced sculpture, illustrated books and also showed great interest in pottery design and other fields of art. Picasso produced a great number of drawings during his lifetime. No later artist of the School of Paris has replaced him in international influence. Picasso is generally considered to be the foremost figure in 20th century French art. His paintings are now exhibited in leading European and American galleries. According to the writer, Picasso was _ . A. more important than any other French artist in international influence B. more important than any other Spanish artist in international influence C. the most important figure in Spain D. the most important figure in France Answer: A. more important than any other French artist in international influence Ally was at home, sitting in her chair. She was drinking orange juice. Orange juice was her favorite drink, because she loved its sweet taste. Ally's sister was sitting on the carpet. She was drawing a pair of pink socks. Ally's sister loved the color pink, because she thought it was cute. Ally's brother was also sitting on the carpet. He was drinking coffee with lots of sugar in it. He loved sugar because it made him feel energetic. All of the sudden, there was a knock at the door. Ally's sister answered it. When she opened the door, she saw an alligator wearing a suit and tie! Ally's sister screamed, and closed the door. "Please," the alligator said, "Don't be afraid. I want to draw with you." Ally's sister opened the door, and the alligator came inside. He sat on the carpet, and started drawing his own pair of pink socks. Ally's sister sat down, and joined him. Who was knocking at the door? A. Ally's brother B. Ally C. Ally's sister D. An alligator Answer: D. An alligator Many people say dolphins are very intelligent. They seem to be able think, understand, and learn things quickly. But they are smart like humans or more like cats or dogs? Dolphins use their brains differently from people. But scientists say dolphin intelligence and human intelligence are alike in some ways. How? FACT 1: Talk to Me Like humans, every dolphin has its own "name". The name is a special whistle . Each dolphin chooses a specific whistle for itself, usually by its first birthday. Actually, scientists think dolphins, like people, "talk" to each other about a lot of things, such as their age, their feelings, or finding food. And, like humans dolphins use a system of sounds and body language to communicate. But understanding their conversations is not easy for humans. No one "speaks dolphin" yet, but some scientists are trying to learn. FACT 2: Let's Play Dolphins are also social animals. They live in groups called pods, and they often join others from different pods to play games and have fun ---just like people. In fact, playing together is something only intelligent animals do. FACT 3: Fishermen's Helpers Dolphins and humans are similar in another way: both make plans to get something they want. In the sea of southern Brazil, for example, dolphins use a interesting strategy to get food. When fish are near a boat, dolphins signal to the fishermen to put their nets in the water. Using this method, the men can catch a lot of fish. What is the advantage for the dolphins? Why do they assist the men? The dolphins get to eat some of the fish. What is the text mainly about? A. The comparison between dolphins and humans. B. The relationship between dolphins and humans. C. Different types of dolphins. D. The habitual behavior of dolphins. Answer: A. The comparison between dolphins and humans.
Question: Many people are already planning to look for a new position when the job market picks up, but the way you quit can have a long term impact on your career. How to resign on good terms: Be prepared. Review your employee handbook or employment contract before announcing your decision, so you know what company policy is regarding resignations, severance , the return of company property and pay for unused vacation time. If you have another job lined up, be sure to have your offer in writing before you resign. Use it or lose it. If you haven't used vacation time and will lose it if you quit, you might want to use your time before leaving or link it to your resignation date. But if you don't want to burn any bridges, never announce your departure just after returning from vacation. Make an appointment. Be formal and make an appointment with your boss. Prepare what you want to say. Be direct and be transparent. After the discussion, put your resignation in a hardcopy letter that includes your last day and any transitional help you've offered. Keep a copy. Two weeks advance notice is still standard but experts recommend offering more time if you've worked at the company for more than five years. You also need to be prepared to leave right away -- some companies require it. Scrub your digital footprint. Clear your browser cache , remove passwords to websites you use from work, such as your personal email or online bank account and delete any personal files on your work computer that aren't relevant to work. Don't delete anything work-related if you're required to keep it. Stay close. Consider joining an employee alumni association, which often serves as a networking group for former employees. It can be a good way to keep up with changes in the company and industry and find leads to new jobs down the road. Keep in touch with coworkers you worked closely with; they may end up in management roles. Which of the following is suggested in the passage? A. You can resign without hesitation if you don't like your job. B. You should ignore your boss when presenting your resignation. C. You'd better keep in touch with your coworkers after resignation. D. You must delete anything in the computer you once used when you resign. Answer: C Question: Steve knew he'd been adopted as a baby, and when he turned 18, in 2003, he decided he'd try to track down his birth mother. The agency from which he'd been adopted gave him his mother's name: Tallady. But online searches didn't turn up any results about it, and Steve had to let it go. In 2007, though, he searched for the name again online. This time, the search results included a home address near the Lowe's store where Steve, then 22, worked as a deliveryman. When he mentioned the coincidence to his boss, his boss said, "You mean Tallady, who works here?" Steve and Tallady, a cashier, had said hello to each other a few times at the store, but they'd never really talked. He hadn't even known her name. Steve thought there was no possible way she was his mother though they shared the same name. For a few months, Steve avoided Tallady. "I wasn't sure how to approach her," he told a local reporter. Finally, the agency volunteered to arrange their reunion. When Tallady realized that the nice guy she'd been waving at was his son, she sobbed. She'd always hoped to meet her birth son one day. Later that day, mother and son talked for almost three hours at a nearby bar. She'd given him up for adoption in 1985, when she was 23. "I wasn't ready to be a mother," she told him. Married with two other children, Tallady says, "I have a complete family now." The best title for the text is _ . A. The Love of Mother B. An Unexpected Meeting C. The Power of the Internet D. An Unusual Reunion Answer: D Question: SHANGHAI - Health experts in Shanghai are calling for more protection for young children as the latest research shows about half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke. About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in families, 50 percent in public places, and almost 6 percent on public transportation, shows a research released by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center on Tuesday. "Not only adults but also children and newborn babies are at risk for the adverse effects of passive smoking," said Tang Jingyan, a doctor at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. "Actually, those young children whose bodies are still growing and developing are more sensitive to the effects of secondhand smoke." Research has shown that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke will suffer from more colds, coughs and sore throats, and they are more likely to suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia and will have a higher risk of developing cancer. Doctors even suggested that children suffering passive smoking are more likely to have behavioral problems and may not develop mentally as quickly as their peers. Other research by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center has found that more than 80 percent of child patients in the center live in a smoke-filled household, where one or both parents smoke. "Though doctors have stressed the harm of passive smoking over and over, it is still hard to reach a totally 'smoke free' home," said a pediatrician named Zhang Yiwen, noting that parents are often tempted to smoke even though they have learned the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. China has 540 million people suffering from passive smoke, 180 million of them younger than 15.The age of smokers is also getting lower, earlier reports said. "There are more young smokers than before.You can see young people wearing a school uniform and carrying a schoolbag light a cigarette on the street.Some of them are even female students," said Jing Xingming, a professor of children's developmental behavior at the center. "Children like to imitate adults, especially their parents.If parents often smoke at home, it is very likely children will develop a smoking habit, which can cause a vicious circle," Jin said. Reports from the Ministry of Health said China has about 350 million smokers, of whom 15 million are underage smokers.Also, around 40 million of the country's 130 million children aged between 13 and 18 had tried smoking, and 15 million had become addicted to tobacco. What can be inferred from the passage? A. About 80% of the children in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center smoke heavily. B. About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center. C. About 540 million people are heavy smokers in China. D. Children aged between 13 to 18 are more likely addicted to smoking. Answer: D Question: "Ordinary" was the worst word my mother could find for anything. Whenever she took me out for shopping, I found she wouldn't take any notice of the shop assistants when they suggested that some dresses were popular. She would say, "We're not interested in that. Haven't you got anything a little unusual?" And then the assistants would bring out all the strange colours no one else would buy. And later she and I would argue because I wanted to be ordinary but my mother wanted to be unusual. "I can't stand that hairdo ," she said to me when I was in a boy hairstyle, " _ 's so terribly ordinary... Not ugly, not unsuitable. But ordinary ..." "Couldn't you please wear something else?" I asked one day when she was dressing for Parents' Day in tight trousers and a bright pink sweater. "What't wrong with it!" "It's just that I wish you'd wear something ordinary." I said, "People won't laugh at." She looked at me angrily, "Are you ashamed of your mother? If you are, Mary, I feel sorry for you." What does her mother mean by "ordinary"? A. Unusual. B. Ugly. C. Common. D. Popular. Answer: C Question: Wednesday, October 29, 2008. The prefix = st1 /United Statesfederal government had two young men in the state ofTennesseearrested on October 22 on unknown charges. In court documents published on Monday, it came to light that the men had discussed attacking an African - American school and killing 14 of them. Another crime was about planning to murder Presidential candidate Barack Obama. According to their affidavits , the suspects' "final act of violence" would be when they attacked Obama while wearing white suits and top hats and driving "their vehicle as fast as they could toward Obama shooting at him from the windows." The two suspects are Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Arkansas and Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tennessee. According to the court papers, they met last month over the Internet through a friend. Schlesselman and Cowart are believed to share "very strong views" about White Power. Schlesselman listed "being racist" as his occupation on his MySpace page. He further wrote: "I'm white. I'm proud. I get angry. I like guns." Cowart also had a MySpace page on which photos of guns were presented under a heading of "My Guns". On his page he wrote, "Better to die quick fighting on your feet than to live forever begging on your knees." Some have questioned the pair's ability to carry out the charged plan, but authorities have been very concerned about Obama as the first black presidential candidate from a major party. "We honestly don't know if they had the ability or the skill to carry out the kind of plan that they talked about." said Malcolm Wiley, of the United States Secret Service in an interview with The New York Times. "But we take any threat seriously no matter how big or how small it is." Cowart and Schlesselman are scheduled to appear before a judge on Thursday. From the passage, we can know that the two young men_. A. shot 14 students in an African - American school B. came from the state of Tennessee C. were proud of Barack Obama D. have not been sentenced yet Answer: D
Australia said on Friday that it had done enough to prevent the UN from listing the Great Barrier Reef ,the world's biggest coral reef ecosystem ,as being'in danger'* The Great Barrier Reef covers an area of 348,000 square kilometers off Australia's east coast and ontains some 2,500 smalll reefs.Its width ranges between 60 and 250 kilometers.It is a collection of ore than 2 , 900 coral reefs,600 continental islands,and thousands of sea species ,making it one of the world's most complex and varied ecosystems. It was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1981 .But in 2011 UNESCO declared"extreme concern"at the approval of natural gas processing and port facilities within the site and afterwards warned the reef could be considered"in danger".Worried about planned coastal developments,including ports,UNESCO is set to announce overnight a draft decision on the site,which is rich in sea life. "They can see we are doing real work to improve the reef,"Environment Minister Greg Hunt told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation."I firmly believe that we're making once in a century changes to ensure that a century from now,the reef won't just be as it is,but will be better and stronger than it has been since European settlement." Australia has recently ordered a ban on the century-old practice of emptying dredge waste which environmentalists smakes corals and seagrasses die because of lack of airacross most of the reef,and funded efforts to improve water quality. Queensland State,the gateway to the reef,has also promised to introduce laws to limit port develop ment as it balances environmental concerns with the needs of the resources industry What can be inferred from Greg Hunt's words? Answer: Betty and I are best friends. Our birthdays are on the same day, so every year we have a birthday party together. But this year we had a costume party instead. While we were writing the invitations, my mom came in and asked, "Nancy, what about inviting John?" John had been in our class for only a few months, but he was already getting better grades in math than anyone else in our class. "Mom, he wears the same pants to school every day. How could he even afford a costume?" Mom said nothing. The next day, mom gave me an envelope with a shopping card in it. "I thought it would be nice for you to give this to John." Mom said. But how? We didn't want to make John embarrassed. We discussed it for a long time. Finally, Betty and I had a good idea. On the day of our party, John arrived, in an old sheet ,but still in the same brown pants as usual. Before eating the birthday cake, Betty said in a loud voice, "Now it's time for the great prize game." It was a math game. None of us were surprised when John gave the right answer first and walked off with the envelope. Everything went well as we planned. John wore a new pair of pants and a new shirt the next week. He felt happy. So did we. Nancy and Betty are _ . Answer: The deforestation can be the cause of what occurrence? Answer: What makes the best wiring? Answer: In prefix = st1 /America, drivers' education is part of high school. Every student in his or her second year of high school is required to take a course in drivers' education. However, unlike other courses, it isn't given during the regular school year. Instead, it is a summer course. The course is divided into two parts: class time for learning the laws and regulations, and driving time for practice. The students study the basic traffic laws they must know to pass the written driving test, which is given to anyone who wants to get a driver's license. Driving time is a chance for the students to sit behind the steering wheel and practice all kinds of skills that are required to drive a car. Each student is required to drive for a total of six hours. The students are divided into groups of four. The students and the instructor go out driving for two hours. Thus, each student gets half an hour of driving time per outing. The instructor and the "driver" sit in the front seats and the other three students sit in the back. The cars for drivers' education are different from other ears. In this kind of car there are two sets of brakes, one on the driver's side and the other on the instructor; s side. Thus, if the student driver runs into difficulties, the instructor can take over. This kind of car also has another special feature. On the rear window of the car is a sign that reads: STUDENT DRIVER. That lets nearby drivers know that they should be more careful because the student driver isn't very experienced. After the student has passed the drivers' education course and reached the proper age to drive, they can go to a designated state office to take the driving test, which is made up of an eye examination, a written test, and a road test. The student must pass all the three tests in order to get a driver's license. If the student does well in the drivers' education class, he or she will have no problem passing the test with flying color1s and getting licensed. Which of the following does NOT agree with the requirements for the students wanting to get their driver's licenses? Answer:
When a friend calls out "Wait a second, I have a trick to show you," don't you always stop and wait? Tricks are hard to resist. No one is ever too old to enjoy them or too young either. In fact, many of the most successful tricks are really quite simple. They don't require special equipments or hours of practice. For example, you tell a friend "Pick a card", then you surprise him by telling him which card he picked. Here's how it is done. Take a pack of cards and secretly look at the bottom card. Put the cards facedown on a table, and ask your friend to pick a card. Then place the card at the bottom. Has your friend picked the cards by taking part of the cards from the top and putting it at the bottom? Start turning the cards up one at a time. You can pretend to think hard about each card. Look for the bottom card at the beginning which you have remembered. The cards that come after it will be the one your friend picked. Also, a mind-reading trick is fun to do at a party. You leave the room, and while you are gone, a tea cup is placed upside down over a penny, nickel($0. 05), dime($0. 1)or quarter($0. 25). When you come back into the room, you can tell which coin the tea cup is hiding. To do this trick, you only need a helper, or partner. Before hand, you two work out some signals. If he looks up. it's a penny; if he looks right, a nickel. You see, they are all very easy. Why not have a try? Trick in the passage means _ . Answer: A sea creature can defend itself easily by using Answer: Money spent on advertising is money spent as well as any I know of. It selves directly to bring about a rapid sale of goods at reasonable prices, so setting up a firm home market and so making it possible to provide for export at good prices. By drawing attention to new ideas it helps greatly to raise standards of living. By helping to increase demand it causes an increased need for labor, and is therefore a nice way to fight unemployment. It lowers the costs of many services: without advertisements your daily newspaper would cost four times as much, the price of your television program would need to be doubled, and travel by bus or subway would cost more. And perhaps most important of all, advertising provides a promise of reasonable value in the products and services you buy. Besides the fact that twenty-seven Acts of Parliament govern the terms of advertising, no regular advertiser dare promote a product that fails to live up to the promise of his advertisements. He might fool some people for a little while through misleading advertising. He will not do so for long, for the public has the good sense not to buy the poor article more than once. If you see an article frequently advertised, it is the proof I know that the article does what is promised for it, and that it has good value. Advertising does more for the good of the public than any other force I can think of. There is one more point I feel I ought to touch on. Recently I heard a well-known television person declare that he was against advertising because it persuades rather than informs. He was telling us the real difference. Of course advertising tries to persuade. If its message were nothing but information, that would be difficult to get more people to buy, for even a detail such as the choice of the color of a shirt is a bit persuasive-advertising would be so boring that no one would pay any attention. But perhaps that is what the well-known television person wants. In the passage, which of the following is NOT included in the advantages of advertising? Answer: Soon computers and other machines will be able to remember you by looking at your eyes! The programme works because everyone's eyes are different. So in the future you won't have to remember a number when you want to use a machine or take money out of a bank. You'll just have to look at the machine and it will be able to tell who you are. The eye-recognition programme is tested in shops and banks in the USA, Britain and Italy. Scientists are working on other systems, such as knowing you from the shape of your face or hand or even your smell! And machines can already tell who you are from your voice or your fingerprint . But eye-recognition will replace other ways of finding out who you are. It is better, because your eyes don't change as you get older, or get dirty like hands or fingers. And even twins have different eyes, so the programme can be up to 94% correct, depending on how good the technology is. In Britain, it was found that 91% of people said that they liked the idea of eye-recognition. ,. Where has the programme for remembering eyes been tested? Answer: You can see lots of kangaroos in Australia, and not only in zoos but also outside the cities and towns. You can see them everywhere. Kangaroos are very popular in Australia. They have very strong legs, so they are very good at jumping. Their tails are very strong, too, so when they want to have a rest, they rest on their tails. Kangaroos are also good at looking after their babies. Mother kangaroos keep their babies safe in their pockets. There are many kangaroos _ . Answer:
Question: Two students started quarreling at school. One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began. What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, disputants sit down with peer mediators . Peer mediators are usually students with special training in this kind of problems. Peer mediators help disputants to talk in a friendly way. Here are some of the ways they use. 1. Express what you think clearly but don't say anything to hurt the other. Begin with "I feel" instead of "You always". 2. Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Don't stop the other person's words. 3. Keep looking at the other person's eyes when he or she speaks. 4. Try to see the problems on the other person's side. 5. Never _ . Saying things like "You are foolish " makes the talk difficult. 6. Try to find a result that makes both people happy. Peer mediators never decide on the winner. They don't decide who is right or who is wrong. Instead they help disputants to find their own "win-win" result. A "win-win" result can make everyone feel good. Peer mediators' work is often successful just because it gets disputants to talk to each other. And getting disputants to talk to each other is the first step in finding a "win-win" result. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A. All schools have peer mediators. B. Peer mediators are usually students. C. When disputants are speaking, peer mediators can stop their words at any time. D. Peer mediators can make disputants get a "win-win" result every time. Answer: B Question: It was eleven o'clock that night when Mr. Pontellier returned from his night out. He was in an excellent humor, in high spirits, and very talkative. His entrance awoke his wife, who was in bed and fast asleep when he came in. He talked to her while he undressed, telling her anecdotes and bits of news and gossip that he had gathered during the day. She was overcome with sleep, and answered him with little half utterances. He thought it very discouraging that his wife, who was the sole object of his existence, showed so little interest in things which concerned him and valued so little his conversation. Mr. Pontellier had forgotten the candies and peanuts that he had promised the boys. Still, he loved them very much and went into the room where they slept to take a look at them and make sure that they were resting comfortably. The result of his investigation was far from satisfactory. He turned and shifted the youngsters about in bed. One of them began to kick and talk about a basket full of crabs. Mr. Pontellier returned to his wife with the information that Raoul had a high fever and needed looking after. Then he lit his cigar and went and sat near the open door to smoke it. Mrs. Pontellier was quite sure Raoul had no fever. He had gone to bed perfectly well, she said, and nothing had made him sick. Mr. Pontellier was too well familiar with fever symptoms to be mistaken. He assured her the child was burning with fever at that moment in the next room. He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother's place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his business. He could not be in two places at once; making a living for his family on the street, and staying home to see that no harm done to them. _ Mrs. Pontellier sprang out of bed and went into the next room. She soon came back and sat on the edge of the bed, leaning her head down on the pillow. She said nothing, and refused to answer her husband when he questioned her. When his cigar was smoked out, he went to bed, and in half a minute was fast asleep. Mrs. Pontellier was by that time thoroughly awake. She began to cry a little, and wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her nightdress. She went out on the porch, where she sat down and began to rock herself in the chair. It was then past midnight. The cottages were all dark. There was no sound except the hooting of an old owl and the everlasting voice of the sea, which broke like a mournful lullaby upon the night. The tears came so fast to Mrs. Pontellier's eyes that the damp sleeve of her nightdress no longer served to dry them. She went on crying there, not caring any longer to dry her face, her eyes, her arms. She could not have told why she was crying. Such experiences as had just happened were not uncommon in her married life. They seemed never before to have weighed much against theabundance of her husband's kindness and a uniform devotion which had come to be self-understood. An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with vague pain. It was like a shadow, like a mist passing across her soul's summer day. It was strange and unfamiliar; it was a mood. She did not sit there inwardly scolding her husband, expressing sadness about Fate, which had directed her footsteps to the path which they had taken. She was just having a good cry all to herself. The mosquitoes succeeded in driving away a mood which might have held her there in the darkness half a night longer. The following morning Mr. Pontellier was up in good time to take the carriage which was to convey him to the ship. He was returning to the city to his business, and they would not see him again at the Island till the coming Saturday. He had regained his calmness, which seemed to have been somewhatweakened the night before. He was eager to be gone, as he looked forward to a lively week in the financial center. Mr. Pontellier criticizes his wife because _ . A. she is not wholly devoted to her children B. she does little housework but sleep C. she knows nothing about fever symptoms D. she fails to take her son to hospital Answer: A Question: Cheerleading is the fastest growing girls' sport, yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport. Actually, competitive cheerleading is a sport. A sport is a "physical activity against/with an opponent, governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared, and the primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants. "Because cheerleading follows these guidelines, it is a sport. Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activities. Like gymnasts, cheerleaders must learn to tumble . They perform lifts and tosses. This is where the "flied' are thrown in the air, held by " _ " in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates. Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play, so does competitive cheerleading. The whole routine has to be completed in less than 3 minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Competitive cheerleaders' goal is to be the best. Just like gymnasts, they are awarded points for difficulty, creativity and sharpness. The more difficult a mount, the sharper the motions, the better the score. Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation, first place is out of reach. Cheerleading is the number-one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number of those for any other sport, partially because they do not wear protective gear. While many athletes are equipped with hip pads or helmets, smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates. The fliersmust remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely. Also, because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools, neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety. Instead, the girls use whatever space is available. More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries. So why do many Americans not think cheerleading is a sport? Some people argue that cheerleaders are just "flirts in skirts" with their only job to entertain the crowd, but cheerleaders today work just as hard as other athletes. Hopefully, cheerleading will become as well-known a sport as football and basketball, and even appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports. It can be learned from the passage that cheerleading A. is a good sport for all people B. lacks necessary guidelines to follow C. is more than a form of entertainment D. enjoys greater popularity than other sports Answer: C Question: All over the world mothers and fathers teach their children manners. Other children may have manners that are not like yours. There are all kinds of manners. Many years ago, children who had good manners were seen and not heard. They kept quite quiet if grown-ups were talking. Today, well-mannered children have more freedom. Sometimes good manners in one place are bad manners in other places. Suppose you are a visitor in the land of Mongolia. Some friends ask you to eat with them. What kind of manners do they want you to have? They want you to give a loud "burp" after you finish eating. Burping would show that you liked your food. In some countries, if you give a loud burp, you are told to say "excuse me, please." In many places people like to eat together. But in some parts of Polynesia it is bad manners to be seen eating at all. People show good manners by turning their backs on others while they eat. What are manners like in an East African town? The people try not to see you. They are being polite. You may see a friend. He may not see you at all. If you are polite, you will sit down beside him. You will wait until he finishes what he is doing. Then he will talk to you. Suppose you visit a friend in Arabia. You should walk behind the other tents until you come to his tent. If you pass in front of the other tents, you will be asked into each one. The people will ask you to eat with them. And it is bad manners if you say no. Manners are different all over the world. But it is good to know that all manners begin in the same way. People needed ways to show that they wanted to be friends. People turn their backs on others while they eat in _ . A. Mongolia B. an East African town C. some parts of Polynesia D. Arabia Answer: C Question: Do you have bright ideas? Ideas of inventions that change society or, at least, make life easier for somebody? Perhaps we all do sometimes, but we don't often make the idea a reality. Recently, in Britain, there was a competition called British Designers for Tomorrow. The competition encourages young people to carry out their bright ideas. There were two groups in the contest: Group One was for schoolchildren under 16; Group Two was for schoolchildren over 16. And there were eleven prize-winners, altogether. Neil Hunt, one of the prize-winners, was called"Sunshine Superman."It's important when people study the weather to be able to record sunshine accurately. We need to know how many hours of sunshine we have and how strong it is. Most sunshine recorders only record direct sunlight. Neil's is more accurate and this is very important for research into the way of using solar power. You can do so much with animated cartoon. Look at Simon West's idea for animated road signs. He uses pictures which appear to move as you go nearer to or farther from them. This isn't a new idea. But it is new to use these pictures on road signs."We found that people were more likely to see moving signs,"said Simon. So now, you can really see rocks falling, trains moving, horses running or a car falling over the edge of a cliff . Quite a warning! The ideas in the competition were so inventive that we are surprised that British industry doesn't ask more schoolchildren for suggestions. Perhaps this will be the start of"pupil power!" The organizers of the competition hoped the schoolchildren who took part in it would _ . A. become good designers for future Britain B. invent something for immediate use C. design something useful for the next day D. win as many prizes as they could Answer: A
