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Question: The Hunan Satellite TV (HNTV) show "Where are we going, Dad?" is a big hit. Many famous stars brought their children to a strange village alone, and they had to spend 72 hours with their children there. The program fully showed us a modern version of the "how to be a good father". As the young parents today are too busy to take care of their children, this new form of"Lost on the way"played by nanny daddy and cute kids triggered a lot of people's emotional resonance . Both the kids and their parents will find that their hearts are being drawn closer. But this kind of feeling has just proved that there is a big spiritual barrier between the modern parents and children. The TV shows like "Children are hard to support!", "Where are we going, Dad?", "hot mom" and "cute kids" are becoming more and more popular. All of these show the new parents' confusion in children's education and the appeal for the balance between career and family. In real life, on the one hand, the young parents feel helpless because they are too busy to accompany their children under the pressures of work and life; on the other hand, they continue to do so. The data collected by HNTV show that nearly two-thirds of their audience are female, among whom 36% are aged from 25 to 34. We can imagine such a scene that one evening a young mother is watching the show with her young children, while her husband is still at work or trapped in socializing, or maybe is just playing computer games in the bedroom. The story of a child without the company of father is still going on. In fact, it is sometimes the same to mothers. In a modern family, it is often the old who take the responsibility for raising a child. The participation of mother in the children's education is also very low. It is just this kind of confusion where the parents have gone in the modern family education, and where the parents will guide their children to go that "Where are we going, Dad?" shows us. If a child wants to grow up healthily and safely into a modern citizen with independent personality and free spirit, it is very important for him or her to follow the parents who serve as their first teacher. Maybe this is the real reason why such kind of TV programs could get hot. The truth is that children will go where their parents go, and society will go where the children go. Which one is the best title of the passage? A. Confusion behind "Where are we going, dad?" B. Modern Education is Important C. Nanny Daddy and Cute Kids D. New Problems in Modern Children's Education Answer: A Question: John H. Johnson was born in a black family in Arkansas City in 1981. His father died in an accident when John was six. He was reaching the high school age, but his hometown offered no high school for blacks. Fortunately he had a strong--willed caring mother. John remembered that his mother told him many times, "Son, you can be anything you want really to be if you just believe." She told him not to depend on others, including his mother. "You have to learn success" she said. "All the people who work hard don't succeed, but the only people who do succeed are those who work hard." These words, came from a woman with less than a third grade education. She also knew that believing and hard work don't mean everything. So she worked hard as a cook for two years to save enough to take her son, who was then 15, to Chicago. Chicago in 1933 was not the promised land that black southerners were looking for. John's mother and stepfather could not find work. But here John could go to school, and here he learned the power of words--as an editor of the newspaper and yearbook at Du Sable High School. His wish was to publish a magazine for blacks. While others discouraged him, John's mother offered him more words to live by "Nothing beats a failure but a try." She also let him pawn her furniture to get the $ 500 he needed to start the Negro magazine. It is natural that difficulties and failures followed john closely until he become very successful. He always keeps his mother's words in mind:" Son, failure is not in your vocabulary!" Now John H. Johnson is one of the 400 richest people in America--worth $150 million. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? A. John's mother didn't believe in or depend on others. B. John's mother believed one would succeed without working hard. C. John's mother thought one could be whatever one wanted to be. D. John's mother thought no one could succeed without working hard. Answer: D Question: Salt plays an important role in our daily diet. Even a small reduction in salt in the diet can be a big help to the heart. A new study used a computer model to predict -how just three grams less a day would affect heart disease in the United States. The result: Thirteen percent fewer heart attacks. Eight percent fewer strokes. Four percent fewer deaths. Eleven percent fewer new cases of heart disease. And two hundred forty billion dollars in health care savings. Researchers found it could prevent one hundred thousand heart attacks and ninety-two thousand deaths every year. The study is in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo at the University of California San Francisco was the lead author. She says people would not even notice a difference in taste with three grams,or one-half teaspoon, less salt per day. The team also included researchers at Stanford and Columbia University. Each gram of salt contains four hundred milligrams of sodiu , which is how foods may list their salt content. The government says the average American man eats ten grams of salt a day. The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people. It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies, while blood pressures have also risen. Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leading an effort called the National Salt Reduction Initiative.The idea is to put pressure on food companies and restaurants. Critics call it government interference. Mayor Bloomberg has already succeeded in other areas, like requiring fast food places in the city to list calorie information. Now a study by the Seattle Children's Research Institute shows that the calorie information on the menu can influence what parents order for their children. Ninety-nine parents of three to six year olds took part. Half had calories between the two groups for foods that the parents would have chosen for themselves. McDonald's menus clearly showing how many calories were in each food. Parents given the counts chose an average of one hundred two fewer calories when asked what they would order for their children. Yet there was no difference in calories between the two groups for foods that the parents would have chosen for themselves. Study leader Pooja Tandon says even small calorie reductions on a regular basis can prevent weight gain over time.The study was published in the journal Pediatrics. Which of the following might be the best title for this passage? A. Relationship between Salt and Health B. Less Salt Can Mean Being More Healthy C. A Survey on People's Regular Diet D. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and His Health Project Answer: B Question: Music for Little Mozarts is a programme designed to help your little ones develop a love of music. Learning music at an early age helps develop minds and expand cognitive ability. While listening to music can certainly help your youngster pick up songs, actually learning to play the piano can help your child's development. This programme focuses on little creatures that both entertain and teach. By grasping the attention of a young child's mind and engaging them with stories along with hands on experience, you can provide them with a positive experience that may produce a little Mozart in later years. Within this multi-book and multi-year lesson plan there are ten little characters that help draw the child into the lesson plan. These little creatures actually can be used to help the child grasp basic concepts in music. The series starts out in the preschool years and provides day by day lessons that can aid the child or a classroom of children right through early adolescence . The series is designed for both classroom and preschool use and for those at home with homeschoolers. It contains a series of books along with audio CD's, flash cards, and other visual aids that can help very young children develop an ear and an eye for music. It can be hard to hold the attention spans of children for very long. However, with the right creativity and the proper attention along with simple, easy to master daily lessons, most children will not only grasp music rather quickly, they will also develop a love of real music, not just banging on a piano keyboard and making sounds. The short, daily lessons are planned out so that children learn to play music by ear. They learn to play real songs and master real passages quickly and easily. This element keeps them involved. They also master playing by ear and then later by reading rather quickly. This programme teaches children_. A. how to sing songs B. to master playing the piano quickly C. to learn some basic music knowledge D. to experience the charm of music Answer: C Question: When your parents advise you to "get an education" in order to raise your income, they tell you only half the truth. What they really mean is to get just enough education to provide manpower for your society, but not so much that you prove an embarrassment to your society. Get a high school diploma, at least. Without that, you will be occupationally dead unless your name happens to be George Bernard Shaw or Thomas Alva Edison, and you can successfully dropout in grade school. Get a college degree, if possible. With a B. A., you are on the launching pad. But now you have to start to put on the brakes. If you go for a master's degree, make sure it is an M.B.A., and the famous law of diminishing returns begins to take effect. Do you know, for instance, that long-haul truck drivers earn more per year than full professors? Yes, the average salary for those truckers was $24000 while the full professors managed to earn just $23030. A doctorate is the highest degree you can get. Except for a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial purposes, if you pursue such a degree in any other field, you will face a future which is not bright. There are more doctors unemployed or underemployed in this country than any other part of the world. If you become a doctor in English or history or anthropology or political science or languages or--worst of all--in philosophy, you run the risk of becoming overeducated for our national demands. Not for our needs, mind you, but for our demands. Thousands of doctors are selling shoes, driving cars, waiting on table, and endlessly filling out applications month after month. They may also take a job in some high school or backwater college that pays much less than the doorkeeper earns. You can equate the level of income with the level of education only so far. Far enough, that is, to make you useful to the gross national product, but not so far that nobody can turn much of a profit on you. According to the writer, what the society expects of education is to turn out people who _ . A. will not be a disgrace to society B. will become loyal citizens C. can take care of themselves D. can meet the nation's demand as a source of manpower Answer: D
This is a teacher's family . The father's name is Lake Smith . He's forty - four . The mother's name is Kate Smith . She's forty - two . The Smiths have a son , Jim , and a daughter , Ann . Jim is fourteen , and Ann is twelve . The son looks like his father , and the daughter looks like her mother . They are all in No.4 Middle School here . But the Smiths are teachers ; the son and daughter are students . Jim looks like his _ . A. father B. mother C. aunt D. uncle Answer: A Doctors sometimes prescribe light therapy to treat a form of depression in people who get too little morning sun. But too much light at other times may actually cause such mood disorders. Long-lasting exposure to light at night brings depression, a new study finds, at least in animals. The new data confirm observations from studies of people who work night shifts, says Richard Stevens of the University of Connecticut Health Center. Mood disorders join a growing list of problems, including cancer, obesity and diabetes--that can occur when light throws life out of balance by disturbing the biological clock and its timing of daily rhythms. www.ks5u.com In the new study, Tracy Bedrosian and Randy Nelson of Ohio State University exposed mice to normal light and dark cycles for four weeks. For the next four weeks, half of the mice remained on this schedule, and the rest received continuous dim light throughout their night. Compared with mice exposed to normal nighttime darkness, those getting dim light at night lost their strong preference for sweet drinks, "a sign they no longer get pleasure out of activities they once enjoyed, " Bedrosian says. In a second test, mice were clocked on how long they actively tried to escape a pool of water. Those exposed to night lights stopped struggling and just floated in the water, a sign of "behavioral despair",10 times as long as the mice that had experienced normal nighttime darkness. All symptoms of depression disappeared within two weeks of the mice returning to a normal light-dark cycle, the researchers report. The scientists also could quash the behavioral symptoms by injecting the brains of animals with a drug that prohibits the activity of certain molecules linked with human depression. This finding further suggests that light at night may cause something related to depression. Human studies linking nighttime light and mood disorders are important but can't easily detect molecular underpinnings as animal studies can,says George Brainard of Thomas Jefferson University. The new work, he says, suggests that the change of the biological clock by light at night can be "an extremely powerful force in regulating biology and behavior. " What is the main idea of the passage? A. Nighttime light may foster depression. B. A drug has been found to cure mood disorders. C. The study on animals can be applied to humans. D. Human biological clock can be controlled by light. Answer: A I sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man called the waiter and placed his order, "Two cups of coffee, one on the wall." We got interested and observed that he was served with one cup of coffee but he paid for two. As soon as he left, the waiter attached a piece of paper to the wall saying "A Cup of Coffee." Similar occasions took place twice while we were there. It seemed that this gesture was quite normal at this place. However, it was something unique and confusing for us. After a few days, when we again enjoyed coffee there, a man entered. The way this man was dressed did not match the standard or the atmosphere of this coffee shop. Poverty was evident from his looks. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, "One cup of coffee from the wall." The waiter served coffee to this man with respect and dignity. The man had his coffee and left without paying. We were amazed to watch all this when the waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the dustbin. Now it was no surprise for us; the matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy shown by people in this town moved us to tears. Coffee is not a necessity. However, the point is that when we take pleasure in any blessing, maybe we also need to think about those people who also appreciate that specific blessing but cannot afford. Note the waiter, who gets the communication going between the affording and the needy with a smile on his face. Think about the man in need: he enters the coffee shop without having to lower his self-dignity; he has a free cup of coffee without asking or knowing about who has given this cup of coffee to him; he only looked at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left. Besides, we need to remember the role played by the wall that reflects the generosity and care of people in this town. What made the author interested as well as confused? A. The waiter's making normal gestures. B. Customers' buying coffee for the needy. C. The waiter's attaching coffee orders on the wall. D. Customers' paying for coffee and having it put on the wall. Answer: D Most people think of a camel as an obedient beast of burden, because it is best known for its ability to carry heavy loads across vast stretches of desert without requiring water. In reality, the camel is considerably more than just the Arabian equivalent of mule . It also possesses a great amount of intelligence and sensitivity. The Arabs say that camels are so acutely aware of injustice and ill-treatment that a camel owner who punishes one of the beasts too hard finds it difficult to escape the camel's revenge .Apparently, the animal will remember an injury and wait for an opportunity to get revenge. In order to protect themselves from the vengeful beasts, Arabian camel drivers have learned to trick their camels into believing they have achieved revenge. When an Arab realizes that he has excited a camel's rage, he places his own garments on the ground in the animal's path. He arranges the clothing so that it appears to cover a man's body. When the camel recognizes its master's clothing on the ground, it seizes the pile with its teeth, shakes the garments angrily and steps on them in a rage again and again. In the end, after its rage has died away, the camel leaves, believing its revenge is completed. Only then does the owner of the garments comes out of hiding, safe for the time being, thanks to this clever trick. From this passage we can conclude that _ A. camels are usually kind to their owners B. camels are generally as stupid and sensitive as a mule C. camels don't see very well D. camels try to punish people who ill-treated them Answer: D Have you ever done something foolish that made you feel so embarrassed ? Well, that's exactly how I felt. On a Saturday morning last autumn.I had gone to town to do some shopping and as I was on my way home,it suddenly began to rain. I at once ran into a nearby phone box because I didn't have an umbrella.It was raining so heavily that I have to stay in the phone box until it stopped. A few moments later,I saw a young man walk up to the phone box,wearing a yellow raincoat and holding a box. I didn't want to go out into the rain,so I picked up the phone and pretended I was talking to someone. I thought the man would go away,but he didn't. He just waited in the rain,watching me. I had to wave my hands about and acted as if I was deep in conversation. Luckily,it began to stop after about ten minutes."Okay,Mum," I said loudly into the phone,"I'll see you later Bye!" I put the phone down, picked up my shopping bag and walked out of the phone box "I'm sorry I took so long,"I said to the man. "Oh, I don't want to use the phone,"he replied, smiling."I've just come to repair it. It's out of order.you see." I felt myself go red in the face and I hurried away with my head down,feeling a complete fool. That was certainly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life! What did the writer think the young man wanted to do? A. To repair the phone. B. To use the phone. C. To shake hands with her. D. To listen to the phone box. Answer: B
I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother's idea. She wanted me to "make something" of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition. With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home. " How many did you sell, my boy?" my mother asked. " None." " Where did you go?" " The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues." " What did you do?" " Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post." " You just stood there?" " Didn't sell a single one." " My God, Russell!" Uncle Allen put in, " Well, I've decided to take the Post." I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned. Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home. One day, I told my mother I'd changed my mind. I didn't want to make a success in the magazine business. " If you think you can change your mind like this," she replied, " you'll become a good-for-nothing." She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me. My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father's plain workman's life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband's people for true life and love. What is the text mainly about? Safeburn Planning a home demands great care. The fireplace should be distinctive and elegant , with a fire that looks like a fire, giving your family the warmth and protection they need.Every year 7,000 people die in fires in Britain, and hundreds of them are little children. Thousands more are disfigured for life. When you choose a fire, choose Safeburn. It gives you the atmosphere of home comfort you are looking for, and sets your mind at rest. Caithness Pride Caithness Pride. The ninth Duke of Caithness would only drink the best whisky. So he built his own private still, in the heart of the Highlands, with the fresh water running in the stream nearby. When we came into possession of the still, we paid the Duke's heirs a lot of money for it. But it was worth it. After all, what was good for the Duke is too good to be kept a secret. In the second passage, they are trying to make it clear that _ . On January 1, Awl and Howser agreed in writing that Awl would build a house on Howser's lot according to Howser's plans and specifications for $60,000, the work to commence on April 1. Howser agreed to make an initial payment of $10,000 on April 1, and to pay the balance upon completion of the work. On February 1, Awl notified Howser that he (Awl) would lose money on the job at that price, and would not proceed with the work unless Howser would agree to increase the price to $90,000. Howser thereupon, without notifying Awl, agreed in writing with Gutter for Gutter, commencing April 1, to build the house for $75,000, which was the fair market cost of the work to be done. On April 1, both Awl and Gutter showed up at the building site to begin work, Awl telling Howser that he had decided to "take the loss" and would build the house for $60,000 as originally agreed. Howser dismissed Awl and allowed Gutter to begin work on the house."For this question only, assume that Awl is liable to Howser for breach of contract and also assume the following additional facts: Gutter finished the house on schedule and then showed Howser that he (Gutter) had spent $85,000 on the job. Howser thereupon paid Gutter the full balance of their contract price plus an additional $10,000 so that Gutter would not lose money. In a contract action by Howser against Awl, Howser will recover In a recent class I was asked "What is a short story?" My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking(, ) through a heavy cloud. I went on to say that in my opinion a "real" short story was closer to poetry than to a novel. Here are some definitions of the short story. My favorite is Benet's: "something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime". One writer said, "The theme of a novel won't fit into the framework of a short story; It's like trying to squeeze a large painting done on a wall into the frame of a miniature . And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp. " The short story is an example of one aspect of human nature. Often a character _ some event, something that offers him or her change. This is why it's said that short stories usually "say something ", often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such accuracy that the effect is strongly felt, even a life-moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature. Ok, let's form a definition here: A short story is an account, rarely over 10, 000 words or below 500 words-more commonly 1, 500 to 5, 000 words-a single-sitting read, but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is narrow and focused to produce an effect through the story, most commonly through events affecting some change in an individual. Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: "Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you're done. Short stories are more difficult-they have to be perfect, complete in themselves. " The writer of the passage is probably a _ . If you were to come up with a list of organizations whose failures had done the most damage to the American economy in recent years,you would probably have to start with the Wall Street firms that brought us the financial.From there,you might move on to the automakers in Detroit. But I would suggest that the list should also include a less obvious nominee:public education. At its top level,the American system of higher education may be the best in the world.Yet in terms of its core mission-turning teenagers into educated college graduates--much of the system is failing. The United States does a good job enrolling teenagers in college,but only half of the students who enroll end up with a bachelor's degree. So identifying the causes of the college dropout crisis m the world's largest economy matters enormously, and a new book called Crossing the Finish Line tries to do precisely that.Its authors are economists William Bowen and Michael.McPherson,and a doctoral candidate Matthew Chigoes.The first problem they diagnose is something they call tender-matching. It refers to students who choose not to attend the best college they can get into.They instead go to a less selective one,perhaps one that is closer to home or less expensive.About half of the low--income students with a grade-point average of at least3.5 in high school and an SAT score of at least 1,200 do not attend the best college they could have. "I was really astonished by the degree to which well--qualified students from poor families under-matched," said Mr.Bowen. In fact,well-off students attend the colleges that do the best job of producing graduates.Meanwhile,lower-income students-even when they are better qualified--often go to colleges that excel in producing drop-outs."It's really a waste,"Mr.Bowen said,"and a big problem for the country."As the authors point out, the only way to lift the college graduation rate significantly is to lift it among poor and working--class students. Instead,it appears to have fallen. What can be done? Money is clearly part of the answer. Why do some students under-match?
DNA is a substance that makes up genes. Everything alive has genes. Plants have genes. Animals have genes. You have genes. Genes are the basic units of heredity . Heredity means all the characteristics you inherit from your parents. You get your genes from your parents. You inherit half of your genes from your mother. You inherit half of your genes from your father. Genes are a kind of code. A tree's genes tell what shape its leaves will be. A cat's genes tell what color1 its fur will be. Your genes tell what color1 your eyes will be. Your genes tell what color1 your hair will be. Everything about you comes from the code in your genes. Genes line up on strands called chromosomes in cells. Everything alive is made up of cells. Chromosomes are in the center, or nucleus, of cells. An Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel first saw inherited patterns in pea plants. He experimented with pea plants in the 1860s. One of the things, or traits , Mendel studied was what makes some pea plants tall and some short. He said that the traits must come from units of heredity passed from the parent plants. These units were called genes. In the mid-1900s, scientists discovered that genes are made of DNA. In the 1970s, scientists learned how to change DNA with genetic engineering. Scientists also learned that problems with certain genes cause diseases. Muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, and hemophilia are some genetic diseases--diseases caused by problems in genes. Today, scientists are looking for ways to cure genetic diseases by _ genes through a process called gene therapy. If one's father has blue eyes, while his mother has grey ones, _ . A their son will have blue eyes. B Their son is sure to have grey eyes. C their son's eyes will share both that of father's and mother's. D It is probably their son will have either blue eyes or grey ones. Answer: D My daughter Allie is leaving for college in a week. Her room is piled with shopping bags filled with blankets, towels, jeans, sweaters. She won't talk about going. I say, "I'm going to miss you," and she gives me one of her looks and leaves the room. Another time I say, in a voice so friendly it surprises even me: "Do you think you'll take your posters and pictures with you, or will you get new ones at college?" She answers, her voice filled with annoyance, "How should I know?" My daughter is off with friends most of the time. Yesterday was the last day she'd have until Christmas with her friend Katharine, whom she's known since kindergarten. Soon, it will be her last day with Sarah, Claire, Heather... and then it will be her last day with me. My friend Karen told me, "The August before I left for college, I screamed at my mother the whole month. Be prepared." I stand in the kitchen, watching Allie make a glass of iced tea. Her face, once so open and trusting, is closed to me. I struggle to think of something to say to her, something meaningful and warm. I want her to know I'm excited about the college she has chosen, that I know the adventure of her life is just starting and that I am proud of her. But the look on her face is so mad that I think she might hit me if I open my mouth. One night -- after a long period of silence between us -- I asked what I might have done or said to make her angry with me. She sighed and said, "Mom, you haven't done anything. It's fine." It is fine -- just distant. Somehow in the past we had always found some way to connect. When Allie was a baby, I would go to the day-care center after work. I'd find a quiet spot and she would nurse -- our eyes locked together, reconnecting with each other. In middle school, when other mothers were already regretting the distant relationship they felt with their adolescent daughters, I hit upon a solution: rescue measures. I would show up occasionally at school, sign her out of class and take her somewhere -- out to lunch, to the movies, once for a long walk on the beach. It may sound irresponsible, but it kept us close when other mothers and daughters were quarrelling. We talked about everything on those outings -- outings we kept secret from family and friends. When she started high school, I'd get up with her in the morning to make her a sandwich for lunch, and we'd silently drink a cup of tea together before the 6:40 bus came. A couple of times during her senior year I went into her room at night, the light off, but before she went to sleep. I'd sit on the edge of her bed, and she'd tell me about problems: a teacher who lowered her grade because she was too shy to talk in class, a boy who teased her, a friend who had started smoking. Her voice, coming out of the darkness, was young and questioning. A few days later I'd hear her on the phone, repeating some of the things I had said, things she had adopted for her own. But now we are having two kinds of partings. I want to say good-bye in a romantic way. For example, we can go to lunch and lean across the table and say how much we will miss each other. I want smiles through tears, bittersweet moments of memory and the chance to offer some last bits of wisdom. But as she prepares to depart, Allie has hidden her feelings. When I reach to touch her arm, she pulls away. She turns down every invitation I extend. She lies on her bed, reading Emily Dickinson until I say I have always loved Emily Dickinson, and then she closes the book. Some say the tighter your bond with your child, the greater her need to break away, to establish her own identity in the world. The more it will hurt, they say. A friend of mine who went through a difficult time with her daughter but now has become close to her again, tells me, "Your daughter will be back to you." ks5u "I don't know," I say. I sometimes feel so angry that I want to go over and shake Allie. I want to say, "Talk to me -- or you're grounded!" I feel myself wanting to say that most horrible of all mother phrases: "Think of everything I've done for you." Late one night, as I'm getting ready for bed she comes to the bathroom door and watches me brush my teeth. For a moment, I think I must be brushing my teeth in a way she doesn't approve of. But then she says, "I want to read you something." It's a brochure from her college. "These are tips for parents." I watch her face as she reads the advice aloud: " 'Don't ask your child if she is homesick,' it says. 'She might feel bad the first few weeks, but don't let it worry you. This is a natural time of transition. Write her letters and call her a lot. Send a package of candies...' " Her voice breaks, and she comes over to me and buries her head in my shoulder. I stroke her hair, lightly, afraid she'll run if I say a word. We stand there together for long moments, swaying. Reconnecting. I know it will be hard again. It's likely there will be a fight about something. But I am grateful to be standing in here at midnight, both of us tired and sad, toothpaste spread on my chin, holding tight to--while also letting go of--my daughter who is trying to say good-bye. What Allie reads to the author is _ . A the tips to parents on how to educate their children B the suggestion on how to deal with the generation gap C the tips to parents on when they depart with their children D the suggestion on how to ease the homesickness of children Answer: D Elephants are trained, at an early age, not to escape. One leg of a baby elephant is tied with a rope to a wooden post planted in the ground. The rope limits the baby elephant to an area determined by the length of the rope. At first the baby elephant tries to break free from the rope, but the rope is too strong. Soon the elephant learns that he cannot break the rope in any case. This space defined by the rope becomes the elephant's comfort zone. As the elephant grows up it could easily break the rope, but it does not even try because it was conditioned as a baby to think that it still could not break free. As a result, the large elephant remains tied and stays in a small space. This metaphor can be used to describe what happens to human beings as we become trapped in a comfort zone. Just as the elephant's space determines what it can do, our comfort zone determines what we are able to achieve. Fortunately, humans are born with the ability to make conscious choices. The elephant doesn't try to break the rope free while we can easily leave our comfort zone. In order to expand our potential and succeed in life, we must expand our comfort zone into unfamiliar fields. You will never realize what you are truly able to achieve if you remain in your comfort zone. The large elephant does not try to break the rope, because _ . A the rope is too strong B a wooden post is planted in the ground C the elephant likes the small space D the elephant thinks it still could not break free Answer: D London is the capital of Britain. It is located in the southeast plain of England. The Thames River goes through this city. The British have lived there for about 3,000 years. The Roman Empire intruded into Britannia Island in 54 BC. The Romans built the first wooden bridge over the Thames River. London is a world-famous cultural city. There are many famous cultural sites. It is one of the world's great tourist destinations. About eight million people visit London every year. The largest museum is the British Museum, which was built in the 18th century. There are many ancient cultural relics of Britain and of other countries in the museum. The London Tower stands on the southeast of Tower Mountain. It was once a palace, and it is now an exhibition center. Westminster Hall is located on the west bank of the Thames River and was built in 750 AD. It is the largest Gothic building of the world and was a palace in the past, too. The Clock Tower, which is about 97 meters high, is located northeast of the parliament. The famous "Big Ben" weighs about 21 tons and its big pendulum is about 305 kilograms. Hyde Park is one of the great parks in the world and it is in the west district of London. There is a free forum there and some people give speeches there every week. They can say almost anything, but they can't attack the Queen or support violent revolution. Which of the following statements is WRONG? A London lies in the southeast plain of England. B The British first lived in London thousands of years ago. C People can enjoy a walk along the Thames River in London. D The Roman Empire intruded into Britannia Island over 2,100 years ago. Answer: D Welcome to our homepage! We've teamed up with two travel agencies to give members of our club the chance to win a holiday to the South of France or one to the Maldives. The winner and their three guests will enjoy a seven-night getaway at the Villa Le Priotlet -- a centuries old stone villa set on the banks of the Dordogne River. This property has been lovingly restored and furnished, and is ideal for small families to relax surrounded by peaceful views and gentle countryside. The beautiful gardens surrounding the property are full of seasonal treats for you to pick and enjoy, including figs, pears and grapes. The property is also situated just 15 minutes from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Saint-Emilion, which has been producing some of the world's best wine since Roman times. We'll also give another lucky member a seven-night stay for two people on their island tour to the Maldives. With white sand beaches, coconut trees and blue warm seas, the Maldives is a must-see destination. Accompanied by a local guide, guests have the chance to combine island life with cultural activities, as well as experiencing all those things for which the Maldives are famous: diving and snorkeling and relaxation. The guesthouse accommodation is handpicked to provide a balance of comfort, good service and local atmosphere. To enter this competition, click on "enter competition" in the information box below. The free holiday in France includes _ . A accommodation at an ancient villa B fresh fruit, vegetables and meat C the best French wine D admission to Saint-Emilion Answer: A
Billy was a monster. He was born in Monster Town, where he learned how to be a monster and how to do monster things. One day Billy was very hungry. There are no stores in Monster Town, so Billy had to find his own food. He saw some bugs but he did not want to eat those because bugs are gross and taste bad. Then he saw a bunny and thought it would be a good thing to eat. Bunnies are very delicious. Monsters eat all sorts of things that humans do not eat. Billy chased the bunny into a field. Soon he could not find it any more. Bill was sad. He was still hungry. But then he saw a house. He sneaked towards it and looked inside. No one was home. He crawled through an open window and saw a funny looking box. He opened it and saw many little pebbles inside of all different colors. He was about to eat them when a small human child appeared out of nowhere and took the box out of his hands. Silly Billy, Trix are for kids. Where did Billy grow up? A blue hole is a flooded sea cave with a hole that opens up at the land's surface. These cave systems form in carbonate rock, often on islands. Some blue holes have very special rock formations and water chemistry. Far below sea level, they contain some of the harshest environments on Earth, with no oxygen and no light. Yet these areas are filled with life forms that have adapted to the extreme conditions. Information gathered from these blue holes is helping scientists to increase their understanding of biology, archaeology and geology. But exploring these blue hole environments brings danger as well as discovery. Blue holes get their name from the color1 some have when seen from the air. The color1 is usually a reflection of the sky on the water. But not all of these cave systems have blue surfaces. Some contain dark or muddy water. Blue holes are the result of erosion in which water breaks down rock. Rain falling thousands of years ago contained chemicals which slowly wore away at the limestone landmass. These holes were later filled with sea water as the sea level changed. The rising and falling of sea levels and the mixture of salt and fresh water further wore away at these cave formations. Blue holes are vertical caves. But they can also have horizontal cave formations that may be hundreds of meters long. These flooded cave systems can be found in the ocean, or they can be found inland. Ocean caves are affected by tides, so they always have water movement. But blue holes on land are very still. They have several layers of water, chemicals, and bacteria. The top layer of fresh water comes from rainfall. This layer acts like a cap on top of the layered mixture, and keeps out oxygen from the atmosphere. The fresh water floats on a denser layer of saltwater. Underneath this is a layer of poisonous hydrogen sulfide, produced by bacteria living in the water. Underneath this layer is anoxic seawater -- water that does not contain any oxygen. Underwater caves are probably one of the least explored ecosystems on the planet. One reason blue holes have not been fully explored is that they can be extremely dangerous. There are many safety rules that divers must follow to help ensure their survival. First, divers must have training and experience to swim in these caves. Those who explore a cave for the first time must establish a thin rope called a guideline. This line helps them to safely enter and bring more than one set of breathing equipment in case one device fails. Meanwhile, they must pay careful attention to their air supply. The rule is to use a third of their air to enter the cave, a third to exit, and a third for emergencies. For most explorers, though, the possibility of discovery in these cave environments makes the experience worth the risk. You can jump into what looks like an insignificant little hole in the ground, and come out with information that's of value to many different disciplines, Scientists are interested in these caves because oxygen-free conditions there are similar to those on Earth long ago, before oxygen existed on our planet., as well as similar to space. According to the Passage, blue holes _ . Do your kids ask a lot of questions? If they do, that's great. Because that's how children learn. Some of these questions may be easy to answer. Others may be hard. And they want to get the right answers. Do your kids ask such questions? Why is the sky blue? Why is the sunset red? Why are leaves green? Why do leaves change color in autumn? How do airplanes fly? Can you answer these questions? If not, don't worry. Though Science Made Simple can't help with all of life's important questions, it can help with those. In this fast changing world, the more your children know about science, the better. Get the help you need now, and every month you can get Science Made Simple online for only $11.95 for 10 issues . Click here: questions @sciencemadesimple. Com for more information. Remember, if you are not happy with your first issue, we will give back all your money. Which is TRUE about Science Made Simple? During the last twenty years there has been increasing concern with the quality of the environment. Along with air and water pollutions, noises pollution has been recognized as a serious pollutant. As noise levels have risen, the effects of noise have become more apparent. Noise is defined as "unwanted sound". Causes of noise pollution include traffic, aircraft, rock bands, barking dogs, televisions, garbage trucks, and noise from neighbors, voices, alarms, and watercrafts. Studies show that over forty percent of Americans are disturbed at home or lose sleep because of noise pollution. Noise has bad effects on people and the environment. Noise causes hearing loss, interferes with human activities at home and work, and is in various ways dangerous to people's health and well being. When we think, talk, listen to music, or sleep, we need quiet. Even low levels of noise can be annoying or frustrating. Sudden increases in volume can make sounds annoying. The quieter the background is, the more _ a noise can be. Noise can also make instructions or warning unclear, resulting in accidents. Louder noise bursts can be more disruptive .Continued stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is the major cause of some diseases. Long exposure to noise levels above eight-five decibels can damage inner cells and lead to hearing loss. Noise can result in the involuntary fear response and can cause adrenaline to be pumped into the bloodstream, the heart rate to quicken, muscles to tense, breathing to increase, and the digestive system to slow down. Local government has the responsibility to fight noise pollution. For example, it can regulate the speed of trains through their community. On the other hand, a responsible citizen will never make noise pollution wherever he is. Which of the following is not related to noise pollution? A pan of soup is being heated on an electric stove. A metal spoon is used to occasionally stir the soup. Which of the following is an example of heat being transferred by convection?
On April 14th at 7:49 am, the town of Jyekundo in Kham, was struck by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake. My family and I were in our 3rd floor apartment building when the earthquake hit. There was a smaller earthquake (around 4.7) that happened around 4 am and neither my wife nor I could get back to sleep. When the big earthquake hit, my wife was using her computer while our younger son Norbu (18 months old) was playing in the living room. Tsering, our older son who is 3 years old, was still asleep in the back bedroom of the 3 bedroom apartment we were living in. Norbu flew across the room when the earthquake hit. My wife was also thrown to the ground. Everything in our apartment began to be tossed around, breaking when it hit the walls or floor. I ran to the back bedroom and grabbed Tsering as my wife grabbed Norbu off the floor. Together, we ran to the door. I stopped long enough to grab my shoes, coat and a bit of money. I opened the door and one of our neighbors helped us carry Tsering down to the ground floor. I was the only one of my family who managed to get shoes. After the earthquake, we were able to see that this was a major earthquake. We began to hear people crying for help, badly injured people crawling to the road and people weeping for loved ones who had died. What didn't the writer do in the earthquake? Answer: He grabbed Norbu off the floor. If you know something is bad for you, why can't you just stop? About 70% of smokers say they would like to stop. Drug and alcohol abusers struggle to give up the bad habits that hurt their bodies and destroy families and friendships. And many of us have unhealthy weight that we could lose if only we would eat right and exercise more. So why don't we do it? Some scientists have been searching for answers. They've studied what happens in our brains as habits form. They've found answers to why bad habits, once formed, are so difficult to kick. And they're developing ways to help us make the changes we'd like to make. Habits are a normal part of life, and are often helpful. " We wake up every morning, shower, comb our hair or brush our teeth without being aware of it," Volkow says. We can drive along familiar routes without really thinking about the directions. "When behaviors become automatic , it gives us an advantage, because the brain does not have to perform the action on purpose." Volkow says. This frees up our brains to focus on different things. One way to kick bad habits is to focus on your unhealthy habits. Then try your best to stop them. For example, habits can be linked in our minds to certain places and activities. You could develop a plan, say, to avoid walking down the hall where there's a candy machine. Try to avoid going places where you've usually smoked. Stay away from friends and situations linked to problem drinking or drug use. Another helpful way is to replace unhealthy habits with new, healthy ones. "It doesn't work for everyone," Volkow says. "But certain groups of patients who have a history of taking a drug can do something else like running and it helps them stay away from drugs." What is the main idea of the passage? Answer: Breaking bad habits. It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry , but there was not any meat in the house. Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it:"Give my dog half a pound of meat."Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently:"Take this to the butcher(* person whose job is selling meat)and he's going to give you your lunch today." Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once. At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more. The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers. But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled . He said to himeself,"This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?" Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it! At the end of the story, you'll find that _ . Answer: the butcher found himself cheated by the clever animal In the United States, 30 percent of the adult population has a "weight problem.". To many people, the cause is clear: We eat too much. But scientific evidence does little to support this idea. Going back to the America of 1910, we find that people were slimmer than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically, walked more, used machines much less, and didn't watch television. Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people don't eat more on average than thinner people. In fact, some investigations (researches), such as a 1970 study of 3,545 London office workers, report that, on balance, fat people eat less than slimmer people. Studies show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University School of Medicine found the following interesting facts. The more the men ran, the greater loss of body fat. The more they ran, the greater their increase in food intake . Thus those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost greatest amount of body fat. In comparison with the adult American population today, the Americans of 1910 _ Answer: ate more food and had more physical activities What would turkeys do if they could think like us? Maybe the first thing is to run away from our dinner! That's the idea of Reggie and Jake. They are two turkeys in the new movie Free Birds (<<>> ). On Thanksgiving Day, people in the United States eat turkeys. But why? Reggie and Jake want a change. In a time machine, they go back to the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Reggie liked to be alone . But this time, he learns to become part of a team to make a big change. What does Reggie learn on their adventure ? Answer: Work together
Which is a major function of the vacuoles found in cells? Bob has a good friend, Caesar. He is a brown dog. He is not very old. Bob gets him from Mr. Mason. One day Bob's father, mother and Bob go to the Mason's farm for lunch. After lunch, Mr. Mason says, "I'm going to a big city. So I can't take him there. You can't have a young dog in a big city." " Let me have him, Mr. Mason. He knows me well and we have no dog, " Mr. Mason looks at Bob's mother and father. "Please , Mother, let me have him," says Bob. "Ask your father," says she. "Please, Dad?" "Yes, you can have him." "Thank you, dear dad. Thanks, Mr. Mason. Come here, Caesar." "See! The dog is his now," says Mr. Mason. How old is the dog? It's _ . Jim: Good afternoon, Peter! Peter: Good afternoon, Jim! Jim: Do you like computer games? Peter: Yes, I do. Jim: Let's play computer games. Peter: That sounds good, but I don't have a computer. Do you have one? Jim: No, I don't. But I have a TV. What about watching TV? Peter: No, it's boring. Let's play tennis. I have two tennis rackets and a ball. Jim: OK. Where are they? Peter: On the sofa. Jim: Get the ball and rackets. Let's go and play. Peter: OK. Let's go. Jim and Peter meet _ . Maggiano is an award-winning teacher in the Social Studies Department at West Springfield High School in Virginia.He has taught in public and private schools for 25 years.In a piece on his blog called "The Classroom Post," he calls for more males to enter the profession . Men Teach, a non-profit organization that encourages men to enter teaching, reports that in 2008, 18.8% of all elementary and middle school teachers were men.At the high school level during the same year, men comprised 44% of the work force. Why are there so few men in teaching? Men Teach says low pay and lack of prestige , as well as a perception in our culture that teaching is for women.As a result, there is no organized effort across the country to attract men into the teaching profession. A study in 2008 by the National Education Association showed that the number of male teachers hit a record 40-year low.Males comprised 24.5 percent of public schoolteachers.States with high percentages: Kansas (33.6 percent), Oregon (31.6 percent), Alaska (30.9 percent) and Indiana (30.5percent).States with the lowest percentage : Arkansas (16.2 percent), Virginia (17.4 percent), Mississippi (17.5 percent), Louisiana (18 percent), South Carolina (18.5 percent) and Georgia (19.7 percent). There is no definitive research that male students--or female students, for that matter-- learn better from a particular sex. But as Maggiano put it, "Kids today, both boys and girls, must have the same opportunity to learn from outstanding, devoted men that I did.However, I have heard little discussion about this problem coming from our national leaders. In which state are male teachers most badly needed? Which property of an object can be described as smooth?
Question: Conventional wisdom says that hardship can make us old before our time. In fact, a new study suggests that violence not only leaves long-term scars on children's bodies, but also changes their DNA, causing changes that are equal to seven to ten years of premature aging . Scientists measured this by studying the ends of children's chromosomes , called telomeres, says Idan Shalev, lead author of a study published in Molecular Psychiatry. Telomeres are special DNA sequences which prevent the DNA in chromosomes from separating. They get shorter each time a cell divides, until a cell cannot divide any more and dies. Several factors have been found to shorten telomeres, including smoking, radiation and psychological stresses such as being treated badly when young and taking care of a chronically ill person. In this study, researchers examined whether exposure to violence could make children's telomeres shorten faster than normal. They interviewed the mothers of 236 children at ages 5, 7 and 10, asking whether the youngsters had been exposed to domestic violence between the mother and her partner, physical maltreatment by an adult or bullying. Researchers measured the children's telomeres--in cells obtained from the insides of their cheeks--at ages 5 and 10. Telomeres shortened faster in kids exposed to two or more types of violence, says Shalev. Unless that pattern changes, the study suggests, these kids could be expected to develop diseases of aging, such as heart attacks or memory loss, seven to 10 years earlier than their peers. Shalev says there is hope for these kids. His study found that, in rare cases, telomeres can lengthen. Better nutrition, exercise and stress reduction are three things that may be able to lengthen telomeres, he says. The study confirms a smallbutgrowing number of studies suggesting that early childhood hardship imprints itself in our chromosomes, says Charles Nelson, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. The new study has found that _ . A. violence leaves scars on a child's mind B. violence can speed up a child's aging C. hardship can change a child's aging D. hardship has a long-term effect on children Answer: B Question: What's your favorite weather? Do you like sunny or rainy days? Many people like sunny days a lot. They don't like rain.They think rain makes them feel sad.During a long vacation.they like going to the beach to enjoy the sunshine.Sunshine makes them feel very good and happy. I like sunshine very much,but I also enjoy rain.I enjoy the sound of rain.It makes me feel quiet. On rainy days,I like listening to music and reading books or just looking at the rain and daydreaming. When you daydream,you don't think about other things.I think it's a good way to relax when it rains. Sunshine can make one run around and rain can make one quiet,so I hope you can feel happy.rain or sunshine. Many people don't like rain because it makes them feel _ . A. happy B. sad C. tired D. relaxing Answer: B Question: In the United States, headmasters and teachers discipline students in several ways. The teacher often writes to or calls the students' parents. Sometimes students have to stay at school for one hour. If a student behaves very badly, the headmaster can stop the student having classes. The student can't come to school for one, two or three days. Mr Lazares, the headmaster of a middle school in Ohio, did not like to do so. When he didn't let the students come to school, they were happy. "A three-day holiday!" they thought. One day, a boy was in Mr Lazares's office. The boy was not behaving well in class. Mr Lazares telephoned the boy's parents. "If you come to school with your son, I won't stop him having classes." He said. The boy's father came to school and went with his son to every class. Other students looked at the boy and his father. The boy was embarrassed . After that he behaved better. And, of course, other students behaved better, too. Now headmasters all over the USA are trying Mr Lazares's idea. They, too, think that students behave better when parents come to school. Why did the other students behave better, too? A. They were afraid of teachers. B. They were afraid of Mr Lazares. C. They didn't want their parents to come to school. D. They didn't like to have classes with the boy's father. Answer: C Question: Boys and girls, here I will tell you something about my first trip to the USA. When I get to Kennedy Airport, I begin my visit to the USA. First, I go to Roy Senior high School. I'm happy on the first night in America because I live with a kind family, the Edwards. It's a big family. They are very friendly to me. They help me do many things. When I want to write to my friends, they buy _ for me; when I lose my camera, they help me buy a new one. After some days, I go to another school in New Haven. I live in the Palumbos' house. There are three people in the family. I'm surprised that the parents are from two countries. It is a nice trip and I'm happy to be with the two families. They will be my friends for ever . How many school does the writer go to? A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four. Answer: B Question: In October 2013, Davion Only made an appeal on the Internet. He had learned that his biological mothr had died not long before. "My name is Davion and I've been in foster care since I was born," he said, "but I'm not giving up hope. " The heartbreaking appeal spread quickly, and Only's foster agency received calls from more than 10,000 people. Only ended up travelling to Ohio to live with a family. But after Only got into a physical fight with one of his elder would-be brothers, the family changed their minds. Back in Florida, Only passed through four different temporary homes over the following year, until he called Connie Going, his adoption case worker, to make a special request. Only had known Going for nearly ten years, and had asked every year if she would adopt him, but she always hesitated. "I always believed there was a better family than us out there," Going said in an interview. But last July, when Only called and asked again if she might adopt him, Going said something felt different. "When he asked me, my heart felt this ache and I just knew he was my son," she said. So Going, 52, invited Only to start spending time with the rest of her family-her two daughters, Sydney, 21, and Carly 17, and a son Taylor, 14, who she also adopted out of foster care. Eventually, after seeing how well the arrangement was working, Going, who had rented a bigger home, started adopting Only. Only moved in with her family last December.He officially joined Going's family on April 22, 2015 when the adoption papers went through. "Today, I feel blessed and honored to have been chosen to be the parent of all my children," Going said. By making the appeal, Davion Only hoped that A. service in his foster agency would improve B. his biological mother would come to him C. a foster agency would accept him D. he would be adopted by a family Answer: D
Question: Do you like travelling ?More and more students like riding bikes to travel on the road.But it may be dangerous on your trip.For your own safety ,do the following things. Wear a bike helmet and it can protect your head.Look for a helmet that fits you well.Even the best,most expensive helmet won't protect you if it doesn't fit. Wear the right clothes.They can make you feel better.And they can also protect you.Bright-colored clothes help people see you clearly-even in the daytime.Don't wear dark-colored clothes like black or brown while riding a bike. Keep the rules of the road while riding a bike.Always ride on the right side of the street in the same _ .Never change your direction without first looking behind you.Don't ride too closely to cars-the cars may stop and the doors open suddenly !Finally,don't wear earphones while riding a bike-you need to hear what's going on around you. If you wear a helmet in your bike riding on the road,it can _ . A. protect your body B. protect your head C. help your bike riding D. protect your arms Answer: B. protect your head Question: You've probably grown accustomed to texting in the glow of a mobile phone screen. Well, there's some good and bad news coming for those of you who spend hours speedily tapping messages to one another. The good news is that the hours you spend face-to-phone are paying off. You may have become fluent in a second language. The bad news, however, is that this language is texting. Worse still, there isn't yet a texting section in your school exams, so you'll need to work harder to recover the grammar skills you might be killing with every LOL and BRB (Be right back). A new study confirms what many parents suspect. The more kids send and receive texts, the poorer their grammar skills become. With "the culture of mobile communication--quick back and forth , there are compromises on traditional, cultural writing", said S. Shyam Sundar, professor of Pennsylvania State University, which conducted the study. "Techspeak", as Sundar and his research partner Drew P. Cingel call it, has become so prevalent among young users that it's changing their foundation of basic grammar. "Routine use of textual adaptations by current and future generations of 13-to-17-year-olds may serve to create the impression that this is normal and accepted use of the language, "they said in their published findings. It seems teenagers are unable to "code switch-shift" between standard grammar and the abbreviations used in text messages, Sundar said. These abbreviations have become the real words for them now. However, linguists aren't particularly disturbed by the trend, Sundar added. "The linguists will tell you the language is very dynamic. " Still, students have exams to worry about. Here's a sample of the questions, so you can test yourself to see how texting has affected your grammar: During the flood, we (dranked, drank, drunk, drunked) bottled water. Fortunately, Jim's name was (accepted, excepted) from the list of those who would have to clean bathrooms because he was supposed to go downtown to (accept, except) a reward for the German Club. *The dress is so large that it is (lose, loose) on me when I wear it! What is the main point of the article? A. To report the popularity of texting among teens. B. To introduce the effects of texting on grammar. C. To inform us that texting is likely to become a second language for teens. D. To analyze how texting influences the culture of mobile communication. Answer: B. To introduce the effects of texting on grammar. Question: A new report shows what life might be like in 100 years from now. It describes skyscrapers that are much taller than today's buildings, underwater "bubble" cities and holidays in space. The report is from a company. It asked experts on space and architecture, as well as city planners, to give their ideas on the life in 2116. They said the way we live, work and play will be totally different to how we do these things today. The experts used the Internet as an example. They said that 25 years ago, people could not imagine how the Internet and smartphones would change our lives. The Internet has completely changed the way we communicate, learn and do daily things. The experts said the changes in the next century would be even more unbelievable. Researchers questioned 2,000 adults about the prediction they thought were most likely to happen in the future. They predicted that in the future, few people will go to an office but will work from home and have work meetings online. People will have highly developed 3-D printers that will let you download a design for furniture or a food recipe and then "print" the sofa, table or pizza at home. There will also be less need for visits to the doctor. We will all have a home health instrument that will tell us what the problem is and give us treatment. We will also be going into space for holidays and to get resources that we have used up on Earth. A prediction that is missing is whether people will still need to study English. ,A, B, C, D,. The passage is most probably from _ . A. an advertisement B. a newspaper C. a detective story D. a health report Answer: B. a newspaper Question: Watching some children trying to catch butterflies one hot August afternoon, I was reminded of an incident in my own childhood. When I was a boy of 12 in South Carolina, something happened to me that cured me forever of wanting to put any wild creature in a cage. We lived on the edge of a wood, and every evening at dusk the mockingbirds would come and rest in the tree and sing. There isn't a musical instrument made by man that can produce a more beautiful sound than the song of the mockingbird. I decided that I would catch a young bird and keep it in a cage and that way have my own private musician. I finally succeeded in catching one and put it in a cage. At first, in its fright at being captured, the bird fluttered about the cage, but eventually it settled down in its new home, I felt very pleased with myself and looked forward to some beautiful singing from my tiny musician. I had left the cage out on our back porch , and on the second day of the bird's captivity my new pet's mother flew to the cage with food in her mouth . The baby bird ate everything she brought to it. I was pleased to see this. Certainly the mother knew better than I how to feed her baby. The following morning when I went to see how my captive was doing, I discovered it on the floor of the cage, dead. I was shocked! What had happened? I had taken excellent care of my little bird, or so I thought. Arthur Wayne, the famous _ , happened to be visiting my father at the time and, hearing me crying over the death of my bird, explained what had occurred: "A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes bring it poison berries. She thinks it better for her young to die than to live in captivity." Never since then have I caught any living creature and put it in a cage. All living creatures have a right to live free. The mockingbird died because _ . A. it ate some poisonous food the boy gave it by mistake B. it ate the poisonous food its mother gave it C. it was frightened to death D. it refused to eat anything Answer: B. it ate the poisonous food its mother gave it Question: Spiderman is one of the most famous comic book characters. He was created by Stan Lee in 1963 and was first introduced to the world in the page of Marvel comic books. Spiderman's story is the story of Peter Parker, a child who lost his parents and lives with his aunt and uncle. Peter is a shy, quiet boy wearing glasses and has few friends. One day, on a high school class trip to a science lab, he was bitten by a special spider . Soon Peter realizes he has amazing powers: he is as strong and quick as a spider and also has a type of sixth sense. He no longer needs his glasses and he can use his super power to fly through the city streets! Remembering something his uncle Ben has told him, that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility ,"Peter decides to use his powers to fight enemies who do cruel things to people. And so, Spiderman is born. Life is not easy for Peter even though he is a superhero. He is in love with Mary Jane but cannot tell her about his amazing powers. Besides, his best friend Harry hates Spiderman! Peter is also short of money and time. He has to sell photos of Spiderman (himself) to a newspaper and he keeps losing his jobs because he is so busy saving people! Yet he has to fight different kinds of cruel enemies. ,. Why did Peter Parker keep losing jobs? A. Because he was not good at the jobs. B. Because fighting different kinds of cruel enemies took him a lot of time. C. Because he was too shy to work. D. Because he wanted to get more pay. Answer: B. Because fighting different kinds of cruel enemies took him a lot of time.