Question: Do you like playing soccer? If you do, you may want to join the school soccer team. Read on and see how to join the school soccer team. The first step is to know the information about the team. You can find more information by asking these questions. How many students are there in the soccer team? How many new players do they need? How often do they play soccer? The second step is to practice. Practice soccer with your friends or your family. Only good players can join the school soccer team. So you need to practice your "skill." The third step is to study hard. If you always get bad grades in the exam, your teachers and parents won't let you join the soccer team. The last step is to relax. Don't be too nervous . You can take a deep breath and keep smiling. Believe in yourself and you can be the best player. Which step is about studying hard? A. The first step. B. The second step. C. The third step. D. The last step. Answer: C. The third step. Question: PERTH--Search crews will send a submarine deep into the Indian Ocean on Monday for the first time to try to determine whether signals detected by sound-locating equipment are from the missing Malaysian plane's black boxes, the Australian head of the search said. Angus Houst on said the crew on board the Ocean Shield will send the underwater vehicle sometime Monday evening. The Bluefin 21 submarine can create a sonar map of the area to chartany wreckage on the seafloor. The move comes after crews picked up a series of underwater sounds over the past two weeks that were consistent with an aircraft's black boxes. "We haven't had a single detection in six days, and l guess it's time to go under water," said Houston. "Analysis of the four signals has reduced the search area on the ocean floor. The experts have therefore determined that the Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield will stop searching with the Towed Pinger Locator later today and use the underwater vehicle Bluefin 21 as soon as possible," he said at a news conference in Perth. _ He said the submarine will take 24 hours to do each task, including two hours to dive, 16 hours to search the bottom, then two more hours hack up and four hours to download data. Recovering the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders is necessary For investigators to try to figure out what happened to Flight 370, which disappeared on March 8. Houston said the search using the submarine will be a slaw and painstaking process. The submarine takes six times longer to cover the same area as the pinger locator,and will need about six weeks to two months to examine the present underwater zone. The signals are also coming from 4,500 meters (15,000 feet) below the surface, which is the deepest the submarine can dive. The submarine will be sent deep into the Indian Ocean on Monday to _ . A. create a sonar trap of the area B. pick up underwater sounds C. see if the signals detected are from the target black boxes D. reduce the search area on the ocean floor Answer: C. see if the signals detected are from the target black boxes Question: Two of the saddest words in the English language are "if only". I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words, because they convey regret, lost opportunities, mistakes, and disappointment. My father is famous in our family for saying, "Take the extra minute to do it right." I always try to live by the "extra minute" rule. When my children were young and likely to cause accidents, I always thought about what I could do to avoid an "if only" moment, whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter, or something that required a little more work such as taping padding onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table. I don't only avoid those "if only" moments when it comes to safety. It's equally important to avoid "if only" in our personal relationships. We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had _ an opportunity to say "I love you" or "I forgive you." When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday, I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here. But then I thought about the fact that he's 84 years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him. I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all. I know there will still be occasions when I have to say "if only" about something, but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality. And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right, or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection, I know that I'm doing the right thing. I'm buying myself peace of mind and that's the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being. Which of the following is an example of the "extra minute" rule? A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated. B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working. C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better. D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone. Answer: D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone. Question: The wolves are very hungry. They go out to look for food. There are many sheep ( ) near the hill( ). There are also a few sheepdogs with them. The wolves think of an idea. They speak to the sheepdogs," You are like us and we are brothers. But we have a very different life. We do what we like, and you must work for man. They make you look after their sheep. They eat meat and give you the bones . If you listen to us and give us the sheep, we can eat them together. All of us will be happy,right?"The dogs are happy and do like this. The wolves ask the dogs to go to their house. The sheepdogs go to the wolves' home. But the wolves eat them and then eat the sheep. The sheepdogs work for _ . A. man B. sheep C. wolves D. dogs Answer: A. man Question: Leonardo da Vinci's mother may have been a Chinese slave according to a new research by an Italian historian and novelist-Angelo Paratico, who has spent the last 20 years living and working in Hong Kong,researching the links between his homeland and China over the past half century. Mr. Paratico said the documents he has uncovered during two years of research form the basis of his latest book Leonardo Da Vinci, a Chinese scholar lost in Renaissance Italy. The book, which is due to be published next year, uncovers evidence that there's a link between Da Vinci and the Far Fast. Speaking to the South China Morning http://w\|ww?.wln%100.com @Post, Mr. Paratico said, "I am sure that Leonardo's mother was from the East, but to make her a Chinese, we need to use a deductive method . One wealthy client of Leonardo's father had a slave called Caterina. After Leonardo's date of birth, she disappeared from the documents. She was no longer working there." It is believed that his mother was called Caterina, who, according to some reports, was a local peasant. But Mr. Paratico's new work claims it is most likely that Da Vinci's mother was a slave. Supporting his theory, he said, "During the Renaissance, countries like Italy and Spain were full of slaves from the East." He claimed that there were certain aspects of Da Vinci's life and works which suggest a Chinese link. For instance, he was writing with his left hand from left to right and he was also a vegetarian, which was not common. Mona Lisa is probably a portrait of his mother, as Sigmund Freud said in 1910. On the back of Mona Lisa, there is a Chinese landscape and even her face looks Chinese. Mr. Paratico said he believes the only way to solve the mystery is to dig out some of Da Vinci's relations in Florence and extract some DNA. We can infer from the passage that Da Vinci's mother _ . A. was a slave of Leonardo's father B. quit working after her marriage C. may be the model of Mona Lisa D. was buried in Florence after death Answer: C. may be the model of Mona Lisa
A famous foreign company that invested in China wanted to employ a reception secretary for its public relation department. A beautiful girl with a master degree in electric engineering became a winning candidate through the difficult process of employment. At its last stage she faced an oral test together with another girl who was her equal not only in good looks but also in education standard. The girl we talk about was confident in herself and successful in the oral test. It seemed that she would get the chance. The examiner told her on behalf of the company that she could come to office of company next Monday as a new employee. At last he asked her, "Have you anything else to say? Shocked by the unexpected question, the beautiful girl was quite at a loss, saying with hesitation ,""I have to talk with my parents before I give an answer."Surprised, the examiner said calmly,"In that case, let's wait till you are ready." The next day the girl came to tell that her parents agreed to her beginning work next Monday. But the examiner said regretfully,"Sorry, the job position is filled by another suitable candidate. You had better have a try in another place."The beautiful girl was surprised. She asked for an explanation and was told,"What is needed here is a person who knows her own mind." That was how a good opportunity slipped away right under the nose of a beautiful girl. Why did the beautiful girl want to ask her parents for advice? A. She didn't know what to do. B. She couldn't answer the question. C. She hadn't expected the examiner would ask such a question. D. Her parents would scold her if she agreed without their permission. Answer: C. She hadn't expected the examiner would ask such a question. Motown songwriter-producer Deke Richards,who was behind songs including The Jackson 5's first three US number one hits,has died aged 68. Richards,who had oesophageal cancer,died in a Washington state hospice ,Universal Music said.The musician,whose real name was Dennis Lussier,Was leader of the Motown songwriting,arranging and producing team--The Corporation.Their hits include The Jackson 5'S I Want You Back and ABC. Richards also co-wrote Love Child for Diana Ross and The Supremes,as well as Ross's solo track I'm Still Waiting.He produced and wrote for Martha Reeves and the Vamlellas and Bobby Darin. The Corporation,which consisted of Motown label head Berry Gordy,Alphonzo Mizell,Freddie Perren and Richards,was set up in 1969 to create hit records for the label's new act,The Jackson 5. They also wrote,produced and arranged the band's singles and Maybe Tomorrow and Mama's Pearl. According to Michael Jackson biographer,J.Randy Taraborrelli,Mama's Pearl was originally called Guess Who'S Making Whoopie(With Your Girlfriend). But Richards had the lyrics changed to preserve the young frontman's innocent image. The Hollywood Reporter said Richards' "love of music" kept him involved with a variety of projects,including last year'S production of The Jackson 5's Come and Get It:The Rare Pearls.featuring rare and unreleased tracks. Richards' final work was the mixing of eight unreleased tracks by Martha Reeves and The Vandellas for the band's 50th anniversary box set,which is to be released on 5 April. Which of the following is true about Richards? A. He died at the age of68 in a Washington clinic. B. He is a musician behind many hit songs. C. He wrote"I'm Still Waiting"for Martha Reeves. D. His final work is to be released in May. Answer: B. He is a musician behind many hit songs. The economy has developed a lot while the Internet is still not fully used in China. A study shows that about two-thirds of typical Chinese Internet users use the computer for news, often entertainment-related, or for online games, music or movies, all can be downloaded for free. Most prefers messages to e-mail, seldom makes online shopping at all. Although they are now depending on the Internet more often than before to communicate with others who have the same professions, hobbies and political interests, online shopping still remains unpopular in China. Three-quarters of users surveyed have never bought anything over the Internet, and only 10 percent do shopping even once a month. Among those who do buy online, most pay for entertainment while others buy phone cards, or computer hardware or software. "Many people don't trust the quality of goods bought online," the researcher said, "If they buy it in a store and don't like it, they can easily bring it back." The survey was done in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha. Results do not necessarily project countrywide because Internet use in the countryside is lower than in cities. The study showed that the typical netizens in the five cities are richer and more highly educated. Males make up two-thirds of the group, and more than 80 percent of users are under 24.Surprisingly, with the ages increase, the percentage decreases. China has more than 200 million people online, however, forty-two percent say they do not use search engines. Others seek entertainment news, as well as information useful for work or study on line. Baidu. com was used by half of those surveyed, compared with a quarter for Google, the leading search engine in the United States. It's implied that _ . A. Richer people use the Internet more. B. College students use the Internet more. C. People in the countryside use the Internet more. D. Older people use the Internet more. Answer: B. College students use the Internet more. Recently I met a former student Jeanie, for lunch. She had been one of my sixth grade students. Before she had moved away, I had been asked to speak as someone who had been a motivator. I spoke telling the crowd gathered that she was a blessing and encouragement to me. She was a child that had come from a family with some problems. When we finally met, she told me that the thing that made me her favorite teacher was the speech I gave every year. I tell my students that when they wake each morning and come to school, they spend more time with me than they spend with their parents. They may be in the same house, but that does not mean that they spend time with them. I told them that my job was to teach them, comfort them, encourage them, and discipline them as needed. However, my most important job was to love them so that they could put away all other thoughts and prepare to learn. I have no losers in my class. They should therefore consider me their mom away from home. Over lunch, Jeanie asked if she could have the honor of calling me "Mom", because over the years _ She said she has heard from many friends and this is what they all remember about me That I was not only their teacher, but their mom; someone to comfort them, guide them and teach them. It can be concluded that the author is _ her job. A. tired of. B. worried about. C. crazy about D. fond of. Answer: D. fond of. From Britain to the Middle East and China, engineers and architects are pushing the boundaries of possibility as they strive to create the biggest and the best. Here are recently-selected seven wonders-to-be in the modern world which are near completion. Among these, Beijing Daxing International Airport ranks the first and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge ranks the third. No.1 Beijing Daxing International Airport, China Beijing Daxing International Airport, which is set to be the biggest airport in the world, is designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The new Terminal One will have a radial-like plan, designed to reduce passenger travel distances. The construction of the new airport started in 2015 and it is planned to be put into use in 2019. No.2 Kingdom Tower, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Adrian Smith, the architect who has designed the highest structure in the world, the 829.8 m-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai, is now working on his new project which will smash his own record by this over-a-kilometer-high Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. No one can be sure about the exact date of its completion but most probably the project will be ended in 2019. No.3 Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, China At about 50 km long, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge will take the title of the longest water span in the world from another China's bridge in Jiaozhou Bay. The construction started in 2009 and will complete the first session in 2017. No.4 Chernobyl reactor, Ukraine The engineers of the USSR who fought to bring the Chernobyl disaster under control built a concrete sarcophagus to cover the hole that had opened up above the destroyed reactor. A new steel arched structure is being built, to be rolled on rails over the reactor, from which point demolition work can begin using cranes suspended from the new roof. Most possibly it will be finished in 2020. No.5 Hotel Abraj Kudai, Mecca Every hajj, Mecca receives more than two million pilgrims from all over the world. New buildings are being built to accommodate these pilgrims. The Abraj Kudai cluster of towers will hold more than 10,000 hotel rooms. It is expected that the construction work will be put an end to in 2017. No.6 Crossrail, London Crossrail is built to link east and west London through the sewers, cables, and the city's foundations. After its completion in 2017, it is expected to alleviate traffic jams in London. No.7 Grand Stade FFR, Paris Grand Stade FFR is designed especially for the French Rugby Federation. The stadium can accommodate 82,000 fans and is dotted with retractable pitches (a marked out area of ground on which a sport is played). A retractable roof apparatus is capable of turning the stadium into a giant interior. Hopefully the fans can gather there to watch thrilling matches in 2018. Which building is the highest existing building? A. Burj Khalifa in Dubai. B. Kingdom Tower in Jeddah. C. Hotel Abraj Kudai in Mecca. D. Chernobyl reactor in Ukraine. Answer: A. Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The universe looks like a pretty quiet place to live. But the universe is filled with dangerous things, all struggling to be the one to wipe us off the planet. Happily for us, they're all pretty unlikely, but if you wait long enough, one of them is certain to get us. But which one? 1. Death by Asteroid Of all the ways we might meet our untimely death, getting wiped out by an asteroid is the most likely. Why? Because we sit in a universal shooting gallery, with 100 tons of material hitting us every day. The problem, though, occurs every few centuries when something big this way comes. If you could ask a dinosaur, I'd imagine they would tell you to take _ seriously. 2. Death by Exploding Star When a huge star ends its life, it does so with a bang, which sends death spreading across space in the form of high-energy radiation. Many studies show that the bang would have to be closer than about 75 light years to do us any harm. The good news: no stars so close are able to do the deed. 3. Death by Dying Sun The sun is important to us; without it, we'd freeze. But the sun is also middle-aged, already halfway to running out of fuel, expanding into a red giant, and cooking us to a fine crisp. Even long before then, it'll warm up enough to raise our average temperature and cause a runaway greenhouse effect, boiling our oceans. Happily, that's a long time from now. 4. Death by Black Hole Black holes are misunderstood. They don't wander the galaxy looking for tasty snacks in the form of planets and stars; they turn around the Milky Way just like the hundreds of billions of other stars do. But it's possible that one could wander too close to us. If it did, planetary paths would be disturbed, causing the Earth to drop into the sun or be thrown out into deep space. Given that it could be trillions of years or more before even that happens, we don't have to worry too much about black holes. My advice? Go outside, look up, enjoy the sun, the moon, and the stars. They may be there forever as far as any one of us is concerned...and forever is a long, long time. Which of the following will cause the earth's average temperature to go up dramatically? A. The dying sun. B. The black hole. C. The asteroid. D. The exploding star. Answer: A Which gas is given off by plants? A. Hydrogen B. Nitrogen C. Oxygen D. Helium Answer: C No one wants to be tested. We would all like to get a driver's license without answering questionsabout rights of way or showing that we can parallel park a car. Many future lawyers and doctors probablywish they could join their profession without taking an exam. But tests and standards are a necessary fact of life. They protect us from unskilled drivers, harmful products and dishonest professionals. In schools too exams play a. constructive role. They tell public officials whether new school programs are making a difference and where new investments are likely to pay off. They tell teachers what their students have learned--and have not. They tell parents how their children are doing compared with others their age. They encourage students to make more effort. It is important to recall that for most of century, educators used intelligence tests to decide whichchildren should get a high-quality education. The point of IQ testing was to find out how much children were capable of learning rather than to test what they had actually learned. Based on IQ scores, millions of children were assigned to _ instead of solid courses in science, math, history, literature andforeign language. This history reminds us that tests should be used to improve education. Every child should have access to a high-quality education. Students should have full opportunity to learn what will be tested; otherwise theirscores will merely reflect whether they come from an educated family. In the past few years, we have seen the enormous benefits that flow to disadvantaged students because of the information provided by state tests. Those who fall behind are now getting extra instruction inafter-school classes and summer programs. In their efforts to improve student performance, states are increasing teachers salaries, testing new teachers and insisting on better teacher education. Performance in education means the mastery of both knowledge and skills. This is why it is reasonable totest teachers to make sure they know their subject matter, as well as how to teach it to young children. And this is why it is reasonable to assess whether students are ready to advance to the next grade or graduate from high school. According to the passage, school exams enable _ . A. governments to make right policieshave made efforts B. students to meet their teachers' requirements C. teachers to understand if their students D. parents to compare their kids' behavior across schools Answer: A Encouraging early reading skills can build a path to a lifelong love of reading and can help your child get a head start in school. While reading to your child is still the most important thing you can do to build reading skills, there are many techniques that can help. Make reading fun. Play games with your child as you read. Many traditional children's games can be adapted to encourage reading skills. While reading or during play, tell your child, "I spy with my little eye, something that begins with the letter "b". Help the child find something on the page or in the room that begins with that letter. For example, "I see a barn." This can also be used to teach beginning letter sounds.Ispy with my little eye something that begins with the sound "s". Help the child find a word that begins with the "s" sound. In this variation on the popular game, instruct the child that, "Simon says, point to something that starts with the letter "n". The child can then find an object in the room or a body part, such as the nose, that starts with the letter presented. This can also be used to teach beginning sounds. Make a game out of rhyming words by making up silly words to rhyme with the child's name or favorite toys. This sets the stage for rhyming real words by showing the child the similarities of sounds. As the child masters making up the words, begin rhyming real words to one another. Tips to raise a successful reader: Put books in places where the child plays. If books are easily _ , children are more likely to pick them up. Let children "read to you" by looking at pictures. Making up stories to go along with illustrations helps children discover how words relate to pictures. Take books along on trips or even short visits to the doctor's office or grocery store. Have children help you shop. Reading grocery lists and looking for specific items helps build vocabulary. Which of the following can be the best title of the text? A. Interest is the best teacher B. Practice makes perfect C. Good methods are half done D. Failure teaches success Answer: C Kids may need to apologize if they do something they know was wrong-like telling a lie or breaking a rule on purpose. When they do something their parents tell them not to do, or they don't do something they are supposed to do, they apologize, too. Grown-ups can apologize,too,to other grown-ups or even to kids. After all,even grown-ups make mistakes sometimes. By apologizing when they're wrong,grown-ups can set a good example and show kids how to do the right thing and apologize when they need to. Saying I'm sorry when you need to is the right thing to do. It does a lot of good. But by itself, _ might not be enough to make everything all better again. Sometimes along with an apology,a person needs to fix the mistake or promise to do better. Sometimes doing a nice thing for the person after you apologize helps show that you really are sorry and want to be friendly again. Sometimes a heartfelt "I'm" sorry fixes everything right away. Other times,it might take a while for someone to feel friendly after you apologize. You might need to give the other person some time. Even after you say you're sorry,you might still feel bad about what you said or did-but you can feel good about apologizing and about making up your mind to do better. When someone apologizes to you,you might not feel like being friendly again right away. Once in a while,if a person doesn't change,you might not want to be friends anymore. You might feel glad that the other person apologized and admitted being wrong. But if someone keeps behaving in mean ways or does something that keeps hurting,you might not feel the same way anymore. Just because someone apologizes to you doesn't mean you have to be friendly again. That part is up to you. The writer suggests that grown-ups should set a good example of _ . A. working hard B. making an apology C. doing good deeds D. making mistakes Answer: B
If you're looking for the place that has everything, there's only one place to visit, and that is New York. It's a whole world in a city. The World of Theatre: All of New York is a stage. And it begins with Broadway. Where else can you find so many hit shows in one place? Only in New York. The World of Music: Spend an evening with Beethoven at Lincoln Centre. Swing to the great jazz of Greenwich Village. Or rock yourself silly at the hottest dance spots found anywhere. The World of Art: From Rembrandt to Picasso. From Egyptian tombs to Indian teepees. Whatever kind of art you like, you will find it in New York. The World of Fine Dining: Whether it's roast Beijing duck in Chinatown, lasagna in Little Italy, or the finest French coq au vin found anywhere, there is a world of great taste waiting for you in New York. The World of Sights: What other city has a Statue of Liberty? A Rockefeller Centre? Or a Bronx Zoo? What the writer really wanted to do is to _ . A family in Guelph, Ontario is spending a year living "in 1982".They're doing it so their kids can see what life was like before technology like iPads, computers and even coffee machines was part of everyday life. They have stopped using all technology from their home and are relying on the things people would have used back in the 80s.There is a box at the front door where people can put their cell phones in, while they're visiting the family. Blair McMillan and his wife Morgan want their kids--Trey, 5, and Denton, 2 -- to have a year without technology. Instead of reading ereaders, they are reading books. Instead of using a GPS, they used paper maps. The home the family is living in was built in the 1980s.Even the way they dress and style their hair is from the 80s. The whole idea started when young Trey was called to come outside. He didn't because he was busy playing on the iPad. That's why his dad thought of the idea of living "in 1982" for a year. The family plans to live like "it's 1982" until April next year. To them, one of the hardest things was giving up their cell phones. What will the visitors do when they come to see a family? Most people like bikes. Perhaps you ride a bike to school. Riding a bike can be great of fun.Do you know how to ride a bike safely? Careful boys and girls learn to ride their bikes well before they go out on the road.How can you tell whether you are a good _ If you can ride a bike in a straight line,you can ride well .If you can't ,you should practice riding a in a safe place. To be safe on a bike, you need to use both hands and both feet. Keep your feet on the pedals and your hands on the handle bars. You know that your bike is only for one person. It's not safe to carry anyone with you. Keep yourself safe when you ride on a bike.Watch where you are going all times. Which of the following is right? The very great success in science just before and after the midpoint of the twentieth century has caused educators in the United States to realize that science teaching in the future must differ from science teaching in the past. During the past twenty years, science has played an important part in shaping the character of our civilization. The welfare, stability, and security of our nation and the continuation of a free society are closely related to the discoveries of science and the applications of these discoveries. The scientific revolution we are beginning to experience, together with the trend toward world industrialization, demands a program of science education with new emphasis, purpose, and content. Simply knowing about the existence of the scientific enterprise is not enough for effective citizenship. Young people need to understand how our society depends upon scientific and technological advancement and to realize that science is a basic part of modern living. The scientific process and the knowledge produced cannot be considered to be _ in themselves, except for the classic scientists. A student should understand the relation of basic research to applied research, and the connection between technological developments and human affairs. More of technology than science will be involved in social decisions, but both are important in public policy. The knowledge and methods of science are of little importance if there is no inclination(,) to use them properly. An open mind, a desire for accurate knowledge, confidence in the procedures for seeking knowledge, and the expectation that the solution of problems will come from the use of tested and proven knowledge are among the "scientific attitudes". Science instruction should acquaint students with career possibilities in technical fields and in science teaching. A continuous effort should be made to identify and encourage those who develop special interests. They should be given opportunities for some direct experience of a professional nature; they should also learn about the extent of the various science fields and how these fields are related to each other. But it is even more important for young people to acquire those skills and abilities that will enable them to take the responsibilities for expanding their own learning. During the last two decades, science has been _ . A decades-old tradition, illustrated in a modem children's book, links the sweetness of honey with the joy of learning to read. The grandpa held a jar of honey so that all the family could see. He then dipped a spoon into it and put some honey on the cover of a small book. The little girl had just turned five. Stand up, little one, "he asked the girl softly. "I did this for your mother, your uncles, your old brother, and now you ! " Then, he handed the book to her. "Taste f " She touched the honey with her finger and put it into her mouth. " What is the taste?" the grandpa asked. The little girl answered, " Sweet ! " Then all. the family said in a single voice, "Yes, and so is knowledge, but knowledge is from the bee that made that sweet honey, you have to go after it through the pages of a book ! " The little girl knew that the promise to read was at last hers. Soon she was going to learn to read. This is the beginning of a profoundly moving children's book entitled Thank You, Mr. Falker. In this book, Patricia Polacco writes of her own passion to read, inspired by the honey on the book. It wasn't until fifth grade that she met her beloved teacher who provided the help that she needed to finally unlock the magic of the written world. The child learning to read is admitted into a collective memory by way of books. And with the printed words that are active with. meaning, the child bees acquainted with a common past which he or she renews, to a greater or lesser degree, in every reading. Much as the author of the book Thank You, Mr. Falker puts it, " Almost as if it were magic, or as if light poured into her brain, the words and sentences started to take shape on the page as they never had before-And she understood the whole thing---Then she went into the living room and found the book on a shelf, the very book that her grandpa had shown her so many years ago. She spooned honey on the cover and tasted the sweetness---Then she held the book, honey and all, close to her chest. She could feel tears roll down her cheeks, but they weren't tears of sadness- she way happy, so very happy. " It can be inferred from this passage that _ .
Below is a housing guide for students going to London. University accommodation offices Many university accommodation offices have their own list of registered landlords . Others also provide information on accommodation agencies and other housing organizations. The advantage of using your university accommodation office is that you can get some support if you have a problem. The disadvantage is that they are unlikely to have enough registered landlords to houses all their students. Property papers: Loot and Renting Loot is an important source of information about private housing for co-renters. The offers are from private landlords, agencies and individuals looking for other co-renters. They also have a website: www.loot.com. The advantage of using Loot is that there are some excellent bargains. The disadvantage is that there is no quality control over the offers. Renting is another useful paper. The offers in this paper are mainly from accommodation agencies. Their website is at www.renting.co.uk. Accommodation agencies The majority of rented accommodation in London is probably advertised through accommodation agencies. The advantage of using accommodation agencies is that: you will have access to a large number of accommodations. A good agent will listen to your requirements and can save you time in looking for the right accommodation. The disadvantage is that they will make a range of charges to potential renters. Noticeboards Around the universities you will find a number of noticeboards where offers of accommodation will be posted. These will either be from landlords or from students. Some universities will also have online noticeboards where students can advertise to other students. Advertisements from students can be an excellent way to find accommodation. However, advertisements from landlords can be problematic. Word of mouth Some of the best housing in London is never advertised but is passed on from one group of students to another by word of mouth. It might be that you can find out about good offers from final year students. However, don't suppose that just because you have found out about housing from a friend it is necessarily going to be better than that found through any other source. Family Faced with the very high rents charged in London, some students and their parents will consider buying as an alternative. In some cases this might be a good choice. For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information? Answer: University accommodation offices. The British royal family is about to be slimmed down. The queen plans to reduce the number of real royals, as was recently announced. However, there seems little sign of the monarchy disappearing completely. Up till the 17th century, the British king or queen was believed to rule by "divine right", which was the idea that God chose the king or queen to rule and that he or she was therefore above the law. However, this idea ended with the English Revolution, in which King Charles I was imprisoned and then killed in 1649. So what role does the British royal family have today? Well, the Queen has important formal duties: as Head of State, the Queen represents the UK on visits abroad and invites other world leaders to visit the UK. As Head of the Armed Forces, only the Queen can declare when the UK is at war or when war is over. The Queen also has constitutional duties: She has to sign many government and Commonwealth documents every day. In addition, the royal family spends a great deal of its time traveling up and down the country in support of different charity projects. But the public in Britain do not believe there should be a royal family. Sometimes, the press and media criticize the royal family as well. One criticism is that British people should not have to pay for the royal family through their taxes. Today, the royal family works hard to be relevant in the modern world. The queen's speech on TV is less formal every Christmas, and is now available as a podcast . In 2005, after graduation from university, Prince William spent time teaching English in Uruguay, the sort of work many young British people do at some time in their lives. We can infer from the passage that _ . Answer: the British royal family are facing surviving challenges Not everyone in the world requires the same amount of living space. The amount of space a person needs around him is a cultural difference, not an economic one. Knowing your own psychological space needs is important because they strongly affect your choices, including, for example, the number of bedrooms in the home. If you were brought up in a two-child family and both you and your sister or brother had your own bedrooms, the chances are, if you have two children or more, that you also will offer separate bedrooms for them. In America, for example, they train people to want to have their own rooms by giving them their own rooms when they are babies. This is very rare in the world. In many other countries, the baby sleeps in the same bed with his parents or in bed near them. The space in the home also shows a lot about psychological space needs. Some families gather closer to each other and the size of their house has nothing to do with it. Others have separate little corners where family members go to bed alone. Although it is true that psychological space needs are not decided by economic reasons, they sometimes have to be changed a little because of economic pressures. It is almost impossible, however, to completely change your psychological space needs. The best title for this passage is _ . Answer: Psychological Space Although cats may be one of the most popular pets today, little is known about how and when humans and cats set up their close relationship. The earliest evidence for human-cat interaction dates back to prehistoric Cyprus , where the remains of a wild cat and a human -- dated 9,500 years old -- were found buried together. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has confirmed the first direct evidence of a human-domestic cat relationship among Chinese farmers 5,300 years ago. Researchers studied the bones of cats, dogs, deer and other animals unearthed in an excavation near a village in Central China. By using some ways, scientists showed that the cats were living on a mostly millet -based diet, just like the domesticated dogs and pigs from the site. "The most reasonable explanation for a high consumption of millet-based food is that the cats had formed a stable and mutual relationship with humans and could easily feed on rodents around human villages, find leftover food or even have been fed by people intentionally," said Hu Yaowu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, whose research focuses on the relationship between humans and domesticated animals. "It is very interesting for us to find the consumption of millet-based foods by the cats, since this kind of evidence had long been missing." Hu explains. Since cats usually eat meat, such a diet would be unexpected, unless the cats were being fed by people, the study argues. The researchers also found that one of the cats survived to reach old age, implying that it had a safe place to live and enough to eat. Why the farmers wanted to keep cats nearby or make them "pets" could be answered by other evidence. Chinese archaeologists found some storage containers were specifically designed to keep out rodents -- a vermin that cats could certainly have helped with. The simplified theory is that rats were attracted to the food of farmers, and so were harmful to farmers. Cats were attracted to the rats, and so farmers formed a mutually beneficial relationship with cats, taking care of them in return for pest control. In which part of a newspaper would be the passage most probably appear _ . Answer: Human and Science One day on my luxury holiday cost 30 yuan. Bus ticket: 2 yuan. Breakfast, lunch and dinner: 5 yuan. Hotel: 20 yuan. OK, so it was a 10-seater bus with only four seats that weren't broken and 20 other people on it. OK, all my food came from one steamed bun stand at the side of the road, and the "hotel" was a hostel , and I shared a room with four strangers. But the steamed buns I bought were so delicious and the bed in the hostel was soft and comfortable and I had the best night's sleep I'd had in years. Cheap travel is " _ ". It's on reality shows, and it's all around us. People who once went to five-star scenic spots are suddenly filling youth hostels and campsites, showing off to their friends about their 24-hour trip in the third-class sleeper train across Mongolia. Now, I'm not a millionaire who can afford more than a budget holiday. But even if I could, I don't think I'd spend the money. Budget travel is addictive . It's partly the challenge of squeezing the most out of your pennies -- and it can get a bit ridiculous . My stomach wasn't too impressed with the meat stir-fry I bought from a stand simply because it was 1 yuan, for example. But it's easy to travel in a smart way, too. With the Internet, you can always check out reviews and find hostels, food and things to do, recommended by other budget travelers who've been there before. You don't have to suffer, and it means you can afford to spend more nights on holiday, see more things and have more experiences. The author mentions her budget travel story at the beginning to _ . Answer: show what budget trips are generally like
A powder made up of both white specks and black specks is likely to be Answer: My name is Lydia. I come from Beijing. I'm a Chinese girl. This year my parents work in London. Do you know London? It's a big city in England. My parents teach Chinese in a school. I'm in the same school with them. I'm in Class Four, Grade Seven. My teachers are nice to me. I can play football and swim. Sally is my sister. She lives in Beijing with my grandparents. She studies in a primary school . She is in Class Three, Grade One. She likes singing. But she can't sing English songs well. I often write to her, but she can't. I _ her very much. There are _ people in Lydia's family. Answer: Most people follow others blindly just under the effect of peer pressure or because they feel it safe to follow a large number of people. In some rare cases it might be right to follow the crowd, but in most cases this' can be a big mistake. Actually there are reasons why we shouldn't follow the crowd blindly. According to a study, people often follow the crowd when they aren't sure about the direction they should take. This means a large number of people could be following others without understanding what's right and what's wrong! This makes more people follow and as a result most people move in a certain direction even if it isn't right. A man who wants to be successful always hopes for others' guidance and he usually follows the same path of most people, but the question this man never asks himself is: are all of those people successful ?Of course not! If you want to follow a crowd, then follow a successful one. However, in real life you'll only find one successful person among hundreds of people , and that's why following the crowd makes no sense at all Most people act emotionally without thinking wisely. If you always follow others because they're greater than you in number, then sooner or later you'll discover that you're taking emo- tional decisions you might regret later. However. should we never follow the crowd? No. I'm not trying to say you should never follow the crowd, but instead I'm just asking you to think wisely before you take a decision. lf you find others are right, there is no problem in following them, but if you have doubts about the direction they're moving in, don't follow them blindly. What do many people who want to succeed do before making a decision? Answer: Do you know what Oscar is? When did it start? Maybe you can find the background of the awards in the following passage. The awards started in 1929. Their full title is "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards". The Academy is a group of people who have worked in the film industry for many years. They decide who will receive the awards. The awards are often referred to as the "Oscar". This is a nickname given to the awards by a lady called Margaret Herrick. She was once the director of the Academy and she once said that the little gold statue reminded her of her uncle Oscar! The Oscar is always an exciting event. Each year, at least one unusual thing happens. When the Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni won an Oscar for best foreign film, he danced on stage! When Gwyneth Paltrow, the star of Shakespeare in Love won the Oscar for best actress, she could not make her acceptance speech because she was crying so much with happiness! In 1987, Roberto Benigni won the award for best director for a film about the last emperor of China. Since then, Chinese film and actors have started to make an impact at the award. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a huge success and it won the award for best foreign language film in 2001. It also won several technical awards for its amazing "flying" people. We expect to see more awards for Chinese film in the near future. It's time for the Oscar again. Once more, the stars will dress up in their finest and go to Kodak Theater. There, they will find out who had won the awards for best actor, best actress and best director. Millions of people watch the awards every year to find out who the winners are. Some people watch it to see the stars crying and laughing as they receive their awards. Where are the Oscars held? Answer: This is a true story about a boy who, the world might say, was a terrible underachiever. While in the eighth grade, he failed subjects repeatedly. High school wasn't much better; he _ Latin, algebra, English, and received a grade of zero in physics. The boy managed to make the school golf team, but he lost the most important golf match of the season. It's not that his peers disliked this boy; it's just that they never really seemed to notice him much. Even "Hellos" in the hall were a rarity. Out of all the failures in his life, there was something that did hold great importance to this boy, his love of drawing. Although in high school, the cartoons he submitted to the yearbook were rejected, once out of school, the boy was so sure of his artistic talent that he approached Walt Disney Studios with drawing works. I wish I could say the studios loved his work and immediately hired him, but such was not the case; another huge rejection. Despite his lack of successes, this boy did not give up. He then decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons, about a little boy who was regarded as a loser and a nobody. The name of this boy was Charles Schulz, the creator of the famous Charlie Brown and comic dog Snoopy. In life, it is sometimes easy to feel like a nobody. We pass hundreds of people on the street on our way to work, or walk through a faceless crowd in a mall, and no one seems to notice or care. Deep inside, we may know we are special and unique and have lots to offer, but unless someone takes the time to look our way and give us a chance, we may feel worthless, just like Charlie Brown who couldn't even manage to fly a kite or kick a football properly. Just as Charles Schulz had faith in his artistic talent, so too, we must realize that nobody is a nobody. We all have special gifts and talents, and every human being is deserving and capable of being loved and appreciated. When the boy suffered many defeats, he _ . Answer:
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Actual customer comments: To have your company exhibit such good service is unbelievably refreshing. ---P.S. This is what I call great customer support. I wish more companies would figure this out these days. Thank you so much.---D.C. You have provided me one of the best services I have ever seen on any online/telephone shopping.--T.K. You must have the fastest processing and shipping in the industry!!--M.C. This is the best customer service experience I have had in a long time.---L.L. I've read online about your amazing customer service, and I must say I'm now a true believer.---B.L. How long does it take the battery to charge up an iPhone? Answer: When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell's invention for taking photographs, accessing the internet, or watching video clips, rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone. The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modem mobile handset . Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modem cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into _ . In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the "yuppie", the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone. But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags. Moreover, people's timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. But later Meeting time became approximate under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service (SMS) or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it's much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you're sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing "Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! -)." Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years. If he were around today, he might say "That's gr8! But I'm v busy rite now. Will call U 2nite." If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him? Answer: Mothers and daughters go through so much--yet when was the last time a mother and daughter sat down to write a book together about it all? Perri Klass and her mother, Sheila Solomon Klass, both gifted professional writers, prove to be ideal co-writers as they examine their decades of motherhood, daughterhood, and the wonderful ways their lives have overlapped . Perri notes with amazement how closely her own life has mirrored her mother's: both have full-time careers; both have published books, articles, and stories; each has three children; they both love to read. They also love to travel--in fact, they often take trips together. But in truth, the harder they look at their lives, the more they acknowledge their big differences in circumstance and basic nature. A child of the Depression , Sheila was raised in Brooklyn by parents who considered education a _ for girls. Starting with her college education, she has fought for everything she's ever accomplished. Perri, on the other hand, grew up privileged in the New Jersey suburbs of the 1960s and 1970s. For Sheila, wasting time or money is a crime, and luxury is unthinkable while Perri enjoys the occasional small luxury, but has not been successful at trying to persuade her mother into enjoying even the tiniest thing she likes. Each writing in her own unmistakable voice, Perri and Sheila take turns exploring the joys and pains, the love and bitterness, the minor troubles and lasting respect that have always bonded them together. Sheila describes the adventure of giving birth to Perri in a tiny town in Trinidad where her husband was doing research fieldwork. Perri admits that she can't sort out all the mess in the households, even though she knows it drives her mother crazy. Together they compare thoughts on bringing up children and working, admit long-hidden sorrows, and enjoy precious memories. Looking deep into the lives they have lived separately and together, Perri and Sheila tell their mother-daughter story with honesty, humor, enthusiasm, and admiration for each other. A written account in two voices, Every Mother Is a Daughter is a duet that produces a deep, strong sound with the experiences that all mothers and daughters will recognize. Why does Perri think that her own life has mirrored her mother's? Answer: Cellphones: is there a cancer link? Could your cellphone give you cancer? Whether it could or not, some people are worrying about the possibility that phones, power lines and wi-fi could be responsible for a range of illnesses, from rashes to brain tumors. Some say there is evidence to support the growing anxieties. David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences at the university at Albany, in New York, thinks there's a greater than 95 percent chance that power lines can cause childhood leukemia . Also there's a greater than 90 percent chance that cellphones can cause brain tumors. "It's apparent now that there's a real risk," said Carpenter. But others believe these concerns are unjustified. Dr Martha Linet, the head of radiation epidemiology at the US National Cancer Institute, has looked at the same research as Carpenter but has reached a different conclusion. "I don't support warning labels for cellphones," said Linet. "We don't have the evidence that there's much danger." Studies so far suggest a weak connection between EMFs and illness -- so weak that it might not exist at all. A multinational investigation of cellphones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been _ for several years. It's funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cellphone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don't suggest a strong link between cellphone use and cancer risk. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards the debate? Answer: Charles Dickens was one of the most beloved storytellers in the English language. His novels made him famous in his own time, and continue as classics in ours. Dickens began his literary career with almost no formal education. He was born in Landport, on Feb. 7, 1812, the second of eight children. When he was 12, his father was sent to debtor's prison. Dickens was forced to quit school and work in a London blacking factory. He would rework that terrible experience into his fiction for the rest of his life. "He was a social reformer," says actor Simon Callow, author of a new biography called Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World. "He knew what poverty was. He knew what it was to be rejected, to be cast aside, to live in squalor ." And so Dickens wrote with great sympathy for the suffering of innocent and vulnerable children - characters like David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and the orphan, Oliver Twist: With his slice of bread in his hand, and his little brown parish cap on his head, Oliver was now led away from the wretched home, where one kind word or look never lighted the gloom of his infant days. Yet he burst into an agony of childish grief as the cottage gate closed after him. Wretched as were the little companions in,misery he was now leaving behind him, they were the only friends he had ever had. His first book Sketches by Boz came out in 1836. With the appearance of Oliver Twist in London periodicals in 1837, the 25-year-old Dickens became the most popular writer in England. But his first love was theater, and he considered becoming an actor. "When he was actually writing, he became his characters," says Peter Ackroyd, author of Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion. "He would get up from his desk, go over to the mirror and mouth the words - do the expressions, grimaces , whatever, and then laugh, chuckle to himself, then go back to his desk and write it down." Dickens created 989 named characters, which increased his popularity. Every one of his major works has been adapted for either stage or screen. A Christmas Carol inspired more than a dozen films, from Alistair Sims' Scrooge in 1951 to Jim Carrey's voicing of the same character in Disney's 2009, 3-D animated film. The original 1843 manuscript of A Christmas Carolis on display at the Morgan Library. Dickens wrote everything by hand, in tiny script, with a quill pen. Remarkably, the manuscript is both the first and the final draft, says Kiely, the curator. You can see where Dickens has changed the name of the first chapter from "Old Marley's Ghost" to "Marley's Ghost". Further down the page, he has canceled an entire section. "He realizes he's not writing a novel, and he only has a very short time in which to write this," Kiely explains. "He's got to keep it tight, in order for it to be published in time for Christmas." Dickens wrote all the time. He traveled with a portable inkwell and a supply of quill pens. He was working on his last novel, Our Mutual Friend, en route from France to London when the train he was on crashed. Dickens died five years later in 1870, after a stroke at age 58. As a comic talent and a social reformer, Dickens' achievement was extraordinary, says novelist T.C. Boyle, who eamed a doctorate in Victorian literature. "He achieved what any great artist achieves - a body of work that has entertained and delighted and instructed people down through the ages. That's what we all hope for," says Boyle. But Dickens' greatest fiction was his own character, says Callow, the biographer: "People think of him as a cheerful man ... but he was increasingly suffering from depression and a sense of hopelessness. And that's worth knowing. I think it's always good to know that great creative individuals have their struggle, their drama." What did Dickens intend to do by telling his stories? Answer:
The baby monkey is much more developed at brith than the human baby. Almost from the moment it is born,the baby monkey can move around and hold tightly to its mother. During the first few days of its life the baby will approach and hold onto almost any large,warm, and soft object in its environment , particularly if that object also gives it milk. After a week or so , however, the baby monkey begins to avoid newcomers and focuses its attentions on "mother"-----the real mother or the mother-substitute . During the first two weeks of its life warmth is perhaps the most important psychological thing that a monkey mother has to give to its baby. The Harlows, a couple who are both psychologists, discovered this fact by offering baby monkeys a choice of two types of mother-substitutes ----one covered with cloth and one make of bare wire. IF the two artificial mothers were both the same temperature, the little monkeys always preferred the cloth mother. However, if the wire model was heated, while the cloth model was cool, for the first two weeks after brith the baby monkeys picked the warm wire mother-substitutes as their favorites. Thereafter they switched and spent most of their time on the more comfortable cloth mother. Why is cloth preferable to bare wire? Sometime that the Harlows called contact comfort seems to be the answer, and a most powerful influence it is. Baby monkeys spend much of their time rubbing against their mothers' skins, putting themselves in as close contact with the parent as they can. Whenever the young animal is frightened, disturbed, or annoyed, it typically rushes to its mother and rubs itself against her body. Wire does n't "rub"as well as does soft cloth. Prolonged "contact comfort" with a cloth mother appears to give the babies confidence and is much more rewarding to them than is either warmth or milk. According to the Harlows, the basic quality of a baby's love for its mother is trust. If the baby is put into an unfamiliar playroom without its mother, the baby ignores the toys no matter how interesting they might be. It screams in terror and curls up into a furry little ball. If its cloth mother is now introduced into the playroom, the baby rushes to it and holds onto it for dear life. After a few minutes of contact comfort, it obviously begins to feel more secure. It then climbs down from the mother-substitute and begins to explore the toys, but often rushes back for a deep embrace as if to make sure that its mother is still there and that all is well. Bit by bit its fears of the new environment are gone and it spends more and more time playing with the toys and less and less time holding onto its mother". What does the baby monkey probably gain from prolonged "contact comfort"? A Attention. B Softness C confidence D interest . Answer: C. confidence "He was a nightmare ," his mother, Mary said as I talked with her and her son Jamie. "I was sure he was going to end up in prison, or worse". Seeing Jamie so full of life with his new friends, there was no room for imagination that he was ever a rebellious kid. Jamie was raised by his mother after his father left ten years ago. They lived in a small flat with little money. Most of their neighbors were alcoholics, so crime was very common. At middle school, he quickly got in with the wrong crowd and began to steal everything from shoes to phones. Mary didn't realize the result of the trouble Jamie made until he told her he had been stopped from going to school for three weeks. Mary was very angry, but now she has realized that it was the best thing that had happened to both of them. During the three weeks, Mary made him volunteer at the local community centre where he saw the street dancers for the first time. "They were so cool and able to express themselves in a way I had never seen before. I asked to join them and they agreed. Because of them I am who I am now." Jamie told me, tears in his eyes. Back at school, his whole attitude and behavior improved. "I realized the boys I was hanging out with weren't cool, stealing wasn't cool and getting out of school wasn't cool either. It made me find something I love and have a goal in life." he said. Yes, street dance makes him happy. This kind of dance speaks to people, and gives them a purpose. The text is written to _ . A tell the advantages of learning street dance B warn about the dangers of a difficult childhood C give advice on how to handle rebellious teenagers D tell how a kid changed after learning street dance Answer: D. tell how a kid changed after learning street dance Flat A:Lovely double bedroom with own store space in the house, garden, garage and parking space. 5 minutes to the library,18 minutes to the bank. TV broadband available. 115 pounds per week including all the bills. Four weeks rent ,four weeks deposit required. Tel:07912100237 Flat B:A double room available to rent atPS420 per month in a 2-bedroom new apartment located in London. It's ideal for students (5 minutes to University of Greenwich, Avery Hill campus) and professional people for short term. 2 minutes walk to the train station and local town centre. There are fast trains to London Bridge(15 minutes)and Cambridge Cross Station(20 minutes)in London. There are public buses to Cambridge, Greenwich etc. Features: entrance hall, modem kitchen and bathroom, living room and parking space. Tel: 17912100273 Flat C:Shared flats available for rent, weeklyPS80 including breakfast and dinner;dailyPS20 including breakfast. Wireless Internet is provided for free. Central location in London, ideal for holiday makers and students. Tel: 0791 2305237 If you want to rent flat A, which number can you dial to see the house? A 17912100273 B 07912305237 C 07912105237 D 07912100237 Answer: D. 07912100237 Dave Smith is 12. He has a sister .Her name is Jenny .She is 8. Dave has a dictionary .It is blue .The dictionary is in his black backpack .He has a computer game and he likes it .Jenny has a watch .It is red .She likes it very much. She has a good pencil case ,too .It's white . Her pencil ,ruler ,eraser and pen are in the pencil case. Her pencil case is in her yellow backpack. What's Jenny's family name? A White B Black C Smith D Brown Answer: C. Smith How to apply for a free mailbox ? First you have to connect to the Internet and go to the homepage of the ICP providing free mailboxes. Then you will find an icon , an agreement about the rules for using the free mailbox will appear. If you want to go, click the icon "I agree". Then you have to fill in a form about your basic personal data, and the name and PIN of the mailbox. The PIN is the key to the mailbox. After finishing these, you will get a mailbox like this:your name @ mail server (for example:tvguide@mail.cctv.com.cn. "tvguide" is the name of the mailbox, and "mail.cctv.com.cn" is the name of the mail server.). The mailbox is separated into two parts by a separator "@", which is read as "at". The former part is the name of the mailbox. The latter is the domain name of the mail server. All mails to you will be received by the server and put into your mailbox. You can read these mails on any computer on the Internet in the world, if you have the name and PIN of the mailbox. If you want to send or receive an e-mail, you should first _ . A apply for a mailbox B buy a computer C go to the post office D fill in a form Answer: A. apply for a mailbox