Wanted,Someone for a Kiss We're looking for producers to join us on the sound of London Kiss 100 FM. You'll work on the station's music programs. Music production experience in radio is necessary,along with rich knowledge of modern dance music. Please apply in writing to Producer Vacancies,Kiss 100. Father Christmas We're looking for a very special person,preferably over 40,to fill our Father Christmas suit. Working days:Every Saturday from November 24 to December 15 and every day from December 17 to December 24 except Sundays, 10:30-16:00. Excellent pay. Please contact the Enterprise Shopping Centre,Station Parade,Eastbourne. Accountants Assistant When you join the team in our Revenue Administration Unit,you will be providing assistance within all parts of the Revenue Division,dealing with post and other general duties. If you are educated to GCSE grade C level we would like to talk to you. This position is equally suitable for a school leaver or for somebody who has office experience. Wealden District Council Software Trainer If you are aged 24-45 and have experience in teaching and training,you could be the person we are looking for. You should be good at the computer and have some experience in program writing. You will be allowed to make your own decisions,and to design courses as well as present them. Pay upwards ofPS15,000 for the right person. Please apply by sending your CV to Mrs R. Oglivie, Palmlace Limited. .Which position is open to recent school graduates? A. Producer,London Kiss. B. Father Christmas. C. Accountants Assistant. D. Software Trainer. Answer: C. Accountants Assistant. Cell phones: is there a cancer link? Could your cell phone 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 cell phones 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 cell phones, " 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 cell phones and brain cancer, in 13 countries outside the US, has been underway for several years. It's funded in part by the European Union, in part by a cell phone industry group. The final report should come out later this year, but data so far don't suggest a strong link between cell phone use and cancer risk. From the passage we can learn that some people are worried because _ . A. they have evidence that the use of cell phones can lead to cancer B. they make a fuss over cell phone use C. some experts have given a warning D. cell phones are responsible for brain tumors Answer: C. some experts have given a warning More and more schools are being designed and used in ways that are friendly to the environment. These so-called green schools use less energy, cost less to run and are good for students. The newly renovated Sidwell Friends Middle School in the District has been awarded the highest rating by the U.S. Green Building Council for having a positive impact on the environment-a rare honor. Soon the school will treat and re-use its wastewater, saving hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per year. The recycled water from sinks and toilets, which can't be used for drinking, will be color1ed blue, "so we know it's recycled, just in case it gets into the water fountains -not that it would," joked Emily Bernstein, 14, a Sidwell student and building tour guide. Water fountains will still use fresh city water. Sidwell students are studying the building itself in science classes to help them learn first-hand the positive impact of green buildings. It's affecting how they view the world around them. "If you see a [building] being torn down, you think, 'They're going to fill up a whole landfill with that,'" said Matthew Malone, 13. In Prince George's County, Suitland Elementary has been so successful that another green school is being planned, in Laurel, for the 2008-09 school year. At Suitland, a garden courtyard collects and uses rainwater; the roof is angled away from the sun to keep it cool; and skylights and tall windows let in lots of natural light. "You don't have to switch on the light switch all the time," said Rupert McCave, the county official guiding these projects. Green schools tend to be sunnier and more _ than older buildings. In fact, a study done inprefix = st1 /Washingtonstate showed that students at green schools performed better and were absent less. From the text we learn that green schools_. A. not only benefit the environment but also win high awards B. contribute both to the environment and to students development C. treat and recycle water from sinks, toilets and water fountains D. make more use of solar power and save more electricity than older schools Answer: B. contribute both to the environment and to students development Yao Ming edged Kobe Bryant as the top votegetter in fanballoting1for the 55th NBA All-Star game Thursday, and Shaquille O'Neal became the fifth player in league history to earn 13consecutive2selections for the midseason showcase. Yao and Tracy McGrady give the host Houston Rockets two starters in the Feb.19 game. They were joined on the Western Conference squad by Bryant, San Antonio's Tim Duncan and reigning MVP Steve Nash of Phoenix -- who will be a first-time All-Star starter. Yao edged Bryant by 71,107 votes for the top overall spot in the balloting, despite missing 21 games following surgery to clean out aninfection3in his left big toe. It's the fourth All-Star trip for the 7-foot-6 center from China and the eighth for Bryant, who leads the NBA in scoring and had an 81-point effort -- the second-biggest night in NBA history -- last month in the Los Angeles Lakers' win over Toronto. Yao finished with 2,342,738 votes; Bryant had 2,271,631 in the closest finish among the top two players in All-Star balloting since Vince Carter, then of Toronto, edged Miami's Alonzo Mourning by 33,385 votes in 2000. Notes: 1 ballot vi. 2 consecutive adj. 3 infection n. , Which of the following is not wrong according to this passage? A. Yao Ming edged Kobe Bryant as the top votegetter in fan balloting for the 54th NBA All-Star game. B. Yao edged Tracy McGrady by 71,107 votes for the top overall spot in the balloting. C. It's the fourth All-Star trip for Yao Ming from China. D. Yao finished with 2,271,631 votes; Bryant had2,342,738 in the closest finish among the top two players in All-Star balloting. Answer: C. It's the fourth All-Star trip for Yao Ming from China. With many college graduates struggling to find jobs, one of the most important for you to understand is that you're in school all your life. In fact, your real education is just beginning. I'd like to pass on a few lessons that you didn't necessarily get in school. If you've been out of school for a few years or a lot of years, they could still teach you something. Develop relationships and keep networking. If I had to name a single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I've met, I'd say it is the ability to create and nurture networks of contacts. Start strengthening your relationships now, so that they'll be in place when you really need them later. In the classroom it was mostly about individual performance. Success in real life requires relationships. Set goals. Ask any winner what the key to his or her success was, and you'll hear four consistent messages: vision, determination, persistence, and setting goals. If you don't set goals and determine where you're going, how will you know when you get there? Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day. Sense of humor. I'm a firm believer in using humor, though not necessarily jokes. A good sense of humor helps one understand the unconventional( ), tolerate the unpleasant, and overcome the unexpected. There are plenty of times to be serious, but I believe that keeping things light and comfortable encourages better teamwork. Volunteer. It might be hard to do a lot of volunteer work at first, but people who help others on a regular basis have a healthier outlook on life. By saying "your real education is just beginning", the author wants to _ A. explain why it's difficult for college graduates to find jobs B. show the importance of social experience, besides schooling, in education C. advise students to value their time at school, and to study hard D. advise college graduates to face bravely the problems they may encounter Answer: B. show the importance of social experience, besides schooling, in education
Carmen Arace Middle School is situated in the town of Bloomfield,but four years ago it faced many of the same challenges as inner--city schools nearby:low scores in standardized tests and dropping enrollment of students.Then the hard-driving headmaster, Delore Bolton,persuaded her school to shake up the place by buying a laptop computer for each student and teacher to use in school and at home.For good measure,the board provided wireless Internet access at school.Total cost :$5 million. Now an hour before classes start,every seat in the library is taken by students eager to get online.The teacher talks about rocks as students view them at a colorful website,after school students on buses pull laptops from backpacks to get started on homework.Since the computers arrived,scores in state tests are up 35%and the enrollment increases by 20%. Indeed,school systems in rural areas are eager to follow Carmen Arace Middle School's example.Angus King,the state governor, has proposed using$50 million from an unexpected budget to supply computers for students. However, the school is seeking federal grant money to expand the laptop program.In the meantime,most of the problems have been worked out.Some students use computers to visit unauthorized websites,but teachers have the ability to track where students have been and restrict them."That is the worst when they disable you" says a boy.The habit is rubbing off on parents."I taught my mom to use e-mail."says the honorable girl."And now she is taking computer classes.I'm so proud of her!'' By introducing the laptop program, Delore Bolton has _ . A. shaken the belief of both teachers and students B. witnessed a remarkable improvement in students' test scores and enrollment C. spent more time visiting unauthorized websites with the laptop program D. changed class-room teaching in public schools Answer: B Our town has a big zoo. There are a lot of animals in it. There are some tiger and two lions. They eat a lot of meat everyday. There are also two big elephants and a baby one. I want to ride one of them, the elephants are tame and kind, They eat a lot of grass every day. The elephants like children, because sometimes Children give them bread and bananas, elephants like bananas very much. In our zoo there are also brown bears and white bears. They stand on their hind legs. Hold up, their arms and ask for food. They like cakes very much. There is a good place for children. They can ride horses and donkeys and watch the monkeys there. The monkeys are very funny. They climb up ropes again and again and play with each other like small children. They love apples, bananas and bread. . What's color are the bears? A. black B. red C. brown D. brown and white Answer: D Scientists are discovering ways to make some crops use less water. A person working in which job would most benefit from this research? A. a farmer B. a doctor C. a waiter D. a cook Answer: A Can you imagine being savagely attacked by a dog? What if the attack was so severe that your nose, lips and chin were completely destroyed? How would you feel about yourself? Would you be able to look at yourself in the mirror? And how do you think other people would treat you? Isabelle Dinoire is someone who can answer all of these questions honestly and openly. Last November Isabelle was attacked and mauled by her own dog. The attack was so severe that her lower face was damaged; it seemed, almost beyond repair. She was rushed to hospital and became the first person ever to have a face transplant. With such severe injuries doctors offered Isabelle little hope that they would be able to repair the damage to her face using conventional surgery. Shortly after being admitted, she came to the attention of Dr Bernard Devauchelle who, unlike other surgeons, believed there was an alternative: "We found ourselves saying, yes, it's clear this woman needs a transplant," he said. Two days after the operation she saw her face in the mirror for the first time. She said "I was scared to look at myself, but when I did it was already marvelous and I couldn't believe it. I thought it would be blue and swollen but it was already beautiful." Now, less than a year after her 15 hour operation, she's trying to rebuild her life and there is no doubt how she feels about her new face: "I have been saved. Lots of people write saying that I need to go on, that it's wonderful. It's a miracle somehow." Although there were ethical questions raised about their decision to carry out the procedure, the doctors who operated on Isabelle are quick to defend their decision. One of them said "Was it possible for her to live without a face? It's easy to say we shouldn't have done the operation, but her life has changed, she goes shopping, goes on holiday, she lives again." The writer uses the five questions at the beginning of the passage to _ . A. tell the story about Isabelle Dinoire B. show a severe face damage event C. draw the readers' attention to the topic D. invite the readers to answer them Answer: C A recent report says we spend an average of two hours and 40 minutes each day looking at a smartphone. That doesn't mean making calls, but using apps and browsing the Web. Spend that amount of time staring at anything. Checked our email in a restaurant, shared a picture of the food when it arrived, or checked a fact during a conversation only to be drawn into reading more instead of contributing verbally. It's no secret our lives are being affected by our obsession with smartphones. However, never before has this phenomenon been displayed so vividly as in the short YouTube film I Forgot My Phone. Despite only being online for a few days, it's already been viewed more than 10. 5 million times. Ironically, YouTube's statistics show that the site gets a billion views per day from mobile devices, so a lot of those people watched it on their phone. The short film, written by and starring actress Charlene deGuzrnan, shows groups of people in various social situations, the majority of which are completely attracted by their phones instead of the world around them. It's depressing because we' ve all seen it, and sad because to a certain extent, we all do it. By mentioning the YouTube's statistics, the author wants to A. criticize the people who watched the You Tube film B. think highly of the YouTube film's popularity C. inspect the people who watched the You Tube film D. confirm the YouTube film's realitv Answer: D
There are trains to carry people,trains to carry animals or carry things.There are fast trains and slow ones.Some trains go through hills.In big cities,the streets are usually very busy.So you can find trains under the ground.they carry people quickly in and out of the big cities.Can a train run over the water?Yes,it can.There are many bridges over the rivers.The trains can easily run over the water.But it is not easy to build the bridges.Today's trains have dining rooms for people.You may eat something in them on the way if you are hungry.Trains are useful to men,women and children.Many children have model trains.With the model trains they can build their own rails and enjoy the wonderful world of trains. It's _ for trains to run over the water but _ to build bridges. Answer: Rupert Hoogewerf, whose name sounds Dutch, is actually an Englishman. The 34-year-old man is very famous in prefix = st1 /China--though many Chinese merchant princes have complicated feeling towards him. Every day people, meanwhile, take delight in talking about his work. All of the fuss is over the annual report that Hoogewerf puts out ranking Chinese millionaires. On the wall of Hoogewerf's office in Shanghai, there is a massive Chinese map, and on almost every province is glued a small strip of paper. On each strip is written how many millionaires are registered on Hoogewerf's list. Hoogewerf, wearing jeans and sandals, speaks fluent Chinese to introduce the initial motivation for compiling the list. When Hoogewerf went into university to study Chinese in 1997, he says, he was affiliated with the renowned accounting firm Arthur Andersen, and was assigned to work in Shanghai. Working in Shanghai, he could see first-handChina's fast economic development. "But my fellows and I don't understand the process of how this could happen," he says, "let alone to explain this phenomenon in the concept of economics." Then he had an idea to compile a ranked list to introduce Chinese tycoons abroad, knowing that foreigners preferred reading people's stories to data. With the help of two colleagues in 1999, Hoogewerf complied the first ranking of Chinese millionaires. The most difficult task was to select candidates, and Hoogewerf and his colleagues spent two months reading Chinese and English magazines and newspapers. From a list of more than 1,000 people, they chose 300 people to survey and contact further. Finally, a list with the hundred richest businessmen in Chinaappeared. The listing astounded the populace; the Chinese have a tradition where people are afraid to exhibit their wealth. The achievement of a hundred millionaires became the main topic in everyone's conversation. Hoogewerf instantly became famous acrossChina. Hoogewerf also brings forward some advice to Chinese companies. In his opinion, compared to foreign companies, Chinese companies are still in the beginning phase. Their finance management and public relations need most work. So the service in accountant, auditing, public relations, consultation and so on is still required. "If I don't compile ranks one day," Hoogewerf says,"I hope to do my Chinese career in _ ." Which of the following sentences might Hoogewerf agree with? 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. Which Chinese film won an award for best foreign film? Answer: Where would sponges most likely be found making their home? Answer: On April twenty-second, some American children stayed out of school but they were not punished. They were with their parents. As Faith Lapidus tells us, it was Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. The Ms. Foundation for Women started the program seventeen years ago, in 1993. At first it was just called Take Our Daughters to Work. Gloria Steinem and other foundation leaders pointed to studies showing that self-image suffers as girls become teenagers. They can lose trust in their abilities and intelligence, especially in areas like science, math and technology. So the Ms. Foundation planned a day for parents in New York City to show girls all the possibilities for them in the professional world. But there was so much interest, the organizers decided to make it national. At first, girls mostly followed their mom or dad around at work to learn about their jobs. Later, employers and schools began to offer organized activities. But from the beginning there were protests from parents and others about the exception of boys. So in 2003 the day was renamed Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work. 2007 was the last year that the Ms. Foundation for Women headed the program. Now, the event is run by a twelve-person group called the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation. The event is connected with Mattel, the company that makes Barbie dolls. Carolyn McKecuen is president of the foundation. She says a total of about thirty-three million children and adults are involved in the program. About one-third of the adults work at large companies or nonprofit organizations. Another third are in small businesses. The rest work in education. Carolyn McKecuen says the numbers from this year's event are not final yet. But early reports suggest that participation was up at least ten percent from last year. And she says the foundation is hoping to find support to expand the program internationally. She says there are lots of requests from other countries for information about how to set up similar programs. It was called Take Our Daughters to Work at first because _ . Answer:
The relations between man and wife are changing. A majority of working women remain in full charge of their home; they come back at night to the cleaning, washing, and cooking that constitute their second career. But more and more husbands are sharing the burden and willingly taking on chores that their fathers would have rejected as unmanly, and as too mysteriously difficult anyway. In such cases, man and wife become equal partners, both working outside, both pushing the vacuum cleaner, actually, the number of husbands who do help that way is much smaller than the number of those who accept the idea in theory. _ . The marriage can be destroyed when the wife is more successful in her profession than her husband in his, particularly when she earns more than he does. Sociologists see in this situation one of the main reasons for the increase in the divorce rate-another reason being the husband's refusal to help with the housework or the care of the children. A third reason could be the growing awareness of the professional woman that she doesn't hare to remain married if she is too unhappy. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT _ . A. more husbands act in helping housework than those agreeing it without action B. more and more husbands are helping their, wives io do housework C. most of the working women take charge of their home D. it is possible for the marriage to fail if women earn more money than husbands Answer: A. more husbands act in helping housework than those agreeing it without action We all know the dangers of fires. It's good and necessary for a family to learn how to prepare for a fire. Here are some suggestions. Put a smoke alarm in the house. Smoke from a fire causes the alarm to go off. The alarm makes a loud sound. The sound tells everyone to leave the house at once. Make escape plans. We should know all the ways out of the house. If there is a fire, everyone follows the plan to get out. Part of the plan is to check all the windows to make sure they can be opened easily. Buy fire extinguishers in the house. Everyone in the family should know how to use them. Practise for a fire. We do fire practice because we teach children about fire safety. Everyone in the family should know the following fire rules: Don't open a hot door! The fire can grow more quickly if you open the door. Stay close to the floor! Smoke can be more dangerous than fire. The best air is near the floor because smoke rises. What will you do if your hair or clothes start to burn? First, stop! Don't run! The fire burns faster because of more air. Drop! Fall to the floor. Then roll! Turning over and over will make the fire go out. Put a blanket around you to keep air away from the fire that may still be on you. There are many possible causes for fires. A wise family is ready all the time. If there is a fire, don't forget to call 119 for help. ,. When a smoke alarm rings at home, it means _ . A. you have to get up B. water is running to the floor C. something is burning D. someone breaks your window Answer: C. something is burning Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people around the world. American researchers say the disease will affect more than one hundred million people worldwide by the year twenty fifty. That would be four times the current number. Researchers and doctors have been studying Alzheimer's patients for a century. Yet the cause and the cure for the mental sickness are still unknown. However, some researchers have made important steps towards understanding it. Several early signs of the disease involve memory and thought processes. At first, patients have trouble remembering little things. Later, they have trouble remembering more important things, such as the names of their children. There are also some physical tests that might show who is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The tests look for proteins in brain and spinal cord fluid. The proteins appear to be found only in people with the disease. The protein tests correctly identify the presence of the disease in about ninety percent of patients. Now, a much simpler physical test to predict Alzheimer's risk has been developed. Researchers found that trouble with the sense of smell can be one of the first signs of Alzheimer's. Using this information, they developed a test in which people were asked to identify twelve familiar smells. These smells included cinnamon, black pepper, chocolate, paint thinner, and smoke. The study continued for five years. During this period, the same people were asked to take several tests measuring their memory and thought abilities. Fifty percent of those who could not identify at least four of the smells in the first test had trouble with their memory and thinking in the next five years. Another study has shown a possible way to reduce a person's chances of developing Alzheimer's disease in old age. Researchers in Chicago found that people who use their brains more often are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. Those who read a newspaper, or play chess or word games are about three times less likely to develop the condition. Researchers say they still do not know what causes Alzheimer's disease. But they say these findings might help prevent the disease in the future. What is not the early signs of the Alzheimer's disease according to the passage? A. Poor memory B. Proteins exist in the brain. C. Trouble with the sense of smell. D. Less use of the brain. Answer: D. Less use of the brain. Noise pollution in cities is causing out health to suffer, according to the World Health Organization. Recently, researchers at the Free University of Brussels in Beigium have developed an applocation: NoiseTube. It allows everyone who downloads it the ability to measure the amount of noise they are exposed to by transforming their smart phone into a sound level meter. NoiseTube works by recording sound levels and GPS locations. Once launched the app shows decibel levels of green or red depending on the level of noise. That information is then sent to the NoiseTube server via the Internet where a "noise map" is produced and then made available to the user. Since its launch, the app has been popular with community groups who want to monitor their own noise levels. According to D'hondt of the Noise Tube project, these groups don't think that city produced noise maps give an adequate interpretation of the level of noise they're experiencing. City produced noise maps are based on statistical models involving very few actual measurements. NoiseTube on the other hand gives a detailed account of the level of noise experienced at a specific time and location. "Ten people walking the same area from 9 to 10 am every day for one week can make a valid and detailed map for an area of a couple of blocks," D'Hondt said. "It's reasonable effort by the community groups to produce these maps, and with it they can go to the authorities and have real evidence about what they're experiencing." So far these sorts of noise maps have been produced for a number of European cities. The app has been downloaded by 10,000 people with 2,700 people registered on the NoiseTube website. How does NoiseTube produce a "noise map?" A. The NoiseTube server analyzes noise information vis the Internet. B. The NoiseTube server analyzes noise information via GPS devices. C. Decibel levels of noise are transformed by a unique device. D. It produces a "noise map"automatically when it collects enough information. Answer: A. The NoiseTube server analyzes noise information vis the Internet. Scotland has long been characterized as a land of romance. It contains ruins of many ancient castles and abbeys,and there is an attractive beauty in its mountains,long deep valleys,and ribbon lakes.Each year those things attract a great number of tourists. Numerous islands line the coast.In the north are two large groups,the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands.Close to the west coast are the Inner and Outer Hebrides groups,and the islands of Arran and Bute. The land may be divided into three regions: the Highlands in the north,the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands. The Highlands are wild and picturesque . A long valley called Glenmore crosses the Highlands from southwest to northeast. In the south of the Highlands are the Grampian Mountains,highest in the British Isles. Ben Nevis,the highest peak,rises to 1,243 meters.Ben Lomond rises from the shore of Loch Lomond,Scotland's largest freshwater lake. The Central Lowlands run from southwest to northeast and the greatest length is nearly 145 kilometers.The soil here is fertile,and there are four coalfields underlying the area.In the east is Edinburgh,Scotland's historic capital city,and in the west is Glasgow. Almost 90 percent of Scotland's population live in the Lowlands. In the Southern Uplands, the hills are generally less than 600 meters high. Their rounded or flat tops are often _ with dark peat . Along the slopes are plants like grass and heather . The author's aim of writing this passage is _ . A. to attract people to visit Scotland B. to describe the beautiful scenery of Scotland C. to show people the history of Scotland D. to introduce Scotland generally Answer: D. to introduce Scotland generally
Most people want to work, but in today's word ,it is more difficult to find work for everybody.The economics of the world need to grow by 4% each year just to keep the old number of jobs for people. Often this is not possible,and so more people are out of work. Some people have no jobs now because new machines can do the work of many people do in a short time.Also, machines do not ask for more money and longer holidays. In all the countries of the world, machines are taking work from people ,not only in factories but also on the farms. One machine can often do the work of forty people. About 75,000 people are moving to the cities a day to look for jobs ,but only 70% of them can find jobs . The economics of the world need to grow to _ . A. get more money B. keep the old number of jobs of people C. make new machines D. let people look for jobs Answer: B Sixteen years ago, Eileen Doyle's husband, an engineer, took his four children up for an early morning cup of tea, packed a small case and was never seen or heard from again. Eileen was astonished and in a state of despair. They had been a happy family and, as far as she knew, there had been nothing wrong with their marriage. Every day of the year a small group of men and women quietly pack a few belongings and, without so much as a note or a good-bye, close the front door for the last time, leaving their debts, their worries and their confused families behind them. Last year, more than 1,200 men and nearly as many women were reported missing from home -- the highest in 15 years. Many did return home within a year, but others rejected the past completely and are now living a new life somewhere under a different identity. To those left behind this form of desertion is a terrible blow to their pride and self-confidence. Even the finality of death might be preferable. At least it does not imply rejection or failure. Worse than that, people can be left with an unfinished marriage, not knowing whether they will have to wait seven years before they are free to start a fresh life. Clinical psychologist Paul Brown believes most departures of this kind to be well planned rather than impulsive. "It's typical of the kind of personality which seems able to ignore other people's pain and difficulties. Running away, like killing yourself, is a highly aggressive act. By creating an absence the people left behind feel guilty, upset and empty." According to the passage, those people left their families behind for the following reasons except _ . A. they couldn't bear their spouse B. they were afraid of the burden of debts C. they wanted to forget the past completely D. they wanted to start a new life somewhere else Answer: A Dear March - Come in - How glad I am - I hoped for you before ... Who knocks? That April - Lock the Door - I will not be pursued - He stayed away a year to call - When I am occupied - But trifles look so trivial - As soon as you have come ... This lovely poem was written by Emily Dickinson, who is considered a major American poet, though she was not accorded this honor until well after her death. Emily Dickinson was born on December 10, 1830, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended school for only one year. Throughout her life, she seldom left her home and visitors were few. She lived in almost complete isolation from the outside world. She admired the poetry of Robert and Elizabeth Barren Browning, as well as John Keats. Though she was dissuaded from reading the poetry of her contemporary Walt Whitman by rumors of its disgracefulness, the two poets are now connected by the distinguished place they hold as the founders of a uniquely American poetic voice. While Dickinson was extremely prolific as a poet, she was not publicly recognized during her lifetime. Upon her death, Dickinson's family discovered forty hand-bound volumes of nearly 1,800 poems. Her younger sister began to share the enormous body of work that Emily left behind. Emily's odd punctuation, capitalization , and formatting did not meet with standard publishing "approval" for earlier editions. There is a whimsical nature to many other poems, as the subject of death was the most frequent theme. In the poem, the poetess was speaking to _ . A. a little girl B. a long-lost family member C. a nice season D. a cute animal Answer: C If you were to walk up to Arthur Bonner and say, "Hey, Butterfly Man," his face would break into a smile. The title suits him.,and he loves it. Arthur Bonner works with the Palos Verdes blue butterfly, once thought to have died out. Today the butterfly is coming back -- thanks to him. But years ago if you'd told him this was what he'd be doing someday, he would have laughed, "You're crazy." As a boy, he used to be "a little tough guy on the streets". At age thirteen, he was caught by police stealing. At eighteen, he landed in prison for shooting a man. "I knew it had worried my mom," Bonner said after he got out of prison. "So I told myself I would not put my mom through that pain again." One day he met Professor Mattoni, who was working to rebuild the habitat for an endangered butterfly called El Segundo blue. "I saw the sign 'Butterfly Habitat' and asked, 'How can you have a habitat when the butterflies can just fly away?'" Bonner recalls. "Dr. Mattoni laughed and handed me a magnifying glass , 'Look at the leaves.' I could see all these caterpillars on the plant. Dr Mattoni explained, 'Without the plant, there are no butterflies.'" Weeks later, Bonner received a call from Dr. Mattoni, who told him there was a butterfly that needed help. That was how he met the Palos Verdes blue. Since then he's been working for four years to help bring the butterfly back. He grows astragalus, the only plant the butterfly eats. He collects butterflies and brings them into a lab to lay eggs. Then he puts new butterflies into the habitat. The butterfly's population, once almost zero, is now up to 900. For their work, Bonner and Dr. Mattoni received lots of awards. But for Bonner, he earned something more: he turned his life around. For six years now Bonner has kept his promise to stay out of prison. While he's bringing back the Palos Verdes blue, the butterfly has helped bring him back, too. When he was young, Arthur Bonner _ . A. broke the law and ended up in prison B. was fond of shooting and hurt his mom C. often laughed at people on the streets D. often caught butterflies and took them home Answer: A It is easy for us to tell who our family members are, but do plants recognize their own family? Some do, scientists say, according to a report by Science News in early 2010. Guillermo P. Murphy and Susan Dudley are two plant scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. They did a few experiments with Jewelweeds, a kind of flower that grows in wet, shady spots. They found that the flowers seem to know their own flower family. In their experiments, Murphy and Dudley planted jewelweeds in pots with either _ or strangers. When jewelweeds were planted in pots with strangers, the plants started to grow more leaves than if they had been planted alone. This response suggests that plants are competing with strangers for sunlight, since a plant with more leaves can receive more light and make more food. Jewelweeds usually grow in the shade, where sunlight is not enough. When jewelweed seedlings were planted with siblings, they grew a few more branches than they usually would if they were alone - but they did not start growing lots of extra leaves. This behavior suggests the plants are more likely to share resources, rather than compete. According to the Science News report, Jewelweeds are not the first plants that plant scientists have studied for family recognition. In 2007, Dudley and her team studied the Great Lakes sea rocket, a plant that grows on the beach - where it may be hard to get fresh water. In that experiment, the scientists found that when sea rockets were planted with siblings, they tolerated each other. But when they were planted with strangers, the sea rockets reacted by working extra hard to grow lots of roots. Dudley says this just because sea rockets, on the beach, get plenty of sun but struggle for water - so when they're threatened, they compete for water. Jewelweeds have plenty of water but have to compete for sunshine, so they grow more leaves. According to the passage, flowers planted alone will _ . A. grow more leaves than those planted in groups B. become taller than those with more branches C. grow fewer leaves than those planted with strangers D. become ill easily because they can't get enough shade Answer: C
Dear Betty, I'm your eraser Jill .This afternoon you lost me in your classroom. Simon found me and gave me to your English teacher Ms White. Now Ms White's three keys and I are in Ms. White's bag. The bag is yellow. It's on Ms White's desk. Please call Ms White at 718-0167 and ask her for me .You can come to the library, too. Ms White is in the library now. Jill Simon found a (n) _ in the classroom. eraser If you are like millions of other people in the world, you probably want to live a healthy lifestyle. While many people are able to achieve this lifestyle, there are even more that are looking for ways to improve their health. Here are 5 tips to help you. 1.Healthy diet The food you eat plays a huge role in what type of lifestyle you live. If you eat fast food every day, you clearly don't have the best diet. You should eat vegetables, fruits, bread as well as meat and fish, and even some snack foods once in a while. 2.Water Drink plenty of water every day and it is good for your health. Usually you need to drink 8~10 glasses of water a day. 3.Exercise Take some exercise every day. You can take a walk, play ball games with your friends, or ride a bike. Exercise is a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle. 4.Have fun Getting out and having fun is _ because it helps let out the stresses. Go out for a movie with your friends once in a while. Go to the park and enjoy a nice sunny day. Or just lie down and read a book. 5.Sleep Without enough sleep, our immune system will be weak and it will be difficult to get through the day. Getting a good night's sleep can make the world of a difference in how you feel and how much you can do the next day. This passage is most probably intended for _ . young and old Celebrations and traditions hold a special place in a country. It is a time when the families come together and celebrate a holiday,for a particular purpose. Besides (he national festivals and celebrations,many places enjoy some whacky celebrations. Henley-on-Todd Regatta If you want something quieter, trip over to Alice Springs in the dry heart of Australia. There you will find the Todd Regatta in a riverbed that normally has no water. "the boats are bottomless and without paddle .The teams run up the riverbed with their feet sticking out of the bottom of their boats. World Black Pudding Throwing Championship In Greater Manchester UK they throw black puddings. The contest dates back to the 1850s, Competitors from across the world come here for the contest. The aim is to knock Yorkshire puddings off a 20-foot shelf by throwing black puddings at them. Sauna Bathing Championships If you prefer it hot, Finland is (he place for you to compete in the Sauna Bathing Championships. Every 30 seconds the heat is turned up, but the contestants must remain seated in an up- right position on the wooden seat. The last person left in the sauna is the winner. The La Tomatlna Festival Every August truckloads of tomatoes an pulled in Bunol each year and damped in the city centre. The people throw tomatoes at each other for the whole day, but the only rule is that the tomato must be flattened in the hand first, before being thrown. Even elderly grandmothers have been known to take part. The Naked Festival Japan hosts the Naked Festival. All male contestants are dressed in oversize diapers and parade through the winter street. Bystanders throw cold water over the contestanta,who drink large amounts of sake in an effort to slop from freezing. If you want to play with boats without bottoms, you should go to Henley-on-Todd Regatta It was a hot Saturday afternoon, and James was going shopping with his mother. While she made her shopping list, James looked out the window. In the sky, he saw pretty birds. He smiled - James liked birds. He saw one last Friday when he was getting muddy in the puddles, and another on Wednesday when he was playing with his toy spaceship. Once his mother was done making her list, James got his shoes on before getting in the car. "Should I bring my jacket, Mom?" he asked. "No," his mother answered, fixing his hair, "it is warmer today than it was yesterday, in fact, it's hot!" James and his mother got in the car, and drove off to the store. He leaned his head on the car window, looking at the animals and trees they passed. He saw flowers, a puppy, ants, and people walking, and even a chipmunk! When they got to the store, James and his mother grabbed an empty shopping cart. James always liked helping his mother do her shopping - she sometimes let him get a treat if he was good. They went up and down the aisles, picking up the things on the list, including James' favorite food - peanut butter - and James was very well behaved. As they finished their shopping and walked to the front of the store in order to pay, James' mother said, "James, you can get a candy bar if you'd like, so I can say 'thank you' for being a super good helper today." James was so excited. He picked one with peanuts and chocolate, and placed it with the rest of their items. When they got home, James spent the rest of the day playing Legos in his room. It was a good day. What can James get at the store if he is well behaved? A treat Lifeguard, sportscaster, movie star, governor, president----there wasn't much Ronald Reagan didn't do in life. "The world was a vast opportunity for him," Lou Cannon wrote in his biography of the former US president, who died on June 5,2004, aged 93. Reagan's final years saw him fight a losing battle against Alzheimer's disease . But his positive attitude toward life has given hope to many people. Born in 1911 to a poor family in a small town in Illinois, his father was a failed salesman who drank too much. It was in these difficult times, though, that Reagan developed the powerful optimism that would serve him so well. He always believed better times lying ahead, and this was reflected in his high school yearbook entry. "Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music," he wrote. As a teenager, Reagan spent summers working as a lifeguard at a local beach, saving 77 lives in seven years. He graduated from college in 1932 with a degree in economics and sociology. But America was still in the middle of the Great Depression, and jobs were hard to find. Reagan finally found work as a radio sports announcer and this road led him to Hollywood in 1937. During the 20---year film career, he never became a leading star. As in his lifeguard days, Reagan loved to play the hero and only took the role of a bad guy once in more than 50 films. A talented speaker who was always able to connect with his audience, Reagan became involved in politics in the 1950s. This popular touch led to him being elected the governor of California in 1967. All the while Reagan was in California, he had his eye on the White House. In 1980, aged 69, he became the oldest man ever elected president. He held office from 1981 to 1989, the first president to serve two complete terms after World War II. When he left, aged 77, he held the highest popularity rate of any retiring president in US history. He remained positive even when he discovered he had an illness that would destroy him. "I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal(optimism for its future,"he wrote. What didn't Reagan do in his life time? Being a leading star of the film.
Beijing-- During the 24-hour period ending at 4 pm on Sunday, China confirmed six new cases of human H7N9 bird flu , including five in Zhejiang and one in Jiangsu. The National Health and Family Planning Commission said that a total of 102 H7N9 cases have been reported in China, including 20 that have died. Of the total, 12 H7N9 patients have been _ from hospitals after receiving treatment, and the other 70 patients are being treated in designated hospitals, according to the commission. A total of 33 cases, including 11 that have died, have been reported in Shanghai. Twenty-four cases, including three deaths, have been reported in Jiangsu province, and 38 cases, including five deaths, in Zhejiang province. Anhui province has reported three cases, including one death. Beijing has reported one case and three have been reported in Henan province. China officially confirmed the human cases infected with the H7N9 virus since last month. According to the commission, China's confirmed H7N9 cases are isolated and there has been no sign of human to-human transmission . In _ , the most deaths have been found. A. Shanghai B. Beijing C. Zhejiang D. Anhui Answer: A. Shanghai Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed. When a person does a certain thing again, he is driven by some unseen force to do the same thing repeatedly, then a habit is formed. Once a habit is formed, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to get rid of. It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. Children often form bad habits, some of which remain with them as long as they live. Older persons also form bad habits lasting as long as they live, and sometimes become ruined by _ . There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. Many successful men say that much of their success has something to do with certain habits in early life, such as early rising, honesty and so on. Among the habits which children should not form are laziness, lying, stealing and so on. These are all easily formed habits. Unluckily older persons often form habits which could have been avoided. We should keep away from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will be good for ourselves and others. _ are formed litde by little. A. Good habits B. Bad habits C. Both good habits and bad habits D. Either good habits or bad habits Answer: C. Both good habits and bad habits Inside of a fruit is A. tiny hard pieces B. small berries C. worms D. little sharp flecks Answer: A. tiny hard pieces It was the Year from Hell - the dog died, my marriage of 24 years ended, and my house burned down. I had moved into a new rented house with my youngest son after my husband and I divorced. We'd been in the house just six weeks. I went to a dinner party one night, and as I drove home near, I saw smoke rising into the sky. I wondered whether it was my house. Then I turned the corner, and sure enough, it was my house. My son and I stayed with a friend for a couple of nights. Then my friend Gail heard about the fire, called me up, and said, "Come and move into my house. I have seven bedrooms and five bathrooms - plenty of space for you and your son." Gail had three kids at home, but there was still plenty of room for me and my son, Sutton. Little did I know that her offer of a temporary place to stay would turn into a living arrangement that lasted two and a half years. We were two single mothers. Gail and I spent the next couple of years sorting out a lot of things together. After we moved in, I soon began to look for a permanent place to live in. Gail said, "Please don't leave. I've never had so much freedom!" Having me in the house meant someone to help take care of her kids, someone to share cooking and gardening, and someone to share day-to-day life. She loved having me there, and I loved being there. So we stayed. It was an important chapter in my life. We both needed time to heal from our divorces. It was a time of deeper insight and spiritual growth for both of us. Gail's generosity was more than anyone could expect from a friend. I am eternally grateful to have a friend like Gail. I'm also grateful for the lessons I learned from the fire and the other losses that came so suddenly, so fast. Much to my surprise, I found gratitude among the ashes. I was tested serious trial by fire. But, like a phoenix, I rose from the ashes strong and whole. I would not be the person I am today if not for that Year from Hell. Which of the following may NOT be lost for the author according to the passage? A. Her furniture. B. Her dog. C. Her husband. D. Her car. Answer: D. Her car. China has become an increasingly appealing market for Hollywood films, so it was inevitable that Academy Award-winning director James Cameron would touch down in Beijing Wednesday to promote his latest big-budget movie, Avatar. During his 20-hour stay in the city, he shared with local media and some lucky fans details of his new film and shared his insights on China's growing film industry. Having toured numerous countries for the promotion of Avatar since the film globally premiered on December 10, Cameron said he _ the visit to China for some time and apologized for his hoarse and tired voice. "It is so sad for a director not being able to shout," he joked at the beginning of the press conference Wednesday afternoon, announcing that the 3D science fiction film will open in China on January 4. Cameron collected 360 million yuan (US$52.7 million) at the box office in China with his blockbuster Titanic in 1998, a record that held for ten years until it was broken by Transformers in 2008. Considering that another computer-generated, live action flick, 2012, has sold more movie tickets in China than in the US, the director said he is positive about Avatar's performance in China. "Our partner here, the China Film Group, has given us great confidence," he explained, saying that the number of 3D screens has grown from 500 to 600 in the past month, a never-seen-before growth in Chinese mainland. China is second only to the US as the country with the most 3D screens. Cameron said the screening of Avatar in China has specific importance as a test of future 3D film development. "I'm very interested in the 3D film market in China. I cannot predict the box office results here, but I look forward to the test results." Why did Cameron come to China? A. To promote his latest film Avatar. B. To test the future development of 3D film in China. C. To show his interest in the 3D film market in China. D. To make a 20-hour trip in Beijing. Answer: A. To promote his latest film Avatar.