There was a robbery at City Central Bank last yesterday afternoon. Two men entered the bank at about 4 p.m. and told the bank teller on duty to give them $ 1,000,000. The robbers were carrying guns and wearing black masks to cover their faces. The robbers told all the customers in the bank to lie down on the floor. Witnesses said that everyone in the bank was very frightened and did what the robbers told them. The teller agreed to give them the money but told them they'd have to wait a few minutes. She said the bank manager would have to get the money out of the safety. As the robbers were waiting for the money. the teller tried to press an alarm button that was hidden under the counter. It was a silent alarm, so the robbers didn't realize it had been set off. Just as the manager arrived with the money, ten police officers entered the bank. The robbers were very surprised that the officers caught them easily. The robbers are now in custody , and will appear in court next week. Police congratulated Miss Alston , the bank teller , on brave act. The bank manager said that he would give Miss Alston a week's vacation to thank her. The bank teller said the money was _ . A. under the counter B. on the floor C. in custody D. in the safety Answer: D. in the safety At Defendant's murder trial, Defendant calls Witness as his first witness to testify that Defendant has a reputation in their community as a peaceable and truthful person. The prosecutor objects on the ground that Witness's testimony would constitute improper character evidence. The court should A. admit the testimony as to peaceableness, but exclude the testimony as to truthfulness. B. admit the testimony as to truthfulness, but exclude the testimony as to peaceableness. C. admit the testimony as to both character traits. D. exclude the testimony as to both character traits. Answer: A. admit the testimony as to peaceableness, but exclude the testimony as to truthfulness. Many Western people are not used to sitting on the floor any more. In Japan, however, sitting upright on the floor is common in different situations. For example, meals are traditionally had when people sit on the tatami floor around a low table. Also during the tea ceremony and other traditional events, one sits on the floor. The formal way of sitting for both men and women is kneeling upright. People who are not used to sitting in this style may feel uncomfortable after a few minutes, and their legs may go numb. However, foreigners are not usually expected to be able to sit in this style for a long time, and an increasing number of Japanese people themselves aren't able to do so, owing to a more westernized lifestyle. In other situations, men usually sit cross-legged, while women sit on their knees laying both legs to one side. The former sitting style is considered wholly male, while the latter is considered completely female. The most important guest sits on the honored seat which is set farthest from the entrance. If there is a tokonoma in the room, the guest should be seated in front of it. The host or the least important person is supposed to sit next to the entrance. Of course, there are other things to be considered in each particular case. According to the passage we can learn that _ . A. more and more Japanese sit in the formal way B. foreigners should always sit in the formal style in a Japanese home C. men and women in Japan sit in the same informal way D. men shouldn't sit on their knees laying both legs to one side Answer: D. men shouldn't sit on their knees laying both legs to one side The cows of Cobblonia Kingdom lived in a large field. This field had a lot of rich and green grass. There was water on three sides and a cliff to the east. The cliff was as tall as the sky and as steep as a wall. On the top of the cliff lived a very special cow. All the other cows called him "Ma Moomia May" It meant "The Wise One" in the old language. Nobody knew much about him, and nobody ever asked anything about him, except for one cow. His name was Randy, but all the other cows called him "Muckamoo Mee". It meant "The Annoying One". Randy never stopped asking questions. He woke up with many new questions to ask his parents every morning. "Why is the sky blue?" Randy asked his dad. "Nobody knows," said Randy's dad. "Then how do we know it won't be yellow or red tomorrow?" Randy asked another question. "I can't spend all day answering your questions, Randy why don't you go and play in the stream?" He did so. "How does the grass grow?" Randy asked his mom the next day. B(510) Randy's father asked him to play _ . A. in the filed B. at home C. in the stream D. on the top of the cliff Answer: C. in the stream Free and secure accommodation, no bills and even the odd home-cooked meal. It sounds like the perfect living arrangement for cash-strapped students. Two mothers believe they have devised a way for struggling students to save on accommodation costs when they leave home to study at university. Kate Barnham and Amanda Flude have launched Student Swaps, an online accommodation forum for parents and students, in advance of the introduction in September of PS3,000 higher education top-up fees. Their website says, "The principle behind Student Swaps is to enable students to literally swap family homes." The website will hold a database of students who would like to swap and link them with suitable matches. So those from one town / city could swap with those from a different town / city. The site describes itself as offering a "cost-free accommodation alternative... at a time of growing student debt". There is no charge for the service at the moment but Ms Barnham and Ms Flude intend to introduce a PS10 annual fee if it becomes established. However, the National Union of Students (NUS) has warned that, while the scheme may sound appealing to struggling freshers, it lacks any formal regulation. Veronica King, NUS vice-president of welfare, said, "The fact that this scheme has even been suggested is evidence to the high levels of debt students now face on graduation." Recent research has shown that students are more likely to live at home in coming years, in a bid to cut down on the cost of a degree. "This is worrying, as it may mean that students choose their university on the basis of where it is, rather than because it offers the best course for them. It also means students will miss out on what is for some a key part of the student experience-living away from home." What is Kate Barnham and Amanda Flude's purpose of launching Student Swaps? A. To provide cheaper accommodation for students. B. To let students stay close to their universities. C. To help students spend less on accommodation costs. D. To let students exchange ideas freely online. Answer: C. To help students spend less on accommodation costs.
Albert Einstein died long ago. However, a group of researchers have created a robot which looks like the great scientist. The robotic Einstein is very special because the researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have taught their realistic robot to smile, frown and make other complex facial expressions. Scientists believe that babies learn to control their bodies through movements, including learning to speak. "We use the same idea to work out the problem of how a robot could learn to make realistic facial expressions," said Javier Movellan, director of UCSD's machine Feeling Lab. ks5u The San Diego researchers directed the Einstein robot's head to turn in all directions. The robot could see its expressions in a mirror and then use the software to provide data for machine-learning to match facial expressions to the movements of its small motors. Once the robot learned the relationship between facial expressions and the muscle movements, it learned to make facial expressions. Its head has about 30 facial feelings, and each is moved by a tiny motor connected to ht e skin by s sting. Although we've never met Albert Einstein, we have a feeling that the new robot isn't exactly a fair representation of now of the best minds of the 20th century. The figure does not have the grace of the great man, but it can recognize human expressions and react to them in the right way. In fact, if you smile at it, it will smile right back to you. "As far as we know, no other research group has used a robot to make realistic facial expressions," said computer scientist Tingfan Wu, a computer science PhD student who worked on a more exact facial expression robot. According to Tingfan Wu, _ A other groups will create better robots soon. B this kind of robot will soon be improved. C it will cost a lot of money to improve the robot D this robot can make more facial expressions than humans . Answer: B So far, scientists have named about 1.8 million living species ,and that's just a small part of what probably exists on Earth.With so many plants,animals,fungi,and other organisms covering the planet,it can be tough to figure out what type of spider is crawling up your leg or what kind of bird just flew by. A soon-to-be-launched Website might help.An international team of researchers has announced the creation of a Web -- based Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).The project aims to catalogue every species on Earth in a single,easy-to-use reference guide. To get the encyclopedia started,the creators will use information from scientific databases that already exist.And eventually,in special sections of the site,nonscientists with specialized knowledge will join.Gardeners,for example,will be able to record the dates that their flowers first bloom each year.Bird-watchers will be able to input which birds they've seen and where.The technology for this kind of tool has only recently become available. As the EOL develops, you might find it useful for school projects.The site will have special pages for kids who are studying ecosystems in their neighborhoods.To make sure the encyclopedia is accurate,scientists will review much of the information added to it.People who visit the site will be able to choose to skip pages that haven't been reviewed. Another convenient characteristic of the EOL is that you'11 be able to pick the level of detail you see to match your interests,age,and current knowledge. If you wanted to learn about polar bears for a science class report,for example,you could use the _ setting to get basic information about the animals.On the "expert" setting,on the other hand.you could get much more detailed information about the history,literature,and exploration of polar bears. It now takes years for scientists to collect all the data they need to describe and analyze species.The creators of the Encyclopedia of Life hope that their new tool will speed that process. Keep an eye on _ .Pages will begin to go up sometime next year,and you might find them useful for your school reports.The EOL team might have the basics for all 1.8 million entries online as early as 2017.Someday,you might add your own notes. What is the best title for the passage? A Exploring Polar Bears. B Visit Our Website Now. C How to Do School Projects. D E-book of Life. Answer: D Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando in Florida People say that it is the home of the "Harry Potter Theme Park". The Wizarding World is the most popular part of the park. Other popular rides include the Adventures of Spider-Man, Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges and the Jurassic Park River Adventure. It is open from Monday to Saturday. $15.95 for children, 3 to 13 years old; $29.95 for ages 14 and over. PI-O Indoor Theme Park in Longueuil The PI-O Indoor Theme Park features(......) 16 rides, a small sea train, a kid-sized bowling alley , a mirror maze , theme rooms which include the Christmas room on-the-sea, and a private reception room. "I wanted to create a safe environment for kids aged 1 to 10," explains owner Jocelyne Pinard. She noted how many competing amusement parks have sections that can be unsafe for young kids -- such as the "ball rooms" full of loose plastic balls. So this is how it is different from other amusement parks. Open seven days a week. The admission fees are $16.99 for individuals and $64 for families. Legoland Windsor Theme Park in London Legoland Windsor is the best choice for young families. The park is designed for children from 3 to 12. There are over 50 rides as well as live shows, workshops, and other attractions aimed at younger children, and especially those who are already fond of building-block toys. The park is open every single day. Adults: $35; Ages 3-15 and 60+: $26. Buy online and save $3 per person. Wonder La Theme Park in India Wonder La is a world-class amusement park. It's modern, clean and green, and has all kinds of attractions. There are over 50 rides, 12 of which are water based and 9 especially for small children. If you love getting wet, don't miss the Rain Disco -- an indoor dance floor with a rain system that provides showers of warm water to the music. Monday to Friday 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Holiday and Festival seasons 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Single adult / child -- $13.50; Family ticket (for any four people) -- $50.00; Children 3 and under -- Free. How is PI-O Indoor Theme Park mainly different from other parks? A It is much safer. B It features more rides. C It is much cheaper. D It offers more activities. Answer: A Transformers: Dark of the Moon Theatrical Release Date: July 1, 2011 Studio: Paramount Pictures Director: Michael Bay Genre : Action--Adventure--Sequel-- Sci-Fi-- 3D The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, are back in action, taking on the evil Deceptions. The Autobots and Deceptions become involved in a dangerous space race. The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft on the Moon and must race against the Deceptions to find its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers' final battle. Shockwave, a longtime "Transformers" character, rules Cybertron while the Autobots and Deceptions battle it out on Earth. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II Theatrical Release Date: July 15, 2011 Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Director: David Yates Genre: Action--Adventure--Sequel--Fantasy--3D In part II, the battle between the good and evil forces of the Wizarding world evolves into an all-out war. This final adventure continues Harry, Ron, and Hermione's attempt to find and destroy Voldemort's remaining Horcruxes. Harry Potter is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice to bring an end to his nemesis. Winnie the Pooh Theatrical Release Date: July 15, 2011 Studio: Walt Disney Pictures Director: Don Hall, Stephen J. Anderson Genre: Sequel--Family Animation Winnie the Pooh is a 2011 American traditionally animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Based upon the characters of the children's books Winnie-the-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne and Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, the film features two previously unadapted stories from the original books. In the movie, Owl sends the whole gang to save Christopher Robin from an imaginary bad character, and it turns out to be a very busy day for Winnie the Pooh who simply set out to find some honey. According to the Movie Express above, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II is mainly about _ . A a journey of Harry, Ron, and Hermione B high risks of the final adventure by Harry and his nemesis C an all-out war between good and evil forces D a fear of Lord Voldemort Answer: C Recently I came in contact with the true meaning of love. That would have been, Kane, a boy. Kane was the two-year-old son of Jolene, my new neighbor. At a glance Kane was a sight. He'd been born with hard sticks for legs. And on that morning I witnessed the effect that Kane's physical shortcomings had on his family. But I also witnessed much more than that. I saw an extraordinary family that embraced this special child. A family that wouldn't allow Kane to know he was different. Jolene had constructed a small cart just a few inches off the floor for his son to get around. Using his hands to move about, Kane moved the cart to "go to" any place just as everyone else was able to do. Kane worked that little cart like a master. Kane was a vital focus of the entire family. He was more than just a member of the family; he was the soul. This child was the driver, the motivator, and the founder of much of the interaction. Much later in my life, I came to realize that God had sent this child to help some of us who just weren't getting what love was all about. Even with my limited capacity for understanding at the time that Kane was a highly developed spirit with great wisdom. Kane demanded attention, but not because of his mobility challenges or other apparent shortcomings. In his mind, he had no challenges or shortcomings. The truth is that he received attention because he was alive and real and had so much to offer. Kane was and still is a lot of warm and powerful energy sent to us all, so we might learn that love surpasses all things. Kane, a fragile yet lovely baby, was here to teach us all an important lesson. And at the age of two he did just that. Kane needed attention because he wanted to show _ . A he can challenge his difficulty in moving B he had challenges or shortcomings in his life C he himself needed to be looked after by others D he had the power to prove he was capable too Answer: D
Native to America, the cane toad was introduced to northern Queensland 70 years ago to control sugarcane beetles . The toads failed in that duty but spread across prefix = st1 /Queenslandand into neighboring northern area. Now it calmly invades the states of Western Australia and New South Wales (NSW). NSW wildlife experts fear _ --which have poisonous backs that kill hungry predators, --will have a terrible effect on native animals. Those fears may be about to be realized. Australia's leading government research body, the Commonwealth Science and Industry Research organization (CSIRO), forecasts a rise in average temperatures that will make NSW ideal living place for the cane toad. Tony Robinson, head of CSIRO's Wildlife,Pests,and Diseases Program, said climate change is increasing the amount of suitable living place for the toad. "With climate change, the cane toads might go down as far as Sydney and some areas of Western Australia," Robinson said. Recent estimates put the pace of the toad's westward march at nearly 17 miles(27 kilometers)a year and slightly slower from north to south. More southerly cities, such as Melbourne and Adelaide, would likely remain too cold and dry to ever suit the toads, Robinson noted, but Perthcould expect cane toads in five years' time. Sydney could see their arrival in the next 20 years. Robinson said there is no 0ne method that will keep the toads under control. The cane toads already cover at least half of Queenslandand most of the northern country the toads are believed to number in the billions. A Venezuelan virus was tried in the 1990s but had to be given up after it was found to also kill native frog species. Scientists and governmental bodies believe a national approach is needed. The main threat the toads cause to species such as dingos, quolls, goannas, and crocodiles is the poison contained in glands on each of the frogs' shoulders. The poison sprays out when the toads are threatened or handled roughly. The poison is made up of 14 different chemicals. Together they cause rapid heartbeats, excessive salivation, convulsions, and paralysis. Cane toads also compete, and usually win, the hunt for food and living space. "If the government and other states combine resources, I believe we can achieve a very practical biological -control research program, "Burns said. According to the passage, which of the following is true about the cane toads? Answer: The cane toad was brought to Australiato kill pests fromAmerica70 years ago. To move electrical energy around a field, a person would use Answer: tin pipes The Lunar New Year, which starts in late January this year, is the most important festival for Chinese people as most of them drop any business at hand to go back to their hometown to see their families. It is a tradition that has been cherished since ancient times, but as social mobility increases in modern times, the road to family reunions has become very uneasy. It is not the higher travel costs, nor the expected big spending on gifts and other festival items, but the train ticket that has driven many travelers mad. I've heard some colleagues complain that they have tried every means to secure a train ticket, only to find it a mission impossible. Some of them have turned to the latest software to aid online booking; others have sought help from friends to increase the possibility of successful booking. No doubt chunyun, the Spring Festival travel season, is the largest-scale annual human migration in the world. Last year, 220 million passengers traveled by train during the Spring Festival season, which usually lasts 40 days. It is a huge jump from 10 years ago, when the number was 128 million. With the big sudden increase in demand, the railway company has increased investment in railway construction; still, it cannot bridge the supply gap, leading to fierce public complaints and criticism. Admittedly, it is almost impossible for the railway company to suddenly improve its capacity to meet the explosive demand during the Spring Festival holiday. Moreover, any temporary increase in capacity would become unnecessary after the holiday and mean great commercial losses during the off season. What the company can reasonably do is gradually improve its capacity while focusing on better distribution of its existing resources during the special peak season. At any rate, however, the problem cannot be solved overnight. Compared with ten years ago, the percentage of passengers last year increased by _ . Answer: 71% 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. Why is it difficult to collect information about the past climate change? Answer: Because it is very difficult to obtain complete samples. My mother is a teacher. On weekdays, she gives lessons at school and on Saturdays she works in clubs. On Sundays, she is still busy. On Sunday morning, mum gets up at six. She cooks breakfast for us first. And then it's time for cleaning. After that, she has breakfast with father and me. At 9, she goes to buy food for lunch in the supermarket. She can have a short rest after lunch. In the afternoon, mum doesn't go out. She helps me with my lessons. She does some reading, too. Mother watches TV at about 7 when she finishes the housework. But at that time she is always tired and falls asleep in the sofa sometimes. Mother usually watches TV _ . Answer: after all the housework
Once upon a time, there were two seeds . They were good friends. They often talked with each other when they were free. One day, they had nothing to do . They lay on the ground. They looked up at the sky and had a chat with each other. The first seed said, "I want to grow! Then I can enjoy the sun and the rain!" Later, it grew. It had a chance to enjoy the sun and the rain. The second seed said, "I am afraid of growing up. If I grow, I have to live in the _ . Little animals may come up to me and eat me. How terrible! If I become a beautiful flower, a child will come and pick me. It is much better for me to wait. It's a dangerous way to be alive." It did nothing and refused to grow. Spring came soon. A duck came up to the seeds. It eat the second seed and went away. See? We shouldn't act like the second seed. We should face our life bravely. There are _ seeds in the passage. A. one B. two C. three D. four Answer: B. two LONDON--Here's a new warning from health experts:Sitting is deadly. Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for long periods--even if you also exercise regularly--could be bad for your health.And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place--at the office,at school,in the car or before a computer or TV--just the overall number of hours it occurs.Several studies suggest people who spend most of their days sitting are more likely to be fat,have a heart attack or even die. In an editorial published this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,Elin EkblomBak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences suggested that authorities rethink how they define physical activity to highlight the dangers of sitting. While health officials have issued guidelines recommending minimum amounts of physical activity,they haven't suggested people try to limit how much time they spend in a seated position. "After four hours of sitting,the body starts to send harmful signals,"said EkblomBak.She explained that genes regulating the amount of glucose and fat in the body start to shut down. Even for people who exercise,spending long periods of time sitting at a desk is still harmful.Tim Armstrong,a physical activity expert at the World Health Organization,said people who exercise every day--but still spend a lot of time sitting--might get more benefit if that exercise was spread across the day,rather than in a single bout . Still,in a study published in 2009 that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for about a dozen years,researchers found people who sat more had a higher death risk,whether or not they exercised. "We don't have enough evidence yet to say how much sitting is bad," said Peter Katzmarzyk of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge,who led the Canadian study."But it seems the more you can get up and interrupt this sedentary behavior,the better." Figures from a U.S. survey in 20032004 found Americans spend more than half their time sitting,from working at their desks to sitting in cars. Experts said more research is needed to figure out just how much sitting is dangerous,and what might be possible to _ those effects. "People should keep exercising because that has a lot of benefits," EkblomBak said."But when they're in the office,they should try to interrupt sitting as often as possible," she said. How does the danger of sitting too much affect the human body? A. It results in a higher death risk. B. It increases glucose and fat in the body. C. It makes a person unable to exercise long enough in a day. D. It causes the gene to fail to balance the glucose and fat in the body. Answer: D. It causes the gene to fail to balance the glucose and fat in the body. Cosmetic ( ) surgery is usually performed to correct a physical abnormality or to enhance an otherwise normal physical feature and thus improve appearance. Cosmetic surgery is an extremely broad field that may offer reconstructive surgery for a patient after a damaging burn or other physical injuries yet can also be used to smooth out wrinkles or reshape a nose. Cosmetic surgery was first used regularly after World War I, when treatment and reconstruction of war injuries gave hope to young soldiers. As recently as fifty years ago, as the rich and famous began opting for elective cosmetic surgery, the subject was whispered about and considered taboo. Celebrities would disappear for months and then appear after secret cosmetic surgery looking younger, prettier, and thinner. Over time, cosmetic surgery has become accepted and even encouraged in some circles. Today there are even television reality shows about it. Some of the more popular forms of cosmetic surgery are liposuction( ), in which excessive fat is sucked out of the body with a tube and vacuum device; laser facial resurfacing, which smooths lines on the face around the eyes and mouth and eliminates facial blemishes ; and hair replacement surgery, which fills in balding areas using a patient's own hair. There are many more forms of cosmetic surgery, including variations of these.Anyone interested in cosmetic surgery should consider the risks and remember that it is, ultimately, surgery. Not all procedures come out exactly the way doctors and patients foresee, and recovery is just like any other surgery, complete with pain and the possibility of infection . While cosmetic surgery is an option, patients should choose doctors wisely,obtain several references, and keep realistic expectations. Which kind of person doesn't need a cosmetic surgery? A. A person who suffers a damaging burn. B. A person who wants to reshape nose. C. A person who needs to smooth out wrinkles. D. A person who wishes to get rid of headache. Answer: D. A person who wishes to get rid of headache. In western countries, especially in America, some social customs have lasted still today. For example, ladies first, that is to say, women in those countries are respected in many ways. In the U.S. and Europe, you will see men usually open doors for women and women generally walk ahead of men into a room or a restaurant unless the man have to be ahead of the ladies to choose the table, to open the door of a car or to give other services. On the street, men almost walk or across the street on the side of the ladies which is closer to traffic, but if a man walks with two ladies, he should walk between them. When you introduce a group of people in English, you will probably begin with _ . A. Men and women B. Women and men C. Gentlemen and ladies D. Ladies and gentlemen Answer: D. Ladies and gentlemen Enjoy a museum visit with your class! Available Programs: Art Tells a Story: By looking at the subject matter and by drawing from personal experiences, students can find the story in some works of art. ( All grades) Learning to Look: An interactive tour that explores a variety of art using storytelling, movements, music, games, and other techniques helps introduce children to a museum. (Preschool~ Grade 3) Native American Collection: This program explores relationships that exist between art, culture, the geographic location and natural resources. Students will see a bowl made by Maria Martinez, a Towa storyteller, a Northwest coast mask, and Inuit clothing. ( For Grades 2~5) The Language of Art: Classes are welcomed into the museum to take part in an interactive tour of American Art. It gives participants a new set of vocabulary while helping them feel comfortable. Art-on-the-Move: Teachers may borrow suitcases filled with art objects. Free organizations with Education Membership. Planning Your Visit: Booking: Booking is necessary for all tours and programs. Please book at least a week in advance. Teachers are encouraged to organize self-guided visits for their classes during public hours. Tour Hours: Tours can be organized between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Program Fees: Tours are free for those with Education Membership. There is a charge of $6 per student of non-member organizations. Tour with art activities cost $12 per student (non-members) or $10 per student (members). Chaperones :We require one adult chaperone for every 10 children. Chaperones help to make your museum visit a success. A chaperone must pay $5 admission. Lunch: We regret that no lunch facilities are available at the museum. Museum Rules: Don't touch works of art. Don't take photographs. Ask questions. Look, and then LOOK again! Enjoy! What do teachers need to do before leading their classes to the museum? A. To make bookings ahead of time. B. To try to get Education Membership. C. To learn about the history of the museum. D. To ask for the permission of self-guided visits. Answer: A. To make bookings ahead of time.
LONDON (AP) -- England joins on Sunday the growing list of places that ban smoking in public buildings, taxis and other places including even Buckingham Palace with a tough law. Pubs, clubs and restaurants will all be smoke-free. Taxi and delivery drivers have been warned that they too could be fined 50 pounds, or about $100, if caught lighting up inside work vehicles. Experts say the bans have become an irreversible tread because of greatly rising health costs and public uneasiness over second-hand smoke. Some of the strictest smoking bans are in the United States, even though there is no federal anti-smoking policy. New York and Florida have strict bans, while California has certain outdoor smoking bans. Spain, Italy, Iran, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Uruguay and new Zealand have passed legislation to restrict smoking. France banned smoking in many public places in February and plans to extend the ban to cafes and restaurants next year. Finland is introducing a ban in 2009. Despite the spread of bans, the World Health Organization predicts a steady rise in tobacco sales. In its Tobacco Atlas, the WHO said that by 2030 there will be "at least another two billion smokers in the world" and an expected decrease in male smokers "will be _ by an increase in female smoking rates, especially in developing countries." In advance of the English ban, anti-smoking ads have coated bus stops and the British government has subsidized programs to help people quit. The rest of Britain--Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland --already have smoking bans in place. What do we know from the passage? A. Smoking has strictly been forbidden in cafes in France. B. There is an extremely strict smoking ban everywhere in America. C. Smoking situation is still serious across the world. D. Related ads didn't appear in England until the English ban was lifted. Answer: C. Smoking situation is still serious across the world. One day when I was 12, my mother gave me an order: I was to walk to the public library, and borrow at least one book for the summer. This was one more weapon for her to defeat my strange problem -- inability to read. In the library, I found my way into the "Children's Room." I sat down on the floor and pulled a few books off the shelf at random. The cover of a book caught my eye. It presented a picture of a beagle. I had recently had a beagle, the first and only animal companion I ever had as a child. He was my secret sharer, but one morning, he was gone, given away to someone who had the space and the money to care for him. I never forgot my beagle. There on the book's cover was a beagle which looked identical to my dog. I ran my fingers over the picture of the dog on the cover. My eyes ran across the title, Amos, the Beagle with a Plan. Unknowingly, I had read the title. Without opening the book, I borrowed it from the library for the summer. Under the shade of a bush, I started to read about Amos. I read very, very slowly with difficulty. Though pages were turned slowly, I got the main idea of the story about a dog who, like mine, had been separated from his family and who finally found his way back home. That dog was my dog, and I was the little boy in the book. At the end of the story, my mind continued the final scene of reunion, on and on, until my own lost dog and I were, in my mind, running together. My mother's call returned me to the real world. I suddenly realized something: I had read a book, and I had loved reading that book. Everyone knew I could not read. But I had read it. Books could be incredibly wonderful and I was going to read them. I never told my mother about my "miraculous" experience that summer, but she saw a slow but remarkable improvement in my classroom performance during the next year. And years later, she was proud that her son had read thousands of books, was awarded a PhD in literature, and authored his own books, articles, poetry and fiction. The power of the words has held. Which one could be the best title of the passage? A. The Charm of a Book B. Mum's Strict Order C. Reunion with My Beagle D. My Passion for Reading Answer: A. The Charm of a Book My family makes the best chicken salad.Dad prepares all of the ingredients and Mom makes the relish.There are a few things that make this chicken salad different from the other chicken salads.First,we use fruit jam in the relish.You can buy any fruit jam,like banana jam or orange jam.But we have bottles of strawberry jam that my mother made,so we use the strawberry jam.Second,we put some green olives .Green olives give the salad an interesting taste and make a big difference.Now let me tell you how my family makes the salad. First,mix up all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl.The ingredients are chicken,tomatoes,green olives,onions and apples.If you like lettuce,you can also put some.Next,make the relish.Please mix the jam,the juice and the salt.Finally,mix the relish with the salad ingredients. Do you have a favorite chicken salad recipe?Please tell us about it.You can write to greensalad@yahoo.com. If you have a favorite chicken salad recipe,you can _ the writer. A. call B. write an email to C. visit D. send a letter to Answer: B. write an email to Far out in the lake was a large wooden platform on which stood an improbably high diving board -- a kind of wooden Eiffel Tower. It was, I'm sure, the county's tallest wooden structure and no one had ever been known to jump from it. So it was quite a shock when our teacher, Mr. Milton, announced that he would dive off the high board that very afternoon. Word of his questionable plan was already spreading through town as Mr. Milton swam out to the platform. He was just _ when he got there but even from such a distance the high board seemed almost to touch the clouds. Once at the top, he paced the enormously long board, then took some deep breaths and finally stood at edge. He was going to do it. Several hundred people had gathered at the shore to watch. Mr. Milton stood for quite a long time, then he raised his arms, took one massive bounce and launched himself into a perfect dive. It was beautiful. He fell with perfect style for what seemed minutes. The crowd fell silent. The only sound to be heard was the faint whistle of his body tearing through the air toward the water far, far below. But about three quarters of the way down he seemed to have second thoughts and began suddenly to panic, waving his arms and legs like someone having a bad dream. When he was perhaps thirty feet above the water, he gave up on waving and spread his arms and legs wide, apparently hoping that it would somehow slow his fall. It didn't. He hit the water at over six hundred miles an hour. The impact was so loud that it made birds fly out of their trees three miles away. I don't think he entered the water at all. He just bounced off it, about fifteen feet back into the air. After that, he lay still on the surface, spinning like an autumn leaf. He was brought to shore by two passing fishermen in a rowboat and placed on an old blanket where he spent the rest of the afternoon. Occasionally he accepted small sips of water, but otherwise was too shocked to speak. From head to toe, he was covered with deep red bruises. ... It was the best day of my life. Why did Mr. Milton suddenly start swinging his arms and legs during the dive? A. He thought it was the best way to slow his fall. B. He lost his confidence and started to panic. C. He was signalling the crowd for help. D. He wanted to show his courage. Answer: B. He lost his confidence and started to panic. The morning had been a disaster.My tooth was aching,and I'd been in an argument with a friend.Her words still hurt:"The trouble with you is that you won't put yourself in my place.Can't you see things from my point of view?"I shook my head stubbornly--and felt the ache in my tooth.I'd thought I could hold out till my dentist came back from holiday,but the pain was really unbearable.I started calling the dentists in the phone book,but no one could see me immediately.Finally, at about lunchtime,I got lucky. "If you come by right now,"the receptionist said,"the dentist will fit you in ." I look my purse and keys and rushed to my car. But suddenly I began to doubt about the dentist.What kind of dentist would be so eager to treat someone at such short notice?Why wasn't he as busy as the others? In the dentist's office,I sat down and looked around.I saw nothing but the bare walls and I became even more worried.The assistant noticed my nervousness and placed her warm hand over my ice-cold one. When I tole her my fears, she laughed and said ,"Don't worry.The dentist is very good." "How long do I have to wait for him?"I asked impatiently. "Come on ,he is coming.Just lie down and relax.And enjoy the artwork,"the assistant said. "The artwork?"I was puzzled. The chair went back,suddenly I smiled.There was a beautiful picture, right where I could enjoy it: on the ceiling .How considerate the dentist was ! At that moment,I began to understand what my friend meant by her words. What a relief! Which of the following best describes the author's feeling that morning? A. Cheerful. B. Nervous. C. Upset. D. Satisfied. Answer: C. Upset.
An old woman went suddenly blind. She promised a doctor a lot of money if he could make her see again. "If you fail", she said , " you will get nothing," The doctor agreed with her. The doctor soon discovered what was wrong with her, but he decided not to cure her right away. Instead, each time he visited, he secretly took some of her things. When he had taken everything that he wanted, he cured her blindness and sent her a large bill. Now when the old woman could see again she noticed that all her things had gone and she refused to pay the bill. So the doctor took her before a judge. "What the doctor says is true." she said to the judge. "But I say I'm not cured, because I still can't see any of the things in my house." The old woman won her case and the doctor went away unhappily without getting his pay. The doctor was _ . Answer: a cheat On the old-time farm in America, there were chickens, cows, pigs and horses. But there were very few machines. Most of the work was done by the farm family. Sometimes more workmen were needed in busy seasons. Work done by horses took up 79 percent; by men, 15 percent; and machine work only took up 6 percent. Today all that has changed. On many modern farms machines now will do 96 percent of the work, while man does 3 percent. As for horses, they do 1 percent of the whole work. The children go to school by bus every morning; the parents work on the farm or in the house and other people's help is hardly needed. Their work has been replaced by a whole army of farm machines. What has changed the farmer's work? Answer: The machines. Henry Smith taught science at the City School. One day, he wen to a bookstore and bought some books. Most of them were expensive. He left them in his car in a quiet street. Then he went and bought some other things at other shops. At 6 o'clock he came back to the car. One window was open and the books were gone. Henry drove back to his home in Lake Street. That night he wrote a letter to a newspaper. The next day he went to the police station. On Friday people read an advertisement in the newspaper. BOOKS WANTED DO YOU HAVE ANY BOOKS THAT YOU NO LONGER WANTED? I BUY OLD AND MODERN BOOKS. OPEN ALL DAY ON SATURDAY. HENRY SMITH, 18 LAKE STREET. Henry stayed at home on Saturday. His first visitor came at 8 o'clock. Henry took him to the kitchen. At half past nine another man arrived. He had a bag under his arm. "Mr Smith?" the man asked. "That's right," Henry said, "Can I help you?" "I have some good books. You buy books, don't you?" "Yes, bring them in. I'll have a look at them." Soon the books were on the dining-table. "Come in now," Henry called out, "And bring the list." A policeman came into the dining-room. He read the titles on the books and those on the list in his hand. They were the same. "Come with me, Sir," the policeman said to the man. The man who stole the books found Henry's address _ Answer: in the newspaper Last weekend marked one of the nicest days so far this spring. It was warm with a tiny wind, the sun streamed through lightweight sweaters to warm the skin; the male choir was warming up, and the students were moving around the lawn behind the huge crowd of six-thousand-plus observers. With all of the parents, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts and uncles, the state university was a center of activity. My nephew was going to receive his bachelor's degree. Who would have guessed that four years would go by so quickly? As the crowd of freshly polished candidates wandered, joked, hugged and chatted behind the bleachers , I heard several cell phones ring. There were several casual conversations going on with the accompanying giggles of the not-quite-mature students, but then one conversation in particular caught my attention: "Yes, Grandma, I'm really graduating. I can't believe it, either! I never thought I'd be here today, you know? Really! Like, I know it! Yes, it's a very special day. Oh, what did the doctor say? He did? I know, Gran... I know you wanted to come... It's okay... No, really, please don't cry...It's a very happy day, you know? "Hold on, we're lining up okay, all set... yes, the center aisle ... the grass is awesome! Smells really good, too... Oh wow, they've got like a million balloons they're going to release! Yes, Kelly's here... Okay, I'll give her your love... here we go! Gran, I'm graduating! "Love you, too, Gran. I'm so glad you could be here with me!" And somehow, my initial dislike at the use of cell phones and the casual conservations during such a serious occasion left me. For these little representatives of modern technology had joined a young woman and her fond Gran to share a very special moment in time. The young woman was _ at the time. Answer: chatting with her grandma on the phone If you really want to go green, here's good news: eating green is good for you. The very foods with a high carbon cost---meat, pork, dairy products, processed snacks---also tend to be filled with fat and calories. A green diet would be mostly vegetables and fruits, whole grains, fish and lean meats like chicken---a diet that's eco- and waistline-friendly. Eating green can be healthier and beneficial to the climate. It may be hard to believe that a meal at McDonald's produces more carbon than your trip to a far away place. More than 37% of the world's land is used for agriculture, much of which was once forested. Deforestation is a major source of carbon. The fertilizer and machinery needed on a modern farm also have a large carbon footprint, as does the network of ships and trucks that brings the food from the farm to your plate. The most efficient way to reduce the carbon footprint of your menu is to eat less meat, especially beef. Raising cattle takes a lot more energy than growing the equivalent amount of grains, fruits or vegetables. What's more, the majority of cattle in the U.S. are fed on grain and loads of it---670 million tons in 2002---and the fertilizer used to feed that creates separate environmental problems. Focus on eating lower on the food chain, with more plants and fruits and less meat and dairy. It's simple. We can change today what goes into our bodies for the health of our planet and ourselves. What is the passage mainly about? Answer: The benefits of eating green.