Obama Still Smokes in Secret US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products. At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday. Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn't completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret. "As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No." Obama said at a news conference. "I don' t do it in front of my lads.I don ?t do it in front of my family.I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said. "Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important.The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up.What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said. Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases. The new law makes life difficult for _ . Answer: Some 30,000 years ago, artists who lived in caves in Europe painted pictures of the animals around them: panthers, hyenas, rhinos, cave lions, mammoths and other creatures which have been extinct for a long time. The paintings were highly realistic. Some even showed movement. The artwork, more than a thousand drawings, is considered the oldest group of human cave drawings which have ever been discovered. They were preserved because the cave was sealed---closed off--for more or less 23,000 years. Fast forward to December 18, 1994, a group of French cave scientists were exploring caves in southern France. Jean Marie Chauvet, who led the group then, describes the process of discovering the cave paintings. "At that time I was in the front, Eliette just walked behind me, Christian behind. Eliette said she saw two marks with red ochre and she said, 'They came here.' And at this very moment everything began. The drawings and everything linked to the parietal art . That is where it is tarted." Cave art expert Jean Clotttes reviewed the paintings. "I was amazed at the number of paintings there were and paintings of their quality and particularly in front of the panel of the horses." Scientific analysis confirmed the prehistoric date of the artwork. Studies showed the drawings were created tens of thousands of years ago, before human history was written. The United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO lists the cave as a World Heritage Site. They say that the drawings form a remarkable expression of early human artistic creation of grand excellence and variety. The Chauvet Cave has been named after the explorer who first entered it. However, its environment and drawings are too fragile to be visited by human beings. So the cave is closed, and only people there for scientific purposes can go inside and see the artwork. However, French authorities asked experts to create an exact copy of the cave, called Pont d'Arc Cavern. The copy, which we also called replica, cost more than 59 million dollars to build. It opened at the end of April in France. Pascal Terrasse is the president of the cavern. He says everyone will be able to experience the thrill of looking at drawings made by the first humans in Europe. He says the place is magic because it is done so well. Authorities say they think as many as 400,000 people will be allowed to visit Pont d'Arc Cavern every year. Which of the follow statements is TRUE about the Chauvet Cave? Answer: Once the 2008 Olympic Games finishes, the drums and trumpets of the competitions would also stop. But would the city remain as lively as it would be after this world event? Investment sustainability and high demand are two highly invaluable economic concepts that can be looked at in order to ensure post-Olympics flourish, or perhaps, an even better future for Beijingers. Naturally, an economic downturn occurs in an Olympic host city once the major event finishes. Renmin University Professor Jin Yuanpu noted that a global event like this would put Beijing into a position of large importance in the international stage. But after this event, who would use the heavily-funded equipment and public and private investments left in the city? Various economists argued that a meltdown is highly unlikely. Jonathan Anderson, UBS Asia economist, suggested that the negative effects of the end of Beijing Olympics 2008 on the entire country aren't important compared to previous host cities. China is such a huge economy that the conclusion of the Olympics games is the same as an ant-bite on a dragon. But what about post-Olympics Beijing? Retired Headmaster of Peking University, Li Yining, noted that a long-term civil demand growth and a popular desire by companies to adopt careful financial management decisions can lead to continued investment growth. Even though demand in some departments of the economy would drop in the short-run, creativity, practicality and innovation would be the key factors that would continually enhance the city's image and flourish long after the Olympics in the city has ended. So what's next for Beijing after the Olympics? Well, it's business as usual... Which one of the followings is the author's idea? Answer: "Grandma, Grandma, tell us a story ! "Four darling children sat by my feet, looking up at me expectantly. Suddenly, we were interrupted clapping."Terrific, " the director said, stepping up the stage from the aisle ."Except, could you kids face the audience a bit more? " The kids shifted to face the empty seats, which would be filled in a few days for the church play."Perfect," the director said. "Now, Grandma, read to your grandchildren." hit me. If' only I could read to my real grandchild! I had a granddaughter, but I'd never met her. Sixteen years earlier my son was involved in a relationship that ended badly. But out of' it came a blessing: a baby girl named Lena. I hoped to be a grandmother to her-but shortly after the birth, the mother moved without any address left. Over the years, I asked around town to try and find my son's ex-wife ,but it seemed that she didn't want to be found. I'd just joined this new church a week earlier and was at once offered the part of Grandma in the play. At least now I could pretend to be a grandma. The rehearsals went well, and finally the day of' the show arrived. The performance was great. "You all looked so natural up there, "one of' my friends said. Afterward, we went to the church basement for refreshments .I walked over to one of the girls in the play. Rehearsals had been such a whirlwind that we never really got to talk. "How's my granddaughter? " I joked. "Fine !" she answered. Just then, someone else walked up and asked the girl her name. I wasn't sure I heard the girl's answer correctly. But it made me ask her another question."What's your mother's name? " She told me, I was still in shock."And what's your father's name? "I asked. She told me.It was my son. She'd only started going to that church a week before I did. Since that day of 'the play, we've stayed close. Not long ago, she even made me a great grandma. This passage is mainly organized in the pattern of _ . Answer: I still remember the day when my mom said, "Let's get you some new clothes." You can imagine that to any little girl that would mean the world, but to me it meant the universe, because we were not very rich. After she said that, all I could think about was what kinds of clothes I would choose. To my surprise, my mom allowed me to pick out three dresses: a pink one, a blue one and a yellow one. The yellow one was my favorite. I had a best friend named Seema, whose family was even poorer than ours. We played and studied together, and spent the best days of our childhood laughing at the silly stories we made up. I was excited to show her my three beautiful new dresses. She loved them all and was happy for me, but tearfully explained to me that her father could only afford to buy her clothes for her birthday. I felt sorry, and then did something that surprised even myself: I asked her to pick out one of my dresses for herself. To my disappointment, she picked up my favorite--the yellow one. Please remember, I was only seven years. My heart almost popped out of my chest. But as she held it against her body, and I saw how brightly she smiled, I stopped feeling any hurt. I told her it looked lovely on her. I'll always remember Seema's smile, and how at that moment nothing mattered more. When you value your friendships, nothing else matters! We're still best friends today. When Seema chose the yellow dress, the author was disappointed because _ . Answer:
if food has lack of immediate use for energy then it will Answer: The increase in transport ability may increase the available types of Answer: Jane Austen was born in the English countryside more than 200 years ago. She lived a simple life. She seldom travelled. She never married and she died from illness when she was only 41. However, people all over the world remember her. Why? It is because Jane Austen is the author of some of the best-loved novels in the English language. These novels include Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion. Jane completed her last novel Persuasion in 1816, but it was not published until after her death. Persuasion is partly based on Jane's naval brother. Anne, the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, falls in love with Captain Wentworth, a person of a lower social position. But she breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. Eight years later, Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain. He finds Anne's family on the edge of financial ruin. Anne and the captain rediscover their love and get married. Jane Austen once compared her writing to painting on a little bit of ivory , two inches square. Readers of Persuasion will see that neither her skill of delicate, ironic observations on social custom, love, and marriage nor her ability to apply a sharp focus to English manners and morals has abandoned her in her final finished work. Persuasion has produced three film adaptations: a 1995 version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, a 2007 TV miniseries with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones, and a 1971 miniseries with Ann Firbank and Bryan Marshall. People who are interested in Jane Austen can still visit many of the places she visited and lived. These places include the village of Steventon, although her family house is now gone. Many of the places Jane visited in Bath are still there. You can visit Jane Austen's home in Chawton, where she did her best writing, and Winchester, where she died. Which of the following about Jane Austen is TRUE? Answer: What is formed when a sodium atom and chlorine atom react chemically? Answer: Is it time to kick Russia out of the BRICs ?If so, it may end up sounding like a famous ball-point pen maker--BIC. An argument is being made that Goldman Sach's famous marketing device , the BRICs, should really be the BICs. "Is Russia really worth the name BRICs?" asks Anders Aslund, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, in an article for Foreign Policy. Aslund, who is also co-author with Andrew Kuchins of "The Russian Balance Sheet", thinks the Russia of Putin and Medvedev is just not worthy of inclusion alongside Brazil, India and China in the list of future economic powerhouses. He writes: "The country's economic performance has fallen to such a weak level that one must ask whether it has any say at all on the global economy, compared with the other members of its group. I have just returned from Moscow, which is always dull around this season. For the last seven years, Russia has taken very few measures to improve its economy. Instead, the state has been living on oil and gas." Economically, Aslund has the numbers on his side. The International Monetary Fund figures that the Russian economy will fall by 6.7 percent in 2009, while China will grow 8.5 percent and India 5.4 percent. There is less of a case for Brazil, with a fall of 0.7 percent, but it is still doing far better than Russia. But the BRICs are not just about economy. As is mentioned above, it is a marketing device to encourage investors to focus on the big promising players. From an investment standpoint, it could be argued that Russia is leading the BRICs. Its stock market is up 128 percent this year while around 80 percent is for the other three. At very least, despite Russia's economic underperformance, its stock market outperformance does suggest it is indeed one of the group. According to Aslund, Russia shouldn't be a BRIC partly because _ . Answer:
These days, most people in Britain and the US do not wear formal clothes. But sometimes it is important to wear the right thing. Many British people don't think about clothes very much. When they go out to enjoy themselves, they can wear almost anything. At theatres , cinemas and concerts you can put on anything you like: from beautiful suits and dresses to jeans and sweaters. Anything goes, as long as you look clean and tidy. But in Britain, as well as in the US, men in offices usually wear suits and ties and women wear dresses or skirts (not trousers). Doctors and business people always wear quite formal clothes. And in some hotels and restaurants men have to wear ties and women have to wear tidy dresses. In many ways, Americans are less formal than British people, but they are more careful with their clothes. At home, most Americans wear informal or sports clothes. But when they go out in the evening, they like to look nice. In good hotels and restaurants, men have to wear jackets and ties, and women have to wear pretty clothes. It is difficult to say exactly what people wear in Britain and the US, because everyone is different. If you are not sure what to wear, watch what other people do and then do the same. You'll feel good if you don't look too different from everyone else. People in Britain and the US wear informal clothes when they _ . A. go out to enjoy themselves B. are in offices C. are in big restaurants D. go out to work Answer: A. go out to enjoy themselves Audrey is a Chinese-American student. She has found many value differences between the Chinese and Americans. About money * The American children love to make money by themselves. Chinese children always ask their parents for money. * American parents don't think it is useful to send their children to an expensive university. Chinese parents would do anything to send their children to good universities even if it could make them very poor. About school * Many American girls take part in sports, dancing and singing groups. Many Chinese girls take part in academic groups. * American students usually feel happy when they get B in an exam. Chinese students feel sad when they get B. American parents and Chinese parents American parents allow their daughters or sons to go out with their friends if they come back home at the certain time. Chinese parents usually don't allow their children in middle school to go out with their friends at night. American teachers and Chinese teachers During parent-teacher meetings, American teachers will always find good things to say to The parents, even to those with the worst grades. But Chinese teachers often tell the parents the mistakes that their children made at school. _ look at the bad side of the students as much as they can. A. Chinese children B. American parents C. Chinese teachers D. American girls Answer: C. Chinese teachers Few of us make money by losing sleep.But three graduate students at Brown University in Providence built a company around sleep deprivation . Jason Donahue, Ben Rubin and Eric Shashoua were working late nights in Brown's business and engineering schools.They began thinking about ways to sleep better.They discovered they weren't alone in burning the midnight oil.Around 20% of Americans get less than six hours of rest a night. The friends imagined a smart alarm clock that could track how much time people spend in the most restorative stages of the sleep cycle: REM (rapid eye movement) and deep sleep.What would it cost to design such a thing? Five years of research, 20 employees, $14 million and a whole lot of doubting from investors and scientists. Their company, Zeo, based in Newton, Mass, launched its product in June, 2009.The Zeo device uses a headband with tiny sensors that scan your brain for signs of four sleep states- REM, light, deep and waking sleep.The smart alarm clock displays a graph of your sleep pattern and wakes you as you're not in REM sleep (which is when you're least groggy).In the morning you can upload the data to the company's Web site, and so track your sleep over time.Most of the feedback comes in the form of Zeo's ZQ score showing how well you've slept. "Zeo allows people to unlock this black box of sleep," says Dave Dickinson, a health-care CEO. Whether any of this actually improves sleep is up to the consumer, who will also need to make lifestyle changes like cutting out alcohol before bedtime or caffeine after 3 pm. For now the company is selling Zeo online only.Dickinson also plans to spread it to countries such as Australia, where sleep deprivation approaches US levels. To design the Zeo device, the three graduate students _ . A. spent much time and money B. were widely supported by scientists C. worked by themselves all the time D. attracted many investors Answer: A. spent much time and money GENEVA, Feb.11 (Xinhua) --The current La Nina weather phenomenon may just be a partial cause of south prefix = st1 /China's freeze-up at the start of 2008, said the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Monday. The latest La Nina pattern, which began in the third quarter of 2007, has picked up strength in the past three months, with sea surface temperatures now about 1. 5 to 2 degrees Celsius colder than average over large parts of the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean, said the latest report issued by the WMO. Presenting the Geneva-based body's report, Rupa Kumar Killi, a WMO climate expert, said the recent month-long snow and ice-storms in China's central, southern and eastern regions could be connected with the La Nina phenomenon, the climatic opposite of El Nino . However, he said China's freeze-up was a result of several causes combined and was partly caused by a cold surge from the north and west. He also said the present La Nina cycle may last at least until mid-2008 and it is also possible, if less likely, that the cycle could stretch into the third quarter. La Nina is a large pool of unusually cold water in the equatorial Pacific that develops every few years and influences global weather. It is the climatic opposite of El Nino, a warming of the Pacific, and both have been associated with extreme weather around the globe. Since Jan. 10, snow, sleet and low temperatures have swept China's southern regions, a rare occurrence for the area. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage? A. Due to the La Nina, sea surface temperatures become colder over the eastern Pacific Ocean. B. The La Nina phenomenon is the climatic opposite of El Nino. C. There were several causes which brought about China's freeze-up. D. The present La Nina cycle may last until spring in 2008 and disappear. Answer: D. The present La Nina cycle may last until spring in 2008 and disappear. A Brown University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools: Don't start classes so early in the morning. It may not be that the students who at their desks are lazy. And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce bedtime. Instead, it may be that biologically these sleepyhead students aren't used to the early hour. "Maybe these kids are being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies," says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent sleep at Brown's School of Medicine. Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents. And, at a more basic level. she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns. Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought. Sleep patterns change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove. Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at nigh and sleep later in the morning. But it's not just a matter of choice -their bodies are going through a change of sleep patterns. All of this makes the transfer from middle school to high school--which may start one hour earlier in the morning ---- all the more difficult , Carskadon says. With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the "sleep late, rise late" pattern, adolescent are up against difficulties when it comes to trying to be up by 5 or 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. first bell. A short sleep on a desktop may be their body's way of saying. "I need a timeout." Carskadon suggests that high schools should not start classes so early in the morning because _ . A. it is really tough for parents to enforce bedtime B. it is biologically difficult for students to rise early C. students work so late at night that they can't get up early D. students are so lazy that they don't like to go to school early Answer: B. it is biologically difficult for students to rise early
Mice live in holes where? Answer: A new retail phenomenon from Japan which allows customers to walk away with free products is to launch in Britain. From tomorrow, visitors to Sample Trend's central London store can try anything on its shelves, and all of the products can be taken home without charge. For a nominal annual membership fee of PS60, users are free to enter the shop once a month and help themselves to no less than PS250 worth of goods every year. The only 'catch' is that shoppers are asked to complete a simple questionnaire about each product they try. Known as 'try-vertising', the concept allows manufacturers to test products and receive consumer feedback before launching onto the open market. It is already very popular in Japan and now looks set to transform the fortunes of the embattled UK retail industry. According to new figures, stores are facing a Christmas crisis with the weakest High Street trading for six months. Michael Ghosh, the brainchild behind Sample Trend, said: "The concept behind Sample Trend is unique in the UK. It allows shoppers the opportunity to walk away with a number of real, full-size products of their choosing without handing over a penny." The concept of in-store try-vertising is simple but effective. Businesses across all sectors, from cosmetic manufacturers to beverage makers, place new products on the shelves at Sample Trend and wait for consumers to try them out. Customers complete a short 10-point questionnaire about the product, and the feedback they provide is used to make any last-minute improvement before the product is brought officially to market. The Sample Trend store stocks everything from cosmetics, food and drink, and household goods. Ghosh, the former advertising and sales director for Disney Europe, said such feedback may also build brand loyalty from the outset---a particularly appealing prospect for new businesses. The customers need to fill a questionnaire to _ Answer: Mr. Green and his wife had a dog. When they went out, they always left the dog inside the house. One evening they wanted to go to the cinema, so they left the dog in the house and locked the door and their garden gate. They went off in their car. When the film was finished, they went home. They opened the gate and put the car away. When they came to the front door, they found that the glass in the door was broken. The door was not locked and it was open. A robber! They went in and quickly looked in all the rooms to see if the robber had taken their things. However, everything was in the right place and nothing at all was missing. The dog was sleeping in the sitting-room. The wife was angry with the dog."Why didn't you guard the house?"she said. The dog was pleased to see Mr. and Mrs. Green. It began to wag its tail and then it went to a comer of the room and picked up something in its mouth. It went to the wife and dropped the thing at her feet. When she went to pick it up, she was very surprised. Can you guess what the dog's present was ?It was a man's finger! The end of the story is this. Mr. Green telephoned the police and told them everything. Three days later the police caught the robber. They found him easily. That evening Mr. Green and his wife _ . Answer: After my husband died suddenly from a heart attack on the tennis court, my world crashed around me. I was overwhelmed with the responsibilities of earning a living, caring for the children and just _ . I was fortunate to find a wonderful housekeeper to care for the children during the week, but from Friday nights to Monday mornings, the children and I were alone, and frankly I was uneasy. One Friday evening I came home from work to find a big beautiful German shepherd on our doorstep. He gave every indication that he intended to enter the house and make it his home. I agreed to let him sleep in the basement until the next day. The following morning we made phone calls and checked lost-and-found ads for German's owner, but with no results. German, meanwhile, actually made himself part of the family. Saturday night he was still with us, sleeping in the basement. On Sunday I had planned to take the children on a picnic. When we stopped to get gas at a local station, we were amazed to see German racing to the gas station after us. He settled down in the back for the ride to the picnic. Monday morning I let him out for a run while the children got ready for school. He didn't come back. As evening came and German didn't appear, we were all disappointed. We were convinced that he had gone home or been found by his owner, and that we would never see him again. We were wrong. The next Friday evening, German was back on our doorstep. Again we took him in, and again he stayed until Monday morning, when our housekeeper arrived. This pattern repeated itself every weekend for almost 10 months. We grew more and more fond of German and we took comfort in his strong, warm presence, and we felt safe with him near us. Each week, between German's visits, I grew a little stronger, a little braver and more able to cope; every weekend I enjoyed his company. Then one Monday morning we patted his head and let him out for what turned out to be the last time. He never came back. We never saw or heard of German again. I think of him often. I believe German was sent because he was needed, and because no matter how abandoned and alone we feel, somehow, somewhere, someone knows and cares. We are never really alone. Why did the German shepherd come to the author's house? Answer: Many people like animals.Now a lot of people have animals as pets .Usually people like to have dogs,cats,fish and other animals.Many young people have animals because they think these animals are interesting.Some old people have pets because they don't live with their children. Morris lives in No.25 Garden Street.He is a doctor,but he helps dogs.People usually call him The Dog Doctor.When their dogs get sick ,they call him on the telephone.He goes to the people's houses and helps them.He gives the dogs the right medicine .Wherever he goes,he is always welcome. Which is the best title ? Answer:
When I started a degree in English language, I hadn't intended to study abroad, not to mention starting learning German. But having recently returned from my year abroad in Germany, I can say that making the effort to learn the language really enriched my experience. With language translation technology advancing all the time, it's convenient to rely on Google Translate and smartphone apps without having to learn the language. But a second language shouldn't be a luxury . Researchers have discovered that much language learning can increase the size of your brain in as little as three months. From my own experience, learning the language lets you travel beyond the well-known tourist paths, gain a real student experience and widen your social network beyond the international circle. The process of learning German abroad was completely different from my language course at university, where students sat quietly and stumbled through spoken exercises. Instead, language learning abroad was energetic and part of my lifestyle - from chatting with sales assistants to preparing speeches with course mates. It meant being part of the local area. Visiting language exchange cafes - where international and German students meet to improve their European language - was a great way to practice in a relaxed space and meet a wide range of people. Not being afraid to make mistakes is important to learn a language. By giving up that comfortable phrase " _ " (I speak only a little German), I made progress and it was praised by friends and locals alike. Germany has a lively theater scene and learning the language meant I was able to get more entertainment and an understanding of German culture. Even when it comes to eating out, knowing the language works to your advantage. In more than a few traditional German restaurants, the English menus didn't contain all the dishes listed on the German menus. Learning the language has saved me from getting on the wrong train, after last-minute platform changes were announced in German. So why not learn the local language in your year abroad? It'll improve your employability while letting you take part fully in local life. What is the writer's opinion about a second language? A It is not popular any longer. B It costs a lot of money. C It is practical and useful. D It demands much brain to learn. Answer: C. It is practical and useful. A young man who lived in London was in love with a beautiful girl. Soon she became his fiancee. The man was very poor while the girl was rich. The young man wanted to make her a present on her birthday. He wanted to buy something beautiful for her, but he had no idea how to do it, as he had very little money. The next morning he went to a shop. There were many fine things there: gold watches, diamond... but all these things were too expensive. There was one thing he could not take his eyes off. It was a beautiful vase. That was a suitable present for his fiancee. He had been looking at the vase for half an hour when the manager of the shop noticed him. The young man looked so pale, sad and unhappy that the manager asked what had happened to him. The young man told him everything. The manager felt sorry for him and decided to help him. A bright idea struck him. The manager pointed to the corner of the shop. To his great surprise the young man saw a vase broken into many pieces. The manager said: "When the servant enters the room, he will drop it." On the birthday of his fiancee the young man was very excited. Everything happened as had been planned. The servant brought in the vase, and as he entered the room, he dropped it. There was horror on everybody's face. When the box was opened, the guests saw that each piece was packed separately . The story took place _ . A France B England C Germany D the US Answer: B. England When a compression wave travels through a medium, in what direction is the medium displaced? A upward B downward C in the same direction D in the opposite direction Answer: C. in the same direction This is Joy's bedroom.it's a small room . He has some pictures.They are on the wall. He also has a desk and a chair in his bedroom.The desk is near the window. His bag and pencil box are on the desk. There are some pencils,a pen,a ruler in the pencil box. He has a baseball and a basketball. They are under the bed.Joy likes playing basketball and baseball. He also has two volleyb alls,but he doesn't like playing volleyball. ,A, B, C, D. (5,2,10) There are _ things in Joy's pencil box. A three B one C two D four Answer: A. three Which of these could contribute to a species' demise? A An abundance of vegetation B A good supply of prey C Adequate shelter and companionship D A long period without rainfall Answer: D. A long period without rainfall
Question: These days there are lot of possibilities to be always connected to family and friends. Now that I have just moved lo France, this can be very convenient. 1 can ring my sister who lives in Los Angeles on Viber, or I can Skype my parents or friends back in England for a chat. However, sometimes the convenient and dependability of technology can be _ . Even the most out-going people need some "down time" to calm down on their own and get relaxed. This is something that I consider necessary and healthy. After all, you have to live with yourself for the rest of your life, so you'd better know how to enjoy your own company. It can be a good thing to have time to yourself to collect your thoughts and free your feelings. Today 1 went for a walk by myself around the lake and just dav-dreamed. It was so relaxing and enjoyable and helped me let go of my bad emotions. However, somehow it seems rude or perhaps makes people feel that you'reupset to sayto people:" I'm going to go and spend sometime by myself. " Andoften when we are spending time 'alone' , we are actually connected with a piece of electrical equipment. We try to make something into a Facebook or a Tweet to attract our friends, or we scroll (> through Facebook nosing into other people's lives orseeing what friends are up to. We judge ourselvesand other people by the photos they put online, so we can tell how much fun they are having compared to us. This is an age when we can get so much surface information about other people's lives, but being wrapped up in what other people are doing or always thinking about other people's recognition of us can be quite unhealthy. Perhaps these days forget about the simple pleasure of spending time just for us. Having said all that, I also think that spending too muchtime byyourself can separate you from others. I suppose it is important to find a good balance between spending valuable time by yourself and with other people. What does the writer think of being alone properly? A. It's the only way to get relaxed. B. It makes other people feel upset. C. It's necessary and healthy for people. D. It makes out-going people feel lonely. Answer: C. It's necessary and healthy for people. Question: The popular Disneyland has some deep, dark, and sometimes amusing secrets that you probably don't know. Read on to learn them. General Main Street By using a special method of construction , Disneyland created an effect that you don't notice until your tired family leaves the park. The next time you enter Disneyland, make note of the distance that it appears you have to travel to get to the "Partners" statue. Then look at the exit of the park from the statue. That's correct. The distance appears to be shorter entering the park than going out. The purpose was to keep guests from wanting to take the long walk out. Birthday fun If you visit Disneyland on your birthday, be sure to tell the person at the gate that it's your big day. You'll be sent to City Hall where you'll be presented with a special sticker by cast members, letting everyone know it's your birthday. You may also be able to score special items from other cast members throughout the park, so it's certainly worth a try! The music never stops. Visitors like the music and sounds in the park.. Did you know the music never stops at the park? Even when the park was closed, the music and sounds are kept on going. Some believe it cost too much for Disney to keep turning off the music and then restarting it each day. But the truth is that it helps some workers clean up after 2 a.m! Club 33 "Club 33" is the only place in Disneyland that provides guests with alcoholic beverages . Club 33 members and their guests get free entrance to Disneyland so long as they have a meal at Club 33 on the day of their visit. The music never stops at the park because _ . A. visitors like the music and the sounds very much B. it's difficult to shut off the music and the sounds C. Disneyland has to pay a lot to restart the music every day D. it may keep some late night workers awake and full of energy. Answer: D. it may keep some late night workers awake and full of energy. Question: If you are a Lefty , then Left Handers Day is just for you ! The world is built for right handers. In school, have you ever seen a left handed desk ? They don't exist . Many left handed items cost more . The computer mouse is designed for right handers . Scissors for right handers . Only a lefty would understand this . But do you know that right handed people operate in the left side of the brain . Left handed people use the right side . Therefore, only left handed people are in their right mind . Left Handers certainly earned the right to have a day special for them . This special day was first declared and celebrated on Friday , August 13, 1979 by an organization called Lefthanders International . They chose to open their business on that day to address the myths and misconceptions about left-handers . They published a magazine for left-handers and they sold left-handed products for more than twenty years before going out of business a few years ago. The holiday is celebrated annually on the 13th of August . But Left-handers Day is not merely a celebration of the creative superiority of lefties , it also aims at raising awareness of the difficulties presented by a right-handed world . This is a day for left-handers to show their pride and pay tribute to famous left-handers past and present , including some of our greatest artists , athletes and entertainers . Furthermore , this day is to praise the creativity and talents of those left-handers who are less famous but equally productive members of our society . So take a minute to appreciate your left handed friends and loved ones . Don't forget to send them a Left Handed Day E-card to show your respect . Remember that "Leftis have rights!" The best title of this passage is_. A. International Left-hander's Day B. Right Handers Should Respect Left Handers C. Lefties Have Rights D. Left Handers , Right ? Answer: C. Lefties Have Rights Question: "If we can set it up so you can't unlock your phone unless you've got the right fingerprint ," Barack Obama asked last Tuesday, "why can't we do the same thing for our guns?" For this reasonable-sounding question, the president was praised throughout the media. As it happens, though, there is a good answer to this question: there is no market for guns that work just some of the time. Guns are simple things designed to operate as easily and reliably as possible. The introduction of electronics eats away this simplicity, and to a degree that is absolutely unacceptable to the consumer. As President Obama well knows, the fingerprint software on his phone works rather _ : Often it takes a user two or three tries to log in; occasionally, it falls asleep deeply and obeys the password. When this happens on an phone, the user is mildly inconvenienced. If this were to happen on a gun, the user would be dead. There is a reason that modern smartphones put the camera function outside of the authentication process. How could we possibly think that guns are the same as other commercial products? It is true that, say, cars have become considerably safer over the last few decades; true, too, that "research" has contributed to this improvement. But it matters enormously that a car is not intended to hurt people, and that in a perfect world nobody would ever be injured by one. Can we say the same of guns? Of course not. Guns are killing machines, designed to do damage to living things. In fact, they have no other purpose. As such, the salient question before any free people is not "are guns dangerous?" they are, but "who gets them, and why?" This is not to say that nothing at all can be done to improve public safety. On an individual level, gun owners should do everything to ensure that their guns are kept away from children, and, where possible, they should train themselves in case they are ever called upon to shoot in anger. At the national level, the combination of better policing and economic growth can help to reduce crime--and, indeed, it has. In 1993, gun crime was more than twice as common as it is now, and there were fewer guns in circulation. Unpleasant as it is in its own right, that we have reached the point at which two-thirds of all guns-related deaths are deliberately self-inflicted is a small victory. How to deal with those deaths that remain? That is a tricky one. I do not know the answer, and nor, frankly, does anybody else. But selling fantasies to the ignorant is not going to cut it. Which of the following might the writer NOT agree with? A. Few know how to deal with guns-related deaths. B. Efforts to improve public safety have partly paid off. C. The nature of guns makes them different from other products. D. Guns using fingerprint software can risk the lives of the users. Answer: A. Few know how to deal with guns-related deaths. Question: Be positive about school! Don`t say things are difficult or boring. Be interested in school life and your school subjects. Join lots of activities. Be quick to put your hand up. Go round the school with a big smile. Expect to work. School is not a holiday camp. If you are not working, you are not learning, and you are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable. Keep fit. If you do not eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed late and do not have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play some sports to keep your body strong. Don`t be too disappointed if things sometimes go badly. Everyone _ some tests, lose some matches and has bad days. Friends are not always perfect, and they sometimes say and do unpleasant things. Don`t let small problems seem very big and important. Talk about problems. Sometimes they are only the result of misunderstanding. Don`t be too embarrassed to ask for help. You are young. No one thinks you can do everything. If you do not eat a good breakfast, you will _ A. be angry B. not pay attention to your study. C. be tired D. be punished Answer: B. not pay attention to your study.
A "talking kitchen" teaches students how to cook French dishes and speak French. Researchers at New Castle University have developed the French Digital Kitchen. Professors Paul Seedhouse and Patrick Olivier led the project. Professor Seedhouse says that it works like a satellite navigation system in a car. The kitchen equipment and tools use motion sensor technology similar to the Nintendo Wii game system. The sensors help a computer guide the students through instructions in French. The system can tell whether you've done what you were asked to do or not. For example, the system tells you to take some butter and cut it with a knife. There's a sensor on the package containing the butter so it can tell where the butter's being moved. The sensor in the knife not only knows that the knife is moving, but it also knows what motion the knife is making. So it can tell whether the knife is being used. And so it doesn't go on to the next stage of the program unless you've done what it tells you to do. Students can ask the computer to repeat the instructions or translate them into English. There are vocabulary lessons before and after the cooking. Professor Seedhouse became interested in the idea after he visited a talking kitchen designed for a different purpose. "It was actually for communicating with people who suffer from dementia " .And so, for example, it can speak to those people and tell them that they've left the cooker on and they should turn it off." What would be the best title for the passage? Answer: Emma and Hannah are 13-year-old school girls from Minnesota, USA. They are good at making new things and both of them are also good at sales. They are selling charms made out of bottle caps. The girls came up with the idea last summer when they saw charms were popular with kids. They talked with their parents about the idea. Since then they have sold enough charms to buy a bike for Hannah. The girls collect bottle caps and then clean them. They find some interesting pictures on the Internet or on paper, and then glue them onto the inside of the caps. There are different kinds of pictures. "Peace signs are popular with girls, and single-letter charms are popular with boys whose names start with those letters," Emma and Hannah said. Now, charms can be found everywhere at Dakota Hills Middle School in Eagan. "Students put charms on purses, backpacks, and their lunchboxes," said Emma. Emma and Hannah also have a shop on the Internet. They hope they can sell their charms to more kids. They're thinking about selling their charms at the Eagan Market Festival next summer. Their business is not only for getting money. At their Valentine's sale, 20% of the income went to charity. When did the girls begin to sell the charms? Answer: Hello! My name is Joy. I'm a girl. I'm eleven. I'm in Class Eight, Grade Seven. This is my friend, Joan. She is twelve. She is in a Middle school. She is in Class Seven, Grade Eight. My English teacher is Miss White, but her English teacher is Miss Green. Look!Who's that? Oh, she's my mum. She's a Chinese teacher. Joan is _ . Answer: Some Chinese new-rich like eating shark fin soup because they think it shows their class. However, for the Chinese NBA idol Yao Ming, doing so is unacceptable as the practice has led to the overfishing of sharks. When Yao and his wife Ye Li got married in 2007, they publicly announced that they would not allow shark fin soup to be served at their wedding banquet. Actually, Yao had been saying no to shark fins since 2006, when he was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador for wild life protection. Now, the 226-cm big guy is resorting to his personal influence to encourage more to say no to eating the soup and to raise awareness of animal protection. "Sharks are friends of human beings. They are not our food," Yao said. Other celebrity athletes like Olympic champions Li Ning and Kong Linghui are following on the heels of Yao, throwing themselves into serving the public as Goodwill Ambassadors for wild animal rescue. Recent reports about Yao's retirement have saddened tens of thousands of basketball fans both at home and abroad. Yet Yao's influence goes far beyond the basketball courts. Yao has engaged himself in charity and public welfare services for quite a while. When the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Wenchuan in southwest China in 2008, Yao donated 2 million yuan . "When I was a little boy, my parents and teachers told me to help others and to be a good man," Yao recalled. "But I could not donate then because I had not much pocket money. After I moved to Houston, I got involved in quite a number of community service activities and I felt a strong sense of achievement when I got people together," Yao said. Like Yao, newly crowned French Open champion Li Na has showed her willingness to donate. Li gave 480,000 yuan of her prize money from the open, plus 20,000 yuan from her own pocket, to a local nursing home in her hometown. Another Chinese sports icon, hurdler Liu Xiang, has also been actively involved in charity for years. From the passage , we can learn that _ . Answer: Have you ever had the flu ? If you have, you know how bad it can make you feel. Most kids will get the flu sometime during their school years. When you have the flu, you usually get a fever (which can be high), have a cough , feel very tired, and may have a sore throat as well. It can make you feel sick for a few days or for as long as a week. Sometimes, it can be hard to tell if you have the flu or a cold, but with the flu, you'll usually have a higher fever and feel much worse. The flu is a type of virus , which means medicine will only help the _ such as the cough and fever. For most kids, the flu comes and goes, but for some, it can be a serious illness. Most kids get the flu in winter because germs spread more easily when kids are inside in settings such as classrooms. The best way to stop from getting the flu is to wash your hands often, keep your hands to yourself, and go to your doctor for the flu shot or mist . Which of the following would not help you in stopping the flu? Answer:
Genetically modified ( ) foods have become a focus point of agriculture throughout the news today. This has an effect on many different aspects of the agriculture world. From the seed dealer, to the farmer that buys the seed, to the workers that the farmer sells to; all are affected by the new technologies that are involved in this part of production agriculture. Genetically modified foods have come under heavy fire lately. There are some countries that are against buying these types of foods. They are being tested for safety by the best scientific experts in Europe, the US and the rest of the world. They are not for sale until they have gone through this complete safety process. Since they are a new product, and any slight problem with them could affect a whole country, these tests are very necessary. These safety tests are carried out because of the new rules that were made with the Novel Foods Regulation. Begun in May of 1997, the Novel Foods Regulation set up an EU-wide pre-market system for all novel foods. A novel food is described as one that has not been eaten by EU consumers widely in the past. By setting up this program the EU hopes to keep its consumers safe from any possible side effects of any new food products. There are a variety of ways in which genetic modification has helped food producers. They can improve the nutritional value or the storage conditions of the food. Today there are only two genetically modified foods that have been allowed for use, these are GM soybean and GM maize. Despite any safety checks, many people are still cautious about eating genetically modified foods. By providing these people with the necessary information, we can allow them to make decisions about these foods. What do we know about the novel food? A It's very popular in EU. B It's bad for people's health. C It's a new kind of food. D Its story has been published. Answer: C We answer some questions this week in our series on getting into an American college or university. The first question is about our recent discussion of English language test. Vo Ngoc from Vietnam would like to know about the TOEIC, which is designed to measure skills of English as spoken in the workplace. The Educational Testing Service administers the TOEIC. It says the test measures the language skills of people working in an international environment. American colleges and universities accept scores from the TOFEL and often the IELTS. If you miss our report on these tests, you can find it at our website www. unsv. com.. Tahir Mahood from Pakistan asks how to improve his English before taking these kinds of tests. Well, you can start by looking for ways to use English as much as you can Watch American movies and TV shows and read books in English Look for English speakers to talk to. The Internet has many free materials for Engiish learners. Visitors to www. unsv. com. for example, can read, listen and watch programmes on many different subjects. The U.S. Department of Education recent launched a free website designed to help immigrants learn English. The site is called USA Learns at www. usalearns, org, like www. chinadaily. cn, intended for English learners in China Next,a question from Turkey:Hasan Eker asks about getting a postdoctoral position in the U. S. This is work generally done by a person who recently earned a PhD. The National Post-doctoral Association in Washington has information about international postdocs on its website www. Nationalpostal.org. And, finally, we have questions from Iran, Afghanistan and Indonesia about how to pay an education through jobs. There're rules that restrict the kinds of jobs that foreign students can have while studying in the U. S. According to the passage, TOEIC is _ . A a must for those who go to American universities B designed for whoever apply for a job with companies C to test a student's language skills in the workplace D a test for students to graduate from universities Answer: C Hello! I'm Lily. I'm going to have a busy weekend. On Saturday morning, I 'm going to the Beach Park with my friends. We are going to ride bikes there because we can do some sightseeing on the way. We are going to play on the beach. At noon, we are going to have a picnic in the park. In the afternoon, we are going to visit our maths teacher. She wants us to go to her room and help us with our maths. In the evening, I'm going to visit my aunt with my mother, because it's my cousin's birthday. There is going to be a party in her house. On Sunday morning, I'm going to the bookstore with my good friends. I'm going to buy some storybooks. After lunch, I'm going to do sports with my brother. In the evening, I'm going to watch TV and clean my room. How busy I am! ,,. Why is Lily going to her aunt's house? Because _ . A her mother is going there B she wants to learn maths from her cousin C it's her cousin's birthday D it's her aunt's birthday Answer: C As we all know,it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence .He wrote it in two weeks,and after a few changes,it was accepted by the Congress.As a result,he became famous in America's history. Born in Virginia,Thomas Jefferson,a brilliant student at school and almost talented lawyer later,was much interested in politics. Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779,and he was sent to France as the Representative of the American Government in 1784.Sixteen years later,at the age of 57,he was elected president after Washington and Adams. Far from a handsome man,he was is tall with long arms and big hands.Jefferson,who was an amusing talker in conversation,but a poor speaker,was generally good-natured. Jefferson was regarded as a defender of freedom Of America.As a president,he protected the right of speech.Interestingly enough,in his eight years as president,:Jefferson never said "No" to a bill !which the Congress had passed.He did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson died on July the fourth,1826,the fiftieth anniversary of America's independence. Thomas Jefferson was elected president of the United States in the year of _ . A 1779 B 1784 C 1800 D 1826 Answer: C Scientists have discovered a real-life "moral compass" in the brain that controls how we judge other people's behavior. The region, which lies just behind the right ear, becomes more active when we think about other people's misdemeanor or good work. In an experiment, researchers were able to use powerful magnets to disrupt this area of the brain and make people temporarily less moral. The study discovers that our sense of right and wrong isn't just based on upbringing, religion or philosophy --but also by the biology of our brains. The researchers used a non-harmful technique to disrupt the area of the brain. The technique produce a magnetic field on a small part of the brain which creates weak electric currents in the brain. These currents interfere with nearby brain cells and prevent them from firing normally. One story described a man who let his girlfriend walk over a bridge he knew was unsafe. The girl survived unharmed. Under normal conditions, most people rate the man's behavior as unacceptable. But after getting the magnetic pulse, the volunteers tended to see nothing wrong with his action --and judged his behavior purely on whether his girlfriend survived. Another story described two girls visiting a chemical plant where one girl asks her friend to put sugar in her coffee. The friend uses powder from a jar marked toxic -- but as the powder turns out to be sugar. Volunteers with a disrupted moral compass tended to rate the girl's behavior as permissible because her friend was not injured--even though she was aware the powder came from a jar labeled toxic. Throughout the experiment, irresponsible or deliberate actions that might have resulted in harm were seen as morally acceptable if the story had a "happy ending". What do the two stories want to tell us? A People who like playing jokes on others is controlled by "moral compass". B People judge others' behavior acceptable or not by the "moral compass". C whether people's behavior is acceptable or not is judged by a happy ending. D Different behaviors controlled by the "moral compass" are all acceptable. Answer: B
Tim Berners-Lee is the man who wrote the software program that led to the foundation of the World Wide Web. Britain played an important part in developing the first generation of computers. The parents of Tim Berners-Lee both worked on one of the earliest commercial computers and talked about their work at home. As a child he would build models of computers from packing material. After graduating from Oxford University he went on to the real thing. In the 1980s, scientists were already communicating using a primitive version of e-mail. While working at a laboratory in Switzerland, Tim Berners-Lee wrote a program, which let him store these messages. This gave him another idea: write a program that will let academics from across the world share information on a single place. In 1990 he wrote the HTTP and HTML programs which form the basis of the World Wide Web. The next year his programs were placed on to the Internet. Everyone was welcome to use them and improve them if they could. Programmers used this codes to work with different operating systems. New things like web browsers and search engines were developed. Between 1991 and 1994 the number of web pages rose from 10 to 100,000. In 1994 Tim Berners-Lee formed the newly formed World Wide Web consortium , or W3C. More than 200 leading companies and laboratories are represented by W3C. Together they make sure that everyone can share equally on the web. "The Web can help people to understand the way that others live and love. It helps us understand the humanity of people." he says. Tim Berners-Lee decided to write a program that would let academics from across the world share information on a single place when . Answer: To the students of Class3 Examinations start on June22nd and end on June23. For the PE test, go to the gym. For the music test, go to the Piano Room. All else are written tests. They will be held in classroom3. English June22 8:30 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. Math June22 10:30 A.M.--12:00 A.M. History June22 2:30P.M.--3:30 P.M. PE June23 8:00A.M.--10:00A.M. Music June23 1:00P.M.--3:00P.M. If you have questions, go to the Teachers' Office before the test. Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD), characterized by fever, sores in the mouth and rashes on hands and feet, is not a new infection and is common among(......)infants and children. It is caused by up to 20 types of virus but has similar symptoms . But it usually does not lead to death. Many kindergartens have to be shut because of it. When you have completed a writing task, allow 5-10 minutes to read it and check for mistakes. In particular, look for: incorrect agreement of subject and verb: My friend likes... NOT My friend like... * incorrect use of tenses * wrong expressions The 2008 Olympic torch which was named "lucky cloud" was lighted on Monday in Ancient Olympia, marking the start of the domestic and international torch relay that will end on August8 with the Games' opening ceremony . The Beijing Games relay is the longest ever planned, lasting 130 days and covering 137,000 kilometers worldwide, traveling to 20 countries. Tom still has some questions about the exams, he can _ . Answer: Once upon a time if we wanted to make a phone call or wait for someone to contact us, we had to sit at home or at our desks. There were public phones in the street of course, _ . And of course you had to bring a lot of coins to pay for the calls. So people didn't phone their friends as often. Mobile phones, these small pieces of electronic equipment which allow us to talk with friends and family while we are on the move, have greatly changed the way we live. Before the age of the mobile phone, our loved ones would sit around worried sick if we were late coming home. There were no quick calls to tell mum that there would be additional guests coming for dinner. We would have to depend on notes left on fridges or desks to communicate messages. But mobile phones have also had a negative effect and what people don't seem to realize is that we've lost something very valuable: our privacy. Now our friends and family can contact us wherever and whenever they want to. We can never get away from them. The way people communicate with each other is totally different now. It's difficult to have a conversation face-to-face with a friend without being disturbed every couple of minutes by the ring of their phones, ,most people don't see anything wrong in having a long conversation on their mobile phone while forgetting all about the person sitting opposite. It seems the art of real conversation may be dying. Of course, people could leave their mobile phones at home or even switch them off but no one ever does that. Why not? Because the worrying thing is we can't live without our phones. We've become communication addicts, unable to spend even a few minutes out of contact, in case we miss something 'important'. What's the writer's main argument against mobile phones? Answer: When I was a kid, I was close to my dad, but as I grew older, my dad and I grew further apart. We always had totally different opinions. He thought that college was a waste of time, but for me it was important to finish college. He wanted me to work my way to the top as he had done in his field, but I wanted a different life. There was a time when we did not talk with each other. A few months ago, I heard that my 84-year-old dad was in poor health. When he called and asked whether I could move from Colorado back to Tennessee to help him, I knew he was seriously ill. I am his only child and so it was time to meet my father's requirement. Two weeks after moving back, we bought a boat and started fishing again. Fishing was one of the few things that we did while I was young and that we both enjoyed. It is strange but true that as we are fishing we are able to put things that have kept us apart for so many years behind us. We are able to talk about things that we have never talked about before. Fishing has been healing the old wounds that have kept us apart It is not important how many fish we catch. It is about enjoying the relationship that we have not had for years. I'm 62 and he is 84. When we are on the lake fishing, it is like two kids enjoying life. It is far better to find a way to put the unhappy past behind. I am so lucky to spend the happy time with my father in his last years. Now my heart is filled with love. A smile always graces my lips. What made the author come back to Tennessee? Answer: Once a great boxer ,Tom Black, went to a restaurant for supper. He took off his coat and left it at the door, but he was afraid that somebody would take it away. So he took out a piece of paper and wrote on it,"The great boxer, Tom Black, has left his coat here.He'll be back in a few minutes."He put the paper on his coat and went to have his dinner. When he returned, however, his coat was not there. He just found a piece of paper in its place. It said,"A great runner has taken away you coat, and he will never come back again." ,A, B, C, D(10) This story happened _ . Answer:
Question: Being outgoing is good for your life. Those who are more outgoing like to meet lots of people and have more fun in life. In fact, being outgoing is not as hard as you think. Even shy people can be outgoing. You can start becoming outgoing with your best friend or a group of friends. But the real challenge comes when you meet strange people or new friends. Smile more, and usually they will return your smile. In this way, you may have some talks. Start a talk. Just a smile "Hello" or "How is it going" is a good start. If you want to make interesting talks, you should read news in newspapers and prepare your views, or surf the Internet for new information and then keep that in mind. The easier way to become more outgoing is to go out. This is also the most important step . Go to a park, beach, club, party or any other place that you think can be fun, and you may make new friends there. Making new friends can make us _ . A. more outgoing B. healthier C. more athletic D. wilder Answer: A. more outgoing Question: I am sitting on a beach on this hot summer day and watching two children,a boy and a girl,playing in the sand.They are working hard at building a sandcastle .Just when they are successful, a big wave comes along and puts it down. I think the children may cry because all their hard work turns to nothing, but they surprise me. They run up away from the water, hand in hand, and sit down to build another one. They really teach me a lesson. We can't always be successful.Being sad is doing no good.What we need to do is to start again, hand in hand with our friends. Who is playing in the sand? A. Two children. B. Four children. C. Two children and the writer. D. It's not mentioned . Answer: A. Two children. Question: "Can I hug you?" community nurse Joyce Jebambula asks with a smile as she welcomes me back to her village. "Of course," I say as I put my arms around her. It's an unbelievable moment. Just at the height of the outbreak more than a year ago, there was an "avoid body contact" rule here. It's now been removed. One of the most challenging parts of reporting this outbreak over the past 18 months is that I haven't been able to touch anyone in the worst-affected countries. When Ebola survivors described in tears describing losing their families, I had to almost sit on my hands to avoid reaching out to comfort them. The outbreak was declared over in Sierra Leone on 7 November. I returned for the celebrations. But despite reaching this long-awaited milestone, all is not well. Ibrahim Koroma, 21, clings to his survivor's certificate outside the home. All 17 of his family are now dead. The certificate is one of his most prized possessions. "He does not pose any risk to the community" it reads. Ibrahim tells me how his landlord has allowed him to stay in one of the rooms of his former family home until the end of the year. He says he doesn't know what he'll do after that. He does some part-time work, relying heavily on help from neighbours. His two little sisters and little brother died in the very room where he now sleeps. He says he often lies awake thinking about them, feeling very bad. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was the worst on record. In past outbreaks there had only been a few hundred deaths and a few hundred survivors. It was thought Ebola could live for only three months. But research has now shown it can linger for at least nine months. Scientists are still trying to find how long it could be infectious. We can learn from the passage that _ . A. Ebola can only survive a few days B. Ibrahim's neighbours treat him badly C. Ebola still influences Ibrahim's life D. there were once 17 people in Ibrahim's family Answer: C. Ebola still influences Ibrahim's life Question: A sunflower is a sunflower. A mobile phone is a mobile phone. But can you combine the two to do something for your local environment? As early as next year it may well be possible. When you have finished with your mobile phone you will be able to bury it in the garden and wait for it to flower . A biodegradable mobile phone was, this month, introduced by scientists. It is hoped that the new type of phone will encourage users to recycle. Scientists have come up with a new material over the last five years. It looks like any other plastic and can be hard or soft, and able to change shape. Overtime it can also break down into the soil without giving out any poisonous chemicals. British researchers used the new material to develop a phone cover that includes a sunflower seed .When this new type of cover turns into waste, it forms nitrates . These feed the seed and help the flower grow. Engineers have designed a small transparent window to hold the seed. They have made sure it only grows when the phone is thrown away. "We've only put sunflower seeds into the cover so far. But we are working with scientists to find out which flowers would perform best. Maybe we could put roses in next time." said one scientist. As phone technology is developing so quickly, people are constantly throwing their mobiles away. This means producers are under pressure to find ways of recycling them. Some 650 million mobile phones have been sold this year. Most of them will be thrown away within two years, adding plastic, heavy metal and chemical waste to the environment. A biodegradable cover can change this, according to the scientists. ,A, B, C, D,. (10) The new type of phone can reduce the harm to the environment mainly _ . A. because of the material of its cover B. because of the sunflower seed C. because it's made of no poisonous chemicals D. because you bury it in the soil after you finish with it Answer: A. because of the material of its cover Question: The 16-year-old girl Jessica Watson is said to be the youngest person to sail non-stop alone around the world. But her record has been questioned because someone thought that she has not sailed far enough. She will also not be recognized by the World Speed Sailing Record Council, as it was too dangerous for someone under 18 years old. Ms Watson sailed into Sydney port on Saturday, seven months after leaving on a hard voyage. Family, friends and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd have gathered to greet her. Thousands of well-wishers waited at the port and watched from boats as Ms Watson sailed her pink, 10m boat over the finishing line. Many more Australians watched the event broadcast live on television. Watson said she was just an "ordinary girl who believed in her dream". Ms Watson left Sydney on 18 October, despite that some people disagreed her plan. Watson traveled northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator , south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia. The route took her through some of the world's most changeful waters, and she battled through huge storms and suffered seven accidents of her boat. People around the world have followed Ms Watson's adventures on her blog, which she has daily updated . On her blog, she wrote down beautiful sunrise over seas, the excitement of meeting a blue whale and the bright, terrible sight of a shooting star flying across the night sky above her boat. Ms Watson has reportedly sold her story to a news company for $700,000. She is planning to write a book on her experience. All the following can be inferred from this passage EXCEPT that _ . A. her book about her voyage is a best seller B. people in Australia had much interest in her voyage C. she spent more than 200 days alone at sea D. people have different attitudes towards her voyage Answer: A. her book about her voyage is a best seller
Cooking programs and classes for children seem to positively influence children's food preferences and behaviors, according to a recent review. And, although the review didn't look at long-term effects of such programs, the findings suggest that such programs might help children develop long-lasting healthy habits. This research comes at a time when childhood obesity rates have been rising rapidly. More than one-third of adolescents in the United States were obese in 2012, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This trend has been caused, at least in part, by a significant decrease in the amount of meals that people consume at home since the 1980s, according to background information in the study. Cooking education programs, such as Food Explorers, teach children about new healthy foods and how to prepare them. They also stress the importance of eating five fruits and vegetables every day. A volunteer parent explains a new food to the group, and the kids make something based on the lesson, such as fruit or vegetable salad. Depending on the program, kids may be sent home with information about healthy foods to bring to their parents, the review explained. The study team reviewed eight other studies that tested different types of cooking education programs. Children in these classes were between 5 and 12 years old, according to the review. The goal of the study team was to learn more about developing an efficient program to encourage healthy food choices that last a lifetime. The study found that it is particularly important to expose kids to healthy foods on a number of occasions. This makes them feel comfortable with the new foods, which helps them build healthy habits. The study stressed the importance of getting parents involved in their children's eating habits. Parents who are unable to enroll their kids in a cooking class can achieve similar benefits by having their kids help them while they prepare meals at home. Children are more comfortable at home, which makes them more receptive to new foods because they will make the connection to a positive experience. Which of the following categories does this passage belong to? Public Health Research An example of a chemical change is milk to yogurt Mrs Jones was still cleaning the house when her husband came back from work. She was wearing dirty, old clothes and no stockings and her hair was not tidy. She looked dirty and tired. Her husband looked at her and said, "Is this what I come home to see after a hard day's work?" Mr Jones' neighbour, Mrs Smith, was there. When she heard Mr Jones' words, she quickly said goodbye and ran back to her house. Then she washed and combed her hair carefully, put on her best dress and her most beautiful stockings, painted her face, and waited for her husband to come home. When he arrived, he was tired. He walked slowly into the house, saw his wife and stopped. Then he shouted angrily, " And where are you going this evening ?" What did Mr Jones feel when he saw his wife? He felt unhappy. Animals like the lion are known as carnivorous (meat-eating) animals. They feed on smaller animals. But many other animals eat grass or plants. They are called herbivorous (plant-eating) animals. You may be surprised to learn that there are carnivorous plants as well as carnivorous animals. Plants that grow in poor soil need other food. They trap (catch by a trick) small insects and take their bodies as food. The pitcher plant is a common carnivorous plant. This plant has a clever trap like a pitcher or jar. It even has a lid to keep out of the rain. The mouth of the pitcher is covered with something sweet like honeydew . Insects come to the plant to feed on the honeydew. When they have eaten all that is round the mouth, they go into the pitcher to look for more. There is more honeydew deep in the pitcher and they go down to feed on it. The inner wall of the pitcher is covered with fine hairs. These hairs point downwards so that the insects cannot climb out of the pitcher. They are trapped in it. They die there, and their bodies are taken as food by the plant. Which of the following is NOT true? All plants get food only from the soil. The oceans are unique to our planet. No other planet in our solar system has liquid water. The oceans cover about 70% of the earth's surface. They contain about 97% of the earth's water supply. Life on earth originated in the seas. The oceans continue to be home to an incredible number of plants and animals. We know very little about the oceans. Because they are so deep and dark, they are hard to study. But scientists are discovering new strange creatures all the time. We are learning more by using satellites to look at the oceans' surfaces and by using buoys ( ) to measure temperature and saltiness. Special vehicles can now travel deep into the dark oceans to see what mysteries can be discovered. More of the sun's heat is assimilated by water along the equator than at the poles. This means the water at the equator is warmer than water at the poles. These different water temperatures cause the water in the oceans to move. This is called an ocean current. The air above ocean currents also moves. The warm or cold ocean air moves over the land as wind. Oceans are also a really important part of the water cycle. Evaporation from oceans creates most of the world's rainfall. Plants on land need the rain to absorb nutrients from the soil. The oceans are also home to all kinds of sea life. These include fish, whales, dolphins, octopi, lobsters, crabs and shrimps. There are also jellyfish and starfish.Many kinds of plants, such as plankton, kelp and sea grass are part of the "forest of the seafloor." Carbon dioxide in-oxygen out! Oceans help to capture and store carbon dioxide(C02). They are the largest natural "carbon sinks" in the world. Oceans trap about1/4of the CO2 that humans put into the air. Oceans also release oxygen. Half of the world's oxygen is produced by these tiny plants! It can be inferred from the passage that _ oceans provide humans with rich resources
I once had a house guest from Cuba. During his visit, I happened to throw an old broken blender in the trash. The next day it was sitting on my counter - in working order. In his world, people simply cannot afford to replace an item which doesn't work properly. They take the time and figure out how to fix it. In Cuba, they are still driving cars from the 1960's, mainly because they do not have a choice. In contrast, the U.S. is a "throw-away society." Statistics show that each American produces six pounds of trash per day. I believe a combination of factors has contributed to this phenomenon. "Planned obsolescence " is not a secret. It is a manufacturing philosophy developed in the 1920's and 1930's, when mass production became popular. The goal is to make a product or part that will fail, or become less desirable over time or after a certain amount of use. This pressures the consumer to buy again. Planned obsolescence does keep costs down. Instead of making an expensive product that will last a long time, businesses produce more affordable, disposable items. Some electronic items have become so inexpensive that it is cheaper to replace them than to repair them.[:&&Z&X&X&K] Busy people often value their time and convenience more than money. If a car starts to have mechanical problems, replacing it with a newer, more reliable model may be more appealing than tolerating it being in the garage for a week. In addition, advertising trains consumers to want what is new and improved. It convinces them that the more they have, the happier they will be. Unlike people in many developing countries, we live in a world of abundance. A study by Dr. Timothy Jones of the University of Arizona also found that in the U.S., 40-50 percent of all food ready for harvest is wasted. Abundance and waste soon became closely associated in the American way of life. According to the article, planned obsolescence _ . My house is made out of wood, glass and stone. It is also made out of software. If you come to visit, you'll probably be surprised when you come in. Someone will give you an electronic PIN to wear. This PIN tells the house who and where you are. The house uses this information to give you what you need. When it's dark outside, the PIN turns on the lights nearest you, and then turns them off as you walk away from them. Music moves with you too. If the house knows your favorite music, it plays it. The music seems to be everywhere, but in fact other people in the house hear different music or no music. If you get a telephone call, only the nearest telephone rings. Of course, you are also able to tell the house if you want something. There is a home control console , a small machine that turns things on and off around you. The PIN and the console are new ideas, but they are in fact like many things we have today. If you want to go to a movie, you need a ticket. If I give you my car keys, you can use my car. The car works for you because you have the keys. My house works for you because you wear the PIN or hold the console. I believe that ten years from now, most new homes will have the systems that I've put in my house. The systems will probably be even bigger and better than the ones I've put in today. I like to try new ideas. I know that some of my ideas will work better than others. But I hope that one day I will stop thinking of these systems as new, and ask myself instead, "How will I live without them?" What is the writer most likely to be according to the passage? Mother's Day is a holiday for mothers. It is celebrated in the United States, English, India and some other countries. In a short time, it becomes widely celebrated. Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May. On that day, many people send gifts of love to their mothers. Those whose mothers are still living often wear a pink or red rose or carnation , while those whose mothers are dead wear a white one. The idea of a day for mothers was first given by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. As a result of her hard work, the celebration of the first American Mother's Day was held in Philadelphia on May 10,1908. Soon the holiday became popular all over the country and around the world. In China, people do the same on the day for mothers. And , in some cities, people sometimes ask a song to be broadcast for his or her mother only. This might cost a little money for some of them, but, as it is said, "Love is _ ." On May 8,1999, just the day before the Mother's Day this year, a Chinese mother was killed in criminal bombing .Her name is Shao Yunhuan , a heroic mother. All the Chinese will remember her for ever. You've known the criminal bombing, which of the following ideas do you agree to? Findley Lake, New York is a small beautiful village that sells itself as a holiday place for all seasons. The Findley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce supports a number of events all the year round that begin in March. At Findley Lake during the summer, there is boating, fishing and water sport activities. You can watch a boat parade and a fireworks display at the Findley Lake 4thof July boat parade. The "Harvest Festival" and October's "Autumn at the Lake" show that fall season is coming. In November, Findley Lake's "Christmas through the Village" starts off the holiday shopping season. Shopping at Findley Lake is a wonderful experience. It is easy to walk along Main Street and visit all the shops. There are over twenty shops that sell different kinds of gifts. Some of the special shops are the candle making factory, the year-round Christmas shop, and the Victorian shop. At the center of Findley Lake is the Blue Heron Inn which is a pleasant place to stay in. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners are open to the public and the meals are delicious. Dine outside on the porch looking down the lake or inside the comfortable dining rooms. Take time to shop at their store, Nostalgia, for unique items. As you walk around town, you can see a working waterwheel. If you have an interest in history, stop and visit the World War II Museum as well. The Village of Findley Lake offers something for everyone. It is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon. With year-round shopping and delicious dining at the Blue Heron Inn while looking down at the beautiful view of the lake, it is certain to please the visitors to this attractive village. When can you see a fireworks display in Findley Lake? On Saturday, February 12 two thousand, two things happened that changed everything in my life. The first was that on this day my baby sister was married. She was twenty-six this day, and yet to me she was still my baby sister. I suppose that I pictured her as a little girl, and treated her like one in order to hold onto and preserve my own youth. Until I saw her in her wedding dress I still had a vision of her with chubby little cheeks and long, dark-brown pigtails blowing in the wind, perhaps even a permanent smudge of chocolate around her pink lips. I guess it's true that you see only what you want to see. Where did this beautiful woman with the glowing complexion and gentle curves come from? I was happy that day, and also sad. Gone were the days of me bossingher around and telling her what she should do with her life. My bossy behavior had earned me the nickname Lucy. If you are a Peanuts fan then you can clearly imagine my behavior as an older sister. To me it wasn't an insult; I rather like the nickname Lucy. I happen to think that Lucy is strong and has incredible self-confidence, although she is a little overbearing at times. I did my best to live up to the standards set forth by this dynamic cartoon character. I left the reception to get some air because suddenly I was overcome with grief at the realization that I was no longer a child. I went outside and walked to a nearby playground where there were children playing on the slide, the swings and digging in the dirt. There was a little girl twirlingaround on a bar, one knee wrapped tightly around the bar and fashioned behind her knee. It was all I could do to sit there and just watch, for I too wanted to get on that bar with her and see if I could still hold the all-timetwirlingrecord (ninety-nine times in fifth grade). Somewhere inside I knew that I would break my neck, and I was wearing abridesmaiddress. Not exactly playground material. And so I sat watching the children play. I'm not sure how long I sat there before my sister came and joined me. We talked about how we are grown up now and shed a few tears for our childhood days gone by. As she wiped a tear from my eye she lovingly said, "you'll always be Lucy to me." We hugged. My cousin Mike walked over and told my sister that it was time to cut the cake. And then he dropped bomb number two on me. "Hey, did you guys hear that Charles Schultz died today?" He said it like it was no big deal. He took my sister's arm and turned to head back for the reception hall. "Coming?" They asked. "In a minute." I replied, and sat back down on the bench, dizzy from what he had just told me. Dead? How could Charles Schultz be dead? He was my creator! And though I have never met the man personally, he has always been like an invisible father to me. He did, after all, fashion a famous character after me. I lost so many things on this day. Innocence slipped away from me like a thief in the night: come and gone before I could do anything about it, taking with it all the treasures that I held most valuable in my heart. I felt myself grow up, all in one moment. Reality rushed in around me like a hurricanetide. There was nowhere to run to. All I could do was sit there and watch it destroy and reshape what had existed only a moment before. I was no longer a child. I was no longer Lucy who knew what was best for everyone else. I saw, for the first time, what I really was--a thirty-year old woman with a husband of my own, and soon, a child of my own. I allowed the tide to carry my sadness out with it. Take it out to sea, for it serves no purpose in my life. I stood up from the bench; a little taller than I was when I sat down. I turned and headed back to the hall, hoping I didn't miss the cutting of the cake. It was the day my sister grew wings of her own and left the nest. _ Why did the author treat her sister as a little girl?
Mr. White was over 80 years old, but he looked younger than his age. He played Tai Chi in the park every day, so he was very healthy. It was 11:30. It was time for him to walk home. He usually got home thirty minutes later. One day, Mr. White didn't get home until 12:30. His family worried about him. After a short while, a police car stopped in front of their house. What happened? "The old man was lost and he called us for help," the policeman said. When the policeman left, Mr. White's daughter asked her father, "Dad, you go to the park every day. How can you be lost?" "I'm not lost at all. I'm just tired. I don't want to go home on foot," answered Mr. White with a smile. Which following is NOT true? A Mr. White was very healthy. B Mr. White usually got home at about 12:00. C Mr. White was lost when he was on his way home. D The policemen sent Mr. White back home. Answer: C. Mr. White was lost when he was on his way home. Helen Keller was born in America in June, 1880. Everything was all right when she was born. But when she was 19 months old, an attack of fever left her blind and deaf for the rest of her life. She was so young when she became blind that as she grew older she did not remember being able to see; and she became deaf before she had any idea of the importance of human speech. She lived in darkness and silence. As she grew older, she, too, wanted to express her ideas and feelings. But she realized she was cut off from others. Her parents were greatly worried. How could anyone make touch with Helen's mind and intelligence in darkness and silence without speech? Helen was nearly seven before a teacher was found. Her name was Miss Sullivan. Miss Sullivan had a lot of difficulties in teaching Helen Keller. As the child could neither see nor hear, she had to use manual alphabet. But Helen's energy and intelligence and strong spirit as well as Miss Sullivan's skill and patience, overcame all the difficulties. As Helen grew up, she became an able student, passed examination and finally took a university degree in English literature. She then devoted all herself to helping the blind and the deaf. Her personal success, together with the work she had done for others, made her one of the greatest women in modern times. She wrote many books and "The Story of My Life"is a wonderful one. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE? A Helen became blind and deaf because she suffered from a high fever. B Helen became blind before she could see anything. C Helen became deaf before she realized how important it was to be able to hear and speak. D Helen, too, wanted to touch with others with speech. Answer: B. Helen became blind before she could see anything. Rescuers have found the bodies of over 130 people killed in two ferry disasters in Bangladesh.The accidents happened during a storm that hit the country on April 21st.Hundreds more are missing or feared to be dead. The two ferries sank in different rivers near the capital city of Dhakfi as strong winds and rain hit the South Asian country.The government has since banned all ferries and other boats from traveling at night during the April-May stormy season. One of the ferries,MV Mitali,was carrying far more people than it was supposed to.About 400 passengers fitted into a space made for just 300,police said.The second ferry carried about 100 passengers. "The number of deaths is certain to rise."said an official in charge of the rescue work."No one really knows how many people were on board the ferry or how many of them survived." Ferries in Bangladesh don't always keep passenger lists,making it difficult to determine the exact number of people on board.Besides the ferry accidents,at least 40 people were killed and 400 injured by lightning strikes.falling houses and trees and the sinking of small boats.Storms are common this time of year in Bangladesh,as are boating accidents.Ferry disasters take away hundreds of lives every year in a nation of 130 million people.Officials blame these river accidents on a lack of safety measures, too many passengers in boats and not enough checks on weather conditions. Ferries are a common means of transport in Bangladesh.It is a country covered by about 230 rivers.Some 20,000 ferries use the nation's Waterways every year.And many of them are dangerously overcrowded.Since 1977, more than 3,000 people have died in some 260 boating accidents. Which of the following statements is NOT true of the two ferry disasters? A They happened during a storm. B They sank on April 21. C The exact number of deaths could be easily determined. D They sank somewhere near Dhaka. Answer: C. The exact number of deaths could be easily determined. How to Tell If Someone Is Happy or Sad on the Phone Scientists have come up with some researches on what makes different types of people"tick". The scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed new mobile phone technology called Emotion Sense that can tell if a caller is happy, angry or sad. Scientists hope to fit the speech recognition system to standard mobile phones and use it to determine emotions--it will also use a GPS tracking system to log where the call is made. _ The results from the pilot scheme make interesting scientific reading. Among the key revelations (=facts) are that callers feel happier at home and sadder at work. To break it down, scientifically, it shows 45 percent of all emotions produced at home are "happy"and 54 percent of emotions at work are "sad". Meanwhile, people show more "intense"(=nervous) emotions in the evening than they do in the morning. Of course, this could just be because most people feel too tired in the morning to get overly "intense". Eating breakfast and getting to work on time is usually enough of an achievement. Anyway, the Emotion Sense technology has been developed by psychologists and computer scientists who say it uses speech recognition software and phone sensors attached to standard smart phones to judge how callers' emotions are changed by everyday factors. The sensors analyze voice samples and these are then divided into five categories: happiness, sadness, fearfulness, anger or neutral---boredom or passivity would fit into this last category. Which of the following hasn't been put into the standard mobile phones? A Speech recognition software. B Phone sensors. C GPS sensors. D Translation system. Answer: D. Translation system. Isn't it astonishing how much time we spend talking about food? "Have you ever eaten ...?" "What did you have for lunch?" and so on. And yet when you travel from one country to another, you will find that people have quite different feelings about food. People often feel that what they eat is normal and that what other people eat is strange or silly. In most parts of Asia, for example, no meal is complete without rice. In England, people eat potatoes every day. In the Middle East, bread is the main part of every meal. Eating like so many things we do, becomes a habit which is difficult to change. Americans like to drink a lot of orange juice and coffee. The English drink tea four or five times every day. Australians drink a great deal of beer, and the French drink wine every day. The sort of meat people like to eat also differs from one country to another. Horse meat is thought to be delicious in France. In Hong Kong, some people enjoy eating snakes. New Zealanders eat sheep, but they never eat goat meat. The Japanese don't like to eat sheep meat because of its smell, but they enjoy eating raw fish . So it seems that although eating is a topic we can talk about for hours, there is very little common sense in what we say it. People everywhere enjoy eating what they have always eaten, and there is very little we can do to change our eating habits. People in different countries _ . A drink the same sort of wine B have the same eating habit C eat different kinds of meat D have the same tea at different time within a day Answer: C. eat different kinds of meat
Question: Many people in the world live in big cities, which are often dirty and difficult places to live. So, some cities will get bigger. They will also get higher, and lower, because people will begin to live under the ground as well as in tall buildings. Scientists also say that men can begin to live in cities under the sea, when there is not enough space on the land. Of course, these new cities will be very expensive, and difficult to build, but they are not impossible. Already, some countries are building places to live under the ground so their people can go there if there is a new war. There are underground cities in Switzerland and China, built by the government to help some of the people live during a great war. But will people change if they live under the ground for a long time?For example some fish go blind if they live in the dark sea for a long time. People will not go blind, because there will be light underground, but they may change in some way. Scientists say that people who live in cities today are losing their senses of smell, touch and taste. They can't smell the dirty air, they can't taste the chemicals in their food. These senses are not as strong as before, when people lived in the country and grew their own food. The city has changed that. What will the underground city change in everyone? People will live under the ground because _ . A. it's neither hot nor cold there B. they'll be afraid of the war C. there'll be less space on the ground D. they'll make their life comfortable Answer: C Question: I was riding my special motorbike this past weekend and stopped at a convenience store. As I was getting my wheelchair off the back, a man watched me from his car and I noticed a wheelchair in his back seat. We spoke for a moment and I asked him about the wheelchair. He answered that it was for his daughter. "Well, do you think she would like to go for a ride on my motorbike with me?" I asked. He seemed shocked that a total stranger would ask him this. He thought about it for a second and said, "OK, as long as I can follow you." He introduced me to Amy and he sat her on my back seat. Her father followed me for a few miles and she talked non-stop about what she wanted for Christmas. As we came back to the convenience store, she said, "This ride is the best Christmas present I could ever receive. I have been in a wheelchair my whole life and didn't know I could do this." I told her about some of the other things I do (ski, travel the world by myself, etc.). As her father was taking her off my bike, she turned to him and said, "Oh Daddy, I'm going to be OK. Mr. Bryant does all kinds of things, and I will too." Her father turned away as a tear of joy rolled down his cheek. He hugged me and said, "I was sitting here praying for a gift for Amy that would encourage her. She often felt that her life was dull compared to other children. God answered my prayer just now. Now I pray that God will bless you for your gift to Amy today." I believed what he said. Being kind and thoughtful to others, we can be an answer to prayer. What did the author's gift refer to according to the girl's father? A. The motorbike. B. The wheelchair. C. The blessing. D. The ride. Answer: D Question: When two objects are touching, heat is transferred from the warmer object to the cooler one by A. radiation. B. convection. C. conduction. D. insulation. Answer: C Question: University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world and it's one of the top university in the world. There is no clear date when the university started, but teaching began at Oxford in some forms in 1096 and developed quickly from 1167. There are 39 independent colleges at Oxford, attracting students and learned men from across the world. There are over 100 libraries for the students and learned men to use. At University of Oxford, they also provide a number of money for the best students. Of course, if you want to study here, first you have to reach a certain level of English language. College life at Oxford is very exciting but busy. The groups of college provide a friendly and welcoming home for students while the college are strict with students about their studies. Many Chinese students are studying here. The number of Chinese students at the university has grown quickly over the past 10 years. ,. (5,2,10) How's the college life at Oxford? It's full of _ and has _ . A. excitement; much school work to do B. excitement; no school work to do C. attraction; no school work to do D. attraction; a little school work to do Answer: A Question: Death Valley is a land of beautiful yet dangerous extremes. Death Valley can be dangerously cold during the winter months. Storms in the mountains can produce sudden flooding on the floor of the Valley. The air temperature during the summer has been as high as fifty- seven degrees Celsius. The sun can heat the ground so that the temperature of the rocks and soil can be as high as seventy -four degrees Celsius. Death Valley contains evidence of several ancient volcanoes that caused huge explosions. Evidence of one of these explosions is called Ubehebe Crater. The explosion left a huge hole in the ground almost a kilometer and a half wide. In many areas of Death Valley it is easy to see where the ground has been pushed up violently by movement deep in the Earth. This movement has created unusual and beautiful rock formations. Some are red. Others are dark brown, gray, yellow or black. The area was named by a woman in 1849. Thousands of people from other parts of the ountry traveled to the gold mining areas in California. They were in a hurry to get there before other people did. One group trying to reach California decided to take a path called the Old Spanish Trail. By December they had reached Death Valley. They did not have to survive the terrible heat of summer, but there was still an extreme lack of water. There were few plants for their work animals to eat. The people could not find a pass through the tall mountains to the west of the Valley, Slowly, they began co suffer from a lack of food. To survive, they killed their work animals for food and began to walk out of the Valley. As they left, one woman looked back and said, "Good -bye, death valley. " The name has never been changed. Almost everyone who visits Death Valley visits a huge house called Scotty' s Castle. The building design is Spanish, with high thick walls to provide protection from the fierce heat. The castle is named for Walter Scott , called Scotty. by his friends. He was a gold miner. He told everyone that he built the house with money he made from his gold mine. Many people believed him. But it was not really the truth. If the passage continues, it will be about _ . A. the truth about Scotty's Castle B. why Spanish built the castle C. when the castle was built D. where the castle lies in Answer: A
Palko is being treated by a physician for asbestosis, an abnormal chest condition that was caused by his on-the-job handling of materials containing asbestos. His physician has told him that the asbestosis is not presently cancerous, but that it considerably increases the risk that he will ultimately develop lung cancer. Palko brought an action for damages, based on strict product liability, against the supplier of the materials that contained asbestos. The court in this jurisdiction has ruled against recovery of damages for negligently inflicted emotional distress in the absence of physical harm. If the supplier is subject to liability to Palko for damages, should the award include damage for emotional distress he has suffered arising from his knowledge of the increased risk that he will develop lung cancer? A No, because Palko's emotional distress did not cause his physical condition. B No, unless the court in this jurisdiction recognizes a cause of action for an increased risk of cancer. C Yes, because the supplier of a dangerous product is strictly liable for the harm it causes. D Yes, because Palko's emotional distress arises from bodily harm caused by his exposure to asbestos. Answer: D. Yes, because Palko's emotional distress arises from bodily harm caused by his exposure to asbestos. Your house may have an effect on your figure. experts say the way you design your home could play a role in whether you pack on the pounds or keep them off. you can make your environment work for you instead of against you. Here are some ways to turn your home into part of your diet plan. Open the curtains and turn up the lights. dark environments are more likely to encourage overeating, for people are often less self-conscious when they're in poorly lit places - and so more likely to eat lots of food. If your home doesn't have enough window light, get more lamps and flood the place with brightness. Mind the colors. Research suggests warm colors fuel our appetites. In one study, people who ate meals in a blue room consumed 33 percent less than those in a yellow or red room. Warm colors like yellow make food appear more appetizing, while cold colors make us less hungry. So when it's time to repaint, go blue. Don't forget the clock - or the radio. People who eat slowly tend to consume about 70 fewer calories per meal than those who rush through their meals. Begin keeping track of the time, and try to make dinner last at 30 minutes. And while you're at it, actually sit down to eat. If you need some help slowing down, turning on relaxing music. It makes you less likely to rush through a meal. Downsize the dishes. Big serving bowls and plants can easily makes us fat. We eat about 22 percent more when using a 12-inch plate instead of a 10-inch plate. When we choose a large spoon over a smaller one, total intake jumps by 14 percent. And we'll pour about 30 percent more liquid into a short, wide glass than a tall, skinny glass. What are people advised to do at mealtimes? A Eat quickly. B Play fast music C Use smaller spoons D Turn down the lights Answer: C. Use smaller spoons Great Sale at Jenny's Come to Jenny's great sale on clothes, things for your room and things for school. We have jackets in black and brown for thirty-five dollars, sweaters in blue and red for fifteen dollars and bags in green and yellow for five dollars. See our great tables, beds and chairs. Get a new bookcase in brown and white for all your books. At Jenny's sale, they are only twenty dollars! Tomorrow is New Year's Day. Come to Jenny's store today! One day only! Everything is at the lowest price. Cindy likes blue, so she can buy a _ . A bags B sweater C bookcase D jacket Answer: B. sweater How are animals that prey on other animals classified? A herbivores B carnivores C autotrophs D decomposers Answer: B. carnivores Tim and Li Fang are not going to have any classes next week. They're going to work on a farm. They are going to leave at about seven thirty on Monday morning. They are going to travel to the farm by bus. They are going to wear old clothes because they are going to grow rice. They are going to have fish for lunch. They are also going to have a swim at the farm. Tim and Li Fang are excited about going to the farm. Not only are they going to help around the farm, they are going to learn about farming. Li Fang is worried that Tim won't arrive on time to catch the bus because he is nearly always late. Li Fang often has to say to him, "Don't be late, Tim." What are they going to do there? A Grow rice. B Play. C Eat fruit. D Pick apples. Answer: A. Grow rice.
ABOARD XUELONG--The stranded Chinese icebreaker, Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, broke through the Antarctic's heavy ice Hoes at about 6 pm, on Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 and headed for open water, according to Xinhua Agency. After being stranded in heavy ice for five days, the ship had broken free by Tuesday evening and was making its way through lighter ice, China Central Television reported on Tuesday. The vessel, which had been conducting China's 30th Antarctic expedition before going to the aid of the Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy, will now continue with its scheduled activities. The trapped Russian ship was also trying to free itself on Tuesday, with the favorable west wind loosening the surrounding ice, according to CCTV. A helicopter onboard Xuelong _ 52 passengers onboard Akademik Shokalskiy to an Australian vessel on Thursday. The Russian ship had been stuck in the ice for 10 days. However, Xuelong became trapped during the rescue effort, with the ice surrounding the vessel three to four meters thick, far beyond the ship's ice-breaking capability. Qu Tanzhou, director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration under the State Oceanic Administration, told China Daily via telephone on Tuesday that Xuelong's attempts at the breakout started on Tuesday morning. "A west wind is blowing on Tuesday, as we expected, which makes the floes and ice surrounding Xuelong more loose , creating favorable conditions for sailing on Wednesday," Qu said. On Tuesday morning, Xuelong broke ice for about 100 meters at a speed of 6 km per hour, but later became trapped in the broken floes, according to Xinhua. The efforts bore fruit on Tuesday afternoon with the ship sailing through the area of heavy ice. All the 101 crew members onboard are faring well, with entertainment facilities such as ping-pong tables, a gym and a library accessible. There is enough food onboard to last until April, sufficient water for a month and oil for four months, Qu said in a previous interview. The best title of the passage should be " _ ". China's icebreaker Xuelong headed to open water When Omega was born in Uganda, she did two things: Smile and then sing. When Omega was 4 years old, her talent for music was recognized, so she became one of the youngest members of the first African Children's Choir . She traveled the world with the choir, and it was from this experience that she grew into a singer today. Although having a beautiful voice, she had to find other ways besides music to earn a living at first. When she was 16, her parents sent her to the USA to study. Like her mother, Omega wanted to become a doctor and do something meaningful in her country of Uganda. However, like many artists, _ that she had to choose. With encouragement from her family and friends, she opened her own production company after graduation. Since then, she has been working as an artist. Her songs make people feel good about life. Apart from that, she is also interested in health care and education. Omega is one of those Ugandan females who are showing the world their valuable talents. What did she want to do at first when she was sent to the USA? To be a doctor. Once upon a time,a hippo lived in a river next to a big tree. One day,a bird came and nested in the tree.The songs of the bird filled the hippo with so much envy that he couldn't think of anything else.Every day he would think why he wasn't born to be a bird even though the bird told him many times he was so lucky to be so big and such a good swimmer. Finally,the hippo made up his mind that he would come out of the river,climb the tree and start singing.However,when he tried to climb the tree,it was very clear that the hippo didn't have wings,nor claws to climb with. Realizing that he would never climb up the tree,he angrily hit the tree until it came crashing to the ground.Then he stepped onto the leaves of the fallen tree,and began singing. Unfortunately,hippos can't sing,either.All that came from his mouth were terrible noises,and when the other animals heard this,they all came around to make fun of the hippo. He was so ashamed by this.He also felt bad about having knocked the tree over.He used all his strength to raise the tree back up again,and look after it until it completely recovered. . The hippo envied the bird because _ . he could sing well Last Thursday, Michael and Linda stood behind large food trucks distributing meals to 4,000 homeless people for their wedding reception on the border town of Kilis. The couple had decided that instead of hosting their friends and family for a traditional feast reception, they would feed the victims from an earthquake-stricken area. The idea came from the bridegroom's father, Ted, who volunteers for a Turkish relief organization. For the past few years, the organization has distributed daily meals to thousands of people who've suffered from natural disasters. He _ a representative of the organization and suggested that the family cover part of the costs of feeding them for the day. Then he told his son, who was surprised by the suggestion, but soon won over. When he told that to the bride, she was really shocked but finally accepted because in southeastern Turkey there is a real culture of sharing with people in need. They love to share their food, their table and everything they have. And afterwards she was quite amazed about it. So, they arrived at the distribution center on Thursday to spend the day serving food and taking photographs with their grateful recipients . On Tuesday evening, the newly married couple were still pleased with their decision to quit a personal celebration for one with a greater good. "It's like sharing a dinner with your friends and family who have this kind of thing on a daily basis or sharing something with people who don't even have the most basic things," Michael said. "Hopefully, this will also give the start for other wedding dinners to be held here with our brothers and sisters in need." How did the couple celebrate their wedding? They shared their happiness with the homeless in Kilis. Once upon a time, there were two doors in a house. One was a beautiful living room door, and the other was just a normal bathroom door. There were some naughty children in the house, and they always kicked the door. The living room door was always very angry about it and hated the children. The bathroom door didn't care too much when the children kicked him. Instead, he tried to comfort the living room door. He said, "Don't worry. It's normal. They're children, and they'll grow up soon. Before long, things will be better." One day, the living door finally lost his temper . A child kicked him, and he broke at once. The owner of the house got very angry and told the children to be careful next time. This made the living door happy. However, the owner didn't repair him; he threw him into a landfill instead. At the same time, the bathroom door took the place of the living room door. And the children treated him with greater care. The living room door realized his mistake. He shouldn't treat young children like that. He should learn to forgive others. The happiness from revenge will never last for long. What did the owner do with the living room door? He threw him away
Started in 1636, Harvard University is the oldest of many colleges and universities in the United States. Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Dartmouth were all started before the American Revolution made the thirteen colonies into states. In the early years, these schools were much alike. Only young men attended colleges. All the students studied the same subjects, and everyone learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Little was known about science then, and one kind of school could teach everything that was known about the world. When the students graduated, most of them became ministers or teachers. In 1782, Harvard started a medical school for young men who wanted to become doctors. Later, lawyers could receive their training in Harvard's law school. In 1852, Harvard began teaching modern languages, such as French and German, as well as Latin and Greek. Soon it began teaching American history. As knowledge increased, Harvard and other colleges began to teach many new subjects that interested them. Special colleges for women were started. New state universities began to teach such subjects as farming, engineering and business. Today, there are many different kinds of colleges and universities. Most of them are divided into smaller schools that deal with special fields of learning. There is so much to learn that one kind of school cannot offer it all. As knowledge increased, colleges began to teach _ . many new subjects A long time ago, before there was any money (coins or paper money), people got the things that they needed by trading or exchanging. Salt was one of the first items used to exchange for other items. Later, some of the common things that were used for exchanging were tea leaves, shells, feathers, animal teeth, tobacco, and blankets. Around 3000 BC, barley, a type of grain, was used for exchanging. The world's first metal money was developed by the Sumerians who melted silver into small bars all weighing the same. This was around 1000 BC. About three hundred years later, people started using coins as official money. Around 640 BC, people in the ancient kingdom of Lydia ( which was in Turkey) created special coins of exact with and purity . They were made of gold and silver and were stamped with a lion's head. Later, other empires such as Greece, Persia, and Rome _ the concept of coins and started developing their own in many different shapes and different metals. Around the year 1000, the Chinese started using paper money. The Chinese were the first to use paper money. The Europeans discovered this thanks to Marco Polo who went to China in 1295. the Chinese had different values for the paper notes which were made by the Chinese government. Around 1661, Sweden became the first European country to make paper money. Until 1850, the Spanish dollar was the coin most widely used throughout the world. We learn that before coins and paper money were used, _ . many kinds of things were used for exchanging What is so different about Moisture Surge? These hydrating formulas rapidly make thirsty skin smooth and soft. Oil-free and fit for all skin types, they help: Quickly increase skin's moisture level with hydrating relief in a high-speed delivery system; Restore skin's moisture balance; Make up dry lines. Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief Rapid, long-lasting hydration in a refreshing oil-free gel . Fast-absorbing formula locks in moisture all day and helps skin better resist dry despite great shifts in humidity. Use whenever, wherever needed, under or over makeup, or as a 5-minute moisture mask . Moisture Surge Face Water Thirsty Skin Relief Refreshing facial water. Great for use anytime, anywhere, under or over makeup. Moisture Surge Extra Refreshing Eye GEL* Cool and comfortable eye gel. Doctor-tested. Use whenever needed, under or over makeup. Moisture Surge Facial Sheet Mask* Refreshing, pre-moistened full-face sheet mask. Apply 1-2 times a week for a quick moisturizing. To use: unfold and apply to clean skin. Rest for 10 minutes, and then remove the mask. Moisture Surge Refreshing Eye Mask* Refreshing pre-moistened eye pads . Apply 1-2 times a week to reduce under-eye puffiness and skin with quick hydration. To use: remove pads from packets and separate. Apply to clean under-eye skin. Rest for 10 minutes, and then remove pads. Moisture Sheer Tint 15* Refreshing, wash of color that hydrates and makes skin bright with special materials and SPF 15 sunscreen. Three skin-friendly shades wear beautifully alone or under makeup. WARNING: keep out of eyes. Stop use if any pain occurs. Keep out of reach of children. Please pay attention to: *stands for "Not available in all countries. " How many products mentioned in the passage can be bought all over the world? Two I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left at message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more and impatient. I was certain that my agent didn't care about my work, and he didn't care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, "Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?" At that time I didn't realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, "Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!" And she swept it into the wastebasket. I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth...? She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the test of the house, "Now hear this! All objects in this room----if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!" Then she turned to me. Kissed me and said calmly, "Honey, you just have to learn how to take control." With that, she left the room. After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight , I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her aunties helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him and talk to him calmly. What did the author's wife do after she heard his shouting? She threw the phone away. Chinese and European societies can use different but effective technologies when addressing medical questions. What does this demonstrate? Varied approaches can yield successful technologies.