There is a lion in a forest. Every day he goes about to look for food. The small animals in the forest are all afraid of him. Not far from the forest there are four bulls( ). They are good friends, and often go about together. The lion tries many times to catch them, but can't do so. Every time he comes near, the four bulls stand together to fight him. So he can do nothing to him. One day the bulls have a quarrel( ). After that each of them goes his own way. When the lion sees this, he is happy. He catches one bull and eats him up. Then he catches another. One by one he catches all the four bulls and eats them up. How can the lion eat the bulls at last? Answer: Military training has long been considered a ritual that freshmen must go through in order to officially start their college lives. While some question the necessity of such training. Many students see military training as a campus tradition that should be maintained. Early in February, the Ministry of Education issued a new regulation that colleges and universities should carry out a minimum of 14 days compulsory military training for freshmen. In a report by Beijing Evening News, Hou Zhengfang, a Beijing-based education PhD, questioned the benefits of military training. "The training routine does little to improve students' physical fitness over only two weeks' time. Maybe some disaster prevention training, such as earthquake survival or escaping from fires would be of greater benefit." Meng Yang, a 19-year-old freshman at Guangxi University, fainted during training. She said that many students, especially girls, are willing to train under direct sunshine. "For me, military training is physically challenging and even damages my health." According to Li Jian from the student affairs office of Guangzhou University, feeling dizzy happens frequently during military training and the school has received a lot of complaints from both students and parents: "But I still think military training is a good thing. Students are easier to manage after the military training. They became more positive about their new environment after the training." Although autumn is fast approaching Beijing, the noon heat burns 3300 freshmen on Tsinghua University's campus. Chu Jinjing, a freshman majoring in medicine, did feel some discomfort while training in sweaty clothes in the glaring heat, the 18-year-old still enjoyed being part of group going through strict exercises. "By going through this tough training, students bond faster and a sense of belonging to the school can be formed. I've made a lot of friends already." According to the Ministry of Education, the purpose of military training is to teach students discipline, the spirit of teamwork and endurance. But in reality, according to Xiong Bingqi, deputy director of the 21stCentury Education Research Institute, the effect is not satisfying. "Such goals require long-term development. It is unrealistic to expect military training to make a difference in only 14 days." He thus suggests that it should be up to schools to conduct military training in a way that best suits their students. However, Wang Wenhui, an 18-year-old freshman from Xi'an Jiaotong University, sees military training as a tradition that reaches beyond character building. "From junior and senior high school to college, we join military training to start a new journey. I would feel a bit incomplete without it." How many people expressing their opinions are mentioned in this passage? Answer: One day he is a famous policeman. The next day he is a gangster from Temple street. His songs are heard on radios all over Hong Kong. This is Andy Lau Tak Wah, the superstar that everyone sees, hears and loves. He is one of the most famous actors and singers in Hong Kong. However, there is another side to Andy Lau. There is an important part of his life that only a few people know about. Andy Lau helps 15 children from poor countries all over the world. These boys and girls live in 11 different countries. Most of the children have not met him and none of them know that he is one of the biggest stars in Asia. Andy Lau's interest in children started when he did some work with World Vision. This is a charity that helps poor children to lead better lives. For $200 a month, a _ helps with the food and education of one child. The child does not receive the money in cash. Instead the money pays for the child's school fees, food, medical care and clothing. Each child knows the name of the sponsor who is giving the money. The sponsor receives a report each year on the child's progress. They can write to each other, but usually the children do not speak Cantonese or English. When Andy Lau heard about these children, he wanted to help them. "It was not anything special," he said. "Until I had the chance to go to Indonesia and meet the little girl I am sponsoring, I didn't know anything about the type of life she had." He said the meeting with Nina in Indonesia was very emotional. "When I met her, I felt very, very happy," he said. "I saw that the money was used for a very good purpose. It brought me closer to the child in a way that simply giving money cannot." By sponsoring these children through a charitable organization, Andy Lau is giving them hope and at the same time caring for them. "I want to do whatever I can. I will continue to help these children in need," he said. World Vision is a charity that helps children to _ . Answer: I don't have too many memories of my father because he was so sick in the last years of his life. But there aresome that I am often reminded of and which may have developed my love ofscience. When I was small, I was somewhatafraid of lightning and thunder . My father explained it. The explanation wasin words that a child could understand but was basically correct. I gained a betterunderstanding and learnt something from him. What he said was that there was electricity in the cloudsand it traveled to the ground like a spark . When it traveled through the air, it made the air so hot that it burned. Then there was nothing where the air had been and the air all around rushed in to fill the space. Saying this, he clapped his hands together very loudly, pretending to be the air rushing in, and said that makes the thunder. When I hear thunder, I can still hear that clap clearly. He also explained why a cloudy winter night was warmer than a clear one. When there were clouds, they were like blankets which kept the earth and us warm. He said that if there were no clouds, we had no blankets and were _ to the universe. Our warmth was going toheat the whole universe. Even today, I still feel on the edge of space on a very clear night. I am sure there were many other lessons that Itook but no longer remember most of them now. What I didlearn, in general, was that there were explanations and that the more I understood them, the more comfortable the world was to live in. I was not taught that there were mysteries but that there was understanding if you looked for it. This may be why I have always takenaninterest in science. What did the writer think of his father's explanation according to the passage? Answer: Once there was a young woman who didn't like her job. Everyday when she came home from work, she told her husband how terrible her day had been, how tiring the work and how unreasonable her boss. "Leave that job," her husband told her. "Oh, I will," she said. "But not yet. I have too many friends there for me to leave." And so she remained unhappy at work until the years became decades and her children had children. "Leave that job," her grandchildren told her. "Oh, I will," she said. "But not yet. There are only seven more years until I reach thirty years of service and can retire. So I can't just yet." I know this woman. And her story reminds me of an old dog half asleep on the porch of a general store, moaning and groaning in the sun. "Why is your dog acting that way?" a customer asked the store owner. "Oh," answered the man. "He's lying on a nail." "Well, why doesn't he move?" "Because it's not hurting him bad enough." That's true for people, too. We convince ourselves the pain is not bad enough to leave the workplace we know. But we're wrong. _ work pain is continuing. Some work pain damages our self-esteem, kills our passion or destroys our dreams. Wilbur Wright once commented, "We could hardly wait to get up in the morning. I know that exhilarating feeling of being so passionate about something I was working on that I couldn't wait to get back to work. And people who are winning at working know that kind of passion, too." They get excited about work. They offer their unique gifts and talents eagerly. And when things don't change as they sometimes will, they refuse to let environment hijack their self-esteem, passion or dreams. The woman complained to her husband every day because _ . Answer:
Time: July 16-20 Location: Norman Park Conference Center Price: 500 Students who have completed the 5th, 6th or 7th grade and meet our requirements can take part in this exciting project. Children will spend 5 days in the Center joining in various activities. Our theme for this camp is "Teamwork". The title speaks to our goal: We want this trip to help our students improve their sense of cooperation. What to do: Step one: Form work Click on the link to print out the necessary forms: Propel Missions Camp Forms Complete the forms, printing clearly. Turn in your forms along with a copy of your insurance card to the office during business hours. Member form This form must be signed and notarized . * Your form may be notarized at the office during normal office hours, at the Children's reception desk before and after service times, or by a lawyer of your choosing. Special needs form (If needed) Special needs form should be filled out only if there is a particular need (as described in the form) of which we and the camp should know. Roommate form This form will help us place your child in a room with the partners he or she prefers. We will provide a list of students attending at your request to help your child make his or her choices. Step two: Read Click on the link and read carefully the Parent Information Packet provided by the camp: Propel Missions Camp Forms (Parents) How to get in touch If interested, get in touch with Pastor Scott at scott. Morrison@fbcvidalia.org or call the office at (912)537-4169. Which of the following statements about the forms is NOT true? You should go to Norman Park Conference Center to fetch a form. As we drove along, my spirits went up again, and I turned, with pleasure, to the thought of the new life which I was entering. But though it was not far past the middle of September, the heavy clouds and strong north-easterly wind combined to make the day extremely cold; and the journey seemed a very long one, so that it was nearly one o'clock before we reached the place of our destination. Yet when we entered the gateway, my heart failed me, and I wished it were a mile or two farther off. For the first time in my life I must stand alone: there was no retreating now. I must enter that house, and introduce myself among its strange people. But how was it to be done? True, I was near nineteen; but, thanks to the protecting care of my mother and sister, I well knew that many a girl of fifteen, or under, was gifted with a more womanly address, and greater ease and self-possession, than I was. Yet, anyway. I would do very well, after all; and the children, of course, I should soon be at ease with them. "Be calm, be calm, whatever happens," I said within myself; and truly I was so fully occupied in steadying my nerves and keeping down the rebellious beat of my heart that when I was admitted into the hall and into the presence of Mrs. Bloomfield, I almost forgot to answer her polite greeting; and it afterwards struck me that the little I did say was spoken in the tone of one half-dead or half-asleep. With due politeness, however, she showed me my bedroom, and left me there to take a little refreshment for a little while and led me into the dining-room. Some beefsteaks and potatoes were set before me; and while I dined upon these, she sat opposite, watching me (as I thought) and trying to keep something like a conversation-- consisting chiefly of commonplace remarks. In fact, my attention was almost wholly absorbed in my dinner: not from appetite, but from the toughness of the beefsteaks, and the numbness of my hands. "I have had so little time to attend to their education myself, but I think they are clever children, and very willing to learn, especially the little boy; he is, I think, the flower of the flock-- a generous, noble-spirited boy, one to be led, but not driven, and remarkable for always speaking the truth." "His sister Mary Ann will require watching," continued she, "but she is a very good girl on the whole, though I wish her to be kept out of the nursery as much as possible, as she is now almost six years old, and might acquire bad habits from the nurses. I have ordered her bed to be placed in your room, and if you will be so kind as to look after her washing and dressing, and take charge of her clothes, she needs to have nothing further to do with the nursery maid." I replied I was quite willing to do so; and at that moment the children entered the room. Tom Bloomfield was a well-grown boy of seven. Mary was a tall girl, for her age of six, somewhat dark like her mother. The second sister was Fanny, a very pretty little girl, looking little younger than Mary. The remaining one was Harriet, a little broad, fat, merry, playful thing of scarcely two, whom I had more desire for than all the rest -- but with her I had nothing to do. Which of the following was TRUE according to the passage? The writer had some difficulty with her lunch because of the tough food and the cold. One day I was walking home along the street with my iPod on, when suddenly my headphones were knocked off my head and a man threw his arm around my neck, saying "Just be quiet." I was being attacked, and this man's arm was gripping onto me! I started screaming and tried to pull him off me, but failed. He was forcing me to walk towards the back of an auto repair shop and he just kept saying: "Be quiet." My mind froze with fear. Then I heard my great-grandmother's voice in my head. She was saying: "Come on now, I know you are stronger than that!" She was the rock in our family until she died four years ago. I have never had any self-defense training, but I went for it--I let out a loud scream as I kicked my leg back into his shin ! He let go of me and I ran off. When I looked back to see if he was running after me, I saw he was running in the opposite direction. Then I ran like crazy to a nearby drugstore. I asked the girl at the counter for the phone and called my mom. She picked me up five minutes later and I explained what happened through sobs. "I am calling the police!" She exclaimed. When we got home, two officers were waiting for us and I told them what had happened. After my experience, I was afraid to do anything. Things slowly got better, but I still don't like anyone going near my neck. The fear isn't totally gone--after all, the guy is still out there somewhere. But I had a new understanding of my own strength. I never expected to be able to fight off an attacker. I am stronger than I realized. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? The attack made the author more confident in a way. Every country has its own way of cooking.Ameri can people have their own way of cooking,don't they?Most people in the United states like fast food,but if you think that American people don't 1 ike cooking,you are wrong.It's true that most Americans eat fast food for their breakfast and lunch,but they also think cooking is interesting.Parents see the importance of teaching their children how to cook,and most Americans say that home--cooked meals are the best. Americans have their own way of cooking.For example,baking is the most popular way of cooking in America.Most American families have ovens .American cooks pay attention to the balance of food.When planning a big meal,they try to cook meat,a few vegetab]es,some bread and sweet food.They also like to make the meal look beautiful.There are so many kinds of colorful foods,so the meal is healthy and look beautiful,too. What does the sentence"It's true that most Americans eat fast food for their breakfast and lunch"mean?It means _ . they like eating fast food Mary got a little white lamb . She tied it to a tree in her field during the day and went to take it home every evening. One evening, she found the lamb gone. Someone had cut the rope and stolen the lamb. When her husband came home, she told him what had happened. Henry at once set out to look for the thief. It was easy to find the thief in the small village. Henry heard that his neighbor Alex got a lamb. He went to the neighbors' house and said angrily, "Return the lamb to me, or I'll call the police." Alex explained that he had bought a lamb, but it was black. Henry looked out of the window. There in the garden was a little black lamb. He felt ashamed. Then he apologized to his neighbour. While they were talking, it began to rain. He stayed in Alex's house until the rain stopped. When he went outside, he was surprised to see the lamb changed. The lamb, which had been black half an hour before, was now almost white. "What colour on earth is the lamb," Henry wondered, "black or white?" When her husband came back Mary told him _ . someone had stolen the lamb
The booking notes of the play " the Age of Innocence" . Price: $ 10 BOOKING: There are four ways to book seats for performance : ---In person The Box Office is open from 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 of any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday . Savers are available for children who are below the age of 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 . Please note : we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances . From the passage we can know all the following are true EXCEPT that _ . A. there are only 8 wheelchair spaces in the theatre B. a group of 12 persons can get 10 percent discount C. the audience can't refund money if the performance is on show D. a school party of 15 students should pay $ 90 for the standby tickets Answer: D Parts of Africa are covered by a dark cloud. But this is no rain cloud. It is a living cloud made of billions of locusts and they are eating everything in their path. And now in order to fight against this disaster, a radio station in Senegal, West Africa, is offering listeners 5 kilograms of rice if they can catch and kill 50 kilograms of locusts. "We think this idea will get more people to take part in the fight against the locusts," said Abdoulaye Ba, from Sud-Fm, a radio station in one of Senegal's worst affected area. This is West Africa's biggest locust disaster in 15 years. Now it is moving east and it leads to the loss of crops. When they move, they have babies, so their number is getting bigger. and will soon threaten Sudan in the northeast of Africa. Some say it may reach Asia. Experts say many people in the areas will go hungry because of this disaster. What's worse, governments in the areas don't have enough things to fight the locusts. Although leaders of 12 countries have agreed on a plan, it is not enough. 'We are now treating 6,000 hectares per day with pesticide , but we need to treat 20,000 hectares per day in order to have any hope of controlling this disaster,' said Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Babah, leader of locust control in Mauritania. How many kilograms of rice can Mike get if he catches and kills 450 kilos of locusts? A. 15 B. 25 C. 30 D. 45 Answer: D The Most Unusual Jobs Pet Food Tester . Yes, it's a thing and yes it's totally gross . But Mark Gooley ---the owner of a pet food company, eats dog food for a living. He eats everything from doggie treats and chewy bones to liver mixture. Teddy Bear repair Engineer When your favorite toy loses an arm, or suffers a bad injury, it is upsetting. But now you can get help in the Build-A-Bear Workshops, the teddy bear repair engineers repair your favorite teddy bears and get them back to themselves. Water slide Tester Monday morning surely seems more enjoyable if you spend your working week slipping down water slides in a theme park, especially in summer. You might also spend your lunch break on a roller coaster, eating a hot dog for lunch. Working holiday, am I right? Paint Watcher You may have heard some people say they'd "rather watch paint dry" than do something they don't want to do. Well, if they really mean it, the chance is there---- studying the drying time and effects of paint as a full-time job for a paint company. What is Mark Gooley's job? A. A paint watcher B. A water slide tester. C. A pet food tester. D. A teddy bear repair engineer Answer: C What do you think of singing? If you love it, you will like the TV show Don't Forget the Lyrics. It is a popular singing show in America. This program started from July 11th, 2007. So how does this new singing show work? The _ need to have much knowledge of lyrics. In the show, the contestants have to sing the songs with right lyrics. When he finishes a song with wrong lyrics, he can't sing again. If he finishes all ten songs with right lyrics, he is the winner and he can get a very good prize. You may say, "I can't sing well, but I remember many lyrics of beautiful songs. Can I join it?" Don't worry! The show says, "You don't have to sing it well. You just have to sing it right." Every music lover can join it. How many songs should you finish singing right if you want to win the good prize? A. Five. B. Seven. C. Eight . D. Ten. Answer: D Some animals build a structure called a house for their own species to live in. This animal is a A. rodent B. reptile C. carnivore D. primate Answer: D
How many historic churches, pubs or buildings are there in your city? Are there worth preserving? Or are they just a waste of space? There are arguments for and against spending money on historic buildings. Dangerous staircases. Uneven floors. A lack of IT infrastructure. The problem with many old buildings is that they're... old - and extremely expensive to modernize. Take the case of the Combination Room in Cambridge University. It was built in 1347 and was initially used for lectures. Later, it became the Regent House - the university's parliament. It's of enormous historical value and cultural interest. However, it doesn't meet accessibility standards for disabled people. As a result, a lift needs to be installed, but not everyone is happy about this. "Noting will persuade me that this lift would not in its effect, be a substantial alteration to the most precious room in the university. It would destroy the symmetry of that beautiful room," said one user. In general, modern buildings don't have this type of problem. They can be built according to the latest environment standards, with draught proofing and insulation to help reduce carbon emission and save energy. They can also be made wheelchair accessible, and they can be designed to ensure maximum comfort and space. Anyone who's been to a modern cinema, theatre or concert hall recently may understand the difference between the new buildings and older ones, which tend to have smaller seats, less space and poorer acoustics. Very often, there's money to be made by knocking down old building... especially if they're in city centers. So, the biggest threat to many historic buildings comes from developers. One of Croydon's oldest pubs, The Rose and Crown, is a perfect example of this. A property development company has recently been granted permission to convert the 18th century building into flats, much to the disappointment of many local residents. "The bar is full of unique features and perfect examples of a traditional London pub. It really would be truly tragic for this Grade II listed building to be turned into soulless flats," said a spokesperson for English heritage. So, are these buildings really worth preserving? "Traditional buildings such as churches, town halls, schools and hospitals give England its character," the spokesman added. " _ "[(<<>> 20116 "Building Bash")] One of the users is against installing a lift in the Combination Room for all the reasons except that _ .[ ] Answer: It is extremely expensive to modernize the old building. When I was seven, my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven't had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don't need one. I have a mobile phone and I'm always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these tell the time -- which is why, if you look around, you'll see lots of empty wrists ; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007. But while these wise people have realized that they don't need them, others -- including some distinguished ones of our time -- are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to PS 250.000 for a piece. This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days, all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Yes, you may say expensive watches will come with some extra functions -- but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea to test its function of waterproof, or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole by using its compass? So why pay that much of five years' school fees for watches that allow you to do these things? If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead, the Swiss re-invented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds' worth of advertising, as a message about the man ---- usually a famous star, wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world. Watches are classified as "investment items" now. A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly PS 350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from 15, 000 to 30, 000 plus in a year. But, to some wealthy people, a watch is more than an investment. It's a valuable toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up -- they've been rising for fifteen years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that PS 350, 000 treasured object will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Times. It seems ridiculous to the writer that _ . Answer: expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell If you breathe on a mirror, part of the mirror clouds up. What are you actually seeing when you see the mirror cloud up? Answer: Water droplets that formed from cooled water vapor in your breath Quartz and feldspar are two common minerals. When they are found mixed together in nature they form Answer: rocks. Dear All, Happy New Year! A list of important dates for this term is attached to this letter. Interviews for our April and September Primary One classes will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday,18th&19th January.Now is the time to apply for admission to Peak School. Children are expected to wear their uniforms this term.As is usual at this time of the year,mornings at the school are quite cold and l would suggest children wear their sweaters to school.As the temperature goes up during the day,children tend to take off their outer clothes,so it is important that all sweatshirts are labeled . I have received a few requests from parents asking if their children can wear summer uniforms this term.I am of the view that all children in the school should follow the school policy and be dressed in the appropriate uniforms.In the longer term,a number of US at school have questioned the need to have a winter and summer uniform.Perhaps.with careful consideration,we can develop a uniform that will serve children for the whole academic year. As the foggy mornings start to appear,a number of parents have raised concerns over the safety of those children who walk to school. Our dark green uniforms are not particularly visible to motorists.Hopefully, the "Uniform Committee" to be set up this term will deal with this particular issue.I will keep parents informed of the channels through which views may be expressed in future newsletters. We still have a "No Hat,No Play" rule on the playground,so children need to ensure that they have their sunhats in school at all times. Yours sincerely, P D Tunesi Principal This letter was mainly written to _ . Answer: parents
Question: Sand Company operated an installation for distributing sand and gravel. The installation was adjacent to a residential area. On Sand's grounds there was a chute with polished metal sides for loading sand and gravel into trucks. The trucks being loaded stopped on the public street below the chute. After closing hours, a plywood screen was placed in the chute and the ladder used for inspection was removed to another section of the installation. For several months, however, a number of children, eight to ten years of age, had been playing on Sand's property and the adjoining street after closing hours. The children found the ladder and also discovered that they could remove the plywood screen from the chute and slide down to the street below. Sand knew of this activity. One evening, the children were using the chute as a play device. As an automobile driven by Commuter approached the chute, Ladd, an eight-year-old boy, slid down just in front of the automobile. Commuter applied her brakes, but they suddenly failed, and she hit and injured Ladd. Commuter saw the child in time to have avoided hitting him if her brakes had worked properly. Two days previously, Commuter had taken her car to Garage to have her brakes inspected. Garage inspected the brakes and told her that the brakes were in perfect working order. Claims were asserted on behalf of Ladd by his proper legal representative against Sand, Commuter, and Garage."On Ladd's claim against Commuter, Commuter's best defense is that A. her conduct was not the cause in fact of the harm. B. she used reasonable care in the maintenance of her brakes. C. she could not reasonably foresee Ladd's presence in the street. D. she did not act willfully and wantonl Answer: B. she used reasonable care in the maintenance of her brakes. Question: Singing songs is fun, but is it also useful? For learning English pronunciation , Mr. Joe thinks songs are the most useful way to learn. At the same time, you can learn some new words and phrases while singing songs. Mr. Joe has used songs to help himself learn French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. You should do the same. Some words used in songs are not everyday English, so you have to be careful how you use song lyrics when you speak. Most words and sentences are very useful. You don't have to sing songs aloud if you are shy, but after learning a song you should be able to follow the words without looking at the lyrics. When you can do that, you have learned something that you will never forget! Some good songs to listen to are from the Beatles, John Denver and the Carpenters. Their songs are not too fast and the lyrics are close to normal spoken English. Just for fun, you can try Mr. Joe's favorite singer, B.B. King. His songs are not easy at all! If you can understand even 80% of "Why I Sing the Blues", you are a very _ student. If you become good at singing English songs, you can try to go to karaoke and sing with your friends. When you are able to sing a song in another language, even if you don't sing so beautifully, you will really impress(......) other people! Singing English songs can help us, EXCEPT _ . A. pronounce correctly B. remember new words C. learn English D. sing songs better Answer: D. sing songs better Question: Jack was ten years old and he was a very lazy boy. He didn't like doing any work. He had to go to school, of course, but he didn't study hard there and tried to do little work. His father and mother were both doctors and they hoped that their son would become one too when he grew up. But one day Jack said to his mother, "When I finish school, I want to be a dustman ." "A dustman?" his mother asked. She was very surprised. "That's not a good job. Why do you want to become a dustman?" "Because I would only have to work one day a week," Jack answered at once. "Only one day a week?" his mother said. "What do you mean? And how do you know?" "Well," Jack answered, "I know that the dustman came to work on Thursday every week, because I only see them on that day." Jack's mother felt surprised at his hope of being a dustman, because _ . A. their son was too young to be a dustman B. a dustman worked only one day a week C. it was hard to get such a job D. that was not a good job Answer: D. that was not a good job Question: Around 200 million years ago, the earth was 18 degrees warmer than it is now. That might be a bit hot for humans, but it was just right for the giant dinosaurs that wandered about the earth during the Mesozoic era. A new study found that planteating dinosaurs may have contributed to the warming of the earthby releasing significant amounts of methane . The study, published in science journal Current Biology, focused on sauropods, longnecked herbivores that munched on the top of trees. They were the largest of the dinosaurs; food broke down in their stomachs for long periods of time. The researchers estimate that a sauropoda released 2,675 liters of methane per day--adding up to a large amount of the greenhouse gas being pumped from dinosaur's gut into the atmosphere. Plant eaters naturally release methane as part of their digestive process. The larger the animal, the more methane it produces. Methane, a greenhouse gas, traps heat and remains in the atmosphere for approximately 915 years, which warms the atmosphere. Today, some animals, such as cattle, goats and sheep, produce large amounts of methane as a byproduct to their food digestion. Methane is also released from human--influenced sources such as landfill, agricultural activities, coal mining and other industrial practices--which all contribute to today's climate change, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The researchers estimate that earth's sauropods would have produced about 520 million tons of methane per year--similar to the total amount of methane produced today by natural and manmade sources. However, the researchers warn that their numbers are estimates based on multiple assumptions about the digestive systems and populations of dinosaurs. The author of the study David Wilkinson says the emission of methane from dinosaurs would have been just one of the causes of warm climate during the Mesozoic era. Other causes include gases produced from volcanoes, swamps, shallow seas and so on. Still, Wilkinson says," The amount of methane from dinosaurs is large enough to have a measurable effect." Scientists think dinosaurs may have led to the global warming because _ . A. they ate everything they found B. they usually had a good appetite C. they released a lot of methane D. there were too many dinosaurs on earth Answer: C. they released a lot of methane Question: When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time. One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum. He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour late, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn`t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to Wait right here. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, "You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?" I did not know how to answer that question. He continued,: It is OK if you can`t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother." Then he sent us to mum`s workplace by taxi. I have depended on the kindness of many strangers in my whole life. I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I don't even remember what the man`s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson--people are more important than things. ,,. What did the man mean by saying "It`s Ok if you can`t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother."? A. People are more important than things. B. Things are more important than people. C. Both the shoe and your brother are important. D. The shoe is more important than your brother. Answer: A. People are more important than things.