Supermarkets are trying out new computers that make shopping carts more intelligent. They will help shoppers find cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill. The touch-screen devices are on show at the Food Marketing Institute's exhibition here this week. "These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker," said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc. which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge. Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM's "shopping buddy," has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts. Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have second thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf. "The whole model is driven by advertisers' need to get in front of shoppers," said Alexander." They're not watching 30-second TV ads any more." People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system that will organize the trip around the store. If you're looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them. The devices also keep a record of what you buy. When you're finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay. The new computerized shopping assistants don't come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about$160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device. Both of the devices can _ in a supermarket. Answer: Sometimes the real world can be a confusing place. It is not always fair or kind. And in the real world there are not always happy endings. That is why, every once in a while, we like to escape into the world of fantasy -- a place where things always go our way and there is always a happy ending. We want to believe in fantastic creatures in imaginary lands. We want to believe in magic powers, good friends, and the power of good to overcome evil. We all fantasize about being able to fly and lift buildings off the ground. And how good a magic sword would feel in our hand as we go off to kill a dragon or win the hand of a beautiful princess. The amazing adventures of Superman, Peter Pan, and Harry Potter have charmed many people, children and adults alike. The main reason is that these stories offer us chances to get away from this real, frustrating world and allow us to find some magical solutions to our problems. For example, Superman always arrives in the nick of time to prevent a disaster from happening. Peter Pan can fly at will to tease the bad guy Captain Hook, and Harry Potter has his magic power to take revenge on his uncle, aunt and cousin, who always ill-treat him. Superman, Peter Pan, and Harry Potter have charmed many people, because _ . Answer: In 1995, Susan Boyle went to Glasgow toaudition forMy Kind of people, a televised talent show popular in the UK. She was immediately rejected. She was nervous during the audition, and felt she didn't perform well, but her brother said that she was rejected because of her plain looks. Boyle was not discouraged and continued to sing at church and at the karaoke nights in a local pub. Boyle suffered a personal loss in 1997, when her father passed away. After his death. Boyle put her big dreams on hold to care for her sick mother Bridget Boyle. The mother and daughter often talked of Susan's possible fame. Bridget Boyle encouraged her daughter to take part in singing competitions. "She was the one who said I should enterBritain's Got Talent. We used to watch it together." Susan later told reporters. "She thought I would win." In 1999, Boyle used all of her savings to pay for a professionaldemo tape. which she sent to record companies. In 2002, Boyle began taking singing lessons from voice coach Fred O'Neil. In 2007, Boyle's mother passed away at the age of 91. A neighbor reported that when Bridget Boyle died, her daughter "wouldn't come out for three or four days or answer the door or phone." She lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. For over a year, she refused to sing. But in August of 2008, O'Neil urged her to try out forBritain's Got Talent. Convinced that the performance would be an honor to her mother, Boyle auditioned in Glasgow, Scotland. She sangI Dreamed A Dreamin the first round of the show, which was aired on 11 April 2009. The 47-year-old Scottish woman's plain looks provided a sharpcontrast to her powerfully beautiful voice. The performance astonished the audience and the judges. Online videos of her performance totaled over 40 million views within a week. Although she failed to win the final ofBritain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle became globally popular. Her first albumI Dreamed A Dreamhas sold over five million copies. Bridget Boyle's attitude towards her daughter's musical talent can be described as _ . Answer: New research shows how kids' brains reorganize as they learn math. All the time you spent memorizing multiplication tables may have made you a better mathematician, according to a new study. A team of scientists from Stanford University, in California, have shown how the brain reorganizes itself as kids learn math. After a certain amount of time spent practicing math, kids can put away the calculator . They don't even need to count on their fingers. They simply know the answers to subtraction , addition, and multiplication facts. The quicker kids can recall basic math facts, the easier it is for them to solve more complicated math problems. The Stanford University researchers observed the brain activity of 28 students aged 7to 9 for the study. They took scans of the students' brains as the students solved math calculations without the help of a calculator, pen or paper. A calculation--three plus four equals seven, for example--flashed on a screen. The students pushed a button to say if the answer was right or wrong. The scientists also recorded the response speed, and what parts of the brain became active as the kids pushed the button. These observations showed a process called fact retrieval . Rather than using their fingers to count, or writing out answers on a piece of paper, the students pulled the answers from memory. It's as if the answers to basic math problems are kept in a long-term storage area in the brain, which was built from repetition. "Experience really does matter," said Dr. Kathy Mann Koepeke. Children make the shift from counting to fact retrieval when they are 8 to 9 years old, the study shows. This is the time when most students are learning basic addition and subtraction. When kids have basic math facts memorized, the brain has more free space to learn more complicated math. This process has benefits for the future. The study shows as kids grow older, their answers rely more on memory and become quicker and more accurate. Less brain activity is devoted to counting. Some children make this shift quicker than others. Fact retrieval is a process when the students _ . Answer: We can make mistakes at any age.Some mistakes we make are about money.But most mistakes are about people.One might say, "Did Jerry really care when I broke up with Helen?" "When I got that great job, did Jim really feel good about it, as a friend? Or did he envy my luck?" When we look back, doubts like these can make us feel bad. Why do we go wrong about our friends? Sometimes what people want to say hides their real meaning.And if we don't really listen, we miss the feeling behind the words.Suppose someone tells you, "You're a lucky dog." Is he really on your side? If he says, "You are a lucky guy", that's being friendly.But if he says "a lucky dog", there's a bit of envy in those words.Maybe he doesn't see it himself.But he puts you down a little if he brings in the "dog".What he may be saying is that he doesn't think you deserve your luck. "Just think of all the things you have to be thankful for" is another noise that says one thing and means another.It could mean that the speaker is trying to get you to see your problem as part of your life as a whole.But is he trying to? Wrapped up in this phrase is the thought that your problem isn't important.It's telling you to think of all the starving people in the world when you haven't got a date for Saturday night. How can you tell the real meaning behind someone's words? One way is to take a good look at the person talking.Do his words fit the way he looks? Does what he says agree with the tone of voice, his posture, or the look in his eyes? Stop and think.The minute you spend thinking about the real meaning of what people say to you may save another mistake. Therefore, when you hear someone saying, please try to know what he really means.Don't just listen to what he says with your ears but feel the words he uses with your head.In this way you may make fewer mistakes. This passage is mainly about _ . Answer:
What will city life be like in the future? Some people think that life in the cities is going to be horrible. They say that cities will become more and more crowded. As the number of people increases, there will be less space for each person. This overcrowding will cause other problems -- more crime, dirtier streets , and worse problems with traffic than we have now. How will people find enough drinking water, energy (such as gas and electricity ), and housing? Because life will be hard, people who live in cities will worry more, and they may become sick. For these reasons, some say that nobody will want to live in city areas. How can we deal with such problems as overcrowding, crime, and traffic? In some cities, thousands of people are already sleeping in the streets because there is little suitable housing -- and because houses are too expensive. The crime rate isn't going down. Instead, it is increasing so fast that many people are afraid to go out at night. Traffic is also getting worse. More and more often, traffic jams are so bad that cars don't move at all for several streets. These problems have been getting worse, not better, so many people see no hope for the future of the city. Los Angeles, California, for example, has no subway system and buses are slow. Instead, many commuters (, ) drive many miles from their homes to work. Many of these drivers spend several hours each day on busy freeways. New York, however, has a big transport system -- buses, commuter trains, and subways. Because the public transportation is crowded and dirty, many people drive private cars, and the traffic jams are worse than that in Los Angeles. A taxi driver complains, "I was driving home, but in forty-five minutes I moved only two miles! Finally, I turned off the engine and just sat there. A lot of people left their cars where they were in the middle of the street and went into a bar for a few beers!" On the other hand, some cities have clean, fast and pleasant public transportation systems. In Paris, France, and Toronto, Canada, for example, anyone can use buses or subways to move quickly from one part of the city to another. Which of the following sentences is NOT TRUE? Many people have a positive attitude towards the future of the city. It took some time for spring to arrive but now it's here that UK's gardens are enjoying it. Many flowers that would usually be over by now are still at their best. Here are some of the best gardens right now. Kew Gardens, London The rock garden is one of the places to head for at Kew right now. It will be at its peak in the days ahead. The garden has waterfalls and streams over the land, and many plants and flower buds are all at their best. Equally those who can not be missed are the flowering cherry trees. Open daily 9:30 am-6:30 pm, adults PS16, children free. Wentworth Castle Gardens, near Barnsley A yellow carpet surrounds Wentworth Castle at the moment, as the daffodils are still in full bloom. Another wonderful spot is the Victorian flower garden, created from an old bowling green in the 19th century. Open daily 10:00 am- 5:00 pm, adults PS5.50, children PS2.95, family PS12.50. Harlow Carr, Harrogate The earlier bad weather means many daffodil varieties were extremely late, but at Harlow Car plenty of the plants can be found at the moment. The garden also has one of the longest streamside plantings in the country. Open daily 9:30 am-6:00 pm, adults PS8.50, children PS4.25, family PS20.70. Bon Stewart, Newtownards There are great smells as well as great sights at Bon Stewart: Lady Londonderry, who created the garden in the 1920s and 1930s, love plants with a sweet smell. So go up to rhododendron hill. It's one of the best places here right now. Open daily 10:00 am-6:00 pm, adults PS6.63, children PS3.31, family PS16.00. What is the author's purpose in writing the passage? To attract tourists to visit. It's hard to make friends if you stay at home alone all the time. Get out of house and do things that will put you in touch with other people. It's easier to make friends when you have similar interests. Don't be afraid to show people what you're really good at. Talk about things you like and do best. People will be interested in you if there is something interesting about you. Look at people in the eyes when you talk to them. That way , they'll find it easier to talk to you. Be a good listener. Let people talk about themselves before talking about "me ,me, me" Try to make friends with the kinds of people you really like, respect and admire ,not just with those who we are easy to meet. Be friends with a lot of people .That way ,you 'll have a bigger group of people to choose and have more chances for making friends. If you want to have more chances for making friends, you should _ . try to make friends with the kinds of people you really like, respect and admire. How hot is it on the surface of the Sun? Much hotter than almost anything on Earth The Namib Desert in Africa is one of the driest places on earth.With half an inch of rain falling every year,humans call barely survive there for a week with no water.But the Namib beetle does just fine.It collects morning dew that condenses on its back. Inspired by this little creature,27--year--old Edward Linacre,a former student from Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne,Australia,has designed a new"Airdrop" irrigation system which can pull water from even the driest desert air.His invention won the 2011 James Dyson Award,an international design award.Hopes are high that the system will be able to solve the problems of growing plants on dry land,according to the may Mail. Linacre studied the Namib beetle and found that it had hydrophilic skin on its back,which helped catch water molecules passing in the air.These water molecules accumulated into small drops of liquid water.He realized that as long as the air temperature was low enough,even the driest air contains water molecules that can be extracted . Following this principle,he designed the new system which works by pumping air through a network of underground pipes to cool it to the point at which water condenses.The water is then delivered directly to the roots of plants. According to the research,about 11.5 milliliters of water could be collected from every cubic meter of air in the driest desert.Further development could raise that number even higher . The idea of getting water from the air is not new.However,the Airdrop has certain advantages compared with its competitors.Similar systems often require great amounts of energy because they use refrigeration equipment to lower the temperature.But Airdrop simply uses the temperature difference between the air and the cool earth underground Which of the following is true of the new invention? It's likely to solve lack of water on dry land.
The Labrador has won the honor of the most popular breed for the past eighteen years. It has been described as gentle, clever and friendly. Yet not all Labs are the same. John Grogan discovered _ after he and his wife adopted a Labrador that they named Marley. The dog caused Mr. Grogan a lot of trouble, but it also provided many stories for his newspaper articles. Later, he wrote a best-selling book, "Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog." Marley was happy and fun-loving. But he was also extremely large and difficult to control. He bit anything that he could find around the house, including plastic, clothing and jewelry. And he had a great fear of loud noises, especially thunderstorms. Unfortunately, the Grogans lived in Florida where many thunderstorms develop. Marley would attack the furniture, walls and doors until his feet bled if he was left alone in the house during a thunderstorm. Marley almost damaged their home several times. John Grogan said that at first he considered that probably his dog could be trained to be a show champion. But he soon realized that was impossible. Marley didn't like to learn skills that didn't belong to dogs, and he was driven out of the dog training school for causing troubles for other dogs. He didn't want to hide his emotions. He would show his anger and tiredness if he felt them. Even if that, Marley still had earned a place in the Grogans'. He didn't know how to dance, and he didn't know how to walk on its two legs, but he was what he was. He would never be a Lassie or a Benji or an old Yeller for he would never like to take part in a dog show, but the Grogans accepted him and loved him very much. Marley was driven out of the dog training school because he _ . A. didn't like to learn skills that didn't belong to dogs B. made it difficult for other dogs to get trained C. liked to attack the trainers when getting angry D. didn't know how to hide his emotions Answer: B Online shopping has become something very common for young people, however, it's not easy for the old people to buy things on the internet. Therefore, offline Daigou stores, or buy-for-you stores, are becoming popular among the old. 64-year-old man Li Hui'an is searching for his favorite CD in an offline Daigou shop. He says, "It's very convenient to buy things online, however, I can't use the internet. After I happened to find this buy-for-you shop, I decided to try, as I wanted to buy an opera CD. Finally I got one I'd searched for several years. I was so happy. I have become crazy about offline shopping. " The store owner Liu Min says in order to meet the need of people who want to buy things online but can't use the internet, she started the business of offline buy-for-you. In only about ten days since the start of the business, she has received more than 20 orders from customers . Liu Min is not the only one who finds the large need of offline buy-for-you business in the market. In Dalian city, northeast China, more than 300 such stores opened their doors only in April. In order to attract more customers, they have opened their shops in residential communities . And they charge a suitable service fee. For example, when buying things that cost less than 200 Yuan for customers, they usually charge 5 Yuan as service fee. Though the offline buy-for-you service makes it easier for certain people to shop online, what if there is any problem with the ordered thing, let's say, like a quality problem? The shop owners say they will deal with any quality problems that may happen when using their Daigou service. Why do many old people like offline shopping? A. They don't like going shopping. B. They are good at buying things on the internet. C. They don't like buying things online themselves. D. Offline shopping makes it easier for them to shop online. Answer: D Folding up rocks can happen when A. deer shiver B. snakes rattle C. birds quiver D. bunkers shake Answer: D Hit song Little Apple became so popular after it came out in late May. In China, you may hear it on a bus, or even in a small village. Little Apple is a song for the movie Old Boys: The Way of Dragon. The song's huge success has also made more people see the movie. The comedy took US $17 million in its opening four days. The song Little Apple is so popular. "After hearing it, it's like "I'm brainwashed " by the song. So I came to see the film." a man said. "It's a good story. But the reason I'm here at the cinema is the song Little Apple." Hui Qing, a college student, said. "Many people have come to see the movie, so we added more screenings for it. The film now accounts for 20 percent of the total screenings -- It's quite a good performance for a home-grown movie," a cinema clerk said. Old Boys: The Way of Dragon is based on an online short film called Old Boys. The 40-minute film about youth and dreams got nearly 70 million views on a video website, and was popular among people born in the 1980s or later. "What is popular online is a good indication of what will be popular with young people. And this movie is a good example," businessman Chen Su said. Some have criticized Little Apple for its low quality, but the song continues keeping popular. The movie Old Boys is a _ . A. comedy B. soap opera C. sad movie D. talk show Answer: A One of the odd things about some business organizations is that they spend so much money attracting new customers but spend so little keeping them. It just doesn't make sense. However, taking customers for granted is a routine in some business organizations. Loyal customers are an organization's only protection against bankruptcy , and losing them because of neglect or indifference is really wrong. Not only do satisfied customers continue to buy by themselves, but they often encourage others to buy. This is advertising that doesn't cost a penny. Although there are always problems in giving good service to customers, maintaining their business isn't all that difficult. It's a matter of attitude, of believing that everyone who buys from you is entitled to the best treatment you can deliver. Plus giving just a little more than you have to. There are always problems in giving good service to customers. The reason, of course, is that no organization is perfect, and there's many a slip: unreasonable delays in filling orders, shipping the wrong goods, failing to answer letters promptly, and so on. Sometimes these errors or failures can't be helped. For example, if you can't get parts because of material shortages or a transportation strike, customers may be denied the goods they've ordered. No matter who is at fault, customers whom you value highly should generally be given the benefit of the doubt. The old saying that _ . Customers who repeatedly place large orders and pay for them will naturally, get more attention than those who buy infrequently and have to be badgered to pay what they owe. However, you have to make the assumption that all customers are good unless proved otherwise. The main idea of the passage is best summarized as " _ ". A. new customers are kings for business organizations B. taking customers for granted is regulation in business organizations C. maintaining customers is the most important thing to business organizations D. business organizations need spend so much money attracting new customers Answer: C
Question: The Sieferts are the kind of environmentally conscious family who has solar panels atop their home. They use timers on their kids' showers and have planted drought-tolerant landscaping. But they feel kind of guilt. "I haven't thought about the pool as much as I probably should," said Annette Siefert. As California's drought worsens, swimming pools have become a target for those who think the classic backyard greens waste water. Some water districts have banned new pools from being filled and have limited how much water existing pools can use. But some of those agencies are walking back the rules as they make a surprising discovery: Pools aren't the water wasters some have made them out to be. Analyses by various water districts, along with scientific studies, conclude that pools and their surrounding landscapes use about the same amount of water as a lawn of the same size. Over time, pools might even use less water. With pool covers, experts say water evaporation can be cut by almost half, making pools significantly less wasteful than grass and about as efficient as drought-tolerant landscaping. Facing complaints over a recent ban on filling pools, the Santa Margarita Water District conducted its own water-use analysis. It found that pools require thousands of gallons of water to fill initially, but they use about 8,000 gallons less water than a traditional landscape after that. By the third year, the analysis found, the savings add up, and a pool's cumulative water use falls below that of a lawn. Water agencies such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have come to similar conclusions. Armed with new information, Santa Margarita Water District officials will reconsider their ban next week. "We want to respect the people's rights to use their property. There are many families we know that have saved for pools," said Jonathan Volzke, spokesman for the 155,000-customer district. "But at the same time, the reality around us is that we're in the third year of a serious drought, and we don't know if we're in the third year of a three-year drought or the third year of a 10-year drought." What would be the best title for the passage? A. Water Crisis In California B. Strict Ban On Filling Pools C. The Sieferts--Real Environmentalists? D. Pools--A Big Factor During Drought? Answer: D Question: Have you ever wanted to see the Great Wall of China, or win an Oscar for Best Director, or swim with dolphins ? If so, you are not alone. We all have things we want to do or achieve. These are part of our "bucket lists". A bucket is a list of things that someone wants to experience in his or her lifetimes. These things can be big or small. Have you ever thought about what is on your bucket list? Lindsay, 15, created her bucket list when she was 14. She has given her list serious thought. "I've always wanted to travel into space," she says. "I don't really want to be an astronaut. But I do want to go to space as a tourist. I want to see the Earth from above." Other things on her list include being on TV, seeing her favorite band in concert, learning how to speak Portuguese , and living in a foreign country. "I've always wanted to live in Brazil. As part of my bucket list, I want to attend Carnival in the capital of Brazil," she says. Jose, 16, recently created a list of things he wants to achieve. It changes sometimes he adds and takes away things because he wants to keep the number of the things at seven. One thing has stayed at number one, though: he wants to visit a movie set . He would like to see the Harry Potter of The Hobbit movie sets. Other things on the list include being on TV, meeting his favorite sports star, living in a foreign country, skateboarding down a mountain, attending the World Cup, and backpacking across Europe. He would like to spend two months visiting Eastern Europe with his best friend Adam. "Maybe after I graduate from college," says Jose. Carrie, 14, also has a bucket list. She first created it when she was 12. She would like to live in a foreign country for at least two years. She also wants to learn as many foreign languages as possible. But the number one thing on her list is to see her favorite band in concert. She also wants to go on a trip and to visit a movie set. Her favorite movies are the Hunger Games and Star Wars. Carrie is confident she will do most or all of the things on her bucket list. "I'm only 14," she says, "I have my whole life ahead of me!" What can we learn from the passage? A. Lindsay and Carrie both love music. B. Jose and Carrie are both space fans. C. All the three teens wants to visit movie sets. D. Jose and Adam hope to live in a foreign country. Answer: A Question: Did you know that Christmas shopping is even worse for our health than we previously thought? According to an internet survey, the incidence of _ during the festive shopping season is on the up. Christmas shopping increased blood pressure to dangerous levels in 50 percent of shoppers. This can lead to hypertension. Heart rates increased by an average of 10 per cent during Christmas shopping. In the study of 16 men and 16 women, men had the worst beating in heart rate during a 90-minute shopping. Samuel Thompson, 30, said: "I had to buy five items and had an hour and a half to buy them." "Normally, I know exactly what I want to get and do it as quickly as possible. But having to make on-spot decisions, like we did in the test, makes it more stressful." "Lack of time and the crowds were the biggest pressure points. I got frustrated by other people slowing me down by stopping to chat in the street. And I could feel myself sweating in queues. Everything took longer than planned." Dr Turner drew the conclusion: "Samuel's heart rate was good at the start but it had almost doubled by the end. Combined with his systolic blood pressure up by nearly 15 percent, it could put him in line for stroke . Systolic blood pressure relates to the pumping out of blood by the heart." Men suffer twice as much as women and are therefore in greater danger of dying on the High Street in the coming weeks. Remember, a husband is for life and not just for Christmas. The word "hypertension" in the passage most probably refers to _ . A. the heart beat B. the lung problem C. high blood pressure D. causing your sweating Answer: C Question: Ben lived in the same house as I did, on the same floor, his door facing mine; we often saw each other, and I knew how he lived when he was at home. And at home it was the same story: dressing-gown, nightcap, closed windows, locked doors, and -'Oh, I hope nothing bad will happen!' Vegetarian food is not good for him, yet he could not eat meat, so he ate freshwater fish with butter--not a vegetarian dish, yet one could not say that it was meat. He did not keep a female servant for fear people might think evil of him, but had as cook an old man of sixty, called Alan, who had once been an officer's servant and could cook after a fashion. This Alan was usually standing at the door with his arms folded; with a deep sigh, he would _ always the same thing: "there are plenty of them about nowadays!" What is the relationship between Ben and Alan? A. Teacher and student. B. Friends. C. Family. D. Employer and employee Answer: D Question: Down feathers are a thermal energy what? A. cold B. freezers C. igniters D. protectors Answer: D
A green house is a building made of glass which is used for keeping warm when the outside temperature is low. In a similar way there are several gases in the atmosphere (mixture of gases that surround the earth) which trap the heat produced by the sun and prevent it from escaping. These gases are known as "greenhouse gases". And the way in which they trap heat in the atmosphere is called the "greenhouse effect". This is not simply air pollution. Most of the main greenhouse gases exist naturally in small amounts in our atmosphere, and without them the earth would be 30 degrees colder and human life would not exist. In other words, the greenhouse effect is a natural course which is to some degree helpful to us. The problem is that in the last century and a half, we have been putting too many of these gases into the earth's atmosphere by burning large quantities of coal and oil and by cutting down forest. The rapid increase in greenhouse gases is making the world warmer. The world's temperature has already gone up by half a degree this century, and the sea level has risen by 10 centimetres. If the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere doubles, there will probably be a rise in the earth's temperature of between I and 4degC;. This may seem a small increase, but it would be enough to cause major changes in geography and agriculture. Large areas of the world would be flooded, and some areas would become dry and unable to produce crops. It is important, too, to consider that there may be a delay of about 30 years in the greenhouse effect. This means that we are probably experiencing only now the effect of the gases put into the atmosphere before the 1960s. Since then, our use of these gases has greatly increased. According to the passage, we can know "greenhouse effect" means _ . A the way in which gases are used for keeping plants warm B a natural course that is to a certain degree useful to us C the way "greenhouse gases" trap heat on the earth D the whole course in which greenhouse gases prevent heat Answer: B Nicholas Winton,a British saved 669 children from the Nazis,was awarded the highest civilian honour in the Czech Republic on Tuesday. Winton,now 105,was presented with the Order of the White Lion by the Czech president in a special ceremony at Prague Castle. Winton,who has often been nicknamed "the British Schindler",organised the transportation and settlement of 669 children over nine months before the Second World War broke out in September 1939.Most of those he saved were Jewish children living in then-German occupied Czechoslovakia whose families were later imprisoned or murdered in concentration camps. Winton gave a speech during the ceremony.He said,"I want to thank you all for this enormous expression of thanks for something which happened to me a long time ago.I am delighted that so many of the children are still about and are here to thank me.England was the only country at that time willing to accept unaccompanied _ .I thank the British people for making room to accept them,and of course the enormous help given by so many of the Czechs who were at that time doing what they could to fight the Germans and to try to get the children out.'' In the same ceremony,the Order of the White Lion was also presented to his grandson Nicholas Soames in honor of Sir Winston Churchill.They are the only British citizens to receive the award,after Margaret Thatcher and the Queen.Presenting the award,the Czech President,Milos Zeman said."It is a great pleasure to present this award to two great personalities of the UK.I am only ashamed it has been awarded so late--but better late than never." According to Winton,we can infer _ . A all the children once he saved attended the ceremony B the Czechs also played an important role in helping the children C England was the only country to fight the Germans at that time D England was the only country to help the Czechs Answer: B India is traditionally a tea-drinking country. But, it is now gaining a new taste for coffee. This has led international coffee companies to consider opening businesses in the huge market. Local business people are also hoping to profit from the country's tea-drinking habits. They want to open new stores that offer tea. It is ten thirty in the morning in India. Two cafes are within meters of each other, near a college in New Delhi. And they are selling a lot of tea. Their main customers are undergraduate students. "We have a lot of break between classes, so whenever we get time, we just go and we enjoy ourselves. It's a lot of fun , especially when you are with people you enjoy spending time with." In the past ten years , cafes have become increasingly popular in India. The country's huge young population have quickly taken to the coffee culture. Coffee stores have spread from major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai to smaller towns. Coffee use has doubled in the last ten years . It is the success of this market that has gained the attention of companies like the American-based coffee chain Starbucks. The company will open its first store in India later this year. Other companies like Lavazza and Costa Coffee are already there. Yet, the growth of coffee will not reduce the popularity of tea. Indians drink eight times more tea than coffee. They have been drinking tea for more than one hundred and fifty years. India is one of the world's biggest producers of tea, which is known locally as "chai". Outside homes and offices, it is mostly sold by small businesses on the street. Which one is correct about undergraduate students? A They only have tea in the cafes. B They are the main customers in the cafes. C They like enjoying coffee with friends in cafes. D They like to go to the cafes to escape lessons. Answer: B Which body system is most responsible for the removal of waste? A skeletal system B nervous system C muscular system D excretory system Answer: D Darling Kelli, I'm so sorry I will not get to see you grow up as I so want to. Please don't blame people or the world for this. A lot of life is simply luck and mine is running out. I wish I had the words to make you feel better. I wish you didn't have to see me in pain as you often do now. I wish so many things were different but they are not. But while your old dad is still around, I thought I'd try to give you some life advice in one go. I hope it gives you some comfort. I hope cancer never returns so that your life is long, fulfilled and happy. Everyone will say it's of great importance to work hard at school. I hope you'll always do your best. I did well at school but did it do me much good in life? Not really. Schoolwork is important, but make sure you have fun too. You and your mom will argue at times, especially when you're a teenager. Please remember she loves you and wants the best for you. Give Mommy a hug when she is feeling sad. When you're a teenager you might think your friends are right and your mom is wrong. But she has to make hard decisions for you. Treat her well. You'll have boyfriends when you're older, so here's some advice. It's very hard to describe how it feels to really be in love. You might remember seeing your mom and I laughing together and cuddling on the sofa, and once the love hearts and flowers fade that's what real love looks like. Have fun finding it. Most important of all: Your laugh takes over your whole body. I hope you never lose that. There is no point in asking you not to be sad when I go. I know you will be, princess. And I wish I could be there to hug you until you smile again. And finally, thank you for being you, Kelli. Enjoy your life. Don't rush through it. All my love, always, goes to you, princess. The author wrote this letter to Kelli mainly to _ . A tell her more about his disease B say sorry for leaving her alone C give advice that'll help her later in life D encourage her to realize her dream Answer: C
If you want to keep healthy, you should have good habits. What is a habit? It is something we do very often. We don't even think when we do it. It has become a part of our lives. "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." This is an old English saying. Do you know what it means? It means that we must go to bed early at night and get up early in the morning. If we do, we shall be healthy, rich and clever. Is this true? Perhaps it is. We know the body must have enough sleep. Boys and girls need eight or nine hours' sleep every day. Some people go to bed late at night and get up late in the morning. This is a very bad habit. Then you will not think or do your work well. Of course, you can't be healthy, wealthy or wise. When we get up early in the morning, we can go out and do morning exercises. Exercise means doing things with the body. Walking, running jumping, swimming, and playing ball games are all exercise. If we don't exercise, our body will become weak. Exercise helps the blood to move around inside our body. Blood takes food to all parts of our body. Our body also needs air to breathe. Without air, we will die. We must have lots of clean fresh air if we want to be healthy. That is why many people like to go out to do morning exercise. From the passage we know that it is good for our health to _ . Answer: World top-ranked badminton player Lin Dan said last Friday that he was a better player than Taufik Hidayat in the year of 2006 despite losing the Asian Games single title to the Indonesian Olympic champion. "I have ranked No.1 in the world for two straight years and I think people can easily come to a conclusion on who is a better player for the whole year," said Lin Dan, also known as Super Dan in the badminton world because of his marvelous performance in the sport. Hidayat beat Lin 21-15, 22-20 to give Indonesia its second gold medal in Doha on December 9, retaining his Asian Games singles title and avenging two losses to the badminton world champion. Lin, 23, led China to the men's team title after defeating Hidayat twice in three days, in the preliminary round and in the semifinals of the Asian Games. In their third meeting, Lin came up against a better-prepared Hidayat than he had encountered previously. Hidayat was cheered on by the noisy support from dancing and flag-waving Indonesian fans, who had converted the badminton arena into a national celebration even before the two players stepped onto the court. There's been a lot of acrimony between Hidayat and Lin, who this year won the single title in the world championships after former champion Hidayat crashed out in the quarterfinals. In Doha, Hidayat was quoted as calling Lin "arrogant" before the event began, but the two stars played down the rift (a situation where two people dislike each other). "It's no problem, we're close friends," said Hidayat. "The media _ it." Lin said last Friday in Beijing that he and Hidayat remain friends despite all the rumors . "There is no problem between Taufik and me although we don't talk to each other very much," said Lin. "Media tends to make up things in order to make their stories juicy." What is the best title for this passage? Answer: People like to say:"The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."Or theysay:"Behind every successful man,there is a woman." Now some women still like making their husbands and sons successful.But some women want more for themselves.They want to be successful as men. Today the best jobs are still given to men.Even when women do the same work,they are often paid less than men.Some women want these things changed.They want to stand beside the men,with the same chances for success. Now many American women are earning money outside their homes.More than half of the women at the age of eighteen to sixty-five have good jobs.In general,working women have more education than those who stay at home. Among women with jobs,eight out of ten drive a car to work,and most of them often spend their holidays away from home.They like traveling by air.Women's work has made several changes in women's lives and in men's lives,too. But things are quite different from those in the Middle East countries. In the Middle East countries,women have to stay at home.They look after their families and do all the housework.They can't find work outside.When they go out in public.they cover their faces with something and walk behind their husbands. For the past few years the women's life has been changing in those countries.Many women want to play an active role in the society.Though working gives them few chances of getting married,many men still want to marry them in the old ways. More and more women want to get jobs because _ . Answer: When I was at university,I studied very hard.But a lot of my friends did very little work.Some did just enough to pass exams.Others didn't do quite enough.Fred Baines was one of them.He spent more time drinking in the Students' Union than working in the library. Once at the end of the term,we had to take an important test in chemistry.The test had a hundred questions. In my room the night before the test,Fred was watching TV.Fred usually worried a lot the night before a test.But on that night he looked perfectly calm.Then he told me of his plan."It's very simple.There are a hundred questions and I have to get fifty correct to pass the test.I'll take a coin into the examination room.I haven't studied a chemistry book for months,so I'll just toss the coin.That way,I'm sure I'll get half the questions right." The next day,Fred came happily into the exam room.As he sat tossing a coin for half an hour he marked down his answers.Then he left,half an hour before the rest of us. The next day,he saw the chemistry professor in the corridor."Oh,good,"he said,"Have you got the result of the test?"The professor looked at him and smiled,"Ah,it's you,Baines.Just a minute."Then he reached into his pocket and took out a coin.He threw it into the air,caught it in his hand and looked at it. "I'm terribly sorry,Baines,"he said,"You failed!" This story mainly wants to tell us _ . Answer: The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and modern communication means . Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. To pollute means to make things dirty. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it. Man has been polluting the earth. The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. When the land was used up or the river was dirty in a place, men moved to another place. But this is no longer true. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world. Air pollution is still the most serious. It's bad to all living things in the world, but it is not only one kind of pollution. Water pollution kills fish and pollutes drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily. Many countries are making rules to fight against pollution. They stop the people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city, and from blowing dirty smoke into the air. The pollution of SO2 is now the most dangerous problem of air pollution. It is mostly caused by heavy traffic. It is certain that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution. The earth is our home. We must take care of it. That means keeping the land, water and air clean. And we must try to control the growth of population at the same time. Thousands of years ago, life was it is today. Answer:
Every year thousands of people get hurt or die when they are crossing the road. Most of these people are old people and children. Old people often get hurt or die because they can't see or hear very well. Children usually meet with accidents because of their carelessness. They forgot to look and listen before they cross the road. How can we lessen traffic accidents? All of us must obey the traffic rules. For the drivers, they shouldn't drive too fast. If they drive too fast, it will be very difficult to stop the cars in a very short time. For the pedestrians , it's very important to be careful when they are walking on the road. Therefore, when we walk across the road, we must try to walk along the pavements. We must stop and look both ways before crossing the road. Look left first, next look right, then look left again. Only when we are sure that the road is clear, we can cross it. The right way to cross the road is to walk quickly. It's not safe to run. If people run across the road, they may fall down. Teenagers should try to help children, old people or blind people to cross the road, and never play in the street. ,,. Which of the following is NOT the right way to cross the road? Answer: Run quickly. If you need any help in planning your future, call in at the Education and Careers Expo , which opened at the City Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday. Expo gives you a unique opportunity to meet leading industrialists and educators. I spoke to several young people at Expo, and they all agreed how useful it was to have so much information under one roof. Duncan Kelly intends to take a university course in design after he leaves school. He was collecting some of the free literature when I spoke to him. "I'm not in a hurry to make a choice at the moment. I want to get all the information before I make up my mind." One feature of Expo is the careers seminars , at which expert speakers outline their respective fields. Barbara Watts is already at university, in the second year of a law degree. She's decided to keep on studying after she graduates. She attended a seminar on international law. "The speaker was really good at getting across his message," said Barbara. "It was very helpful." But Expo isn't just for people who are still in education. It also offers help to those in employment, and to people who are considering retraining or a change of career. One advantage of Expo in that you can meet many prospective employers face to face, and talk to them frankly about your plans. As Charles Li told me, "Normally I wouldn't dare to go and talk to the manager of a company. But today I have talked to several managers. It's easy to meet them here, in a relaxed environment." He left school after Junior High and went to work in a factory to earn a living. He's looking at changing his career and perhaps tidying to be an accountant. The organizers expect over 200,000 young people to visit Expo, and there's no doubt that it's a bit of a squash . But the opportunities available here certainly make up for any discomfort. So, if you need any help with your future, come along to Expo. You don't need a ticket. It's open today, Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm, and entry is free to all. From the passage we can see the writer's attitude towards Expo is_. Answer: supportive If you think you're too shy and want to be a little bit brave, try the following: You can make it. Tell people you're shy. There's no need to hide it. When they get to know you're a shy kid, they'll understand you better. This also helps you feel more relaxed in talks. Try to smile more. When you smile, people think you're friendly and easy to talk to. Remember that other people have feelings too and most people will stay away from an angry-looking face. Learn to be a good talker. If you find it hard to start talks, say something nice about people around you. Think about how great you feel when someone says something nice to you. Doesn't it make you want to keep talking to that person? Get your attention elsewhere . Think more about ways to enjoy parties or games. Don't waste time worrying about your look or whether people like you or not. Take one small step at a time. Each time when you say "Hi" or smile at someone, say to yourself "You did it". Keep trying and one day you'll never feel shy when you talk about yourself. If you find it hard to start a talk, you can _ . Answer: say something nice about others around you. It was a bitter cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man's beard was glazed by winter's frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind. It was long before he heard the faint, steady rhythm of hooves along the frozen path. Anxiously watching several horsemen coming up, he let the first one pass by without any effort to get his attention, then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider drew near where the old man sat like a snow statue when old man caught his eyes and said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side?" Stopping his horse, the rider replied, "Sure! Jump aboard." Seeing the old man unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman got down to help him. The horseman took him not just across the river, but to his destination just a few miles away. As they approached the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman's curiosity caused him to inquire, "Sir, I noticed you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I am curious why, on such a bitter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you here?" The old man looked the rider straight in the eyes and replied, "I reckon I know people pretty good. I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately found no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need." Those heart-warming comments touched the horseman deeply. "I'm so grateful for what you have said," he told the old man. "May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion." With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House. Which can be the best title of this text? Answer: compassion of a great man It's a sunny and warm Sunday morning. My parents, my sister and I are all at home. My parents don't have to go to work, and my sister and I don't have to go to school. We are all in the yard . Look! My father is cleaning his bike. He often goes to work by bike. The bike ride takes him about ten minutes. My mother is watering the flowers. The flowers make our yard very beautiful. We all like the flowers. My sister is playing with a dog. It's her pet dog. The dog is very smart. My mother often takes the dog out for a walk after dinner. What am I doing? I'm drawing. I like drawing very much. I want to join the art club at school. It's a nice day and we're busy in the yard. We are very happy today! . What's the mother doing? Answer: She's watering the flowers.
The discovery that language can be a barrier to communication is quickly made by all who travel, study, govern or sell. Whether the activity is tourism, research, government, policing or business, the lack of a common language can severely delay progress or can stop it altogether. Although communication problems of this kind must happen thousands of times each day, very few become public knowledge. Publicity comes only when a failure to communicate has major results, such as strikes, lost orders, legal problems or deadly accidents--even, at times, war. One reported example of communication failure took place in 1970, when several Americans ate a species of poisonous mushroom. No remedy was known, and two of the people died within days. A radio report of the case was heard by a chemist who knew of a treatment that had been successfully used in 1959 and published in 1963. Why had the American doctors not heard of it seven years later? Possibly because the report of the treatment had been published only in journals written in European languages other than English. Several comparable cases have been reported. But isolated examples do not give an impression of the size of the problem--something that can come only from studies of the use or avoidance of foreign-language materials and contacts in different communicative situations. In the English-speaking scientific world, for example, surveys of books and documents consulted in libraries and other information agencies have shown that very little foreign-language material is ever consulted. Library requests in the field of science and technology showed that only 13 percent were for foreign language journals. The language barrier presents itself entirely to firms who wish to market their products in other countries. British industry, in particular, has in recent decades often been criticized for its assumption that foreign buyers will be happy to communicate in English, and that awareness of other languages is not therefore a matter to be considered first. In the 1960s, over two-thirds of British firms dealing with non-English-speaking customers were using English for outgoing letters; many had their sales language only in English; and as many as 40 percent employed no one who was able to communicate in the customer's languages. A similar problem was identified in other English-speaking countries, especially the USA, Australia and New Zealand. And non-English speaking countries were by no means free from the same problem--although the widespread use of English as an alternative language made them a bit more able to communicate with other countries. The criticism and publicity given to this problem since the 1960s seems to have greatly improved the situation. Industrial training projects have promoted an increase in language and cultural awareness. Many firms now have their own translation services. Some firms run part-time language courses in the languages of the countries with which they are most involved; some produce their own technical glossaries , to ensure consistency when material is being translated. It is now much more readily accepted that marketing efforts can be delayed, damaged or ruined by a failure to take the language needs of the customer into consideration. Firms of English-speaking countries use English only when marketing their products because _ . A. English is their official language B. they don't know their products will be sold abroad C. people in their countries don't know other languages D. they think foreign customers will be happy when English is used Answer: D Students in Ms. Barrett's science class visited a vehicle crash-test facility. The students observed four different types of vehicles crash against a guard-rail barrier at the end of a 45-meter track as shown in the diagram below. They recorded information about each crash test in the table below. {img:images/States2017/AZ/AZ_Gr8_2008_5.png} What was the velocity (v = d/t) of vehicle 4 when it crashed into the guard rail? A. 0.2 meters per second west B. 0.3 meters per second west C. 3.0 meters per second west D. 5.0 meters per second west Answer: C In a few states where racial prejudice is serious, violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences, that it is not even questioned. There are states where the white man imposes his rule by force; there are states where the black man protests by setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and calmly argue in favor of violence - as if it were a legitimate solution, like any other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more serious. The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking ruins and wonder what hit us. The truly reasonable men who know where the solutions lie are finding it harder and harder to get a hearing. They are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were directed at cleaning up the shabby houses at improving living-standards and providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to arriving at a solution. Our strength is weakened by having to mop up the mess that violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social programme. The benefits that can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work within the framework of the law. Before we can even begin to reflect on peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each other's problems. And to do this, we must learn about them: it is a simple exercise in communication, in exchanging information. "Talk, talk, talk," the advocates of violence say, "all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser." It's rather like the story of the famous lawyer who carefully explained his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. "Possible, my lord," the lawyer replied, "none the wiser, but surely far better informed." Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom: the knowledge that violence creates the evils it pretends to solve. Recorded history has taught us A. violence never solves anything. B. nothing. C. the bloodshed means nothing. D. everything. Answer: B When people find out that the product they bought is unsatisfying or in some other way does not live up to the manufacturer's claims , the first step is to present the warranty , or any other records which might help , at the store of purchase . In most cases , this action will produce results . However , if it does not , there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction . A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain directly to the store manager . In general , the " higher up " his or her complaint , the faster he or she can expect it to be settled . In such a case , it is usually settled in the consumer's favor , assuming he or she has a just claim . Consumers should complain in person whenever possible , but if they cannot get to the place of purchase , it is acceptable to phone or write the complaint in a letter . Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely but firmly , and especially when the consumer can demonstrate what is wrong with the item in question . If this cannot be done , the consumer will succeed best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong , rather than by making general statements . For example , " The left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear " is better than " This stereo does not work . " The store manager may advise the consumer to write to be manufacturer . If so , the consumer should do this , stating the complaint as politely and firmly as possible . If a polite complaint does not achieve the desired result , the consumer can go to a step further . She or he can threaten to take the seller to court or report the seller to a private or public organization responsible for protecting consumer's rights . How can a consumer make his or her complaint more effective , according to the passage ? A. Make polite and general statements about the problem . B. Threaten to take the seller to court . C. Explain exactly what is wrong with the item . D. Avoid having direct contact with the store manager . Answer: C A tiger with a stubby tail most likely A. has children with long tails B. had ancestors with that trait C. has siblings with long tails D. had parents with long tails Answer: B
Question: Plaza Hotel sued Plaza House Hotel for infringement of its trade name. To establish a likelihood of name confusion, Plaintiff Plaza Hotel offers a series of memoranda which it had asked its employees to prepare at the end of each day listing instances during the day in which telephone callers, cab drivers, customers, and others had confused the two names. The memoranda should be A. excluded, because they are more unfairly prejudicial and confusing than probative. B. excluded, because they are hearsay not within any exception. C. admitted, because they are records of regularly conducted business activity. D. admitted, because they are past recollection recorded. Answer: B. excluded, because they are hearsay not within any exception. Question: Those accustomed to looking through thousands of books in big bookstores may find Japan's Morioka Shoten a little strange.That's because this tiny bookstore that is located in luxury shopping district of Ginza,in Tokyo offers just one title to its customers. Opened in May 2015,Morioka Shoten(Japanese for bookstore)is the brainchild of Yoshiyuki Morioka.The experienced bookseller began his career as a bookstore clerk in Tokyo's Kanda district before branching out to open his own store.It was here while organizing book readings that he realized that customers usually came into the store with one title in mind.Morioka began to wonder if a store could exist by selling many copies of just one single book.In November 2014,he partnered with his two friends,to establish a unique bookstore with the idea'A Single Room,A Single Book.' Like its offering,the bookstore is simple.The selections that are picked by Morioka change weekly and vary widely to attract customers with different interests.Recent choices include The True Deceiver,all award-winning Swedish novel by Tove Jansson,Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales.and a collection of artist Karl Blossfeldt's photography of plants.Morioka has also displayed books written by famous Japanese authors Mimei Ogawa and ito Akagi. To highlight his single offering,Morioka often uses clever methods.For example,when selling a book about flowers,he decorated his shop with the ones that had been mentioned in the book.He also encourages featured authors to hold multiple talks and discussions so they can connect with customers.Morioka says his ultimate goal is for the customers to perience being inside a book,not just a bookstore! Risky as the idea might seem,things appear to be going well.Morioka says he has sold over 2,100 books since he opened it.Things can only get better given that his bookstore is becoming increasingly popular not just among the locals but also visitors from other countries* What helped Yoshiyuki Morioka come up with the idea? A. The practice he used to select books. B. The way he partnered with his friends. C. The suggestion from customers and readers. D. The experience of organizing book readings. Answer: D. The experience of organizing book readings. Question: Oscar-winning director Ang Lee' s new epic "Life of Pi" reveals the relationship between a teenage Indian boy and a Bengal tiger. But in reality, the predators are under increasing threat from humans. Animal rights group PETA is hoping to use the popularity of the film to focus people's attention on the real life of Bengal tigers. With the rising demand for tiger parts from East Asia, illegal hunting remains a tremendous danger for the remaining cat population. Back in 1947, there were 40,000 tigers in India, but the number is experiencing a sharp decline t0 1,706 despite campaigns to protect the animal. Rising man-animal conflict is also one of the leading causes of decline in tiger numbers. In one of numerous reported attacks on the endangered big cats, villagers near The Bangladesh-India border, armed with sticks and boat oars, set upon the animal suspected to have attacked a local fisherman and beat it to death earlier this month. So far this year, 58 tiger deaths have been reported in the country. "The first instinct when a tiger is spotted is to just kill it,"grieved Gurmeet Sapal, a wildlife filmmaker. "The feeling of fear and revenge is so strong that it shuts out any other emotion. What we don' t realize is that the tiger never attacks humans until it is forced to. "' India has been struggling to stop the tiger's decline in the face of the loss of habitat as well that encourages the animals to leave the forest for food. " The tiger's rapidly exhausted prey base causes the predator to go al! out to get its food. Consequently, livestock and human beings become easy prey, which leads inevitably to conflict," says a wildlife conservationist. Filmmaker Sapal says it is only normal for people to think of the tiger as a dangerous animal, but its image as a human killer bears some injustice. "Tigers never kill for sport nor store meat. They kill their prey only in case of hunger. " According to the article, when will tigers attack and kill people? A. When they are annoyed by people. B. When they have conflict with people. C. When they are driven to act in the movie. D. When they are hungry or attacked. Answer: D. When they are hungry or attacked. Question: In addition to the official basketball world, various other types of basketball are practiced around the world. Wheelchair Basketball Wheelchair basketball was invented in 1946 by former American basketball players, who, after wartime injury, wanted once again to experience the excitement of a highly athletic sport within a team environment. It is now played in more than 80 countries by over 25,000 men, women and children with a physical disability which prevents them playing competitive basketball on their feet. http://www.iwbf.org Beach Basketball Beach basketball is an exciting, non-stop action game played in the sand. The game was born more than forty years ago on the physical education fields of Gulf Shores School. This kind of basketball, invented by Philip Bryant, has grown from an extremely effective skill improvement game to a very popular, widespread competitive sport. http://www.beachbasketball.com Street Basketball Street Basketball or streetball is mainly played as a leisure game, but streetball players can also compete against each other. There are no specific streetball rules and the game is played outdoors; the players make up their own rules to play. Streetball is very popular among younger players and allows players to publicly show their own individual skills. http://www.streetball.com Deaf Basketball Basketball for the deaf (unable to hear in one or both ears) men and women has been played since the early 1920s. The game today has exactly the same rules as FIBA. http://wwwdibf.org Bankshot Basketball Bankshot is a new game of skill and challenge that is often described as "mini golf, but with a basketball." Bankshot is the only sports system that allows the able-bodied and athletes with a disability to play together at the same time. This game is about no running, jumping, or body contact and relies on the shooting skill. http://www.bankshot.com What do we know from the text? A. Beach basketball was originally designed to improve one's skills. B. Disabled players can play in two of the five types of basketball. C. Wheelchair basketball was invented by Philip Bryant. D. Streetball rules are very strict. Answer: A. Beach basketball was originally designed to improve one's skills. Question: Working the night shift a few nights a month can do more than leave your eyes bleary-eyed ,suggests a study on Wednesday. It just might increase your risk of color1ectal cancer .Nurses who worked the night shift at least three times a month for t5 years or more were 35%more likely to develop that type of cancer than nurses who never worked nights,Harvard University researchers report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The finding,from the ongoing Nurses Health Study,is the first to link night shift work with a higher risk of color1ectal cancer,expected to kill 57,100 Americans this, according to the American Cancer Society.Another research,including a report out of the Nurses Health Study, has suggested that working night shifts increases women's breast cancer risk. The researchers asked 78,586 nurses whether they had ever worked three or more night shifts a month.The nurses indicated whether they had done so for less than 15 years or 15 years or more.The scientists followed the women to see who developed color1ectal cancer. Researchers believe that lowered levels of melatonin might increase night-shift workers' cancer risk.Melatonin levels usually reach the highest point in the middle of the night. Turn on the lights,though,and _ dropped measurably in just 10 minutes,says Richard Stevens a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Connecticut who did not take part in the new study.After two weeks of continuous nightly exposure to light,humans experience a sharp drop in melatonin production,Nurses Health Study researchers write. In the lab,melatonin appears to stop tumor growth.Other studies suggest that color1ectal cancer patients have lower blood levels of melatonin than healthy people,the authors write.However,that could be a result of the disease,not a cause of it.Stevens says. Which of the following plays an important part in causing cancers for nurses working night shifts? A. Blood levels of melatonin B. Tumor growth C. The exposure to light D. Melatonin production. Answer: C. The exposure to light
A team of researchers in the UK has shown that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two years old achieved higher scores in school tests when they began primary school. The research also showed that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child's readiness for school, attending pre-school and having their parents teach them a wide range of activities have a positive effect---while extended exposure to television lowers their scores. "One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in his very early years is critical for a smooth transition into the educational system," said Professor James Law. "This is a very positive message, as it gets us away from the belief that a child's educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage, such as income, housing, or the mother's education." Data from the study shows that children from a positive communication environment had a better expressive vocabulary by their second birthday. These children went on to achieve higher scores in language, reading and maths tests when they entered school. In the early years, the communication environment was a better predictor of children's success with language than their general social background. Most children develop speech and language effortlessly, but some are slow to acquire these skills and go on to struggle with literacy and academic skills throughout their schooling. This project set out to uncover what factors contributed to these problems. Professor Sue Roulstone said, "These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their children from the very start of their lives. The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, such as having children's books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school." According to the passage, what is the most important factor contributing to children's success at school? _ . Answer: Their communication environment. A senior United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official on May 29 praised China for its remarkable achievements in children s welfare. A. H. M. Farook, UNICEF's operations area officer for China and Mongolia said that China "can be very satisfied to tell the whole world what can be done with limited resources to help its children to grow healthily and happily." China's child population makes up one-filth of the world's total. "The reason behind the tremendous achievement is China's long tradition of caring for children home at home and in society." he said. "What's more is that Chinese people have always given special attention to children who are in special need." The UN official made the remarks when addressing a group of 50 children and staff from the Beijing Children's Welfare Home at the Shangri-la Hotel, Beijing. The hotel invited the orphans to share snacks, sing, dance and play games at a park inside the hotel for a "Share the Sunshine" party, as a prelude to celebrations to mark the Children's Day. The Beijing children s Welfare Home, set up soon after New China, was founded in 1949, has at present more than 400 children. A leading official of the welfare institution said that the children live a happy life and that the agency spends about 400 yuan a month for an average orphan. An average Chinese worker earned 440 yuan a month during the first quarter this year. Gu Xiaojin, deputy secretary-general of the China Youth Development foundation (CYDF), said people from all walks of life had contributed to the welfare of the Chinese children. She said that CYDF set up the Project Hope in 1989, which calls on people across the country to donate money to help poor children to continue their schooling. By the end of last year, she said, CYDF had collected nearly 700 million yuan in donations, which has helped the establishment of 2, 074 Hope primary schools and enabled more than 1.25 million dropouts to return to school classrooms. Three "Hope Stars" also attended the party. They were model teenagers chosen among students who are economically supported by the Project Hope to further their nine-year compulsory studies in the poverty-stricken regions. They will be torchbearers for the Chinese Team for the upcoming Atlanta Olympic Games this year. We can infer from the text that_. Answer: CYDF has helped millions of dropouts go on with their schooling Dear Emma, Thanks for sending me the photo of your room. Here is a photo of my room. Look! A bed, a desk, a chair and a bookcase are in my room. My bed is blue and it is near the window . My desk is near the bed and it's black. My books and computer are on _ . An English dictionary is on the bookcase. Where is my pencil box? It is in the desk. My two pens and three rulers are in the pencil box. My school bag is on the chair. My brother's white baseball is under my bed. And you can see a dog in the photo. Its name is Sam. My room is tidy, isn't? Yours, Jack . it " _ ". Answer: the desk Half a year before graduation from college, my son David began to seek a job. Due to the financial crisis, the competition was ever-fierce. My son targeted a company that was located in a coastal city. It was intended to employ only one person among more than twenty candidates, I said to David, "You should not harbor too much hope for fear that you would feel terribly disappointed when you fail." He said to me, "I am not afraid of disappointment. As long as I try, there will always be hope!" Three young men could enter the final round, which would later decide one person to be employed. Everything seemed to go quite well and David entered the final round in a week. Unexpectedly, the interview was unbelievably simple, during which the interviewer only chatted with them for a while. The interview strategies my son prepared were not useful at all. The interviewer said the company would inform them of the result in 3 days. On the morning of the third day, David received the text from the company that he was not employed. David felt disappointed. In nightfall that day, David suddenly told me excitedly on phone that he had been employed. Greatly surprised, I asked him, "What's the whole matter?" David told me that he received another text saying that he was employed. David felt very confused about it. Later he found out the first text sent to him was also part of the test in the interview. Three men received the same text this morning and only David's reply was satisfying to the company. I asked my son, "How did all of you reply?" My son said, "One did not reply. The other said "goodbye" and I said "thank you"." Only then did I know that my son's "hope" came in that way. That is, when you feel disappointed, do not forget to say "Thank you" to the one who disappoints you. Actually, it is a piece of cake to say "Thank you". Saying "Thank you" shows respect for others' work and demonstrates your grand generosity. Therefore, while under the same condition, you will get the upper hand in terms of opportunities compared with others! What can we learn about David from the passage? Answer: He took a positive attitude towards failure. Movies coming soon The Croods Length of time:1 hour 32 minutes Style: Family, Action Release date : November 22, 2014 Directors: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds Summary A prehistoric family are forced to flee their cave after it's destroyed by a disaster that threatens to change their lives forever in this animated film featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone.As a protective caveman father leads his family out of harm's way, the clan crosses paths with a clever teen named Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds), who offers to help them reach a distant land where they will be safe from a terrible disaster that will soon change the entire world. Admission Length of time: 1 hour 47 minutes Style: Comedy Release date: November 22, 2014 Director: Paul Weitz Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff Summary Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in director Paul Weitz's comedy about an honest Princeton admissions officer.The officer meets a teenager who may be her long-lost son while recruiting students from an alternative high school.Years ago, Portia Nathan(Fey) quietly gave her newborn son up for adoption.Now she's got a great career recruiting students for Princeton university.Then, one day, she receives an unexpected call from her close college classmate _ , who runs an alternative high school that is home to some very gifted students.One such student is Jeremiah(Nat Wolff), who John believes could be the son that Portia gave up for adoption back in her youth.Meanwhile, as Portia puts her career in danger by changing Jeremiah's transcript , an unexpected love story begins to happen. Who is a film director? Answer: Paul Weitz.