I also went out every day,and I always had my gun with me. Sometimes I killed a wild animal,and then _ 1 _ . But when it got dark,I had to go to bed because I had no light. I couldn't read or write because I couldn't see. But in the end,I learnt how to use the fat of dead animals to make a light. ... And so my life went on. Every month I learnt to do or to make something new. But I had troubles and accidents too. Once there was a terrible storm with very heavy rain. The roof of my cave fell in,and nearly killed me!I had to build it up again with many pieces of wood. _ 2 _ . I cooked it over a fire or dried it in the sun. So I always had meat during the rainy months when I could not go out with a gun. I learnt to make pots to keep my food in. But I wanted very much to make a harder,stronger pot--a pot that would not break in a fire. I tried many times,but I could not do it. Then one day I was lucky. I made some new pots and put them in a very hot fire. They changed colour,but did not break. I left them there for many hours,and when they were cold again,I found that they were hard and strong. That night I was very happy. I had hot water for the first time on the island. By then,I also had my own bread. That was luck,too. One day I found a little bag. We used it on the ship,to keep the chickens' food in. There was still some of the food in the bag,and I dropped some of it onto the ground. A month later I saw something bright green there,and after six months I had a very small field of corn. I was very excited. Perhaps now I could make my own bread! It was easy to say,but not so easy to do. It is a lot of work to make bread from corn. Many people eat bread,but how many people can take corn from a field and make bread out of it without help?I had to learn and to make many new things. _ 3 _ . During all this time I never stopped thinking about escape. When I travelled across to the other side of the island,I could see the other islands,and I said to myself,'Perhaps I can get there with a boat. Perhaps I can get back to England one day. ' So I decided to make myself a boat. I cut down a big tree,and then began to make a long hole in it. It was hard work,but about six months later,I had a very fine canoe. Next,I had to get it down to the sea. How stupid I was!Why didn't I think before I began work?Of course,the canoe was too heavy. I couldn't move it!I pulled and pushed and tried everything,but it didn't move. _ 4 _ . That happened in my fourth year on the island. In my sixth year I did make myself a smaller canoe,but I did not try to escape in it. The boat was too small for a long journey,and I did not want to die at sea. The island was my home now,not my prison,and I was just happy to be alive. There were always things to do or to make. I learnt to make new clothes for myself from the skins of dead animals. They looked very strange,it is true,but they kept me dry in the rain... Which of the following can be used to describe the man in the passage? Answer: Shirley Temple, who died on February 10, 2014, was that rare example of a Hollywood child star who, when the cameras stopped rolling, carved out a new career. For four years, she was Hollywood's biggest box-office star representing the kind of sweet, innocent girl that everyone wanted as their daughter. However, years later, she reappeared as a successful politician. Shirley Temple was born in Santa Monica, California on 23 April 1928. Encouraged by her mother, she learned to dance while she was just three. In 1934, Stand Up and Cheer became her first film and the film was a great success. At the age of six she was earning $1,250 a week -- more than $21,000 at today's values. Across the world, audiences flocked to see her in films such as Little Miss Marker, The Little Colonel and The Littlest Rebel. In 1935 she was awarded a special Oscar (Academy Award) and her foot and hand prints were added to those of stars such as Jean Harlow and Mary Pickford outside Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood. The peak of her film career came in 1939 when The Little Princess became a box-office success. Temple starred in a total of 43 feature films. But she found it difficult to maintain her film career in adulthood and retired from Hollywood in 1950. She disappeared from the spotlight for nearly 20 years. She returned to the public eye in 1967, as a Republican candidate for Congress. When Nixon became president, he rewarded her with an appointment to the American delegation to the United Nations. Then, in 1974, President Ford appointed her the United States Ambassador to Ghana. George Bush Snr, appointed her Ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Shirley Temple drew a line between her childhood stardom and her later political career. "Some people are stuck on this image of the little girl," she once said. "She is not me. We shouldn't live in the past; my life is now." Nevertheless, for many across the world, the name Shirley Temple always called to mind a superstar child. What happened to Shirley Temple when she was 7 years old? Answer: In today's Internet age, the demand for online games continues to grow. Online computer game centers exist in many cities and towns throughout Asia. Facing the pressures of school and life, people tend to the virtual world, expecting a diversion from these problems. Too often, however, they can lead to problems and unhealthy addictions. This is most clearly seen in the example of South Korea. The country has the world's highest percentage of highspeed Internet services. It also has a high number of online game players and related problems. It was once reported that a young man collapsed and died while playing online games. He had been playing almost nonstop for 86 hours at an Internet cafe. Another young man killed his sister after becoming confused between the online world and real life. A 12yearold boy stole US $ 16000 from his father and ran away from home. He did this to continue his obsession with online game. Such problems, however, don't just happen in South Korea. They are spreading to other parts of Asia, as well. What kinds of people develop online game addiction? What does the problem look like? Dr SueHuei Chen, a clinical psychologist, researches Internet addiction. She discovered some signs of atrisk individuals such as lack friendship and good social skills. Those problem individuals feel it so compulsive to play online games that they could sacrifice things such as school and family. They feel the need to spend more and more time online. And they become upset if anyone tries to limit their online game playing. How many problem game players are there? In mainland China, the potential number of problem online gamers is alarming. Just in 2004, China has had 13.8 million online game players according to China Daily. Furthermore, it stated that 80 percent of these were under 25 and had signs of addiction. Such numbers point toward a growing problem among Chinese youth. Make sure to keep control over your online game playing. If you don't control it, it can get control of you. What's the best title for the passage? Answer: "NOW I just don't believe that. "Surely all of us, at some point, have watched a movie and thought: It's simply badly researched,or the makers must think we're fools. Recently, The Daily Telegraph ran a humorous piece on untrue tech moments from some top movies. Let's see what they are all about. Tom Chiver, the writer of The Daily Telegraph uses his first example from the movie Independence Day, in which a character comes up with a virus which destroys Windows the computer system the alien spacecraft uses. "It's a good thing that they didn't have Norton Anti-virus," jokes Chivers. It's just one case of a movie that takes a lot of license with its science. Another one Chivers mentions is from the movie Star Wars, where the glowing light beams traveling through space look very impressive. But the problem is that in space there are no air particles for the light to reflect off. In reality, they'd be invisible , which wouldn't look so cool on the big screen. Most people think that the mind--bending Matrix films are made for great viewing. But for Chivers, the science in the movies is a little bit silly. He comments "...the film is based on the idea that humans are kept alive as electricity generators . This is not just unlikely --it's basically impossible. _ would need more energy to stay alive than they would produce. It's just like saying that you'll power the car with batteries, and keep the batteries charged by running a generator from the wheels. " And finally, as Chivers points out, DNA is not replaceable. But this bit of elementary genetics passed the makers of the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day by. In the film the bad guy has "gene treatment" to change his appearance and his DNA, which is completely impossible in our real world. Which of the following does the writer agree with about the movie Independence Day? Answer: In one way, it may be thought that failure is a part of life. In another, failure may be regarded as a step towards success. The "spider story" is often told as an example of this. Robert Bruce, leader of the Scots in the 13th century, was hiding in a hole on a hill from the English. He watched a spider making a web . Bruce is said to have got confidence from this and to have gone on to beat the English. Edison, too, the inventor of the light bulb , made hundreds of models that failed before he found the right way to make one. So what? First, always think about your failure. What caused it? Were you in high spirit then? What can you change so that things will go right the next time? Second, is the goal you are trying to reach the right one? Try to do some thinking about what your real goal may be. Think about this question: If I am successful in this, where will it get me?" This may help to prevent failure in the things you shouldn't be doing anyway. The third thing to remember about failure is that it's a part of life. Learn to "live with yourself!" even though you may have failed. Remember, "You can't live with them all." Edison's example shows us that _ . Answer:
Which is a characteristic of a sperm cell but not of an egg cell? Answer: It was reported last week that developers could take photos from Apple mobile and Google Android devices without the phone owners knowing that the images were being taken. In Apple's case, developers can also obtain the location information for each photo. Senator Charles Schumer said in a telephone interview that his office had spoken with officials at both Apple and Google on Monday. "We asked them if they could find a way on their own to prevent Apple from having access to private information," Mr. Schumer said. "They were friendly and open to the idea that this ought to be changed." On Sunday, Mr. Schumer said that he planned to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to investigate Apple and Google after the privacy concerns came to light. Claudia Bourne Farrell, an F.T.C. spokeswoman, said the agency had received the letter but she could not comment further. "It worries people to think that one's personal photos, address book, and who knows what else can be obtained and even posted online without permission," Mr. Schumer wrote in his letter to the F.T.C. "If the technology exists to open the door to this kind of privacy invasion , then surely technology exists to close it, and that's exactly what must happen." Mr. Schumer said if Apple and Google could not come to an agreement to fix the problem, then he would be forced to take the issue further. He said other companies had been willing to work with his office to fix issues. "I'm optimistic that we can get this changed without any regulation," he said. "If it's not changed, then we'll turn to the F.T.C., and if that doesn't work then we'llconsider legislative approach." The F.T.C. has warned companies to try to be more vigilant in their efforts to protect consumers when it comes to privacy. Which of the following statements is true? Answer: Miss Green came into the classroom with a piece of paper. There was a big black dot in the middle. Miss Green put up this piece of paper and asked, "What can you see in the middle of the white paper?" All the children watched the black dot. " A black dot," they answered quickly. "But can't you see this piece of white paper? The black dot is like unlucky things in our life. If we only see the dark dot, how can we be happy?" The classroom was very quiet at the moment. Miss Green took out another piece of paper from her bag. This was a piece of black paper with a white dot in the middle. "what can you see, kids?" she asked the children with a smile on her facc. "A white dot," the children answered loudly. Miss Green smiled, "My children, although we may be happy or worried in our life, it is just like the clouds in the sky. The clouds can lift quickly and the sun can come out soon. You can be a happy child with the sun in your eyes all the time." What does Miss Green do? Answer: One day three Frenchmen who did not know English very well were talking about the English language. The first Frenchman said, 'I heard someone shout 'look out' ,I put my head out of a window and a basin of water fell on me. It seems that 'look out' may mean 'don't look out!' The second one followed, ' I was once on a ship and heard the captain shout, 'All hands on the deck ' I put my hands on the deck and someone trod on them.' The third one told his friends his experience too, 'One early morning I called on my English friend and the maid said, 'He is not up yet, come back in half an hour.' When I went again for him, she said, 'He's not down yet.'I said, 'If he's not up and he is not down, where is he then? What a strange language it is!' When the captain shouted. "All hands on deck", he really meant to tell _ . Answer: Beijing Opera is my favourite. Bao Zheng always has a black face and Guan Yu has a red face in Beijing Opera. But many people don't know why. I come from America and I have lived in China for six years. I like Beijing Opera very much. I think Beijing Opera is very interesting. I can learn a lot about Chinese history. Now let me tell you the art of Beijing Opera facial paintings . In Beijing Opera facial paintings, different colours and patterns are for different roles. For example, a black face for fair people. A red face is for brave people. A white face is for bad people. Blue and green faces are for heroes . The gold face is for gods. Why does Bao Zheng have a black face? Answer:
Tommy was a cowboy. He and his horse, Candy, lived by the Gentle River. The Gentle River was as clear as a mirror. One day, Tommy was riding Candy along the shore when he saw a fire in the distance. "Wow," Tommy said. "I wonder why there's a fire." Tommy and Candy went to see. The fire was deep in the hills, and it took a long time to get there. By the time they arrived, it was almost supper time. The fire was a campfire. There was a little girl at the fire. She was drawing pictures with crayons. "Hello," Tommy said. "What are you doing in the hills?" "I'm Lucy," the girl said. "I'm camping, but my tent got blown away by the wind. So I'm sitting by the fire and drawing pictures." "What are you drawing?" "I'm finishing up this drawing of a dragon," she said. Then she pointed at two drawings on the ground next to her. They were held in place with pebbles. "This is an elf," she said. "And this is a pony." "They're very pretty," Tommy said. "I'm Tommy, and this is Candy." "Pleased to meet you," Lucy said. "Would you like to draw with me? We can do a drawing of Candy together." "That would be fun," Tommy said. And so they sat down and drew a picture of Candy together. How did Tommy get to the fire, and where did he get there from? A He walked from the Gentle River to the fire in the hills. B He rode Candy from the Gentle River to the fire in the hills. C He walked from the hills to the fire by the Gentle River. D He rode his horse from the hills to the fire by the Gentle River. Answer: B Bill is ten years old. One day his friend Tom says to him, "I am going to have a birthday party on Sunday evening. Bill, can you come to my party?" "I'll be glad to," answers Bill. Before Bill goes to the party on Sunday afternoon, his mother says to him, "Now, Bill, don't forget to be polite . Don't ask for food until someone gives it to you.""All right, Mum." Bill answers, and he goes to Tom's house on his new bike. There are a lot of children at the party. They play for an hour. Then Tom's mother gives them some food. But she forgets to give Bill any. He waits politely for ten minutes and then holds his plate up in the air and says loudly , "Does anyone want a nice and clean plate?" Tom is going to _ on Sunday evening. A have a meeting B have a talk C have a football match D have a birthday party Answer: D Bicycles, a long-forgotten vehicle that seems to belong to the last century, are returning to the streets of Guangzhou, as the city starts to ban the running of motorcycle in urban Guangzhou. "Business has never been so good for my shop," said Chen Yongwu, a bicycle shop owner at the city's Donghua West Road, "I have to work 12 hours a day to meet the demand of my customers. " "Even my wife and brother-in-law have to give me a hand lately. " Chen originally ran a motorcycle repair shop. He grasped the opportunity of the motorcycle ban, and started his bicycle business soon after hearing about the banning. "I sold 23 bicycles on January 2 alone. " Said Chen. Bicycle is more convenient and healthier "My home is one kilometer from the metro station," said a middle-aged man who is waiting for his bicycle at Chen's shop, "it is too tiresome to walk to the station, but taking a bus for such a short distance is a waste of money. " "So I decided to buy a bicycle. " The bicycle costs around 600 yuan, which is equal to the bus fare of half a year. "Besides, riding a bicycle to work is much healthier than riding a bus. " The bicycle buyers can be categorized into two groups. One group of buyers buy the bicycles for the transportation of small commodities; the other ride the bicycles to work. Arising problems Riding a bicycle to work may be healthy, but it is not without problems. The lack of bicycle lanes has posed a big threat to the safety of the bicycle riders in Guangzhou. "I was riding my bicycle on Huifu West Road on day," said Mr. Zhang, "then suddenly the bus pulled over besides me near the bus station. " "I was so frightened at the time, because the bus nearly hit me. " The sideways in Guangzhou are usually crowded with foot passengers, so citizens also could not use the sideways. "It is worse than walking. " Besides, finding a place a park the bicycles could be very difficult, much more difficult then finding a place to park your car. What is the min topic of the passage? A Motorcycle ban. B Bicycles'returming C Convenience of riding a bicycle D Problems brought by bicycles Answer: B For the past four years, the Green Festival in Washington, D.C., has brought together people from around the country who are interested in the environmental movement. The groups call the festival "a party with a purpose". They say the purpose of the Green Festival is to create an economy in which natural resources are used in a way that does not destroy the environment. To the people who organize the event, "green" means having a safe and healthy community and a strong local economy. Throughout the two-day event, over one thousand people volunteered to help the festival run smoothly. Four hundred businesses and organizations showed their products and projects. About three thousand visitors came to the party. They could find everything from naturally made organic food to clothing made from bamboo plants. There were over one hundred fifty speakers and discussion groups. For example, you could learn how to be an environmentally friendly traveler. You could also watch several movies about political and environmental issues. Then you could listen to some live music performances. After sitting for too long, visitors could take a yoga exercise class. There was even an area for children. Younger visitors could enjoy fun games and lessons on subjects like protecting the rainforest and creating chocolate sweets. Green building was one of the important subjects at the festival. Many companies and organizations aim to create environmentally safe buildings. They design structures with reduced energy use, fewer chemicals and more recycled materials. The Loading Dock is an organization based in Baltimore, Maryland. Its message is that "a person could build a house with what others throw away". The Loading Dock collects donations of used building materials such as flooring, lighting, doors, and windows. These materials would otherwise end up in a landfill trash center. Then, the group resells the materials. This way, the materials are recycled. This form of recycling provides entire families and neighborhoods with low cost solutions for rebuilding their communities. Spending a day at the Green Festival showed people many solutions for improving the health of our planet. People have _ green choices, from the things people buy to the ways people eat, think, and live. The Green Festival connects a wide community of people who care deeply about, and are working to improve, our shared environment. What could younger visitors do in the festival? A They could watch some movies about love. B They could build a house with their hands. C They could play fun games and have lessons. D They could taste food made from bamboo plants. Answer: C One evening in February 2007 . a student named Paula Ceely brought her car to a stop on a remote in Wales . She got out to open a metal gate that blocked her path . That's when she heard the whistle sounded by the driver of a train.Her Renault Clio parked across a railway line. Second later,she watched the train drag her car almost a kilometre down the railway tracks. Ceely's _ made the news because she blamed it on her GPS device .She had never driven the route before .It was dark and raining heavily . Ceely was relying on her GPS. But it made no mention of the crossing ."I put my complete trust in the device and it led me right into the path of a speeding train ,"she told the BBC. W ho is to blame here ? Rick Stevenson ,who tells Ceely's story in his book When Machines Fail US, finger at the limitations of technology. We put our faith in digital devices, he says, but our digital helpers are too often not up to the job. They are filled with small problems. And it's not just GPS devices: Stevenson takes us on a tour of digital disasters involving everything from mobile phones to wireless key boards. The problem with his argument in the book is that it's not clear why he only focuses digital technology,while there may be a number of other possible causes. A map-maker might have left the crossing off a paper map. Maybe we should blame Ceely for not paying attention. perhaps the railway authorities are at fault for poor signaling system. Or maybe someone has studied the relative dangers and worked out that there really is something specific wrong with the CPS equipment. But Stevenson doesn't say. It's a problem that runs through the book. In a section on cars, Stevenson gives an accout of the advanced techniques that criminals use to defeat computer-based locking systems for cars. He offers two independent sets of figures on car theft; both show a small rise in some parts of the country. He says that once once again not all new locks have proved reliable. Perhaps, but maybe it's also due to the shortage of policemen on the streets. Or changing social circumstances. Or some combination of these factors . The game between humans and their smart devices is complex. It is shaped by economics and psychology and the cultures we live in. Somewhere in the mix of those forces there may be way a wiser use of technology. If there is such a way, it should involve more than just an awareness of the shortcomings of our machines. After all, we have lived with them for thousands of years. They have probably been fooling us for just as long . What did Paula Ceely think was the cause of her accident? A Shewasnotfamiliarwiththeroad. B Itwasdarkandrainingheavilythen. C The railway works failed to give the signal. D Her GPS device didn't tell her about the crossing Answer: D
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the eleventh century BC. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England. By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe. Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn't until the twentieth century that women's umbrellas began to be made, in a whole variety of colors. According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient _ . China A "secret" message, unseen for almost 150 years and making the start of the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), has been uncovered in Abraham Lincoln's gold pocket watch, prefix = st1 /U.S.media reported on Wednesday. "Lincolnnever knew of the message he carried in his pocket," Brent D. Glass, director of the National Museum of American History said in a statement. The message, which was engraved by an Irish immigrant and watchmaker named Jonathan Dillon, is dated April 13, 1861, and reads in part: "FortSumpter[sic] was attacked by the rebels" and "thank God we have a government." "It's a personal side of history about an ordinary watchman being inspired to record something for _ ," Glass said. The museum decided to open the watch after being contacted by the watchmaker's great-great-grandson, Doug Stiles, who had received a letter from a in Ireland. It said that the family had found a letter Dillon had written about the purported message in the watch. Then Stiles, a 57 -year-old real estate lawyer in Waukegan,Illinois, searched on the Internet and found a New York Times article from 1906, where Dillon told the story at the age of 84. During the interview, Dillon said that he unscrewed the dial of the watch and wrote on the metal as soon as he heard the news about the first shot of the Civil War. "The first gun is fired. Slavery is dead. Thank God we have a President who at least will try." However, the actual message that the museum found is different from what Dillon recalled. It reads, "Jonathan Dillon, April 13-1861, Fort Sumpter [sic] was attacked by the rebels on the above date J Dillon, April 13 -1861, Washington, thank God we have a government, Jonth Dillon." Who wrote the message in Abraham Lincoln's pocket watch? Jonathan Dillon. Students who date in middle school have significantly worse study skills, are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use than their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia. "Romantic relationships are a symbol of adolescence , but very few studies have examined how adolescents are different in the development of these relationships." said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health. Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade. Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school. "At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills," according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit, being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters. "Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker," Orpinas said, "When the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert attention from studying." "Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school."Orpinas concluded. According to the passage, students who date in middle school may _ . have poorer academic performances One day, Mr. Smith went to a dinner party. He was wearing very old clothes. He came into the room. But people in the room didn't look at him. They didn't ask him to sit at the table. He wasn't happy. But he said nothing. Mr. Smith went home quickly and put on his best clothes. He went back to the party. Everyone in the room stood up and looked at him. They gave him good food to eat. Mr. Smith took off his coat, and put it on the food and said, "Eat, coat!" The other people were surprised and asked, "What are you doing? Why do you do that?" Mr. Smith answered, "I am asking my coat to eat food. When I wore old clothes, you didn't look at me. You didn't ask me to sit down. Now I am wearing these nice clothes. And you give me good food. Now I see, you give the food to my coat, not to me." One day, Mr. Smith went to _ . a dinner party An Englishman was once traveling in Italy. One day he went into a small restaurant to order dinner. He understood very little Italian and couldn't read the menu . He knew the word for eggs, and so he ordered eggs. Italy is famous, however, for its mushrooms with eggs. But he did not know the word for mushrooms. The waiter did not speak a word of English and could not help him. At last, the man took out his pocket a pencil and a piece of paper and very carefully drew a picture of a mushroom on the piece of paper. The waiter looked at the picture of the mushroom for a long while. He did not understand very well, but at last he left. He was gone a long time. After about a half hour he returned. But instead of an order of mushroom, he brought the man a large black umbrella. How did the Englishman tell the waiter that he wanted some mushrooms? He showed the waiter a picture of a mushroom.