On a rainy day the clouds are Answer: gray Which of these occurs due to the rotation of Earth? Answer: day and night You and your friends are settling into your seats. The new Spider- Man movie is about to start and you've got the snacks: soda and popcorn. Food is part of what makes the movie fun. Just as the lights go out, you catch a slight smell of ...tuna fish?! You turn your head, searching for the source. Then you spot him: A couple rows back, some guy is enjoying a tuna fish sandwich. How's he get that in here? You wonder. Then you remember how much you paid for your snacks. What invites the unwelcome outside food is probably the price. Why pay $5 for a bag of M&Ms when you can get them for a dollar at the corner store? Earlier this year, a Michigan man decided to fight for his right to snack. Joshua Thompson is suing his local theatre after it banned outside food. He argues the ban breaks a Michigan law that prevents business from charging extremely high prices. However, most legal experts believe Thompson has little chance of winning his case though he does have a point: 85 percents out of every dollar of treats a movie theatre sells is pure profit . The truth is that movie theatres are more in the snack business than the movie business. A huge part of the ticket income goes to the Hollywood studio. This makes sense, since the studio have to pay the costs of movie production and advertising. But that often doesn't leave much cash for the theater, which also has its own running costs. If customers stopped buying food, owners would have to raise ticket prices even higher. Of course, there's another reason to think twice before bringing food into the movies: It's against the rules. Breaking those rules can be unpleasant consequences, too. Some theatres will kick you out if they catch you. Even without the threat of punishment, we should follow rules all the time-----out of respect. Here's a good idea: Eat before the movie. Hoe does the author feel about bringing outside food? Answer: It is unacceptable Each year, we celebrate many holidays here in America. On January 1, we welcome the coming of a new year like many people in other countries. And we have another four holidays on the first day of a month: April Fool's Day, May Day, Friendship Day (Aug.1) and Grandparents Day (Sep. 1). The most important holiday for the young people comes in February. It is Valentine's Day. Lots of boys give red roses to girls as a present. People celebrate some holidays for their family members. We say thanks to our mother in May and celebrate Father's Day in the following month. In November many people return home for Thanksgiving Day, so the whole family can stay together. There are also some interesting holidays for children. For example, Halloween comes at the end of October. Children often play with pumpkin lanterns and put on all kinds of masks. Of course, the most important festival is Christmas. After a year of work and study, people can enjoy a long holiday, eat big meals, and visit family and friends. Halloween is one of the interesting holidays for. Answer: children The desire for a better life is sometimes so big that it makes people leave their countries and their families and work in other countries. They know that they will have to face difficult moments, that they won't be able to communicate with the persons around them, and that they have to work in illegal conditions to get the money they need for their families, but they all take these chances and they hope they will succeed. On the other hand, there are people who immigrate just for the sake of the people they love. They leave their families to make other families with the people they love. Women go to meet their men who have chosen other countries to start a new life, even if they miss their families and friends. Maybe they don't have a place to work but they are able to wait to see what destiny has for them. There are also the cases of the people who are forced to leave their countries because of a war which threatens their lives. They'd rather start from the very beginning again than risk putting their lives in danger. When well-developed countries see that their homeland is being "invaded" by lots of immigrants, they set new laws that make immigration harder. As a result of this, many illegal immigrants cross the borders and are eager to work, although they are paid only half the amount of money native workers receive for the same kind of job. The opinions of the local people are varied and they range from total refusal to complete acceptance. Immigrants in countries which have large communities of them are fighting for the recognition of their social rights and for equal treatment. Many immigrants have managed to be fully accepted by the communities where they live and have managed to change the opinions of the local people about them. The passage implies that _ . Answer: many people go to other countries with great determination
When his book Little Princes began, Conor Grennan was planning a year-long trip around the globe, a journey that began with a three-month volunteer service at the Little Princess Children's Home, an orphanage in Nepal. Arriving there, Conor was immediately welcomed by all the children even though he had no previous experience in working with children. He quickly grew to love the job. But it wasn't long before Conor came to learn that the children were not orphans at all--they were actually children who had been separated from their parents by a child trafficker . This realization turned Conor's global journey into a strong desire to try to find a way to reunite these children with their families. As a part of his efforts, Conor did a great amount of work when he was back in America. He started up a nonprofit organization called Next Generation Nepal (NGN), raising funds in order to buy a house in Nepal for another children's home. Then, back in Nepal, he began a life-changing trip into remote villages. It is really amazing to read about Conor communicating with the children and to read his descriptions of each of them. He made me truly care about the kids. I wanted them to be able to reunite with their families, too! Unfortunately, this was simply not possible for some of the children. But there were some lucky ones. Jagrit, for example, had thought for years that both his parents were dead. So, Conor was surprised when he visited Jagrifs village and was introduced to the boy's father! Conor successfully found many of the families of the children and also found his future wife while in Nepal. It can be learned from the text that Conor Grennan _ . A is a friend of the author B likes teaching very much C has already settled in Nepal D is the author of Little Princes Answer: D The European Union on Monday prohibited the use of X-ray body scanners in European airports, parting ways with the U. S. Transportation Security Administration, which has used hundreds of the scanners as a way to screen millions of airline passengers for explosives hidden under clothing. The European Commission, which enforces common policies of the EU's 27 member countries, adopted the rule "in order not to risk doing harm to citizens' health and safety." As a ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation detailed earlier this month, X-ray body scanners use ionizing radiation ,a form of energy that has been shown to damage DMA and cause cancer. Although the amount of radiation is extremely low, equal to the radiation a person would receive in a few minutes of flying, several research studies have concluded that a small number of cancer cases would result from scanning hundreds of millions of passengers a year. European countries will be allowed to use an alternative body scanner relying on radio frequency waves, which have not been linked to cancer. The U. S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has also used hundreds of those machines --known as millimeter-wave scanners --in U. S. airports. But unlike Europe, it has decided to use both types of scanners. The TSA would not comment specifically on the EU 's decision. But in a statement, TSA spokesman Mike McCarthy said, "As one of our many layers of security, TSA uses the most advanced technology available to provide the best opportunity to detect dangerous items, such as explosives. " We strictly test our technology to ensure it meets our high detection and safety standards before it is placed in airports," he continued. "Since January 2010, advanced imaging technology has detected more than 300 dangerous or illegal items on passengers in U. S. airports nationwide." Body scanners have been controversial in the United States since they were first used in prisons in the late 1990s and then in airports for tests after 9/11. What is the main idea of the passage? A EU and the US have a different opinion. B Europe Bans X-Ray Body Scanners Used at US Airports. C Different scanners will be used in American. D Body scanners have been controversial. Answer: B In order to survive, all organisms must have A chlorophyll B carbon dioxide C energy D blood Answer: C Traditionally, business people would get to know each other over a round of golf. But road cycling is fast catching up as the preferred way of networking recently. "When you play golf with somebody you have to decide if you"re going to beat them, or let thembeat you," says Peter Murray, a chairman of the NLA centre. "If they"re your customers and youdon"t want to beat them, sometimes you might have to make some kind of cheating in order to lose. That seems to me not a good way of doing things." Group cycling, and especially long-distance riding, is a shared experience, Mr Murray says. Riders often work together and help each other out, taking turns to be at the front so that the riders in their group can save almost a third of the effort needed to travel at the same speed. How someone rides a bike can give you a real insight into what a person is like, says Jean-Jacques Lorraine, founding director of Morrow Lorraine, a team member of Cycle to Cannes. "Some riders are very single-minded, others more collaborative; some are skillful, others an open book.""If I walk into a meeting and somebody says ,,I"ve done Cycle to Cannes" , it"s a done deal really," says Mr Lorraine. Mr Mottram, CEO of Rapha, believes it is easier to get to know people by cycling than in other situations. "T here is an easy environment about conversations on a bike." Mr Lorraine makes the point more directly: "I feel open and honest to others. I often find I"m saying things on a bike which I wouldn"t normally say, and equally I"ve been confided in when I wasn"t expecting it." Why do cycle rides lend riders so well to networking? "Getting a quick lunch or drink after work doesn"t give you long enough to get to know someone," Mr. Murray says. He believes long ridesget people together. "A younger rider can be cycling along with a boss and help him in some wayand you get a reversal of the relationship. This changes the relationship when they are off theride too." Perhaps the main reason why cycling is a good way to network is that it"s a passion and away of life. "Getting out on the bike is what we"re all dreaming of doing while we"re sitting at our computers," says Mr Mottram. And a shared passion is a fantastic way to start any relationship. Which of the following is TRUE about cycling? A Businessmen used to prefer cycling to golf. B Cycling is a good way to get to know people. C Group cycling is always a long-distance riding. D It"s not acceptable for the riders to talk on the bike. Answer: B Gail Mirabella works as a dog trainer for a circus . She used to train her dogs to do _ when she was a kid. Finally, her hobby turned into her job. Several days ago, she talked to Time Magazine reporter, Cameron Young, about her love for dogs. Reporter: Did you always want to be a dog trainer in a circus? Mirabella: When I was a little kid, I did my first dog show, a kid's dog show. And I took first place . From then on, I knew I wanted to work with dogs, but who would know I'd be in a circus? Reporter: Did you have any dogs growing up? Mirabella: Of course. I had a white dog when I was a little baby. Three years later, it died. And then we got two family dogs. On my fourteenth birthday, my uncle bought me a dog. It was a big dog. Reporter: How long does it take you to train a dog, one month, half a year or one year? Mirabella: That depends on the dog. I have thirteen dogs and I let them all play together, but I do a lot of special work with each dog. They know I am their owner because I do all the feeding. Reporter: If you aren't a dog trainer, what will you be? Mirabella: A dog. Just joking. I will probably still work with animals. How many dogs does Mirabella have? A 12. B 13. C 14. D 15. Answer: B
A story tells that a senior villager led some other villagers carrying salt day and night to a town in order to trade rice as food the winter.One night they camped in a wilderness with a starry sky above.The senior villager,obeying the tradition passed down from forefathers,took out three blocks of salt and threw them into the campfire,probably to predict the changes of weather in the mountains. All eagerly waited for the old man's"weather report":if the salt in the fire produced crackling sound,they would have good weather in store;if no sound was produced,it then meant the good weather would soon end and a storm would come at any moment. The senior villager looked serious.The salt in the campfire made no sound at all.Convinced by this bad sign,he urged the whole team to set out immediately after daybreak.A young man in the group,however,insisted that they should not start in such a hurry,considering it superstitious to"forecast weather by using salt. It was not until the next afternoon that the young man caught up on the wisdom of the old man when the weather suddenly changed,with cold winds blowing and a snowstorm raging.In fact,the method used by the clan head could be well explained by modem science:whether or not salt produces sound in campfire depends on air humidity .That is to say,when a storm approaches,due to high humidity,the dampened salt blocks will not produce any sound in fire. From the passage,it can be concluded that _ . A. old people are always right B. old people are wiser than the young C. young people shouldn't regard old ideas as useless or out of date sometimes D. young people usually have different opinions from the old Answer: C At midnight Mr. King coughed again. He got up and took some medicine. Before he lay down again, he smoked. And he couldn't go to sleep any longer. He found the medicine book and began to read it. He was afraid he had lung cancer. He seemed to see death was waiting for him. Tears ran down his face. He didn't see his wife was standing by him. "What's wrong with you, dear?" asked the woman. "Nothing," the old man answered and covered his face with his hands. The old woman opened the book and understood at once. She said, "You must stop smoking right now." "I began to smoke when I was nine, you know. How can't I do that?" "But I think health is more important." Mr. King coughed again and his wife said, "Go to see a doctor tomorrow. He will be able to help you, I think." The doctor told Mr. King to have an Xray examination of his lungs. And then he looked at the Xray carefully for a long time. "Tell me the truth, doctor."said Mr.King, "Do you see any shadows in my lungs?" "No, I don't see anything." "Yes?" the old man said happily. "Really?" "Yes. Your lungs are turning black. How can I see any shadows?" Mr.King got up to _ . A. smoke again B. talk with his wife C. read the medicine book D. take some medicine Answer: D Computers can help many workers. They can also help thieves. There was one thief who worked in a bank of the United States. He paid for everything he needed by check . Then he told the computer not to take any money from his account for the checks he wrote. The bank's computer did what he said. And it did not take any money from his bank account. One day the computer broke down. People had to do the computer's work. They soon found out what was happening. Another thief, who worked for a bank saw people filling in deposit forms . Many of these people did not know their account numbers, so they wrote only their names on the forms. They left empty places for their account numbers. The thief wrote his own account number in this place. When the computer read these forms it looked only at the account numbers. It did not look at the customers' names. It paid the money on these deposit forms into the thief's account . Then there was the bank worker who told the bank computer to take ten cents off every customer's account each month and put it into his own account. For a long time the bank's customers did not notice that they were losing ten cents every month. But then someone did notice and told the bank. That was the end of that little game! How many kinds of crimes in a bank are mentioned? A. Two. B. Three. C. Four. D. Five. Answer: B Be positive about school! Don`t say things are difficult or boring. Be interested in school life and your school subjects. Join lots of activities. Be quick to put your hand up. Go round the school with a big smile. Expect to work. School is not a holiday camp. If you are not working, you are not learning, and you are wasting your time at school. Teachers cannot make everything enjoyable. Keep fit. If you do not eat a good breakfast, you will be thinking about food in class. If you go to bed late and do not have enough sleep, you will be sleepy in class. Play some sports to keep your body strong. Don`t be too disappointed if things sometimes go badly. Everyone _ some tests, lose some matches and has bad days. Friends are not always perfect, and they sometimes say and do unpleasant things. Don`t let small problems seem very big and important. Talk about problems. Sometimes they are only the result of misunderstanding. Don`t be too embarrassed to ask for help. You are young. No one thinks you can do everything. In class, you should _ A. answer questions B. laugh loudly. C. sleep D. go round the class Answer: A Mr. Smith was in trouble those days. He drove a car for Mr. Black, a rich businessman. He worked hard and the shopkeeper liked him. But he couldn't work when he drank too much. Once he almost fell into the river when he drove along the bridge. Mr. Black became angry and was going to send him away. Mr. Smith had a big family and was afraid of it and promised he would stop drinking at once. The man told him to wait to be dealt with. One Monday morning Mr. Smith came into the office with two badly burnt ears. "What happened to your ears?" asked Mr. Black. "Well, "said the man," I went to watch a football match yesterday while my wife was ironing clothes. She had put the iron near the telephone before she went to cook supper. Our team lost the game and I felt sorry for it. As soon as I went in the sitting -room, the phone rang and I answered the iron!" "And what happened to the other ear?" "When I put the iron down on the table, the telephone rang again!" _ , so he almost drove the car into the river. A. Mr. Smith was not careful B. Mr. Smith drank too much C. Mr. Smith, forgot they were on the bridge D. Mr. Smith couldn't work in the evening Answer: B
I used to think education was the most important thing in my life. Recently my attitude has begun to change, although I still hold that it is _ for everyone in the world today. As a top junior student in my college, I was asked to make a speech on how to learn English well. Standing in front of the audience and facing so many freshmen, I was trembling. I didn' t remember any word that I had prepared. I ran out of the conference room without finishing my speech, leaving everyone puzzled. I cried that night in my room, feeling that I was a loser. Studying takes up so much of my time that I feel unable to really develop myself. I am just storing knowledge, yet I fail to communicate with others. I have received many awards in school, but they don't necessarily reflect anything about me. I don't know how to socialize. When I leave school I fear I will be of no use to society. I realize that everyone has his own way of living. I want to change my lifestyle. Of course I will keep studying. Yet I plan to look for a part-time job, which might turn out to be a good chance to get to know society. I still believe that working my hardest makes me happy. I will still stay on in college. But I will not allow it to shelter me from the real world. The author feels fearful that she will be of no use to society mainly because _ . Answer: It is easier to go down the hill than to climb up the hill,so it is easier to fall into bad habits than into good ones.Bad habits do not come suddenly. They come little by little without one being aware of their danger. School boys first pick up little bad habits in the school and on the street. When they can't write their lessons,they copy from their schoolmates. If they see bigger boys smoking,they also want to learn to smoke. If they see their friends gambling ,they want to gamble. When they get bigger,the habits become stronger and stronger,so that they can no longer get rid of(,)them. From copying,they learn to steal,from gambling,they learn to cheat. At last they become distrusted by everybody. How necessary it is that we get rid of the bad habits in the beginning. Bad habits come _ . Answer: Roughly half of college students will have some degree of depression at some point during their time in school . Even more startling , 6.2 percent of college students surveyed in 2012 considered suicide and 1.3 percent attempted it , according to an American College Health Association study released this spring . If you're feeling depressed on campus , you may find the following tips helpful . Exercise : Physical activity releases endorphins - chemicals that produce an overall positive feeling within the body , which fight depression naturally . Mental health experts claim that exercise is a solution to those feeling mild or moderate depression . However , for those severely depressed , simply doing sports is not enough . Use school counseling services : Campuses don't employ mental health experts simply to throw thousands of dollars down the drain . Their job is to help students , so experts recommend you use them . Most students , however , are hesitant to take a trip to their college's counseling center , fearing being laughed at by peers . As a result , some schools like Texas Christian University , are testing students for mental health problems when they get sick and visit the campus health clinic . Take advantage of technology : Staying in touch with family members and friends from childhood and high school has become easier than ever with the coming of Facebook and video chat services like Skype . While mental health experts insist that it's important to make friends in your new environment and be involved in the college community , it's also significant to keep in touch with the people you knew before college . Go to sleep : Following a fairly regular sleep pattern can defend you against depression . In college , many students' sleep patterns are irregular thanks to late-night studying and partying , which is harmful to their mental health . Research strongly suggests that sleep is the key to learning and memory formation . According to the passage , physical activity _ . Answer: It was a dark and cold night. The car driver didn't have even one passenger all day. When he went by the railway station, he saw a young man coming out with two bags in his hands. So he quickly opened the door of the car and asked, "Where do you want to go, sir?" "To the Star Hotel," the young man answered. When the car driver heard that, he didn't feel happy. The young man would give him only three dollars because the hotel was not far from the railway station. But suddenly, he had an idea. He took the passenger through many streets of the big city. After a long time, the car finally arrived at the hotel. "You should pay me fifteen dollars," the car driver said to the young man. "What! Fifteen dollars? Do you think I'm a fool? Only last week I took a car from the railway station to this same hotel and I only gave the driver thirteen dollars. I know how much I have to pay for the trip. I won't pay you one dollar more than I paid to the other car driver last week." From the passage we know that the young man _ . Answer: My House My mother moved a lot when she was growing up on account of Grandpa being in the army. She hated having to adjust to new schools and make new friends. That's why I thought she was joking when she put forward the idea of moving. But she was completely serious. "For just the two of us," my mother said, "an apartment in the city will suit our needs much better." Personally, I think she's lost her mind. I guess I can understand why she would want to move, but what about me and what this house means to me? I suppose if you looked at my house, you might think it was just another country house. But to me it is anything but standard. I moved into this house with my parents ten years ago. I can still remember that first day like it was yesterday. The first thing I noticed was the big front yard. To me it seemed like an ocean of grass--I couldn't wait to dive in. The backyard was full of gnarled (, ) and scary trees that talk on windy nights. But I grew to like them and the shadows they cast in my room. My father and I even built a small tree house, where I often go to remember all the wonderful times we had before Father's death. This house is special--maybe only to me--but special nevertheless. It's the little seemingly insignificant things that make this house so special to me: the ice-cold tile floors that make me tremble on midnight snack runs; the smell of my father's pipe that still exists; the towering bookcases of my mother; the view outside my bedroom window. This house holds too many memories, memories which would be lost if we gave it up. Why did the author's mother decide to move? Answer:
The stages in the life cycle of an organism are shown below. birth -> growth -> development -> reproduction -> death In which life cycle stage will a new organism be made? reproduction Memory is essential for life. We have a short-term memory and a long-term memory. When we get old, our short-term memory becomes weaker, but we can still remember things that happened a long time ago. There are many things we can do to improve our memory, such as using various memorizing methods as well as taking special care of our health. It is important that we regularly stimulate our brain to make our memory more efficient . For example, we can do activities that we do not usually do and change our daily habits. Learning a new skill helps our brain develop. When trying to memorize something, we should focus our attention on the most important things about it. Do not allow other thoughts to enter our mind because this will lower our chances of remembering things correctly. One basic way of improving our memory is to use the link method. If we want to memorize something, we should make a picture in our mind. If the picture is silly, strange and colourful, we will remember it better. Taking notes, being organized and keeping a diary will also be useful tools. Sometimes, memory is connected with our feelings. When something dramatic happens, we usually remember it well, and we also remember where we were and what we were doing. Healthy food and plenty of vitamins are important to our memory. Drinking a lot of water also helps maintain our memory. When we are asleep, our brain stores memory. Not enough sleep can, therefore, cause problems with storing information. In addition, being tired will stop us from being able to remember well. As a result, keeping fit and having regular health checks are both important as well. How does people's memory change when they get older? The short-term memory becomes weaker. When the bell rings, every student takes out an iPad. The light from the screens makes their young faces pretty and lively. That's what happens every day at my school in the US. We use iPads in class. I felt surprised and excited when I got an iPad the first day I arrived at the school. But it was not free. I spent about $100 to rent it for three years. Every iPad at my school has a special learning system called _ . Teachers put their teaching materials like textbooks and PPTs on it. When we have classes, we enter the system and download the materials with our iPads. It makes the classes interesting and efficient . For example, a few weeks ago, we learned about London in the UK. Our teacher prepared a video in which we saw many places of interest in London. We could not only watch the video, but also see the words at the same time. Because of the video, I know more about the city. We also do our homework with iPads. We can know how well we do our homework right after we submit our homework. However, there are still some bad points about learning with iPads. Some of my classmates play games or surf the Internet in class. I believe the key to use iPads well is to have good self-control , isn't it? In the writer's class, every student _ . rents an iPad to use at school for three years In 2006, a large number of new Internet sites became popular around the world. Some of these are for communication, others for entertainment . The blog is one form of communication that increased in popularity. Through these personal websites , people can share their lives, ideas and opinions on the Internet. People of all ages have their own blogs. For young people, they are a way to show their writing and other forms of self-expression. Blogs also connect people with other people who have the same interests. For example, teachers use blogs to share ideas with other teachers', as well as experiences and concerns about their work. YouTube is another Internet site that became more popular last year. This website lets anyone create, share and watch short videos. These include videos of people singing or dancing, or animals doing funny things. Three young men created YouTube almost two years ago as a personal video sharing service. They recently sold it to Google for more than one and a half billion dollars. Games and entertainment also became a larger part of the Internet last year. One Internet social site is called Second Life. It is an online world in which computer users create a new self and live a different life. _ get married, build homes, operate businesses, buy and sell goods, work, play and attend school. People also take part in fantasy sports leagues with the help of the Internet. A fantasy sport is a game in which each member of a group acts as the owner of a team. Each owner creates a team of real-life professional players to compete against other teams in the league. More than fifteen million American adults play fantasy sports. The industry earns more than one billion dollars each year from publications, memberships and other costs. Who is the owner of YouTube now? Google. It is important to know another language and how to communicate without words when you are in another country. Before saying anything, people communicate with each other by using gestures . However, many gestures have different meanings, or no meaning at all, in different parts of the world. In the United States, nodding your head up and down means "yes", while in some pats of Greece and Turkey, it means "no". In the southeast of Asia, it is a polite way of saying "I heard you". Today in the USA, when someone puts his thumb up, it means "Everything is all right." However, in Greece it is bad. Also putting your clasped hands up above your head means "I am the winner." It is the sign which players often make. In Russia it is the sign of friendship. In the USA, holding your hand up with the thumb and index finger , and the other three straight means "Everything is OK." In France, it means "You are worth nothing." It is also important to make eye communication. If you look down when talking to an American, he or she may feel that you are shy, or you are trying to hide something. Besides these, you should also know there are some topics that can not be talked about, such as age, weight and marriage. You can talk about the weather, work, sports, food, where one lives and news of the day. In Greece nodding your head means " _ ." No
Sydney Airport International Terminal--Arrivals Area Specialty Retail News link:Two separate News link stores cater to all your reading needs including newspapers.magazines and the latest best sellers. Downtown Duty Free:Make sure you shop at Downtown Duty Free for great saving on a range of items including perfume,alcohol,skincare and cigarettes.It's your last chance before customs! BEACH CULTURE:A must for those into the latest in beach clothing Top surf, street and fashion labels including Mambo,Stussy and Quicksilver, including children's sizes DINING BLUE Sky Cafe:Speedy service leaves you time to keep all eye on the arrivals gate Morning pastries.fresh juice.breakfast rolls and coffee while you wait. McDonald's:hamburgers,fries,drinks,muffins and shakes-all your family favorites.Breakfast served until 0:30 SERVICES ATM:ATMs are conveniently located throughout Arrival and Departures. Dollars. pounds. francs and RMB are all available. Vodafone Rentals:This communications center offers the very latest technology for mobile phone rentals.sales and servicing. Where is this passage likely to appear? Answer: An official guide When Beijing is hit by smog, residents often joke that the Chinese capital needs to build giant fans to clear out the polluted air.Mountains to the north and west help trap smog in the city, and a strong wind from Mongolia is the surest way to ensure cleaner air. Beijing officials are now considering ways to help that process.Though giant fans are not on the menu, at least not yet, city planners are looking at ways to create corridors that encourage wind flow through the capital.The plan is inspired by research on urban heat islands, which shows that large buildings that block the wind are one of the causes of higher average temperatures in cities as opposed to those in the countryside. "This isn't controlling pollution.It's shifting the problem." Wang Bing, a Beijing-based author, wrote on Sina Weibo.But the plan has received some interest from residents who have grown tired of repeated periods of heavy pollution. Peng Yingdeng, an air pollution expert at the Beijing Municipal Research Institute of Environmental Protection, told the newspaper that the plan was more likely to require an adjustment of related laws to limit building heights and numbers in some areas.Similar proposals are under consideration in other major Chinese cities including Hangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang and Wuhan. "This kind of work to search for ways to reduce pollution is really worth applauding," the state-run news agency Xinhua said in a commentary."If scientists confirm it is effective, then we should promote it on a much larger scale." Some experts have expressed doubts whether the plan would make a significant difference.Serious pollution is usually associated with periods of little or no wind, and air corridors do little good if the wind isn't blowing, Song Guojun, an environmental science professor told The Beijing News.Solving the air pollution problem mainly requires controlling pollution sources. What is Wang Bing' s attitude towards the construction of air corridors? Answer: Disapproval. Hu Yizhou, also known as Zhouzhou, was born with intellectual disabilities. When he was 25 years old, he had an IQ of 30 and behaved himself like a 3-year-old child. But he does well in music. His disability has not prevented him from becoming a well-known conductor . Zhang Yiqing, a director with Hubei TV station, learnt of Zhouzhou's talent for music. He wanted to help the young man. Later Zhouzhou's story has made into a film and was spread in China, Europe and America. Ever since he was famous for his great musical talent, Zhouzhou has received a lot of attention from home and abroad. He has taken part in many art performances . Now he works in the Chinese Disabled Art Group as a conductor. To Zhouzhou, standing on the stage is already a big success. What is Zhouzhou good at? Answer: Music. Education plays a very important role in everybody's life. We go to school because we want to know more about the world around us. The typical classroom used to be the place where teachers and students were working and exploring the wonderful world of knowledge together, but now everything has changed. The Internet is one of those approaches. Learning via the Internet is a new style that seems to become successful than the traditional teaching. The Internet provides schools with a large amount of learning material that is accessible to students online. Owing to the choices of courses online, completing a program becomes much easier. We used to go to the library when we needed information and spend hours searching for the right sources. Today there is a "library" in our house and it is available 24 hours a day. From my personal experience, being a first time mother, I find that using information online is very helpful. While I am at home with my baby, I can still search for the material I need and exchange thoughts and information with my classmates without leaving my house. The Internet is not only a big information provider but also a money and time saver. People predict that education will be much cheaper in the future because of Internet access to information. The cost of land, building and wages for teachers are continuously increasing. In addition, regular courses (offline) depend heavily on books and other paper-based materials, while online education posts lectures, and assignments electronically, which saves thousands of dollars every year. With no physical restrictions, the Internet classes and courses are also very convenient. In classroom-based education there is a limitation on the number of students while Internet education is available to everyone. Students don't have to struggle in order to register for classes they like. Students will have more choices to take their courses and classes online. The Internet offers a wonderful opportunity to obtain knowledge in a more convenient and less expensive way. In my opinion, online life in the future is simply inescapable. What's the author's attitude towards the Internet? Answer: Positive Millie is a little girl who is at the age of nine. She is a pupil in a primary school. She works hard at her subjects. In class, she takes an active part in all kinds of activities. She looks smarter than her classmates. One day, she was doing her homework after supper as usual. Her father was not in. Her mother was taking a shower in the bathroom. After she finished her homework, Millie asked her mother to check it for her, but her mother didn't answer her. A few minutes later, her mother was still in the bathroom. Millie felt strange. She knocked at the door. But her mother had no answer. She pushed the door open and found her mother lying on the floor. At the same time, she smelled something terrible. It was the gas. She quickly opened the window, turned off the gas and called 120 and 110 for help. Soon some doctors and policemen came and sent her mother to the nearest hospital. Her mother was saved at last. Why did the little girl know how to do that? That was because she had learned how to save herself and others in danger in school. What was her mother doing while Millie was doing her homework? Answer: She was taking a shower.