When looking for diet plans to gain muscle there are some great tips that can help you to ensure that you are eating to help you build the muscle that you want. Your diet is just as important as exercise when you attach importance to your diet, it can help you to reach your goal much faster. You will find that you will eat lean meat almost daily. If you eat meat each day this can help you to keep your figure. The trick with beef is to find lean cuts and this is something that can provide you with protein. Fish and turkey will also be included in the diet. Chicken has some rules and you should always eat skinless and avoid frying. Fiber is something that is not talked much about when looking for a muscle building diet, but this is basis part of the muscle building diet. Fiber has many benefits and will aid in digestion and help you to feel full. Oatmeal is a great source of fiber, but you should avoid the premade oatmeal. Fruit and vegetables contain a lot of fiber and this can also aid in weight loss if this is a problem you are working on. If you want to complete your workout more effectively, you need to make sure that you are drinking adequate amount of water each day. Your body is made up of water and you need to replenish this water source each day in order to be in the best shape. If you are completing a very intense workout, you will need to make sure that you are drinking even more water to stay hydrated . When protein is a great way for busy individuals to get the protein they need on the go. You will use soy and tofu for sources of protein if you do not eat meat and this can be a wonderful alternative. There are diet plans to gain muscle for every category. You can make minor adjustments to your diet that can have some great benefits. What's the best title of the passage? A Proper diets can help build your muscle B The diet is not as important as exercise C Diet plans are very important D Paying attention to your diet Answer: A. Proper diets can help build your muscle I love charity shops and so do lots of other people in Britain because you find quite a few of them on every high street. The charity shop is a British institution, selling everything from clothes to electric goods, all at very good prices. You can get things you won't find in the shops anymore. The thing I like best about them is that your money is going to a good cause and not into the pockets of profit-driven companies, and you are not damaging the planet, but finding a new home for unwanted goods. The first charity shop was opened in 1947 by Oxfam. The famous charity's appeal to aid postwar Greece had been so successful that it had been flooded with donations. They decided to set up a shop to sell some of these donations to raise money for that appeal. Now there are over 7,000 charity shops in the UK. My favorite charity shop in my hometown is the Red Cross shop, where I always find children's books, all 10 or 20 pence each. Most of the people working in the charity shops are volunteers, although there is often a manager who gets paid. Over 90% of the goods in the charity shops are donated by the public. Every morning you see bags of unwanted items outside the front of shops, although they don't encourage this, rather ask people to bring things in when the shop is open. The shops have very low running costs, and all profits go to charity work. Charity shops raise more than PS110 million a year, funding medical research, overseas aid, supporting sick and poor children, homeless and disabled people, and much more. What better places to spend your money? You get something special for a very good price and a good moral sense. You provide funds to a good cause and step lightly on the environment. Which of the following is TRUE about charity shops? A The operating costs are very low. B The staff are usually well paid. C 90% of the donations are second-hand. D They are open twenty-four hours a day. Answer: A. The operating costs are very low. A recent survey shows the number of online game users in China reached 40 million last year. That's over a 20 percent increase from the year before. At 22:00 p.m. in a Beijing Internet cafe, many people inside,especially the young, playing online games. An industry report says that over 90% of online game users are under 30. An online game player said, "Online games help me handle life pressures. The scenarios don't come up in real life, so I can be famous and get whatever I want when playing. Players say this is their way of communicating with each other,even in different places. Though many players admit that online games are time consuming and cost much money, the number of users is increasing. It's estimated that by 2012, there will be 80 million online game players in China. Driven by profit, developers are constantly working on new games. Last year, more than 250 new games entered the market. But figures show that games with a native cultural background are preferred, even by foreigners. "During our research on new games, we found we can promote Chinese culture with the game itself." said an online game developer. Criticism about online games is beefing up with more and more young people spending too much time playing games filled with violence, gambling and superstition. Kou Xiaowei from Gen. Admin. of Press & Publication said, "We are putting forward stricter monitoring measures. If bad content is found, it will be deleted." With the help of government guidelines, developers are producing better quality online games suitable for young people. Games that are not violent or offensive, but ones from which a player can learn, such as general knowledge of quiz games. Officials say they will spend five years on purifying the online games. Their goal is to produce games that entertain and at the same time, provide useful knowledge. The best title of the passage is _ . A More Online Games Are Used in China B Playing Online Games Harms Users C Bad Online Games Should Be Banned D Developing New Online Games Pays Answer: A. More Online Games Are Used in China Nature Love Yolanda loves nature. She loves trees, flowers, grass, singing birds, the sky, and even the wind. She spends a lot of time lying on the grass, looking at the sky, and listening to the birds. One of Yolanda's favorite things to do is to look at the shapes of the big, fluffy clouds. "That one looks like a flower. And that one looks like a boat. There's one that looks like my dog!" she says to herself. She is always surprised and happy to find a new shape. Yolanda's most favorite thing to do is to look at the flowers and bugs that visit her place. She watches and studies all the butterflies, bees, ants, spiders, and even worms that are in her backyard. Yolanda has a wonderful backyard. Her mother has a big, beautiful garden that she helps to take care of. This is how Yolanda is learning to grow and take care of plants. The garden makes the whole yard look beautiful and smell wonderful. And the garden brings in all kinds of amazing birds and insects. Yolanda has lots of pictures of the birds and bugs that come into her backyard. She feels like a kid scientist. Someday, she wants to become a real scientist. Then she can learn all about plants, bugs and nature. What does Yolanda want to become someday and why? A A real scientist, so she can learn all about building houses and backyards. B A real scientist, so she can study medicine. C A real scientist, so she can learn all about plants, bugs and nature. D A gardener, so she can learn all about plants, bugs and nature. Answer: C. A real scientist, so she can learn all about plants, bugs and nature. There was one thought that air pollution affected only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile traffic. At present, we realize that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is literally worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the east of the United States and brought health warnings in rural areas away from any major concentration of manufacturing and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be infected by air pollution. Some scientists consider that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a "greenhouse effect"-- conserving heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be in water. Another view, less widely held, is that increasing particular matter in the atmosphere is blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature -- a result that would be equally disastrous. A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to a new ice age, and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. Today we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report drafted by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very possible). Perhaps, if we are lucky enough, the two tendencies will _ each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now. Driven by economic profits, people neglect the damage on our environment caused by the "advanced civilization". Maybe the air pollution is the price the human beings have to pay for their development. But is it really worthwhile? As to the greenhouse effect, the author _ . A share the same view with the scientist. B is uncertain of its occurrence C rejects it as being ungrounded D thinks that it will destroy the world soon Answer: B. is uncertain of its occurrence
In June 2013 a five-year-old boy, Toby, was walking home from school thinking about the long summer ahead. Money was tight that year and Toby's parents had told him they would not be able to afford a holiday. Instead of dreaming about foreign travel, he had been reading a book, Letter to New Zealand, where the author explains what happens in an envelope's journey from England to the other side of the world. As they neared their house, Toby asked his mum, Sabine, if he could write a letter to New Zealand. After a few more steps he was struck by an even better idea. "Can I write a letter to every country in the world?" Sabine says she often wonders what would have happened if she had replied differently that day. "It was just one of those typical questions that five-year-olds have," she says. " If he had asked me in the evening when I was tired, I might have refused. But as parents you realize there's a lot of power in just allowing kids to have a go. Also, it seemed a nice way to do some armchair exploration. So I told him" Let's see how far you get." The answer was very far indeed. Toby has since written and posted letters to all 193 UN mumber states, as well as numerous other bad-conditioned areas with comforting ones. To date he has written 681 letters- the best of which have been selected to appear in a new book called Dear World, How Are You?- although so productive is Toby' pen that the number will have risen by the time you read this. "Writing these letters has made me realize that the world isn't actually all that big," he says with a grin. In the future, part of him would like to be a musical director to turn his beloved Star Wars into a ballet. Of course, he also hopes to travel the globe in person to see some of the countries where his letters have ended up. "We're so lucky to have this wonderful world, and I hope we can live on planet Earth in peace." What's the influence of writing letters to Toby? Answer: Steve took his family to the lake. There are a lot of things to do at the lake. Steve's favorite thing to do is ride in his red boat across the blue water. The boat is very loud and makes dark brown smoke. The boat can go very fast. Steve has a son named Bobby. Bobby doesn't like riding in the boat, he prefers to sit on the shore and make lunch. He makes sandwiches for the whole family. Bobby loves eating ham sandwiches, but Steve prefers turkey sandwiches. Bobby's mom also likes to eat ham sandwiches. Bobby also has a younger sister named Mary. Mary doesn't like eating sandwiches so she brings one cup of soup and some chips for her lunch. Mary enjoys fishing at the lake. She caught two yellow fish, five pink fish and three blue fish. Mary wants to cook the fish for dinner. Bobby's mom likes to wear her favorite orange hat. Her hat also has a big purple flower on top. She got the hat from Billy who works at the big store down the street. After Steve's family leaves the lake they all want to go home and eat dinner. Playing at the lake makes them all very hungry! What color is Steve's boat? Answer: What item's housing is made of metal? Answer: The first Beijing Fair of National Culture and Art kicked off August 3 and ran till August 12. The fair features more than 21 old Beijing business brands, more than 80 examples of intangible cultural heritage and 6 official Olympics merchandise. One of the highlights is a show featuring 15 lanterns. The fair aims at starting cultivating the cultural atmosphere for the Beijing Olympic Games, by highlighting the long history and culture of the city. The fair is divided into 12 districts and is open from 430--930 pm. There are both exhibitions and performances and interactive items tourists can enjoy. Sports competitions and craftmaking are available to teenagers, who can learn from old masters. Some of the most notable art elements include three luxury items worn by nobles in ancient China:a wooden craft called"pillow of Lu Ban", after a legendary civil engineer and carpenter who lived from 507--444 B.C., and whose designs are still used, and glass grapes. Some items are for sale and shoppers can hear about the history of the items from craftspeople. The lantern show includes 15 pieces installed along the park's main roads, providing both light and decor. There will be lantern shows accompanied by music and some lanterns feature designs including flowers, the moon and animal paintings. The fair also provides opportunities to teenagers to take part in interactive activities. For example, children can learn how to make dough figures from artist Wang Xingshan. They can also learn the art of papercutting, get some practice of braiding Chinese knots, and learn how to make sugar figures. The first Beijing Fair of National Culture and Art lasted _ days. Answer: Dear Santa Claus, My name is Amy. I am 17 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 when 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 Content. When Amy's letter arrived at the radio station, Manager Lee Tobin read it carefully. He thought it wound be good for the people in Fort Wayne to hear about this special girl 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 stations reported the story of the 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. Some of the writers had disabilities; some had been teased as children. Each writer had a special message for Amy. Through the cards and letters from strangers, Amy saw a world full of people who truly cared about each other. Many people thanked Amy for being brave enough to speak up. Others encouraged her to ignore teasing and to hold her head high. Amy did get her wish of a special day without teasing at South Wayne High School. Teachers and students talked together about how bad teasing can make others feel. That year, the Fort Wayne mayor officially declared December 21stas 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," he said, "wants to and should be treated with respect, dignity and warmth." The postman was a regular at the Hagadorn house because _ . Answer:
Children, especially at young ages, are very creative. And creativity can be a glorious thing. Look at all the amazing artists and architects that have created glorious pieces of history. Look at all the authors with the award winning books. Now I am not saying everyone is going to end up this way but creativity is an important part of growing up and becoming who you are. This should be encouraged in young children as well as the older children. Young children grow up playing with make-believe. And so many people try to make their young child see that their invisible friend isn't real or that talking when someone is not in the room is _ . To adults it is, but for small children it is them being creative. May it be them playing house, or chef, or playing with stuffed animals, it is their creative part coming out. Some kids can have fun playing with rocks and sticks and it's because of their creativeness that they can do this. The invisible friend part is another part of being imaginative, and is not a bad thing since they will grow out of that phase. So encourage this and play along with them, play house or stuffed animals or whatever they want to play. Help keep their imagination running. You can even make up games, like treasure hunts, dinosaurs, or super heroes; there is just so much you can choose from. For older children, talk to them. Help them see things through others' eyes, or help them see things from a different point of view. Helping children see things from other views helps them keep their minds open for new ideas and new things. All this can help your children's minds stay creative. The arts and music, even thoughts are an important part of life and important in our society. If we didn't have and encourage creative thinking, we wouldn't have had inventors, or philosophers, or as I said before, artists. What is mainly talked about in the passage? When you walk along a street in a big city in the United States, you may see clocks in most stores. Radio announcers give the correct time during the day. People there think that it is important to know the time. Most Americans have watches. They want to do certain things at certain times. They do not want to be late. Not all people all over the world value time. Suppose you visit a certain country in South America. You would find that people living there do not like to rush. If you had an appointment with someone, he would probably be late. He would not care for arriving on time. In some countries in South America, even the radio programs may not begin right on time, nor do the radio announcers think it important to announce the right time. Many people regard a clock as a machine. It seems to them that a person who does everything on time is controlled by a machine. They do not want a clock or any machine to have that much power over their lives. In some countries in South America _ . Humans aren't the only ones getting a buzz from coffee.Caffeine can improve memory among honeybees and lead to better pollination .According to a recent study published in the journal Science. The study was conducted by a team of researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.They found that the nectar of some flowers,such as those from grapefruit and lemon plants,as well as certain coffee flowers,contains low doses of caffeine.To get bees to feed on these flowers,the team trained the insects to associate food with the smell of the flowers.They also trained another group of bees to feed on nectar from flowers that were sweetened with a sugar, but did not contain caffeine.After 24 hours,the bees trained on caffeinated flowers returned to these plants three times as often as those trained on the sweetened flowers returned to the uncaffeinated plants. Professor Geraldine Wright led the researchers."Remembering floral traits is difficult for bees to perform at a fast pace as they fly from flower to flower and we found that caffeine helps the bee remember where the flowers are,"Wright said in a statement. Improved memory led to the better pollination.That's because once bees sip the caffeine nectar, they continue to look for more coffee plants to pollinate.This also suggests that caffeine plays a role in improving the bees'ability to search for food. Researchers found that caffeine's effect on the bee brain is similar to its effect on mammals."The change is similar to that produced by caffeine in neurons associated with learning and memory in the rat brain,"Wright said. Bee populations have declining since 2007.The dramatic drop in the insects'numbers has serious effects for ecosystems and the farming industry.Bees are needed in the reproduction of crops and spreading wild flower species.Understanding what keeps bees buzzing could help to make sure that the insects are able to remember and pollinate their favorite flowers. Which of the following relationship is correct according to the passage? For millions of years, sharks have been the kings of the oceans, the top of the food chain. But these days, the hunter has become the hunted, because of better methods from commercial fishermen who are looking for fins to make expensive soup sold mostly in Asia. Shark fins are far more valuable than shark meat, so fishermen cut the fins off live fish and throw the sharks overboard to maximize the catch they bring back. Shark finning is illegal in the United States, but there're tournament sport fishermen, who target and kill the biggest ones they take from the sea. These tournaments, the prizes of which can reach $5,000 or more, attract large crowds of anglers but also draw protests from animal rights groups and environmentalists. The competitors say they are enjoying a fun and legal sport, the impact on the overall shark population is very small, and most of the sharks caught are returned to the ocean. Dave Johnson, who is from Kennebunkport, Maine, said no one ever comes close to the limit set by the government of killing one shark per day during the three-month season. "I enjoy watching these animals, but I also enjoy catching and releasing them, and very rarely killing them and eating them," he said. "If I thought killing one shark was endangering the species and contributing to their decline I'd stop doing it tomorrow." That is exactly what marine biologists like Luke Tipple want to happen. "I believe that they should just stop it. In fact, we don't need to be targeting, in any way, any of these threatened populations," he said. Up to 73 million sharks are killed annually, and many species are at risk of extinction . Fishermen throw the sharks back into the sea after catching them to _ . Lichens are difficult to see. They don't move. They often mix into the living place. You might not even recognize one if you are looking right at it. Lichens live on rocks, branches, houses, and even metal street signs. You can find these colorful organisms almost everywhere -- from deserts to rainforests, and from Antarctica to Africa. They've traveled in outer space, and some scientists think there might even be lichens on Mars. What you probably don't realize is that a lichen is more than a single thing. It includes two different types of living organisms: a fungus and an alga . Neither of these organisms is a plant, so the lichen isn't a plant either. Through photosynthesis , the alga gets the sun's energy to make food for the fungus, which is the place for the alga to live in. However, the alga cannot leave the fungus. Around the world, scientists have found tens of thousands of types of lichens. Many may not even have been discovered yet. As scientists continue to find new kinds of lichens, they are also working to understand how they are connected to one another. By putting together a lichen family tree, they hope to understand why so many different types of lichens have grown in so many places around the world. Many researchers are trying to understand basic facts about the organisms and their connections. Researchers are also using lichens to examine the health of the environment. What do we know about lichens according to the passage?
Running like the wind, roaring like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world. But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China. This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund. The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China. In the 1950s, there were over 4,000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country. But due to the destruction of their natural habitat and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species. Sixty-six of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China. But they are nothing like their wild cousins. They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing. If they were set free they could not look after themselves. "Breeding has damaged the quality of the species," said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo. To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa. Four of them have already arrived. Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base. "South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild. The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in," said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Centre. "We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco-chain and there was a lack of space." The tigers should return to China in 2009 when the reservations in Fujian are ready. How is the programme of sending several tigers to South Africa getting on? Answer: San Francisco has many museums. You can visit one and learn something new. We have art, science, history and other special museums. Some museums are open every day. Some are only open on certain days. Many museums are expensive, and others are free. But some of the expensive ones have free days . Many museums have websites. The websites usually have information about the things you can see in the museums. On a museum's website you can get information about ticket prices and free days. You can also know where the museum is and when it is open. Sometimes the information is on the first page, and it's very easy for you to find. But sometimes you have to click on the words like Visit Information, or About to find the information. That will be hard work for you. Many museums have _ with information about the things you can see in them. Answer: Etymology, the study of words and word roots, may sound like the kind of thing done by boring librarians in small, dusty rooms.Yet etymologists actually have a uniquely interesting job.They are in many ways just like archaeologists digging up the physical history of people and events.The special aspect of etymology is that it digs up history, so to speak, through the words and phrases that are left behind. The English language, in particular, is a great field to explore history through words. As a language, English has an extraordinary number of words.This is partly due to its ability to adapt foreign words so readily.For example, "English" words such as kindergarten (from German), croissant (from French), and cheetah (from Hindi) have become part of the language with little or no change from their original sounds and spellings. So English-language etymologists have a vast world of words to explore. Another enjoyable thing about etymology for most word experts is solving word mysteries .No, etymologists do not go around solving murders, like the great detective Sherlock Holmes.What these word experts solve are mysterious origins of some of our most common words One of the biggest questions English language experts have _ is how English came to have the phrase OK.Though it is one of the most commonly used expressions, its exact beginning is a puzzle even to this day.Even its spelling is not entirely consistent-unless you spell it Okay, it is hard even to call it a word. Etymologists have been able to narrow OK's origin down to a likely, although not certain, source .It became widely used around the time of Martin Van Buren's run for president in 1840. His nickname was Old Kinderhook. What troubles word experts about this explanation is that the phrase appeared in some newspapers before Van Buren became well known.It is likely that Van Buren could be called its primary source Etymologists will doubtlessly keep searching for the initial source.However, it is clear that OK's popularity and reputation have topped those of the American president to whom it has been most clearly linked. What is the main purpose of the passage? Answer: An old man was fishing by a river. A child was watching him. The old man was really good at fishing and it didn't take him much time to catch a basket of fish. The old man saw that the child was very cute, and he wanted to give her a whole basket of fish. But the child shook her head. The old man was surprised and asked "Why don't you want the fish?" The child replied,"I want the fishing rod in your hands." The old man asked, "Why do you want the rod?" "It won't take long to eat all the fish in the basket. But if I have the fishing rod, I can go fishing by myself and I won't be afraid of not having any fish to eat." I think you will certainly say that the girl is very smart. Wrong! If she doesn't know how to fish, she cannot have fish to eat, even though she has the fishing rod. It's useless to only have a fishing rod. Fishing skills are the most important, not the fishing rod. Too many people think that if they have a "fishing rod" in their life, they will no longer fear the difficulties in life. They are just like the child, who thought that if she had a fishing rod, she would have fish to eat. The writer thinks the child is _ . Answer: Learning English is just like learning to ride a bicycle. When learning English becomes a kind of habit, everything will become easier. Please think about how we learned to ride a bicycle. There are four stages : At the first stage, the child doesn't know what it is to ride a bicycle, nor can he ride. So look at ourselves, when we learned English at the first time, we were also in this condition. And then is the second stage. Although the child cannot ride himself, he grows and understands what it is to ride a bicycle. So, at this time, teachers are our navigation marks. So according to this, we are just like the child starting to learn and now come to the third stage. He can ride a bicycle but has to think every time how to do it. At last, the fourth stage comes when the child has practiced consciously riding the bicycle so much that he doesn't have to think. Riding a bicycle becomes a kind of habit. He can talk to people and wave to others while riding. Learning English is just like learning to ride a bicycle. When learning becomes a kind of habit, we'll find we can be successful not only in English but also in other subjects. When learning becomes a kind of habit, I think, no, I believe, one day we'll succeed and the success will belong to us forever. ,,. Learning English is _ . Answer:
Americans: Restless? Illiterate ? Americans are _ people; they can't rest. They have more time, more leisure, shorter work hours, more holidays, and more vacations than any other people in the world. But they can't rest. They rush up and down across their continent as tourists; they move about in great herds to conventions ; they search the wilderness; they flood the mountains; they keep the hotels full. But they can't rest. The scenery rushes past them. They learn it, but they don't see it. Battles and monuments are announced to them on a tour bus. They hear them, but they don't get them. They never stop moving; they rush up and down as Shriners, Masons, Old Graduates, Bankers--they are a new thing each day, always rushing to a reunion or something. So they go on rushing about till eventually the undertaker gather them to a last convention. Americans are queer people; they can't read. They have more schools, and better schools and spend more money on schools and colleges than all Europe. But they can't read. They print more books in a year than the French print in ten. But they can't read. They cover their country with one hundred thousand tons of Sunday newspapers every week. But they don't read them. They're too busy. They use them for fires and to make more paper with. They buy eagerly thousands of new novels at two dollars each. But they read only page one. Their streets are full of huge signs. They won't look at them. Their streetcars are filled with advertising;they turn their eyes away. Transparent color1s, cart wheels, and mechanical flares whirl and flicker in the crowded streets at night. No one sees them. Tons of letters pour into the mail boxes, through the houses, and down the garbage cans. No one reads them. According to the text, when do the Americans stop rushing about? A When they are not allowed to. B When they feel tired and sleepy. C When they stop breathing eventually. D When they are seriously ill in bed. Answer: C. When they stop breathing eventually. The National Geographic Channel has unearthed a time capsule buried by late Apple chairman and co-founder Steve Jobs thirty years ago. The time capsule was buried in Aspen .Colorado .in 1983, shortly after Jobs attended the International Design Conference being held in that city. Organizers called the device the Aspen Time Tube and contributed items like Rubik's cubes and some iconic music. Jobs added his own items to the capsule ,including the " Lisa" ( also known as an "Apple" )"mouse he used for his presentation at the conference. ' Younger readers may not recognize the name but the Lisa Apple mouse was one of the first commercial mice released to consumers. The mouse was specially designed for the Apple Lisa computer. It's also the first personal computer to offer users a graphical user interface Initially ,the plan was to dig up the time capsule in the year2000,but organizers forgot its exact location. Recently .they brought in researchers working with the National Geographic Channel show Diggers to find the device. Eventually they came across the 13-foot-long.1. 5-foot-diameter tube. inside they found a lot of 1980s artifacts that are still being catalogued. "When the end came off .literally things just poured out ."noted Diggers host Tim Saylor "There must be literally thousands of things in there." "They had the foresight to put a bunch of stuff in plastic bags." Saylor said ."I could see at least a dozen plastic bags and other items. But I know for sure there got to be photographs in there. People had hand-written things on the back of the photographs ,so there will be some really interesting things inside." Among the artifacts researchers expect to discover inside :a Steve Jobs speech in which the Apple visionary outlines his predictions for future technologies. We should know more about the researchers ,discoveries once the Diggers program airs this fall. Which of the following is true about the Lisa mouse? A The mouse was the first commercial one for consumers B The mouse was created only for the Apple Lisa computer C The mouse was buried in Aspen ,Colotado for two decades. D The mouse was invented after the International Design Conference Answer: B. The mouse was created only for the Apple Lisa computer In March 2014, Australia opened junior high education to Chinese students, allowing them to study in Australian schools from the seventh grade. "When more Chinese students are going to study abroad at a younger age, the opening of Australian junior high schools offers Chinese students and their parents one more good choice," Tian Litie, director of the Australian Department of Chivast Education International, said at the China International Education Exhibition Tour over the weekend. Australia will see a rise in the number of Chinese junior and senior high school students studying in the country. Tian showed the reasons for it: lower admission requirements and low-cost education because of a favorable exchange rate . According to Tian, in public schools in Australia a student should pay A$13,000 to A$15,000 ($10,000 to $12,000) a year. "Now the exchange rate of the Australian dollar to renminbi is below five, which means the cost is lower than that of Chinese students studying at junior and senior high schools in many other hot places, such as Britain and the US," said Tian. Lin Lina from Beijing plans to send her daughter to a senior high school in Australia, was among them. "My daughter is good at English and would like to study abroad early," said Lin, whose daughter is now a ninth-grader in Beijing. "We came for more information after we learned that the environment and education in Australia are good." Eliza Chui, education officer for North Asia at the Australian Consulate-General in Shanghai, said that Australia is attractive not only because it provides an environment for learning English, but also because students are trained to have critical thinking and be independent. What is the passage mainly about? A You should think twice before you decide to go abroad. B More and more Chinese students choose to study abroad. C Australian schools will attract more and more Chinese students. D Australian schools have much more advantages than other schools in the world. Answer: C. Australian schools will attract more and more Chinese students. If a tree is growing in an area that is most ideal to it, the dirt will be A firm B loose C packed tight D airless Answer: B. loose Andy lives in the southern hemisphere. What season does he most likely experience in August? A spring B summer C winter D autumn Answer: C. winter

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