Yves Gomes is now a university student in Maryland, but he may soon have to leave the country. "I still want to continue with my college education and I want to be able to study here and go to medical school," he said. Gomes is one of thousands of young illegal immigrants who grew up in the United States and are now studying at American colleges and universities. He is doing well in his studies, but he is fighting deportation to India, a country he left with his parents when he was just 14 months old. They were deported more than a year ago. "If I was to go back to India I would just feel like all of that would have gone to waste because here at least I am still able to go to college," he said. Immigration is a divisive political issue in the United States with some 11 million people in the country illegally. One element of the debate is the hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16. Pending legislation know as the DREAMAct would give them a chance to become legal residents if they complete two years of college or join the military. Milanie Schwartz, a politically conservative student at the University of Texas, explains why some Americans oppose the legislation. "We think it's unfair that students who are illegal immigrants would get a fast track to citizenship, while people who did come here legally wouldn't have those same opportunities," she said. "The question is legalization or not, " said Jon Feere, who also opposes the DREAM Act. He is a policy analyst with the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington and is concerned about the act's effect on the economy. "There's a lot of unemployment in the United States right now. And there are already many legal immigrants who are already here who are desperate for those jobs," he said. But supporters of the DREAMAct say well-educated immigrants would help the economy. Raul Hinojosa is an immigration research analyst at UCLA." Not letting them contribute to the economy would not only lose all the financial investment we have already made in these youths, but we would lose literally trillions of dollars of potential value because they want and are ready to contribute to the US economy," he said. That's exactly what Yves Gomes wants to do -- finish school and become a doctor. He says without the DREAMAct, many students' dreams will be lost. "They are studying at Harvard, they are studying at UCLA--the top universities -- and they all have bright futures and because of the system they are going to be told to go home, go back to a country they don't even know, " he said. The DREAMAct has failed to win passage in Congress since it was first introduced 10 years ago. Now time is running out for passage this year, and opposition Republicans have threatened to block it. Yves Gomes hopes that won't happen. He wants to finish school and eventually become a US citizen. Which of the following descriptions about Yves Gomes is true? A. He was born in India before his parents immigrated to America illegally. B. His parents were forced to leave India more than a year ago. C. He wants to finish school in America and become a nurse in India after graduation. D. He is optimistic about the passage of the DREAMAct. Answer: A. He was born in India before his parents immigrated to America illegally. Students wishing to safeguard their careers against changes in the job market should opt for science rather than arts degrees, according to a survey of undergraduates. Engineering and chemistry were considered to be the most "future proof", as they are courses most likely to lead to an enduring and adaptable career. Students polled by Pearson College were broadly optimistic that their chosen courses would prepare them for a world in which the job market could change dramatically during their working lives. But opinion was sharply divided over which degrees were best for future-proof careers. Eighty-two per cent of respondents believed engineering would help develop future-proof skills, with 74 per cent believing the same of chemistry and 73 per cent of computer science. But just 33 per cent of undergraduates believed history would lead to a future-proof career, and 40 per cent English. However more than two thirds of students (67 per cent) thought the world of work would be significantly different or completely unrecognizable in 20 years. The findings, published today, come after Education Secretary Nicky Morgan sparked controversy with claims that teenagers should steer clear of the arts and humanities and opt for science or math subjects if they want to access the widest range of jobs. She said that in previous decades students would only take math or science if they wanted to pursue a specific career such as medicine or pharmacy, but nowadays that "couldn't be further from the truth". "If you wanted to do something different, or even if you didn't know what you wanted to do...then the arts and humanities were what you chose. Because they were useful - we were told - for all kinds of jobs. Of course now we know that couldn't be further from the truth, that the subjects that keep young people's options open and unlock doors to all sorts of careers are the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects. " She also described math as 'the subject that employers value most' and said that pupils who study A-level math will earn 10 per cent more over their lifetime. "These figures show us that too many young people are making choices aged 15 which will hold them back for the rest of their lives." she said. In order to guarantee your future job, which kind of courses will you choose according to the survey? A. Engineering or English B. History or Math C. Math or Art D. Engineering or Chemistry Answer: D. Engineering or Chemistry Look! The girl looks _ a Barbie doll . She has long blond hair. Her blue eyes are big, but her mouth and nose are small. She is a nice girl. Who is she? Oh, she is Sally. She is from England. She is thirteen years old. Her mom and dad are English. Both of them are in Beijing now. Her mom is my English teacher. She and I are good friends. Well, green is Sally's favorite color, and she is in green. We are in the same school, but we are in different classes. ,. What is Sally's favorite color? A. Red B. Green C. Blue D. Blond Answer: B. Green "Some day, there'll be no Americans left in the NBA," said 12-year-old Xing Tao, who joined his school team two weeks ago after watching Yao Ming in a televised NBA game, "The players will all be Chinese, like Yao." To China, Yao is a home-grown superstar who helped make the world's first basketball league closer to Chinese players. To the NBA, the 2.23-meter center offers an opening of a different sort into the world's largest new market. Yao's NBA first appearance against the Indiana Pacers in October reached 287 million families in the US. That game might have been a bit of a _ to Yao's fans: He played just 11 of the 48 minutes, had two rebounds and got no points. Comparing that with his performance on December 19, also against Indiana, Yao won 29 points and 10 rebounds. "This was one of the most exciting games I've had," Yao said after Houston's 95-83 victory. The NBA has to be excited about his on-count success. In all his games, he's averaging 12.7 points and 7.7 rebounds, quite good for a new star. "Yao Ming has brought the NBA closer to the Chinese," said NBA spokeswoman Cheong Sau Ching, "That makes the dream seem practical for other people in China and proud to be Chinese." The 22-year-old Yao is not the country's first player in the NBA: Wang Zhizhi broke down the Dallas Mavericks in November 2003. But Yao's combination of modesty and skills make him a favorite back home. Why does Yao Ming win more popularity than Wang Zhizhi at home? A. He is modest and performs excellently. B. He is too kind to others. C. More and more Chinese people like to watch his games. D. He is very modest but proud. Answer: A. He is modest and performs excellently. Health experts are calling for action to expand cancer care and control in the developing world. A medical research paper says cancer was once thought of as a problem mostly in the developed world. But now cancer is a leading cause of death and disability in poor countries as well. Experts from Harvard University and other organizations urge the international community to fight cancer aggressively, saying it should be fought in the way HIV/AIDS has been fought in Africa. Cancer kills more than 7.5 million people a year worldwide. Almost two-thirds are in low-income and middle-income countries. They discover cancer dills more people in developing countries than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. But the world spends only 5% of its cancer resources in those countries. Felicia Knaul from Harvard Medical School was one of the authors of the paper. She was in Mexico when she was found to have breast cancer. She received treatment there and her experience showed her the sharp difference between the rich and the poor in treating breast cancer. Felicia Knaul says, "And we are seeing how this is attacking young women. It's the number two cause of death in Mexico for women thirty to fifty-four. All over the developing world, it's the number one cancer-related death among young women. I think we have to again say that there is much more we could do about it than we are doing about it." Professor Knalul met community health workers during her work in developing countries. They were an important part of efforts to reduce deaths from the cancer. They were able to persuade people to get tested to prevent the illness. The experts say cancer care does not have to be costly. For example, patients can be treated with lower-cost drugs. From what Felicia Knaul says, we can draw the conclusion that _ . A. breast cancer is a great threat to young women B. people don't pay enough attention to breast cancer C. breast cancer is the second killer among women in Mexico D. effective treatment for breast cancer is available in developing countries Answer: A. breast cancer is a great threat to young women
Driving a car at a high speed along a highway seems to be fun. You need only to follow the bright traffic signs beside the highways and they will take you to where you wish. But to a London taxi driver, driving is not an easy job. A taxi driver has to have not only skills but also a good knowledge of the city of London, from the smaller road to the most popular bar .He has to be at the service of all kinds of people at all times. He usually goes home between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. There are times he has to stay longer and try to _ London taxi drivers not only "take" but also "give". Every summer hundreds of children from London will go for a day at the sea by taxi! Their rides are paid by the taxi drivers. At the sea, they are met by the mayor , and the lunch party is also held for the drivers and children. After a happy day running around the beaches and visiting the markets, the children go home again by taxi, and free of charge , of course! It's not easy to be a taxi driver in London because _ . he has to know all the places in the city and serve all kinds of people at all times When travelers think of an Adriatic cruise, scenes of Venice, Italy--its canals, bridges, piazzas, and stunning architecture--come to mind. It's one of the most popular cruise destinations in Europe. And for many, the sail-away from Venice, through its Giudecca Canal, is an awe-inspiring experience. Venice may be known as La Serenissima, or "the most peaceful," which, however, isn't entirely accurate these days. Venetians have been increasingly concerned about the impact of tourism and the potential for an environmental disaster off its shoreline due to the number of cruise ships that enter and exit its lagoon . That's why earlier last month, Venice announced a new policy to forbid the transit of cruise ships to the city via the Giudecca Canal. It's not that the city wants to shun the cruise industry altogether: It simply wants to force traffic further away from the landmarks along the shoreline. City officials say that most ships will now transit the Contorta Sant'Angelo Canal. Additionally, the city is _ the size of ships that can visit Venice, as well as the total number of ships that call on it on a daily basis. As of January 2014, Venice plans to reduce the visitations of larger ships (those that are 40,000 tons or heavier) by 20 percent. This effectively caps the number of ships that can enter per day to five. In November, ships heavier than 96,000 tons will not be allowed to enter Guidecca Canal at all. How the city plans to carry out the new five-ships-per-day rule remains to be seen and have yet to be announced. Which ships will be allowed passage? Will it be first-come, first-served? However they proceed, cruise line executives want their passengers to know that Venice will remain a regular port of call--even if the transit to and from the city must evolve. Before last month, toursits left Venice by ship through _ . the Giudecca Canal Nick is a 14yearold school boy.His life is full of exams and studies on weekdays.He has little free time.He thinks playing computer games is the best way to make him relax.When he has free time,he sits in front of the computer.Just like that way,he neither eats nor drinks for several hours. Last weekend,he played games on the computer again.He was too excited and didn't want to move.He didn't have anything for six hours.When he had to go to the bathroom,he found he could not move.He was taken to the hospital.The doctor told him he should do some more different kinds of activities.In other words,he needs more exercise and outdoor activities to make him have a healthy body. After coming back from the hospital,Nick follows the doctor's advice.He often plays soccer with his friends.Sometimes he still plays computer games on weekends,but he never does it for long.Now,he lives a happy and healthy life. Who took Nick to the hospital? We are not sure. We spoke to three students from around the world about different national holidays. There are different customs for each festival . Tan Xiaodong, 15, Hong Kong, China "It'll soon be Chinese New Year. Before it, we'll clean the house and decorate it for good luck. Every shop is going to close for a few days and we'll go out a lot to celebrate in the streets. We might go and see the lion and dragon dances in the city center. I love this festival. " Wendy, 16, Sydney, Australia "Australia Day is on 26thJanuary and it's an important holiday here. We always have a Monday off, so we celebrate for three days. My parents and I go to the countryside for a picnic and friends always come over. Many people go to beach parties or street parties and there's lots of music and dancing. What fun!" Amy, 14, New York, USA "The first Thanksgiving Day was hundreds of years ago when Europeans who came to America thanked God for his help. It's still a very important day for families to be together. This year we're going to visit my grandparents and we'll eat a delicious meal of turkey. Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November every year. " From the passage, we can learn that _ . Different festivals have different customs Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall. At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city Monday 7th of January until Sunday.13rd of January 2008 Feast until you're full! Come down to Monetizes time week to enjoy the special dishes on offer it all of our food outlets. Order from the following: Succulent chicken rice spicy stays beef Delicious noodle dishes plump porky chips seafood specialties crunchy vegetables sweet tropical fruit Halal food is available at the stall. Malay Mood Heaven Win Prizes and Gifts! Spend $20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box. Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner. Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls. Win a holiday to Western Australia. A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt . Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided. Winner to be announced inThe Strait Timeson the 15th of January. Join in the Fun! Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 15th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you: May Lee Jackie Chen Kim Yap * Kamala Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out. I will find out who has won the top to Western Australia when I _ . read The Straits Timeson the 5th of January
To prepare hamburgers and hot dogs for eating you need A glitter B a firepit C snowmen D arsenic Answer: B. a firepit Looking back on China's road to outer space, people can easily find it has not been very smooth. In the past years, Chinese people have made hard and determined efforts to realize the dream their ancestors had for thousands of years. After China's first satellite into the Earth's orbit in 1970 came four flights of unmanned Shenzhou missions from 1999 to 2002. The country carried out its first one-piloted space flight in October, 2003, making China the third country in the world to have independent human spaceflight ability after the Soviet Union and the United States. Then came another breakthrough on October 12, 2005, when Shenzhou 6, China's second human spaceflight, was launched, with a crew of two astronauts. What's more, the landmark spacewalk done by Zhai Zhigang, one of the three boarding Shenzhou 7, launched on Sept. 25, 2008, leads the country further in its space exploration. Meanwhile, China's moon exploration project, started in 2004, has also been progressing satisfactorily. Fifty years after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world's first man-made satellite, China's first circumlunar satellite Chang'e 1 took off on Oct.24, 2007, which became another milestone in China's space achievements after the above-mentioned manned flights. Chang'e 1 was expected to fulfill four scientific goals, one of which was to probe mineral elements on the moon, especially those not existent on Earth. It's said that the lunar regolith is abundant in helium-3, a clean fuel that may support the Earth's energy demands for more than a century. Nearly 3 years later, Oct. 1, 2010 witnessed the blasting off of Chang'e 2, China's 2nd unmanned lunar probe, marking another step forward in moon exploration. This time the aim is to test the key techniques of Chang'e 3 and Chang'e 4, as a preparation for a soft lunar landing in the future. With great expectations, people all over the world are looking forward to China's greater space achievements. What can be the best title for the text? A Ancient Chinese's Dream B China's Major Space Achievements C China's Moon Exploration D The World's Great Expectations Answer: B. China's Major Space Achievements Paul is my pen friend.He is from Landon,England.He speaks good English.He is now in Shanghai with his parents,because they work in Shanghai.Paul can speak a little Chinese! There are five people in his family,his parents,his two sisters and he.His sisters aren't in China.They are in England now. He likes singing and dancing very much.His favorite subject is music.He likes going to the movies on weekends:He thinks it is fun.I think he is a nice boy. Where does Paul live now? A In Beijing B In Shanghai. C In London. D In New York. Answer: B. In Shanghai. Rules in the reading room Hello, everyone. Welcome to the school reading room. We hope you have a good time here. Before you go into the reading room, there are some rules you need to keep. 1.The reading room is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. 2. Don't take your bag into the reading room. 3. Don't talk loudly in the reading room. 4. Don't take any food or drink into the reading room. 5. Take only one book at a time. After you finish reading the book, you must put it back and then you can take another one. Don't take many books to your seat. 6. Before you leave, you must the book to the bookshelf. You can't take any book out of the reading room. Which of the following is TRUE? A You can drink in the reading room. B You can take all your favorite books to your seat. C You can read in the reading room at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. D You can take only one book home at a time. Answer: C. You can read in the reading room at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Winter in the Northern Hemisphere means A the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing scorching hot weather B the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing daily torrential rain C the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing warm sunny days D the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing frigid temperatures Answer: C. the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing warm sunny days
Question: Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye and where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner. His tail has long ago been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch. Ugly would have been a dark grey tabby, striped-type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders with thick, yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. "That's one UGLY cat!!" All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their home or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness. Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically and bump his head against their hand begging for their love. If you ever picked him up, he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earring whatever he could find. One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor's huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly attacked. From my apartment I could hear his scream and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was obvious Ugly's sad life was almost at an end. Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home, I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly, I thought. Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying, was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battled-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion. At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain. Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held him for a long time afterward thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly. Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand book lecture or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always be thankful. He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for. Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful, but for me, I will always try to be Ugly. Children were always warned not to touch tomcat, because _ ? A. the tomcat was not kind to the children B. the tomcat sometimes bit young children C. the tomcat was really dirty and nasty. D. the tomcat might carry some viruses with him Answer: C. the tomcat was really dirty and nasty. Question: A young woman carrying a three-year-old child got on a bus. The conductor hurried to give her a warm welcome and then kindly asked the other passengers to make more room for the woman and her child. On seeing this, people began to talk. "You know this conductor used to be very rude. Now suddenly he has changed his bad behavior , "said a middle-aged man. "Yes, he should be praised and we must write a letter to the company," said a second passenger. "That's right," another lady said, "I wish a newspaper reporter were here so that more people could learn from this conductor. " Just then a gentleman who looked like a teacher turned to the conductor and said , "Excuse me, but can I know your name, please? Your excellent service must be praised..." Before he could open his mouth, the three-year-old child sitting on the young woman's lap interrupted , "I know his name. I call him Dad." One passenger suggested writing a letter to the company to _ . A. make a demand for more buses B. thank the conductor for his good service C. criticize the conductor for his rude behavior D. invite a newspaper reporter to write about the conductor Answer: B. thank the conductor for his good service Question: Teahouses in Chengdu There is a saying, "China has the best teahouses in the world and Chengdu has the best teahouses in China."Chengdu has not only many teahouses but also the special ways of serving and drinking tea. As soon as the visitors enter the teahouses, the waiters or waitresses will greet them with teapots and cups in their hands. The cups often have special covers and saucers . The covers can keep the water warm. People who go to the teahouses are not all thirsty. Retired people pay a little money to the teahouses and then sit there all day long to chat with others. Sometimes, people have parties in the teahouses. They eat fruit and sunflower seeds while they chat and return home when they are tired. Teahouses are also good places for people to talk about businesses. Some of the teahouses even have stages for performances, such as storytelling, cross talk and Sichuan Opera. Sometimes when people have a quarrel, a mediator will bring them to the teahouse. After their problem is solved, the person who is wrong will pay for the tea. It is interesting that as soon as the quarrelers enter the teahouse and sit down to drink tea, they have almost calmed down. With the help of the mediator, their problems can be easily solved then. Maybe we can say the teahouses have some special social functions. Chengdu has the best teahouses in China because _ . A. the serving of the teahouses in Chengdu is very special B. there are many people in Chengdu teahouses C. there are many old men in Chengdu teahouses D. the cups in Chengdu teahouses are old Answer: A. the serving of the teahouses in Chengdu is very special Question: Mr. Ma, a famous mental doctor from Beijing once said at an important meeting, "Now many young students can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people around them like their parents and classmates. Parents and teachers should care more about this problem." Then Mr. Ma gave some examples. One patient, a middle school students from Xi'an was doing badly in his lessons. He thought his teachers and friends often laughed at him, and he became so nervous and worried that one night he left his home without telling parents. Another student, a 14-year-old schoolgirl from Shanghai, was very afraid of exams. While she was reading the exam paper, she couldn't think of anything to write. A recent report fromJiefang Dailysays about 18% of the young students in Shanghai have mental problems. They often felt worried and very unhappy. Unluckily many of them won't go and ask for help. Some think they will look _ if they go to see a doctor. Others won't talk about their secrets. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Ma offered some good ideas to young people: u Talk to your parents or teacher often. u Take part in group activities. u Try to get on well with the people around you. u Go to see a doctor if you often feel unhappy. According to the last part, which of the followings is a good idea? A. It's important for children to live with their parents. B. It's helpful for people to see doctors every day. C. It's useful for students to keep quiet in class. D. It's necessary for young people to have group activities. Answer: D. It's necessary for young people to have group activities. Question: Green tea is the best choice for office workers. People who always work in places with air conditioning may face skin problems such as easily dry skin. Among all the drinks, green tea is the best choice. Because there are important things in green tea and they are often called catechins . Moreover, drinking more green tea can prevent computer radiation . Winter is the season to drink black tea. Chinese medicine believes that different people should drink different tea based on the different characteristics and tastes of each kind of tea. Black tea can warm the stomach and quicken digestion . Therefore, drinking warm black tea in the cold winter is a most _ choice. Do not drink strong tea. Strong tea may make the body far too excited and can badly affect the cardiovascular as well as the nervous system . For a person who has problem with these parts, to drink overly strong tea may cause heart and blood pressure illness, or even make the old illnesses much worse. Do not drink too much tea when you are eating. Drinking too much tea or strong thick tea may not be good for taking in many constant elements and trace elements . Also, people should not drink tea with milk or other milky food. ,. Which of the following is NOT true? A. If you have a stomachache, you should drink black tea. B. Strong tea may make the body far too excited. C. When we choose tea, we should know the characteristic and tastes of each kind of tea. D. At tables, we should drink tea as much as possible because it's good for our health. Answer: D. At tables, we should drink tea as much as possible because it's good for our health.
Dinner customs are different around the world. If you are a guest in Ghana, thisinformation will help you a lot. In Ghana, dinner is usually from four in the afternoon to six in the evening. But there are nostrict rules about time. Whenever a guest arrives, a family offers food. When you go to ahome, the host takes you to the living room first. At this time everyonewelcomes you. Then you go to the dining room. There you wash your hands in a bowl of water.All the food is on the table. In Ghana you usually eat with your fingers. You eat from the same dish as everyone else.But you eat from one side of the dish only. It is not polite to get food from the other side of thedish. After dinner, you wash your hands again in a bowl of water. Most meals in Ghana have a dish called fufu. People in Ghana make fufu from the powder of some plants. Sometimes they cut the fufu with a saw because it is very hard.You must chew fufu well, or you may get sick. You eat fufu with the fingers of your righthand only. If you are dinner guest to a family in Ghana, you're first _ . A told some strict rules about dinner B taken to the dining room C taken to the living room D told to wash your hands Answer: C. taken to the living room Some animals that detect objects by emitting sound live in A the arctic B soil C a tide pool D rivers Answer: D. rivers Volunteering abroad is a great way to help others, improve your skills and become a more confident, independent person. If you are interested in volunteering abroad, here are some places to go. Australia If you seek a life on the beach, in a great climate with friendly people, Australia might be your best bet. With thousands of volunteers already signing up to leave for Australia during the holidays, it will be a very popular option. Brazil This vast country has some great opportunities on offer and is especially popular this year. A lot of volunteer work is available in Brazil centers on conservation and ecological projects. With the world's largest rainforest in Brazil, of which huge part is in danger, there are lots of different jobs you can do. Kenya Kenya is the destination for those seeking an African experience. Generally volunteers in Kenya work in orphanages or with local children living in slums . There is a great demand for volunteers in Africa because many people live in poverty, so if you truly feel like making a difference to a community, Kenya should be at the top of your list. Costa Rica Golden sandy beaches, clear coastlines and beautiful cities are what Costa Rica is all about. Because of its small size, you can see a lot of the country in just a short time. You can really make the most of your time as a volunteer. A lot of work is needed with wildlife and ecological work, so if you want to look after turtles on the beach, Costa Rica could be just the place for you If you are interested in protecting the environment, you will probably go to _ . A Australia B Kenya C Brazil D Costa Rica Answer: C. Brazil As part of the first International Hot Spring Culture and Tourism Festival in Xianning, Hubei Province, Miss Friendship International 2009 was held in Wuhan, Hubei, China from 20th October 2009 to 9th November 2009 with 70 gorgeous contestants gathering from across the world. The city is a popular travel spotlight, known for its hot springs and red tourism. Beginning in 2005 in New York, Miss Friendship International is an international beauty contest, with the theme "beauty promotes international friendship which leads to world peace." From 2:40pm to 3:42 pm on November 7th, 7 top hot spring hotels and scenic areas in Xianning, Hubei province began an activity called "Tens of thousands of people bath in the hot spring together". 450 female university students from Xianning College formed the shape of the Arabic number"10000"in the big bath. Where did the gorgeous contestants come from? A Xianning B Wuhan C college D world Answer: D. world Staying in a Homestay in Canada will give you an excellent opportunity to improve your English conversation skills and know more about Canada customs and cultures. Our homestay families are located in areas of Vancouver,Toronto and Montreal,Canada,living from 40 to 60 minutes from the school. These homes are safe,secure,inspected and approved by our homestay program coordinators. Your homestay family in Canada will be different from your own,especially the food and customs,but you will become one of the family! Most Canadians work outside the home and are active in community affairs. Family members have duties around the home and do many things for themselves. For example,family members are expected to take their own dishes from the dining room to the kitchen and take care of their own possessions. This will apply to you too! There will be many differences,both personal and cultural between you and your homestay family in Canada. We ask both you and your new family to be accepting of these differences. Each family will assist you in learning the arrangement of your new home. You will be asked to respect the rules and regulations that are suitable for their household. If any questions arise about your new home,please feel free to ask your family. You will be provided with a clean,comfortable,private room. The room will be furnished with a desk,bed,dresser,closet and good lighting. You are expected to keep your own room neat and tidy. You will have your own house key. Please respect the security of the household. Make sure you return the key when you leave. What's the author's purpose of writing the passage? A To advise us to learn English in Canada. B To give us some information about homestays in Canada. C To suggest that we practice English in Canada. D To encourage us to experience Canadian culture. Answer: B. To give us some information about homestays in Canada.
Aggie Bonfire was a long-standing tradition at Texas A&M University as part of the college rivalry with the University of Texas at Austin. For 90 years, Texas A&M students--known as Aggies--built and burned a bonfire on campus each autumn. Known to the Aggie community simply as "Bonfire", the annual autumn event symbolized Aggie students' "burning desires". The bonfire was traditionally lit around Thanksgiving in connection with festivities surrounding the annual college football game. Although early Bonfires were little more than piles of trash, as time passed, the annual event became more organized. Over the years the bonfire grew bigger, setting the world record in 1969. Bonfire remained a university tradition for decades until, in 1999, a collapse during construction killed twelve people--eleven students and one former student--and injured twenty-seven others. The accident led Texas A&M to declare a pause on an official Bonfire. However, in 2002, a student-sponsored-and-off-campus "Student Bonfire" came up. In 2003, the event became known as Student Bonfire. In a design approved by a professional engineer, Student Bonfire uses a wedding cake design, but, in a departure from tradition, every log in the stack touches the ground. For added support, four 24 feet poles are spaced evenly around the stack and then bolted to the 45 feet center pole with a steel pipe. Since the group does not receive funding, Student Bonfire charges a fee to each attendee to cover expenses. Attendance for Student Bonfire ranges from 8,000-15,000 people and the event is held in Brazos County or one of the surrounding counties. Why did Aggie Bonfire once stop? Answer: Some serious accidents occurred during the activity. OSLO -- Excited with pride, Norwegians sang in the streets of Oslo on Sunday, celebrating Norway's National Day and the country's Eurovision Song Contest victory. Hundreds of Norwegians sang along to Alexander Rybak's winning song Fairytale as they walked in the country's traditional National Day parade celebrating the Norwegian constitution. Alexander Rybak -- called "Alexander the Great" by the Norwegian media -- won a great victory in the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) by gaining the most votes in its 53-year history in Moscow on Saturday. Alexander has played violin and piano since he was five years old, and he also composes his own music and sings. In 2006 he won the Norwegian talent show Kjempesjansen with his own song Foolin. Alexander has performed with one of the world's most celebrated violinists, Pinchas Zukerman, won the Anders Jahres Culture Price and has been the concertmaster for Norway's largest symphony orchestra for youths, Ung Symfoni. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said there was clearly something special about the 23-year-old and his folk music. "This is a _ performance by a young and talented musician," Stoltenberg said in a statement. Rybak is expected to draw a large crowd of fans to Oslo's Gardermoen airport when he arrives next Sunday, after having invited all his countrymen from the stage in Moscow. With Rybak's win, Norway will host next year's Eurovision finals, a show that reaches a television audience of over 100 million people. Norway's Minister of Culture, Trond Giske, promised that Norway would put on a splendid show next year but without spending as much as Moscow, which spent 24 million euros this year. "I don't think that is necessary," he told national broadcaster NRK. The win was Norway's third. The Nordic country also won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1985 and 1995. What's Trond Giske's opinion? Answer: It doesn't require a lot of money to make the finals splendid. When Cath Pirret and her husband Iain took their daughters Jessie, 10, and Holly, 7, to Britain earlier this year, it was a trip that was all about showing the girls where their parents grew up. But there were also some key sightseeing opportunities, such as Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall and Tate Modern, before heading to Paris to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. So, what did the couple from Melbourne hope their girls would get from the trip? "A greater understanding that travel is not a difficult thing to do," Cath says."Some of the highlights are to meet new people and adapt to lots of different situations." Cath believes that children, in order to truly benefit from travel, need to be old enough to understand and appreciate the experience. Sydney-based ABC Radio broadcaster and film critic C.J. Johnson travelled a lot with his parents as a child. His father was "really into rivers" and decided he was going to make it the "family mission" to see the "seven great rivers of the world". There's no doubt, thanks to a richer society and the greater ease and access to all forms of travel, that few -- if any -- generations of parents and children have ever had the ability to journey together as far, as wide and as deep as the present one.Travel brings history to life, builds children's independence and opens their minds. A child's view also helps adults to see the world through new eyes. For Keith Bellows, the award-winning editor-in-chief of the American National Geographic Traveler magazine says the world is simply"the greatest classroom we have". He's convinced, like Spicer, that any parent willing and financially able to give the gift of travel offers a gift that keeps on giving. "Children who learn to travel will travel to learn," he says. "And they will do it all their lives." With that in mind, Bellows, a father of three, wrote a book, 100 Places that Can Change Your Child's Life. Now many children can travel around the world _ . Answer: because they are living in a prosperous society A Simple Lesson "Another bad day at school?" my father asked as I came into the room. "How could you tell? I didn't shut the door heavily or anything," I replied. Over the past two months I had either done this or thrown my backpack across the room every time I came home from school. Papa thinks it has something to do with moving to a new house. "I know this move has been hard on you. Leaving your friends and cousins behind is tough," Papa said, as he put his arm around my shoulder. "What you must remember is that, with a lot of hard work and some time, you will make new friends." "You don't know how hard it is. This year my baseball team would have won the championship. They won't even give me a chance to pitch here. All I get to play is right field, and that's the worst!" Papa turned toward me. "Things will get better, I promise you. Let me ask you, do you know why you were named David Lorenzo?" "Yes, your name is David and grandfather's name is Lorenzo." "Very good, and what makes your grandfather so important?" "He was the first in the family to come to this country and all that," I answered. "That is only partly correct. Your grandfather was a very great man. In Mexico, he had been a teacher. When he came to America he could only get lowpaid labor jobs because he didn't speak the language. It took him two years before he spoke English well enough to be allowed to teach here, but he did it. He never complained because he knew change could be difficult. Did he ever tell you that?" my father asked. I looked down at my feet, ashamed at my behavior. "No. That must have been hard," I said . "Your grandfather taught me that if you let people see your talent, they will accept you for who you are. I want you to always remember what my father taught me, even if it takes a few years for people to see who you are," said Papa. All I could say was, "Okay." Then I asked, "What should I do now?" Laughing, Papa said, "How about you pitch a few to me? You need some work." Why was the author unhappy that day? Answer: Because he wasn't offered a chance to pitch. Well-known lines by Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu describe a sad scene in early April: "The ceaseless drizzle drips all the dismal day. So broken-hearted fares the traveler on the way.(,)". In China, Qingming Day, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls every April. People visit their ancestors' graves to clean away the dirt. Schools sometimes organize a trip to a local martyr's park where students show their respect for those who lost their lives in revolutionary wars. In most Western countries there is no equivalent of tomb-sweeping day, but people still value the opportunity to remember loved ones. On the anniversary of a death, s visit the cemetery. Often they will leave flowers. In the US, the last Monday of May is Memorial Day. It is a holiday to show respect for those who died defending the country. The most common way to recognize the day is to wear a small piece of yellow ribbon on the chest. People also fly their own American flags. Sometimes they put a small flag on their car, tied to the antenna .Flags are also flown in yards. In the morning, all flags should be flown at half-mast in honor of fallen soldiers. In Britain, people wear red paper replica poppies in November in remembrance of those who died or were injured in all fighting, but most particularly in World War I. Why the poppy? It goes back to a poem written by John McCrae in 1915. He saw the fragile flowers growing on the graves of soldiers. McCrae wrote: "In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row." The poppies make people think of fields of blood. The flowers also live only briefly, like the soldiers who fell in the war. How many countries are mentioned in the passage? Answer: 3
Question: Soccer star David Beckham will be there with his pop star wife Victoria. Elton John is attending with partner David Furnish. The guest list for the April 29 union of Prince William and Kate Middleton is still being kept secret, but details have begun to leak out, with some coming forward to say they are attending and the Mail on Sunday newspaper claiming to have the official invitation roster . The palace dismissed the newspaper's list as speculation Sunday. It won't be clear until the day how the royal couple has balanced the protocol demands that they invite statesmen, diplomats, religious leaders, politicians and the like with invitations to the people they really want to see, particularly the crowd they made friends with when they met and fell in love at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Kate Reardon, editor of high-society magazine Tatler, said many _ Britons acted as if they didn't really care about receiving an invitation while secretly checking the mail every day to see if the invitation had arrived. "Everyone's been hoping," she said. William and Middleton have showed their modern side by inviting a number of close friends, including some former sweethearts, the newspaper said. The wedding is not technically a state event, which somewhat limits the protocol requirements applied to the guest list. But royal obligations still order that a large number of the 1,900 or so seats go to guests from the world of politics, not actual friends of the couple. The couple have also invited many guests from the charities they work with, and Middleton has used her influence to invite the butcher, shopkeeper and pub owner from her home village of Bucklebury. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were not invited and many other international leaders are also expected to be watching on TV, not from a seat at Westminster Abbey. It is not clear if treasured Brits from the world of stage and screen and pop music will be on the list. It can be inferred from the passage that _ . A. their wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey on April 29th. B. Kate Reardon was invited to the wedding. C. journalists will not be allowed to attend the wedding. D. their former sweethearts are sure to attend their wedding. Answer: A. their wedding will be held at Westminster Abbey on April 29th. Question: Chelsea Bourque was 17 years old. When she took a summer job, her mother, Kim Guidry, was confident her daughter would get good life experience. And Chelsea wanted to make her own money and be more independent. Kim didn't worry about her daughter because she'd known the store owner for years. Chelsea did such a good job that when summer ended she was asked to stay on and even open and close the shop sometimes. That was when Kim started feeling uneasy. "She'd be there alone with a drawer full of money for the first or last 20 minutes of her shift ," says Kim. "If she was opening, I'd drop her off to lock the door the minute she got into the building, and I'd wait in the car until the owner arrived. If she was closing, I'd arrive 20 minutes early. You can never be too careful." Kim's concerns were natural. Even though the 6 million American teens who hold job benefit a lot -- learning to manage money, developing time-management skills, and becoming good at problem-solving with other people -- they face some dangers as well. About 230 000 teen workers are injured yearly, from burns and cuts in restaurant kitchens to falls from roofs on buildings. Deaths, fortunately, are rare, but they do happen -- between 60 and 70 each year, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. But for most teens and their parents, the pay-offs of working do more good than harm. So help your teens get most out of employment with these stay-safe tips. The passage is developed mainly by _ . A. giving a specific example B. providing an idea by reasoning C. testing an idea by reasoning D. asking and answering questions Answer: A. giving a specific example Question: Goals can help you do, be and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen. Successful and happy people have an idea of how their life should be and they set lots of goals to help them succeed. By setting goals you are taking control of your life. It's like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which is laid out for her on a map. She can drive straight there without any wasted time or wrong turns. The other driver has no goal or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives without an aim around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas and oil. Which driver do you want to be? Winners in life set goals and follow through on them. Winners decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren't difficult to set--and they aren't difficult to reach. It's up to you to find out what your goals and ideals really are. Research tells us that when we write a goal down, we are more likely to achieve. Written goals can be reviewed regularly,and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself be continuously alert to situations that will further your goals. According to the passage, the most important thing in realizing one's ideal is to _ . A. try to be realistic about one's ability B. let others help him or her to make his or her dream come true C. let others understand him or her first,then work together with them D. have a clear mind of what he or she wants in life Answer: D. have a clear mind of what he or she wants in life Question: Christopher Reeve was born in September, 1952. He was in his first school play when he was eight and he started to act in TV shows and films while he was still in college. He made many successful films and TV shows but he is most famous for his Superman films. Unfortunately, disaster came in 1995 when he fell from his horse and broke his back. The doctors did not expect him to live. However, he made amazing progress. At first, he couldn't breathe without a machine, but he learnt to breathe on his own. He would never walk again but he started a new life with great courage. The second year after his accident, Christopher returned to film making. He also raised a lot of money to promote medical research into back injuries. He made speeches all over the USA about his experiences. This not only drew public attention to research into back injuries but also encouraged a lot of people living with all kinds of problems. From their home, Christopher and his wife Dana spoke about their life after the accident. Could you say something about your life after the accident? "Four days after the accident, I came to understand my situation. The doctors said I was not going to pull through. Those days were terrible. But my wife Dana said, "You are still you and I love you. Be confident in yourself." And that saved my life. Since that moment I have never thought of giving up." What do you think of your family? "Great! Dana is so wonderful.We have always got on really well.My parents often quarreled with each other when I was young.But they've got closer since the accident." How do you spend your time? "I spend most of my time on charity work to improve the life for all disabled people.I think they need my help. With the progress of new medical research, I'm confident that people like me would be able to walk again one day. So you can see _ !" Christopher Reeve died on October 10, 2004. But people all over the world will always remember him as a superhero. Whom was Reeve most thankful to? A. His parents B. The film company C. His wife D. The doctors Answer: C. His wife Question: One afternoon I took a trip to an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the masterpieces . A young couple looking at the paintings in front of me chatted non--stop. I watched them for a moment and realized she was doing all the talking. I admired this man for being so patient with her. Bored by their noise, I moved on. I met them several times as I moved through those rooms of art. Each time I heard her voice, I moved away quickly. I was standing at the museum gift shop buying some cards when the couple walked to the exit. " He's a brave man, " the clerk said. "Most of us would give up if we were blind at such a young age. But behind his wife come in whenever there's a new art show. " "But what does he get out of the works of art?" I asked. "Hecan't see. " " His wife describes each painting so that he can see it in his head. " I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away holding each other's hands. Just then, I can't help getting close to them and said, " _ " ,. What can be the best title for this passage? A. Watching the paintings B. A brave husband C. Trusting your wife D. Seeing true love Answer: D. Seeing true love
It is not always easy to understand inventions and new developments in science. To understand fiber optics , however, you can try an experiment. Put a drop or two of milk into the glass of water. Turn off the lights. Shine the light from your flashlight through the top of the glass at an angle of about 45 degrees. Put a piece of white paper against the glass when the beam of light is shining. Move the paper so you can see where the beam is coming out of the glass. You should see a spot of light. Some of the light has passed through the water and through the glass. You see it on the paper. You also see another beam going down into the glass. It is being reflected down into the glass. Next move the flashlight so that the beam is coming straighter down(30 degrees) into the water. You will see the same phenomenon: some of the light is reflected back into the glass. And some escapes out. Now move the beam of light from the flashlight slowly up until you cannot see any light escaping. This point is called the "point of total internal reflection." The word internal means "inside." All the light is staying inside the glass. There is no beam showing a bright spot on the white paper. All the light energy is inside the glass. The glass of milky water is like a strand of glass. A fiber optic tube is a bundle of long thin strands of glass, really many tubes. However, the principle is the same: at a certain angle, all the light energy that goes into the glass fiber comes out the other end. Light is energy. Sound is energy. Radio waves and electricity are both energy. They can all be changed into light, and as light they can all travel along a glass fiber. Light travels at the rate of 186,000 miles per second. Therefore, a message can travel that fast in a glass fiber. This is the principle, or law of nature, that makes fiber optics work. Which of the following can be the best title? Answer: Principles of Fiber Optics The surprising experiment I am about to describe proves that air is all around you and that it presses down upon you. Air pressure is a powerful force. When you swim underwater, you can feel water pushing on your body. The air all around you does the same. However, your body is so used to it that you do not notice this. The pressure is caused by a layer of air called the atmosphere. This layer surrounds the Earth, extending to about five kilometers above the Earth's surface. The following experiment is an easy one that you can do at home. But make sure that you are supervised , because you will need to use matches. Now for the experiment. What you need * hard-boiled egg without the shell * A bottle with a neck slightly smaller than the egg * A piece of paper * A match Method 1) Check that the egg will sit firmly on the neck of the bottle. 2) Tear the paper into pieces and put them into the bottle. 3) Light the paper by dropping a burning match into the bottle. 4) Quickly sit the egg on the neck of the bottle. Result Astonishingly, the egg will be sucked into the bottle. Your friends will be amazed when you show them the experiment. But be careful when you handle matches. Why it happened? As the paper burns, it needs oxygen and uses up the oxygen (air) in the bottle. The egg acts as a scale in the neck of the bottle, so no more air can get inside. This reduces the air pressure inside the bottle. The air pressure must equalize, so more air from outside must enter the bottle. The outside air presses against the egg, and then the egg is pushed into the bottle! This proves that air is all around and that it is pressing down on us. How did the egg get into the bottle? Answer: The outside air pressure forced it into the bottle. Hello! My name is Jim. I'm from the US. Now I am in China with my father and mother. I like China. I like Chinese food, too. I have breakfast at home. I eat an egg, bread and porridge in the morning. I don't like milk. I have no time to go home for lunch. So I have it at school. The lunch in our school is very good. I can have different food for lunch. I eat rice, meat and vegetables for lunch. Sometimes I have noodles and dumplings. I have supper at home with my parents . Sometimes we go out to eat with friends. We have meat, vegetables and fruit. Jim has lunch _ . Answer: at school Rehan was never serious about his studies. He always wanted to play with his friends and had a bad image in his teachers' eyes. After the first term exams, it was time for result. Rehan was upset. That day, in the first class Sir Mushtaq said, "Tomorrow there will be a parent teacher meeting and you will get your result." Hearing this Rehan was worried. He went home as usual, but didn't tell his mother about the parent teacher meeting. The next day when his teacher asked him about his parents, he said, "My parents are out of town, so please give my result to me." When Rehan went back home, he told his mother that he had got 95. his mother was glad and said, "Well done, my son! Show me your report card." Now, Rehan was really worried but he said, "Mom, actually this time we haven't got any report card and our teacher only told the result orally." A result without a report card? Rehan's mother asked, but didn't ask any more questions. She also promised to buy a new bicycle for Rehan as his reward. One day Rehan came back from school, threw the bag on the floor and rushed towards his room. When his mother saw the dirty bag on the floor, she decided to clean it for him. As she opened it, she found the report card about which Rehan had lied. Rehan's mother quickly went to Rehan's room and showed him the report card. Tears started to fall down from Rehan's eyes. For many days Rehan's mother didn't talk to him. At last Rehan said sorry to his mother for cheating. He promised to get first position in his class next time. Rehan proved himself. He worked very hard and at last he got first position in the final term. By writing the story, the writer wants to tell us _ . Answer: truth always comes to light. More and more people take part in marathons these days - over 30,000 people will run the London Marathon this weekend, for instance. But it's not just the 26 miles and 385 yards that could be a daunting prospect. "I have to admit to being completely frustrated by the blocking and for 18-19 miles was just keeping away from people and being held up," one participant grumbled after the 2012 London Marathon. "I had to overtake a lot of people and ended up with bruised forearms from all the elbows," said another. How do such crowding problems arise, and could they be reduced? Some researchers believe that we can find the answers through a more familiar system in which jams appear - road traffic flow. Martin Treiber, of the Technical University of Dresden in Germany, has previously developed models for traffic flow. One of the first attempts to model traffic flow was made in the 1950s by James Lighthill and his collaborator Gerard Whitham of Manchester University. They considered the traffic as a kind of liquid flowing down a pipe, and looked at how the flow changes as the fluid gets denser . At first the flow rate increases as the density increases, since you simply get more stuff through in the same period of time. But if the density becomes too high, there's a risk of jams, and the flow rate drops sharply. Treiber's model of a marathon uses this same principle that the flow rate first increases and then decreases as the density of runners increases, thanks to an sudden switch from free to crowded flow. He assumes that there is a range of different preferred speeds for different runners, which each maintains throughout the race. With just these factors, Treiber can calculate the flow rate of runners, knowing the "carrying capacity" at each point on the route. This allows Treiber to figure out how blocking might depend on the race conditions - for example, for different starting procedures. Some marathons start by letting all the runners set off at once (which means those at the back have to wait until those in front have moved forward). Others assign runners to various groups according to ability, and let them start in a series of waves. Treiber has applied the model to the annual Rennsteig half-marathon in central Germany, which attracts around 6,000 participants. The traditional route had to be changed in 2013, because the police were no longer willing to close a road to ensure that runners could cross safely. It could pass either over a 60m wooden bridge or through a tunnel. Treiber used his model to predict the likely blocking caused in the various options. The model predicted that a mass start would risk an overload of runners if the bridge were to be used. Only by moving the starting point further back from the bridge could the danger be avoided - and even then, if some of the numbers assumed in the model were only slightly inaccurate, there was still a risk of jams at the bridge. On the other hand, no dangerous blocking seemed likely for the tunnel route. The run organizers consulted Treiber's team, and eventually chose this option. What's the main idea of the passage? Answer: Introduce a new technology to solve the blocking problem in marathon.
Question: Alex Rawlings, from Oxford University, Has been named the UK's most multilingual person. The 21-year-old British student can speak 11 language and is learning a 12th, He knows English, Greek, German, French, Dutch, Afrikaans, Spanish,Catalan,ltalian, Russian and Hebrew.Rawlings' mother, who is half Greek, spoke to him in English, Greek and some French when he was growing up. Rawlings is studying German and Russian at university now. He taught himself other languages like Dutch because he wanted to talk to people on his travels or simply because he thought the language was interesting or beautiful."When I was a kid, I always wanted to speak different languages," Rawlings said. "My parents often took me to my mom's family in Greece. My dad worked in Japan for four years. I was always frustrated that I couldn't talk to other kids in those countries because of the language. " Thanks to his talent for languages, Rawliings has made many friends. He also thinks that picking up new languages getseasier over time.Rawlings plans to perfect his Russian while studying in the small Russian city of Yaroslavi and the next language he plans to learn is Arabic."No matter how many languages I Iearn, my favorite language is always Greek because I have spoken it since childhood," he said. Alex Rwlings' mother spoke to him in the following languages EXCEPT _ when he was young. A. Greek B. Dutch C. French D. English Answer: B. Dutch Question: Which statement best describes the relationship between the total amount of water vapor the atmosphere can hold and the temperature of the atmosphere? A. The amount of water vapor is not related to atmospheric temperature. B. The amount of water vapor increases as the atmospheric temperature increases. C. The amount of water vapor increases as the atmospheric temperature decreases. D. The amount of water vapor decreases as the atmospheric temperature increases. Answer: B. The amount of water vapor increases as the atmospheric temperature increases. Question: It's Charlie's birthday today, but he isn't feeling happy. No one wishes him a happy birthday. Mother says nothing about his birthday. She just tells Charlie to play outside. At lunchtime, his mother calls, "Come in for lunch, Charlie!" Charlie slowly walks into his house. But the living room looks different. Charlie sees a big "Happy Birthday" banner . Then, he sees a birthday cake, balloons , presents, and all of his friends. "Happy birthday!" everyone shouts. Charlie's face _ . He is happy and surprised . No one forgets his birthday after all! Why is Charlie not happy? A. He doesn't like his party. B. He doesn't like his presents. C. He wants to eat cake. D. He thinks people forgets his birthday. Answer: D. He thinks people forgets his birthday. Question: I spotted (;) him at the checkout counter, bagging at No.14. His arms shook violently as he placed a box of eggs into a plastic bag. He wore a name card upon which he had wiritten "Jerry" in kindergarten handwriting. He looked middle-aged but his mental age must have been about 12. Ever since I smiled at him the first time he bagged my groceries at my local supermarket, Jerry has followed me around like an adoring fan. His lack of boundaries makes me uncomfortable. I don't know how to avoid being noticed by him. I don't want to speak to the manager -- my complaint could get him fired. So I started avoiding him. I can still remember the hurt I felt when I was 10 and our neighbor Mrs. Ward didn't respond when I said hello with David and Diane. Instead, she hurried out of the supermarket, leaving me holding my brother and sister's hands. I realized at that moment that I hated Mrs. Ward's reaction. Why, then, years later, was I acting as she had? I picked up a magazine Real Simple. The beautiful photos did nothing to straighten out the guilt in me. I was being ridiculous. The last three times I have seen Jerry, I rushed. There are other stores, but I chose this one because it employs people with disabilities. I want people like my brothers to have jobs. I don't want them to be ignored, the way I am avoiding Jerry. We know from the text that Jerry _ A. suffered from fragile X syndrome B. had a mental age not matching his real age C. couldn't write his name D. only had a kindergarten education Answer: B. had a mental age not matching his real age Question: When prehistoric man arrived in new parts of the world, something strong happened to the large animals; they suddenly became extinct. Smaller species survived; the large, slow-growing animals were easy game, and were quickly hunted to extinction. Now something similar could be happening in the oceans. That the seas are being over-fished has been known for years and researchers such as Ransom Myers and Boris Worm have shown how fast things are changing. They have looked at half a century of data from fisheries around the world. Their methods do not attempt to estimate the actual biomass (the amount of living biological matter) of fish species in particular parts of the ocean, but rather changes in that biomass over time. According to their latest paper published in Nature, the biomass of large predators (animals that kill and eat other animals) inanes fishery is reduced on average by 80% within 15 years of the start of exploitation. In some long-fished areas, it has halved again since then. Dr. Worm acknowledges that these figures are conservative . One reason for this is that fishing technology has improved. Today's vessels can find their prey using satellites and sonar, which were not available 50 years ago. That means a higher proportion of what is in the sea is being caught, so the real difference between present and past is likely to be worse than the one recorded by changes in catch sizes. In the early days, too, longlines would have been more saturated with fish. Some individuals would therefore not have been caught, since baited hooks would have been available to trap them, leading to an underestimate of fish stocks in the past. Furthermore, in the early days of longline fishing, a lot of fish were lost to sharks after they had been hooked. That is no longer a problem, because there are fewer sharks around noise. Dr. Myers and Dr. Worm argue that their work gives a correct baseline, which future management efforts must take into account. They believe the date support an idea current among marine biologists, that of the "shifting baseline". The notion is that people have failed to detect the massive changes which have happened in the ocean because they have been looking back only a relatively short time into the past. That matters because theory suggests that the maximum sustainable yield that can be cropped from a fishery comes when the biomass of a target species is about 50% of its original levels. Most fisheries are well below that, which is a bad way to do business. The aim of the extinction of large prehistoric animals is to suggest that _ . A. large animal were not easy to survive in the changing environment B. small species survived as large animals disappeared C. large sea animals may face the same threat today. D. Slow-growing fish outlive fast-growing ones Answer: C. large sea animals may face the same threat today.
Phonetics Professor Henry Higgins first meets Eliza Doolittle, a flower girl, near the Royal Opera House, late on a cold March night. Eliza is selling flowers. Higgins is out on his endless search for new dialects of prefix = st1 /London's speech. Higgins makes a bet with Colonel Pickering that he can turn the cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a lady within three months. To do so, he must change her thick Londonaccent, teach her to speak proper English and teach her manners. Higgins looks upon her not as a person but as raw material for his experiment. He trains Eliza for weeks. When no progress is made, Eliza, loses her courage, Higgins loses his temper, and even Pickering's patience wears thin. At last she improves. In order to test Eliza, he decides to introduce her to his mother's guests at the Ascot Race Meeting. Eliza proves to be a success. Pickering and Higgins are very proud, and neither of them takes into account Eliza's personal accomplishments in the matter. Eliza has absorbed the sophistication and the courage to see the unfairness of this, and she _ , demanding recognition. The Professor is astonished. It is as though a statue has come to life and spoken. Eliza rushes out of the house angrily. Higgins discovers that he is hurt because Eliza leaves him. He meets her at his mother's flat where she has gone for advice. They argue violently and she storms out. It is only a moment after her departure that Higgins finally wakes up to the fact that Eliza has become an entirely independent and admirable human being. He realizes that he will have a difficult time getting on without her. From the passage we can see that _ . A. Eliza has made rapid progress during the first week B. turning Eliza into a "lady" is not an easy job C. Higgins gives up when no progress is made D. Pickeringoften loses his temper when teaching Eliza Answer: B. turning Eliza into a "lady" is not an easy job Eight days for justY=12,000 Departs:May--October 2007 Includes: * Return flights from 6 China's airports to Naples * Return airport to hotel transport * Seven nights'accommodation at the 3-star Hotel Nice * Breakfast * The service of guides * Government taxes Join us for a wonderful holiday in one of the Europe's most wonderful-Naples in Italy if you want to have a nice time in a beautiful small quiet place.The ancient Romans called the city"happy land"with attractive coastline,colorful towns,splendid views and the warm Mediterranean Sea.Your best choice for a truly memorable holiday! Choose between the peaceful villages of Sant' Agata,set on a hillside six miles away from Sorrento,or the more lively and well-known international resort town of Sorrento,with wonderful views over the Bay of Naples. Breathtaking scenery,famous sights and European restaurants everywhere.From the mysterious Isle of Capri to the hunting ruins of Pompeii,and from the unforgettable"Amalfi Drive"to the delightful resorts of Positano,Sorrento and Ravello,the area is a feast for the eyes! Join us,and you won't be disappointed! Price based on two tourists sharing a double room at the Hotel Nice.A single room,anotherY=2,000.A group of ten college students,Y=10,000 for each. Like to know more ? Telephone Newmarket Air Holidays Ltd on:0845-226-7788(All calls charged at local rates). All the following are included in the price of Y=12,000 EXCEPT _ A. transport between the airport and the hotel B. double rooms for every two tourists C. the service of guides to tourists D. telephone calls made by tourists Answer: D. telephone calls made by tourists WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) ---- About 140 pilot whales that stranded(...) themselves on a remote stretch of New Zealand beach have died, but conservation workers and volunteers are hoping the remaining 60 or so will survive after they managed to get them refloated, an official said Saturday. The geography of Farewell Spit on the South Island seems to work against whales, which regularly become stranded there. The stranding of 198 whales on Friday was one of the largest in recent years and inspired 80 workers and volunteers to help out. By late Saturday, 140 of the whales had died, said Department of Conservation area manager Andrew Lamason. He said the workers and volunteers worked throughout the day to keep the surviving whales watered and covered before refloating them during Saturday night's high tide. "We've had a really good crew of volunteers, and people have been wanting to come from all over the country,"Lamason said. He said the surviving whales had moved to deeper water. But he cautioned that although hopes for their survival were high, whales had been refloated in the past only to return and get stranded again. Lamason said the scale of the stranding has been tough on the helpers, both physically and mentally. "It's very sad, they're very intelligent animals," he said. "The common view is that it's part of nature." The focus will now turn to the dead whales, and the enormous task of dealing with the remains, Lamason said, adding that in the past helpers have typically buried them in the sand, but that he's not sure what the approach will be this time. He said the department had been experimenting with moving the the dead whales into the water, which has the advantage of providing food for other sea creatures. What did Lamason say about the feelings of the workers and volunteers? A. They were very happy to see so many whales. B. They thought refloating the whales was not a hard job. C. They were physically tired and emotionally hurt. D. They believed that this is very natural. Answer: C. They were physically tired and emotionally hurt. Li Peng is a good student. On weekdays he gets up at six in the morning. He has breakfast at home. Then he reads English from 6:30 to 7:00. He goes to school at seven. He has four classes in the morning. He has lunch at school, but on Sundays he has lunch at home with his family. He has three classes in the afternoon. He leaves school at 5:00. He often has dinner at home. In the evening he sometimes watches TV. Sometimes he does his homework. He goes to bed at ten o'clock every night. How many classes does Li Peng have every day? A. Six. B. Seven. C. Eight. D. Nine. Answer: B. Seven. Another food which is closely associated with Americans is apple pie.Apple pie is often served hot with a spoon of ice cream or a slice of cheese at the end of the biggest meal of the day--dinner, and it is a favorite dessert throughout the nation.If a person is typical of Americans, we can say, "He is as American as apple pie." It is true that the apple and apple pie do not originate in America, but the expression "as American as apple pie" is not the product of a pure imagination.As early as 1625, the English colonists, having brought orchards on this new land and in most of the colonial times, the apple was a main material of both plain and fancy cooking.The first Massachusetts governor, William Endicott, was one of many keen apple planters who helped to lay the foundations for today' s apple-growing industry in America. A major attraction of the apple for the colonists was that it could be made into cider . Like most Europeans, English colonists held a strong suspicion of drinking water, and since grape growing was _ by plant peats, cider became an alternative to wine.Cheap and easy to produce, it was the American drink of first choice well into the nineteenth century.Whether it was dried, raw or cooked, the apple also found its way into numerous colonial dishes, including apple sauces, pudding, stuffing and many desserts.Therefore, the conclusion to be drawn here is obvious.The apple pie became known as American, not because it was invented on this land (since it was proved that Europeans had been eating apple pies for centuries), but because, thanks to the huge orchards in the states of Washington and New York, America became the world's largest apple-producing nation. The apple can be used to make into all of the following except _ . A. wine B. sauces C. pudding D. cider Answer: A. wine
Sarah is a keen walker. She lives in a big city. When she goes on holiday she likes to walk in the hills. She is looking for new places to go. Jane is keen on music. She also likes reading about the personal life of famous people to find out what they are really like. Peter is going to France next week on business. And he has a free weekend so he plans to spend it in Paris. He would like to find out what is happening there for fun and entertainment. Mary likes clothes but hasn't got much money so she is looking for ways of dressing smartly without spending too much. Paul likes singing. He is also interested in history and likes reading about famous explorers from the past. Who likes walking? A. Sarah. B. Jane. C. Peter. D. Mary. Answer: A. Sarah. The Great Plague of London in 1665 was the last in a long senies of plague that first began in London in June 1499.1t killed between 75,000 and 100,000. First suspected in late 1664,it began to spread eastwards in April 1665 from the poor suburb of St. Giles to the crowded and dirty communities on its way to the walled City of London. The Great Plague at Its Peak By September 1665 ,the death rate had reached 8,000 per week. Helpless city authorities began to abandon quarantine measures. Houses containing the dead and dying were no longer locked. London's mournful silence was broken by the noise of carts carrying the dead for burial in churches or public plague pits. Well-off residents soon fled to the countryside, leaving the poor behind in poor old commun/ties. Thousands of dogs and cats were killed to remove a feared source of contagion ,and piles of rotting garbage were burned. Doctors cut swellings and bled black spots in attempts to cure plague victims. Plague Orders prohibited churches from keeping dead bodies in their buildings during public assemblies or services, and camers of the dead had to identify themselves and could not mix with the public. Samuel Pepys: Eyewitness Accounts In his famous diary, Samuel Pepys, a member of Parliament, conveyed the sad image of desperate people wandering the streets in search of relief from the ruins of the plague. His notes during 1665 indicated the severity of London's Great Plague. In July, he mourned " the sad news of the death of so manv in the community, forty last night, the bell always going either for deaths or burials. " A month later, when London's death rate rose sharply, Pepys noted that surviors are forced to carry the dead to be buried by daylight, the nights not enough to do it The Plague Declines and the Government Reacts By February 1666,the Great Plague had nearly run its course.lt died out during the Great Fire that same year and never returned. Central parts of London were rebuilt with wider streets to relieve crowding and better waste water svstems to improve public cleanliness. New Plague Orders were issued in May 1666,which banned the burial of future plague victims in churches and small churchyards, enforced the use of quicklime at chosen burial sites, and strictly prohibited opening graves less than one year after burial as a safeguard against the spread of infection. lt can be inferred from the passage that . A. dogs and cats were certain to spread the piague B. doctors' treatment of plague victims was effective C. city authorities allowed rich residents to go to the countryside D. quarantine measures were powerless in preventing the plague Answer: D. quarantine measures were powerless in preventing the plague Nice to meet you. I'm David Beckham. I'm from England and I'm English. I'm twenty-nine years old. I like playing football and I can play football very well. My name is Zhou Jielun. I'm from Taiwan, China. I'm thirty years old. I like singing. My name is Liu Qian. I'm from Taiwan,China. I'm thirty-three years old. I like playing magic cards Hello! I'm Li Yuchun. I live in Chengdu now. I'm twenty-five years old. I like singing. . David Beckham's family name is _ and Zhou Jielun's given name is _ . A. David ; Zhou B. David; Beckham C. Beckham; Zhou D. Beckham; Jielun Answer: D. Beckham; Jielun YUZHOU, HENAN -An accident in a central China coal mine killed 21 miners Saturday and left another 16 trapped underground , the government said. The death rose to 26 Sunday morning as rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners who were still trapped underground, rescue headquarters said. Rescuers were battling to reach the 11 miners still trapped underground, but chances for them to survive were very slim, said Du Bo, deputy chief of the rescue headquarters. "Based upon past experience, the remaining 11 miners could be buried in coal dust, so the survival chances are frail," Du said. More than 2,500 tons of coal dust smothered the pit after the gas leak , which hampered the rescue, said Du. The gas outburst happened at 6:03 a.m. Saturday when 276 miners were working underground in the mine in Yuzhou City. A total of 239 workers escaped but 21 were found dead and 16 trapped. An initial investigation showed that 173,500 cubic meters of gas leaked out in the accident. Liu Wenbin, a deputy chief engineer of the company that owns the mine, was in the pit when the accident happened. He organized the escape. "At around 6 a.m., I felt there was something wrong with the airflow in the shaft, and one of the team captains told me he also felt it and had already reported the problem," said Liu The mine is owned by Pingyu Coal & Electric Co. Ltd., a company jointly established by four investors, including Zhong Ping Energy Chemical Group and China Power Investment Corp. According to the writer, which of the following is not true? A. The mine was owned by more than one company B. There was at least one more similar accident happening in Central China before C. Before the accident happened there was no sign of something wrong D. When the accident happened one of the mine owners was in the pit Answer: C. Before the accident happened there was no sign of something wrong There are some strange driving laws in different countries. Vietnam: If you're in Vietnam without a Vietnamese driver's license, you risk a prison sentence of up to 3years. Russia: In Moscow, if your car is dirty enough to draw dust art, you will be fined about 2,000 rubles. Worse yet, it's not legal to wash your car by hand in public places--forcing you to take it to one of the few car wash facilities. Thailand: Drivers--males or females--can't drive shirtless, whether it's a car, a bus or a tuk-tuk. France: France requires its drivers to carry a potable breathalyzer all the time when driving a car. The one-time breathalyzer cost around US $ 5, and if you don't have one, you will be fined US $ 15. Cyprus: Raising your hands in the car can get you fined of US $ 35. The law states a driver can be fined if the person is not in a regular position inside the car or raises his hands from the steering wheel unnecessarily. Japan: Politeness isn't just the culture in Japan; it's part of driving laws. Splashing a person by driving through a puddle with your car will cost you over US $ 60. The country is also strict with its DUI laws---riding with or lending your car to a driver who gets caught drinking can lead to a fine costing thousands of dollars. What can get you fined for in Cyprus? A. Forgetting to carry a portable breathalyzer. B. Not having a Cyprus driver's license. C. Putting your hands above your head when you are driving. D. Driving without a shirt. Answer: C. Putting your hands above your head when you are driving.
One day, Allan and his friend Henry went swimming in a river. It was very hot. How happy they were in the river! After they got out of the water, they played games in the sun for a while. On their way back, Henry saw some flowers. He liked flowers very much and ran into the green field to look at them. Now Allan was walking by himself. Then he heard Henry calling out, "A snake ! Help!..." "What's wrong with you?" asked Allan. "A snake bit me in the leg. Come here!" Allan ran over and saw a small red wound on Henry' s leg. "The snake was in the grass. I didn't see it." "Sit down quickly"! Allan told Henry. Allan put his mouth at the little red wound and began to suck at it. In this way he saved Henry's life. "Oh, Allan, it's very kind of you to help me." "That's all right. We are friends and we must always help each other." After swimming, they played in the sun _ . A the whole morning B for 2 hours C long D for a while Answer: D We often hear people say, "I have a good memory for things like that" or "I can remember names". But do you know memory is the single most important thing and it has played a very important part? For early men, there were dangerous all around them--bad weather, wild animals. The key to keep on living lay in man's ability to remember these dangers and the ways he had dealt with them in the past. In order for memories to be stored, the human brain became more complex. And as man learned how to deal with them, he became civilized . Surprisingly, scientists today understand little about memory and how it works. They have not yet found a way to open up the brain and observe its function without destroying it. Perhaps there are two types of memory: short-term and long-term. Short-term refers to those facts that stay with us for a few seconds to a few hours. For instance, when you stay at a hotel, you remember the room number and forget as soon as you leave. Long-term memory, on the other hand, means you remember things for a long period of time. If you spend your honeymoon in a particular hotel, it's likely that you'll remember your stay quite clearly. Scientists also believe that a short-term memory can become a long-term memory through consolidation . A lot of chemical and physical changes take place in the part of the brain. Although the human brain weighs three pounds, it contains 30 billion nerve cells acting like a computer. When those changes strengthen the links in certain nerve cells, a thought becomes part of the long-term memory. According to the author, without the development of man's memory there would be _ A no modern world B no recorded history C no animals D no dangers Answer: A There was once a family called the McAllisters. There was a dad, John McAllister, a mom, Amy McAllister, and their two twins, Ally and Jonah McAllister. This family was a family family, but when it came time to eat dinner, they sometimes argued. This is because different people liked different meals. John liked chicken most of all, and Amy liked vegetables. The twins, Ally and Jonah, preferred hotdogs, but Ally preferred ketchup, and Jonah preferred mustard. When it came to every day dinners, they took turns eating what each person liked. However, when it came to special meals like thanksgiving, it was difficult for the family to choose what to have. There would be frequent fights between all of them on what they would eat. Finally, they all had the answer. They would invite their grandpa over, because their grandpa was a great cook and could make everyone's favorite food, including chicken, vegetables, and hotdogs. On Thanksgiving, everyone was happy. How did they choose what to eat for thanksgiving? A They took turns B They argued about it C They all wanted the same thing D They invited grandpa over to make it all Answer: D In August 2015, President Obama announced that North America's highest mountain, Mount McKinley, would be renamed. Its new moniker , Denali, was actually its original Aleut name, meaning "the high one". The previous name, on the other hand, only dates back to 1896--the year when it was named in honour of William McKinley(1843--1901), who was shortly to become President of the United States. Denali is of course not the only mountain with an interesting linguistic history, so let's travel to Asia, and across Europe, to explore the naming of those continents' most famous peaks and mountain ranges. The Nepalese name Himalaya comes from a Sanskrit word meaning "Abode of Snow", from hima for "snow" and alaya for "abode". In Buddhist sources, Himalaya is known by various names such as Himava and Himavanta. In 1856, Mount Everest was named after Sir George Everest (1790--1866), who was the superintendent of the Trigonometrical Survey of India. Everest himself was initially displeased by the naming, since he feared that local inhabitants might not be able to pronounce it. K2 stands for Karakoram 2, because it was the second peak to be surveyed in the Trigonometrical Survey in the Karakoram system. It was also formerly known as Mount Godwin Austen after Col. H. H. Godwin Austen, who first surveyed it. Another alternative name for the mountain is Chhogori. Annapurna is a household Goddess for Hindus, who guarantees to her worshippers that food will not fail. The name derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "one who gives nourishment". The Matterhorn's name derives from the name of the nearby town of Zermatt, the second element of which is apparently Matte "meadow", and Horn, "horn". Horn is not an unusual element in German names of mountains with jutting peaks. The mountain is called Mont Cervin in French and Monte Cervino in Italian, from the Italian adjective cervino "deer-like", which conjures up a deer's antlers. Ben Nevis is the Anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic name Beinn Nibheis, which means"Mountain by the(River)Nevis". The name of the river apparently derives from a Celtic root for "water". How many continents' mountains are mentioned in the passage? A 2 B 3 C 4 D 5 Answer: B Some people are pessimistic when they think about the future. They say that, a hundred years from now, we will have used up most of the earths resources. We will have made our seas so dirty that we will not be able to eat fish from them. There will be so many people in the world that we will have to use all the countryside for housing; there will be no farmland left. Other people have a different idea about the future. In their view, the city of the future will be a huge pyramid-shaped building, which will be floating on the surface of the sea. About 5,000 families will live there, and there will also be schools, shops in it. In a hundred years' time, people will not need to use oil. They will heat their homes with power from the sun. Think of space. Perhaps a station will be set up on the moon; people will be able to visit the moon as tourists. They may even spend their holidays in space, travelling from planet to planet. What an interesting picture! Many people don't think about the future. "I don't care. I'll be dead. "they say. But it is our duty to care because the world of a hundred years' time will be the world of our children's and their children after them. Where will people live in the future in the optimistic view? A On the moon B On the sea C In pyramids D On other planets Answer: B
A Nobel Prize is considered by most people one of the highest international honours a person can receive. As you know, the prizes were started by a Swede called Alfred Nobel. He was born in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Alfred Nobel was a great scientist. He made two important inventions, and so he became very rich. Although he was rich, Nobel was not a happy man. He never married or had children. Also, he was a sick man during his large part of life. When he died at the age of 63, he left a fund of $9,000,000. The money was to be used in giving prizes to those who made great achievements in physics, chemistry , medicine and literature , and for world peace. The first Nobel Prizes were given on December 10, 1901, five years after Nobel's death. Since then many famous people from all over the world have been given Nobel Prizes for their achievements. Each prize has three parts. The first part is a gold medal. Second, a winner of a Nobel Prize is given a certificate saying that he has been given the prize. The third part of the prize is a large amount of money-about $40,000. Often a prize is given to just one person, but not always. Sometimes a prize is shared. It may be given to two or more people who have worked together. It is also sometimes true that a prize is not given at all if there is no great achievement. In 1972, for example, no Nobel Peace Prize was given. When was Alfred Nobel born? A. In 1938. B. In 1833. C. In 1896. D. In 1906.[ Answer: B. In 1833. A new argument has been put forward as to whether penguins are disturbed by the presence of tourists in Antarctica. Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds' heart rates increased dramatically at the sight of a human as far as 30 meters away. But new research using an artificial egg, which is equipped to measure heart rates, disputes this. Scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge say that a slow moving human who does not approach the nest too closely, is not viewed as a threat by penguins. The earlier findings have been used to partly explain the 20 per cent drop in populations of certain types of penguins near tourist sites. However, tour operators have continued to insist that their activities do not adversely affect wildlife in Antarctica, saying they encourage non-disruptive behavior in tourists, and that the decline in penguin numbers is caused by other factors. Amanda Nimon of the Scott Polar Research Institute spent three southern hemisphere summers at Cuverville Island in Antarctica studying penguin behavior towards humans. "A nesting penguin will react very differently to a person rapidly and closely approaching the nest," says Nimon. "First they exhibit large and prolonged heart rate changes and then they often flee the nest leaving it open for predators to fly in and remove eggs or chicks." The artificial egg, specially for the project, monitored both the parent who had been 'disturbed' when the egg was placed in the nest and the other parent as they both took it in turns to guard the nest. However, Boris Culik, who monitored the Adelie penguins, believes that Nimon's findings do not invalidate his own research. He points out that species behave differently - and Nimon's work was with Gentoo penguins. Nimon and her colleagues believe that Culik's research was methodologically flawed because the monitoring of penguins' responses needed capturing and restraining the birds and fitting them with beart-rate transmitters. Therefore, argues Nimon, it would not be surprising if they became stressed on seeing a human _ . What do you notice about the views presented in the passage? A. They are groundless. B. They are factual. C. They are descriptive. D. They are conflicting. Answer: D. They are conflicting. If a screwdriver is bought from a high end store known for high quality, it will most likely end up A. falling apart quite fast B. breaking in half immediately C. with rotting wood this week D. passed down from parent to child Answer: D. passed down from parent to child London Underground The world's first subway was built in London in 1863. At the time,the government was looking for a way to reduce traffic problems in the city of London. The poor areas of the city were so crowded with people that it was almost impossible for horse carriages to get through. The city officials were interested in trying to make it possible for workers to live outside of London and travel easily to work each day. If people had a cheap and convenient way that they could depend on to go to and from work, they would relocate their homes outside of the city. This would help ease the pressure of too many people living in the poor parts of London. From these problems,the idea of the London Underground,the first subway system,was born. The plans for building the Underground met with several problems and delays,but the fast track was finally opened in January 1863. A steam train pulled the cars along the fast underground track which was 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) long. About 30,000 people got on the subway the first day. Riders were treated to comfortable seats (standing up while the train was moving was not allowed), and pleasant decorations inside each of the cars. However, the smoke from the engine soon filled the air in the tunnels with ash and soot , as well as chemical gases. Fans had to be put in the tunnels later to keep the air clean enough for people to breathe. Even with its problems,riding in the Underground did . It carried 9 million riders in its first year. Which of the following is TRUE? A. To relocate the workers' homes outside London,the government built the subway. B. There were so many problems and delays that in 18th century the first subway opened. C. The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. D. There were not enough seats for the passengers the first day the subway opened. Answer: C. The subway greatly eased the pressure of traffic. Several months ago I decided it would be wise to look into the possibilities of buying a life insurance policy , because I understood it might be a good investment. I got the name of an insurance agent from a friend and called the agent to get some information. From the kinds of questions I put to him the agent could tell that I knew nothing about insurance, so he kindly offered to explore the matter with me in more detail---to help me determine the kind of policy I ought to be considering. That evening he appeared at my door promptly at 7:30; without wasting time on pleasantness, he spread his papers out on the kitchen table and launched into a lengthy explanation. I listened attentively as he talked about the difference between various types of policies, and he explained the kind of coverage he felt I ought to have. Toward the end of the evening (after three or four hours of talking), he kindly helped me fill out an application for a $50,000 policy, and then he asked if I could go to a Dr. Luther's office on Friday for a physical examination. I don't know why, but it was not until the mention of the doctor's appointment that I realized fully what was happening. I was about to sign a lifetime contract, yet I had not really made a decision about whether I wanted to buy the policy. However, since he had spent so much time with me, I didn't want to make him feel that he had wasted his time. So I invented an excuse about things I had to do on Friday, and I assured him I would call him in a few days. Actually, I had no intention of going to see Dr. Luther or of calling the agent again. I wanted to forget the whole thing. It's been over three months now since our meeting, and my friendly insurance agent still calls at my office faithfully two or three times a week. My secretary knows that I don't want to talk to him, so when he calls she tells him that I'm in a meeting or that I'm out of the office or that I'm away on a business trip. I realize now that it was a mistake not to tell him that first night that I didn't want the policy. Since I still can't bring myself to tell him clearly that I'm not interested, and please not to bother me anymore, all I can do is avoid his calls and hope I don't run into him some place. After several hours of talking, the writer _ . A. decided to buy the policy B. decided to put off making a decision C. made an appointment with Dr. Luther's D. decided not to buy the policy Answer: D. decided not to buy the policy
Some butterflies live an average of two weeks. This period of time is called a life A. process B. span C. change D. cycle Answer: B. span Angus MacLeod was fifty and he had spent his entire life as a shepherd in the remote mountainous region of northwest Scotland. He had never owned a radio or television nor had he travelled further than forty kilometres from his birthplace. His knowledge of the world was gained only from his brief trips to the village to sell his sheep and buy food. However, he had lately come to rely on the growing number of hill-walkers in the region as sources of international news. In the spring of 1992, a Spanish student came across Angus high in the mountains. Eager to practise his English he engaged Angus in conversation. The student told Angus of the forthcoming Olympic Games in Barcelona. Excited by the student's colourful description of Spain and the Games, Angus decided to attend the event in person and two months later arrived in Barcelona. The ticketless Angus stood outside the stadium with his canny brain working overtime, watching a growing number of individuals entering the stadium through a small entrance at the side. He noticed that they all seemed to be carrying objects. Perhaps they were workmen, he thought. He moved closer and watched. Within minutes a thin young man came along carrying an extremely long pole. He approached the official at the door and said "Pole Vault". The official moved to the side and the man entered. Next came a heavy-set man with a spear. Angus wondered how a man could carry such a dangerous weapon in a modern city. The man shouted " Javelin " and was presently admitted. Angus was puzzled. Perhaps they were all connected with security. His puzzlement grew when a huge man appeared with a steel ball in his hand. He shouted "Shot Putt" and walked past the official. It suddenly dawned on Angus that these people were competitors. He opened his programme and sure enough under the heading "events" he saw the three words the men had said. Angus laughed to himself as a plan began to take shape in his mind. First he needed to buy one or two things. An hour later he reappeared dressed in a tracksuit with "Scotland" written across the chest. Over his shoulder he carried a roll of barbed wire . Smiling to himself he walked up to the official and as casually as he could, shouted, "Fencing!" From the passage we know that Angus seemed to be A. poorly-informed B. intelligent C. strong-minded D. athletic Answer: A. poorly-informed The laptop is a machine which can be a mobile office;it can be used to entertain us and people can play computer games on them.One machine can perform many tasks at the same time.As technology grows,the size of the new laptop machines is _ .Now laptops are lighter,have smaller screen sizes,and perform better.Smaller screen laptops,which are more convenient to take along with,have been specially designed for professionals.Huge display screen laptops are still used by graphic designers and those who like playing computer games. Laptops are advanced machines,and they can be very expensive.When we spend much money on something,we should take good care of it.I know some people who buy a new laptop every year.The reason they do this is that the old one either is broken or has some problems which cannot be fixed.Common problems are the breaking of the screen,the breaking of joints of the laptop,display problems,and keyboard problems. Different problems will always come up with machines,and they cannot be avoided .Old machines will always have to be replaced by new ones.However,if we are more careful and handle our laptops with care,they will last for a longer period of time,and they will perform better.This is not a hard thing to do,but it will greatly increase the life and performance of laptops. We infer that graphic designers still use huge display screen laptops most probably because _ . A. huge display screen laptops are very cheap B. small display screen laptops are not on sale yet C. they can see their drawings more clearly D. they also want to play computer games Answer: C. they can see their drawings more clearly "I Love My Neighborhood" Poster Contest The "I Love My Neighborhood" Poster Contest was developed in l993.It aims to educate your students and their families about neighborhood pride and duty.Lessons and activities are provided in a teacher's guide.Students can learn about the sources of litter and pollution prevention. RULES All children in primary schools are invited to submit one piece of work. The Winning posters will be reproduced and handed out throughout the neighborhood. Students are encouraged to bravely use different colors and to be as creative as possible! It is up to the student and you to decide which art tool to use such as crayons. Color pencils are not advised because they do not reproduce well. The topic, "I am part of my neighborhood!" must be included in the design of each poster. The Committee requires that students include their mascot in each poster. All work must be on normal-sized paper for winning posters reproduction purposes. Over-sized posters will have no chance of taking part in the final competition. All work submitted must be the child's own work.Your students can be guided by you or their parents; we simply want to avoid poster not drawn by themselves. *Please review each poster before submitting. Each work to be submitted must include the student's name, grade level,your name and school name on the BACK of each poster. For more information or questions about the 2012 "I Love My Neighborhood" Poster Contest, contact Jaixen Webb at (818) 551-6933 or ' We can learn from Paragraph l that the contest _ . A. has a history of more than 20 years B. offers kids activities organized by parents C. aims to protect the environment by the power of art D. hopes kids can feel proud of their neighborhood Answer: D. hopes kids can feel proud of their neighborhood The education of thousands of children with reading and sight trouble is being held back because of a lack of awareness of their legal rights, say campaigners. They are calling for greater efforts to increase awareness of the rights of such children to have text books in design other than standard print. The campaign is being supported by five times Olympic gold medalist, Sir Steve Redgrave, who has reading trouble. Pupils have the right to receive text in another way, and parents can take action under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) if they feel their children are being treated in a different way through a lack of support. But new research suggests 89 per cent of print disabled pupils and their parents are unaware of software which changes standard print into other substitutes like combined text and audio files which can be read or listened to. Sir Steve has teamed up with software company Dolphin Computer Access to raise awareness of software turning tools. He said: "I recognize that schools have competing priorities for their resources , but I would like to see a much greater effort on the part of the government and schools to raise awareness among parents that these additional solutions exist and that their children have a right to use them." Mike Foster, Dolphin's local MP in Worcester, is _ the campaign. "There is clearly an issue to solve concerning software for special needs. I'll be asking ministers what steps can be taken to improve the situation", he said. What is the best title of this text? A. Awareness of legal rights among parents B. Campaign started for disabled children C. Problems of disabled children D. Steve -- Olympic gold medalist Answer: B. Campaign started for disabled children
Question: Big Brothers Big Sisters is based on the simplicity and power of friendship.It is a program which provides friendship and fun by matching _ (ages 7-17) with a volunteer adult who can be both a role model and a supportive friend. Volunteer tutors come from all walks of life--married, single, with or without children. Big Brothers and Big Sisters are not replacement parents or social workers. They are tutors: someone to trust, to have fun with, to talk and go to when needed. A Big Sister and Little Sister will generally spend between one and four hours together three or four times each month for at least twelve months. They enjoy simple activities such as a picnic at a park, cooking, doing sports or going to a football match. These activities improve the friendship and help the young person develop self-respect, confidence and life direction. Big Brothers Big Sisters organizations can be found throughout the world. It is the largest and most well-known provider of tutor services internationally and has been operating for 25 years. Emily and Sarah have been matched since 2008. Emily is a 15-year-old girl who has experienced some difficulties being accepted by her schoolmates at school. " I was pretty sure there was something wrong with me." Emily's mum came across Big Brothers Big Sisters and thought it would be of benefit to Emily by "providing different feedback about herself other than just depending on schoolmates to measure her self-worth. Sarah wanted to get involved in a volunteer program. "I googled it and found out how to be a part of it. I thought it would be fun for me to get involved in making time to do something because sometimes it is all work and no play." Big Brothers Big Sisters has been of great benefit and enjoyment to both Emily and Sarah. They love and look forward to their time together and the partnership has certainly helped Emily be more comfortable in being the wonderful and happy girl she is! A volunteer is usually expected to work within a year for at least _ . A. 72 hours B. 48 hours C. 36 hours D. 24 hours Answer: C Question: Every year, thousands of young Europeans set off to explore their continent by train in the summertime. It is a necessary part of growing up and often the first time many Europeans travel without their parents. Now you too can share this adventure. There are so many places you can not afford to miss while travelling in Europe: the Eiffel Tower of France, windmills of the Netherlands and the Colosseum of Rome. How do young people afford to visit everything they want? The answer lies with the Eurail Pass. This ticket allows a traveller unlimited journeys by rail in European countries which are members of the scheme. Ambitious Chinese travellers can buy the ticket in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The most popular type of Eurail Pass amongst young people, according to Zhao Jiaji, from China Air Service Ltd, is the Eurail Selectpasses. With this you can design your own trip by selecting three, four or five neighbouring countries from a total 18 nations including Liechtenstein, Monaco, Hungary and Romania. "There is plenty of choice with this pass: in total this range offers over 400 different combinations of countries to choose from!" said Zhao. The Eurail Selectpass gives 5 to 10 travel days within a 2-month period. For more flexibility there are the Eurail Passes which allow you to take trains in 17 countries on any day you like. It is valid for a period of either 15 or 21 days, one, two or three months. If you just want to travel in one or two countries to learn more about the local culture, Eurail Pass also offers two-country passes such as Spain-Portugal, France-Switzerland and Belgium-Luxemburg. And countries like Britain, France and Germany offer a kind of Eurail Pass which allows unlimited train travel in their country. Before buying the Eurail Pass, you should know some tips to save money. The 2nd class train travel ticket is cheaper than 1st class. And youths under 26 years old or groups of 2 or more people traveling together can enjoy discounts. For more information, please check out http://www.tt-europe.com. How many major kinds of Eurail passes are introduced here? A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six Answer: B Question: International teams have spent nearly half a year looking for evidence of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, a search that includes the hunt for the aircraft's so-called black box, which holds flight data that would likely explain what caused MH370 to move away from its course. But many aviation experts wonder why, in our increasingly networked world, divers are searching the Indian Ocean for a metal box when technology already exists that would enable planes to stream black box data to the ground in the event of an emergency. Black boxes have been on planes since the late 1950s, and now every commercial aircraft has two: a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. (Although they are referred to as black boxes, they are typically orange in color, making them easier to spot in waters.) Black box recorders are mainly used to investigate the cause of in-flight accidents. While black boxes are built to survive a crash and long-term submersion in water, it can be a real challenge to find the device if a plane has gone down in the ocean. While each box contains a beacon , the unit only has enough battery power to transmit a signal for 30 days. After the crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009, it took divers two years to find the black box. Pierre Jeanniot, a Canadian engineer who helped perfect black box technology about 40 years ago, feels that the device, in its current form, is " _ ". He started to question its effectiveness more than a decade ago, after seeing the broken pieces of the black boxes in the 2001 attacks on the World Trade towers in New York. Jeanniot is now on the advisory board of a Toronto-based firm that has built a live-streamed black box system. When a plane experiences an irregular event, the system can send streaming data off the aircraft to one of the satellites and then down to ground-based servers, where the message is interpreted and sent to the airline. It seems necessary that the loss of MH370 and other similar cases wake more people up to the fact that the tools being used at this stage are inadequate for dealing with emergency situations, Jeanniot says. He also estimates that if this technology had been on board the missing Malaysian Airlines flight and live-streaming for the estimated seven hours after the flight first experienced a problem, it would have cost about $3,000. While there is widespread approval of a live-streamed black box system, most airlines see its cost prohibitive. The airline industry is an industry with small profits, and is reluctant to add costs that will further cut the bottom line. However, given how much time, money and effort has been spent on the luckless search for MH370, s black box, the cost of operating a live-streaming version seems like a trifle From the passage, we can learn that _ . A. it takes divers one or two years to find the black box after a crash B. the new system does not live stream black box data for the whole flight C. Jeanniot changed his view on black box technology when working for a Canadian firm D. operating a live-streamed black box system costs only three thousand dollars Answer: B Question: Is it ever a good idea admitting a teenager to carry a credit card? My kids watch closely as I swipe the card through the register. They've seen me do it hundreds, thousands of times. Cool. They are _ to swipe it through the machine themselves. When we walk out of the store with our groceries or pet food, or whatever, it's almost as though money has not changed hands, painless, easy. So it shouldn't be shocking to discover that teenagers are becoming card carrying consumers in their own right. The question is, should they? While some argue it's best to teach kids how to use a credit card while still living under the family roof, not everyone agrees. Dave Ramsey, financial expert says getting credit card for your teenager is actually "an excellent way to teach him or her to be financially irresponsible." Now parents are required to co-sign on credit cards for children under 21. "If their name is on the credit card, then the parent may say, Hey, my name is on this. Don't get me into trouble," says Mary Beth Pinto, a marketing professor. "When parents were the co-obligors , the children caused less debt. If the parents are the co-obligors, the tendency is that the parents were explaining how to use the cards." Still, Pinto believes parents should start the process much earlier. "Yes, there has to be teaching going on and it has to start when they're younger. You're not going to get rid of credit cards. They are here to stay. You have to have them. You can't fight progress," Pinto said. Ramsey, however, disagrees. "Throwing teens into a pool of (credit) sharks is a sure way to guarantee a life-time of heartache." he said, "You can make online purchases and rent a car with a credit card. Of course, you must have money in your bank account before you can make a purchase with a credit card. But paying for things with money is what you are supposed to do." Pinto will most likely agree that _ . A. parents should let teens own their credit cards earlier B. you shouldn't be in control of credit cards C. it is never good for anyone to get a credit card D. learning to use credit cards is practical Answer: D Question: Reading to oneself is modern activity which was almost unknown to the learned in the early days of the history, while during the fifteenth century the term "reading" undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading become popular. One should be careful, however, of supposing that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud is distraction to others. Examination of reasons connected with the historical development of silent reading shows that it became the usual mode of reading for most adult reading tasks mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character. The last century saw a gradual increase in literacy and thus in the number of readers. As readers increased, so the number of listeners dropped, and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the popularity of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, trains and offices, where reading aloud would disturb other readers in a way. Towards the end of the century there was still heated argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully, and over whether the reading of material such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its advantages, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and magazines for a specialized readership on the other. By the end of the century students were being advised to have some new ideas of books and to use skill in reading them which were not proper, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural, and technological developments in the century had greatly changed what the term "reading" referred to. Why was reading aloud common before the nineteenth century? A. Because silent reading had not been discovered. B. Because few people could read for themselves. C. Because there were few places for private reading. D. Because people depended on reading for enjoyment. Answer: B
Salamanders might be found under A. garden statues B. spaceships C. business suits D. love Answer: A. garden statues A child sits at his desk waiting for the teacher to hand back his test and praying that it is not sprayed with red marks. Fellow students in the classroom know a paper that has several red markings on it will usually receive a lower grade. The child with many red markings on his test will quickly fold the paper and stuff it into his desk in the hope that no one will see his test. There is an education movement to retire the reds for softer color1s of purple, green, and blue pens to mark students' work. Many educators understand the psychological harm the constant red markings on the paper do to a child's self-esteem. After a child receives his test back with countless red markings there is a rare chance that he will bother to find out his errors. It is too embarrassing in the classroom to examine his errors and also many children do not want to show their parents their red stained test. The purpose of grading a paper or test is to identify the child's weakness and offer suggestions to improve their ability in a specific subject. Red markings are too for the student to calmly understand their errors ; instead they become upset and begin their self-critical dialogue. No student wants to fail; they just do not know how to excel. All color1s have an influence on our state of mind. Red is a powerful color1 that gives us energy. Colors such as blues and greens are calming color1s to the body. Hospitals often have doctors wear blue or green scrubs because it relaxes the patient on a subconscious level. I have never seen a doctor wear red scrubs because it will stress the patient. Remember this when you decide to mark a child' paper with red, the color1 of blood. Students will not bother to find out their errors because_. A. they have made too many mistakes. B. they are ashamed of their papers with red markings. C. they don't care about the mistakes they made. D. they are not satisfied with the results. Answer: B. they are ashamed of their papers with red markings. 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." How old is he when he is trying to draw a baby on the blackboard? A. He's five years old B. He's fifteen years old C. He's fifty years old D. He's five like a cat Answer: A. He's five years old Which object will most likely be attracted to a magnet? A. wooden block B. plastic cup C. metal nail D. glass bead Answer: C. metal nail A mental professor walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired : "How heavy is this glass of water?" Different answers called out from the audience. She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed--incapable of doing anything." It's important to remember to let go of your stress. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down! Comments Aye Chan Aung---October 27, 2015 at 11:37 am Short but valuable! It has clearly taught me how to deal with stress. Nelson Malicdem--October 28, 2015 at 8:23 pm Wow! Thanks to the author and to the one who submitted this article. I am experiencing a challenge, as I read this it gives me peace. What exactly is in the article is what I am doing. My burden actually paralyzes me without my knowing it. I should put down the glass of water that I'm holding. Thank you so much! From the two comments, we can know that _ . A. Nelson Malicdem expresses thanks to the professor B. Nelson Malicdem thinks the story is meaningful C. Aye Chan Aung is suffering from heavy stress D. Aye Chan Aung complains the story is too short Answer: B. Nelson Malicdem thinks the story is meaningful
Question: Americans with small families own a car. If both parents are working , they usually have two cars. When the family is larger, they will sell one of the cars and buy a van . A small car can hold four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded. A van can hold seven persons easily, so a family with three children can ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They can all travel together. Mr. Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. So they sold their second car and bought a van. They thought it would be more convenient for them to go out together. Americans call vans motor homes. They always use them for holidays. When a family is traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. Americans usually use motor homes to _ A. Travel with all the family members for holidays B. Do some shopping with all the family members C. Visit their grandparents at weekends D. Drive their children to school every day Answer: A Question: Welcome to enj oy the Mattaponi powwow(meeting oi North America Indians)and culture day! Created in Virginia,America,the Mattaponi Indian Museum sits on a cliff overlooking the Mattaponi River.The Matta--ponis have worked hard to keep their ancient way of life,customs and ceremonies. One purpose of their yearly powwow is to share these traditions with you. MATTAPONI POWWOW AND CULTURE DAY:May 18 ADMISSION:Adult--$6.00 Children(under 12)--Free Come and spend the day with us on the shores of the Mattaponi River for an educational experience presenting the customs and beliefs of the Mattaponi.During this special day,American Indians will dance and play drums while dressed in tribal clothing.This year visitors may join in the dancing and trumming.Visitors will be able to observe artists and craftsmen as they show their basket-making and tool-making skills.American storytellers will help you see how their habits and beliefs are passed on to their children through stories. Enjoy Activities Taste American Indian foods Purchase crafts and souvenirs Play American Indian children's games Watch ceremonial dances and listen to ceremonial songs Important Cautions No pets Bring your own chairs and blankets Tickets may be purchased in advance although no refunds will be allowed For more information,please visit http: //www.hemattaponireservation.com/main. Visitors coming to enjoy the Mattaponi powwow and culture day can do all the following EXCEPT _ . A. enjoy American Indian foods B. watch ceremonlal dances C. play American Indian children's games D. get crafts and souvenirs for free Answer: D Question: If you are sitting down listening to what I'm going to say, stand up. Move your legs. Touch your toes, if you can. Do anything but sit. If you cut down on the time you spend sitting, you might live longer. New research shows that sitting less than three hours a day might extend your life by two years. Just the opposite, says Peter Katzmarzyk. He is a scientist at the University of Louisiana in the southern United States. He says that sitting is _ in our lives. "We sit while we're eating; we sit in the car; we sit while we watch TV. Many of us sit for many hours at work. " But, he adds, that does not make sitting good for us. The human body is designed to move. But modern lifestyles and office jobs rarely give us the chance to move around. Exercise is important. So is not sitting. "We can't throw away physical activity. It's extremely important. We have 60 years of research showing us that. Even if you exercise for 30 minutes a day, what goes on in the other 23-and-a-half hours a day is also very important." Mr. Katzmarzyk and his co-workers are part of a new generation of researchers studying how sitting all day affects length of life. This is a relatively new area of study--studies that have assessed the relationship between sitting and mortality or television viewing and mortality. Making uses of the few studies available to them, they found that cutting television time to less than two hours a day could add one-point four years to life. New desk designs are helping Change is already coming to some offices, especially in the design of desks. A "standing desk" lets people stand while they work. Another new design is called the "treadmill desk." A treadmill is an exercise machine that lets you walk in one place. That's one of the strategies that many companies are using now. Some companies may equip their employees with a "standing desk" or a "treadmill desk". Other companies may not buy one for everybody, but they'll have a bank of these desks where people can go for an hour a day and answer their emails or talk on the phone. Even some U.S. schools are beginning to experiment with such desks to keep children moving. Mr. Katzmarzyk says studying this problem has inspired his team to make a few changes in their own lives. "As a university professor, you know, it is a very sedentary occupation. We're chained to a desk in terms of writing papers and doing research. We really try to limit the amount of time we spend doing that." Suggestions for sitting less If you work in office job or have a sedentary job, Mr. Katzmarzyk and his team suggest a few simple changes: get up from your desk as often as you can take walks at lunch time walk to your colleagues' offices and talk directly instead of emailing them All these activities may help you live longer. Mr Katzmarzyk holds the view that _ . A. the study doesn't benefit him at all B. it's unnecessary to limit television time C. emailing colleagues is better than a face-to-face talk D. those taking exercises 30 minutes a day still can't sit long Answer: D Question: Starting college can be a difficult experience. You have to deal with new responsibilities and growing independence, a challenging course load and, of course, the social scene. When a roommate is thrown into the mix, it may feel like you're struggling with all that stuff while living in a small box with a stranger. But having a roommate doesn't need to be one more thing to worry about. When students go into their living situations with realistic expectations and a willingness to compromise, things can work out just fine. When you first meet your roommate, chances are you'll be on your best behaviour. You want to get along, since this is the person who's going to be sharing your living space for the next year. But try to think ahead to potential worst cases, too. For example, imagine it's 2 a.m. and you're working on a paper that should be finished in 8 hours. Your roommate comes in from a party and wants to continue the party in your room. At times like these, you won't be feeling good. That's why talking about problems that might come up ahead of time -- and respecting each other's wishes when the time comes -- is so important. Talk about the things that are really important to you, and make sure your roommate understands. Then encourage him or her to do the same. For example, does it make you angry when people take things without asking first? Let your roommate know your feelings about these types of things from the start, so that both of you have a feel for each other's likes, dislikes, and habits. Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage? A. It is really a worrying thing to have a roommate. B. It is difficult to get along well with a roommate. C. It is your duty to help your roommate in his or her daily life. D. It is very important for you and your roommate to understand each other. Answer: D Question: If you don't like reading books, this is for you. Have a few laughs . Sit down with a book of jokes, a picture book or a funny story- book first. * Ask around. Ask your friends or your teachers about interesting books. * Find new interests. After reading, you may find an interest in something new. * Go to the library. Don't be shy about asking a librarian a question like, "Do you have any books about soccer?" * See the world . When you want to know or see something, you can open the book about it. Try to read, you can find there is a lot of fun in books. This passage is about _ . A. how to read B. what to read C. when to read D. how to like reading Answer: D
Archaeologists believe they are on the turning point of throwing light on the life of William Shakespeare -- by excavating what may have been the playwright's dust hole. Experts have begun excavating the ruins of New Place, Shakespeare's former home in Stratford-upon-Avon, which was destroyed 250 years ago. Although little remains of the property, the team, led by Birmingham Archaeology, believes it has identified a dust hole used by the 16th century poet. Small pieces of pottery and broken clay pipe have already been found from a muddy hole on the site, which they claim could yield some of the most significant discoveries about Shakespeare in decades. The dig focuses on three areas of the property, which Shakespeare bought in 1597 when he returned to his home town from London having achieved fame -- including the so-called knot garden at the back of the building. Dr Diana Owen, Director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, which owns the site, said, "We do not know if the knot garden was an area used by Shakespeare -- it may have been a yard simply used by his servants. But this could actually yield some fantastic results, especially if it was an area where rubbish was thrown or the dust hole was located." Kevin Colls, from Birmingham Archaeology,added, "Through documentary evidence we know Shakespeare lived at New Place but we have very little information regarding the layout of the house and gardens at this time. Through archaeological fieldwork, in particular the dig of structural remains and the recovery of artifacts, we hope to fill in the blanks." Until October, visitors will be able to watch archaeologists and volunteers at work as they excavate the remains of the house, which was knocked down in 1759. Experts hope to unearth evidence to support theories that Shakespeare wrote many of his most famous works at the property. This excavation intends to _ . A know something about the playwright's dust hole B search for some treasure in the dust hole C explore the life of William Shakespeare D find something that Shakespeare lost Answer: C. explore the life of William Shakespeare YOUR mom might cook a bowl of noodles for you on your birthday. But in the US, a mom makes a cupcake for her children on their birthday. Cupcakes are small, round cakes topped with frosting . It has been an American tradition that moms bring cupcakes to the classroom to celebrate their child's birthday. But recently some doctors have called for this to be banned. They believe cupcakes contribute to child obesity. Despite their good intentions, however, some people believe that experts are interfering with American culture. The cupcake is seen as American as apple pie -- only prettier. According to Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, the cupcake is the most democratic of desserts. As they are small enough for one person, you don't have to share your cupcake with anyone -- it's all yours. They are also all the same size, so there can't be any cries of "she got the bigger piece!" Each bite can taste different depending on how much icing you have. It is a lesson in self-determination. Some people eat only a little of the frosting every time, others have it all in just one bite. In recent years, eating a cupcake has become as _ as having a cup of Starbucks coffee. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jokingly promised on a talk show that if she was elected president, she would give everyone a cupcake on her birthday. Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, explains that the rise of the cupcake is very much about going back to American national identity in food, which is all about comfort. "People want to think about when they and their country were innocent," she said. Which of the following is Not true according to Marion Nestle? A The cupcake is more democratic than any other deserts in the US. B The cupcake is too small to share with others. C The sizes of cupcakes are the same so it's equal to everyone. D Cupcakes will lead to child obesity so they should be banned. Answer: D. Cupcakes will lead to child obesity so they should be banned. Mark Twain was a great writer. He was from the USA. He was born in 1835. He was also a famous speaker. He was famous for his sense of humour. Many people liked to listen to him talk because he liked to tell some interesting stories to make people laugh all the time. One day Mark Twain was going to a small town because of his writing. Before he was going to leave, one of his friends said to him that there were always a lot of mosquitoes in the town and told him that he'd better not go there. Mark Twain waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. The mosquitoes are no relatives of mine. I don't think they will come to visit me." After he arrived at the town, Mark Twain stayed in a small hotel near the station. He went into his room, but when he was just about to have a rest, quite a few mosquitoes flew about him. The waiters felt very sorry about that. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Mark Twain. There are too many mosquitoes in our town." One of them said to him. Mark Twain, however, made a joke, saying to the waiter, "The mosquitoes are very clever. They know my room number. They didn't come into the wrong room." What he said made all the people present laugh heartily. But that night Mark Twain slept well. Do you know why? That was because all the waiters in the hotel were driving the mosquitoes away for him during the whole night. That day Mark Twain went to the town _ . A to see one of his friends B because he wanted to do something there for his writing C because he was told there were a lot of mosquitoes there D to see one of his relatives Answer: B. because he wanted to do something there for his writing Fish have ears. Really. They're quite small and have no opening to the outside world carrying sound through the body. For the past seven years, Simon Thorrold, a university professor, has been examining fish ears, small round ear bones called otoliths. As fish grow, so do their otoliths. Each day, their otoliths gain a ring of calcium carbonate . By looking through a microscope and counting these rings, Thorrold can determine the exact age of a young fish. As a fish gets older, its otoliths no longer get daily rings. Instead, they get yearly rings, which can also be counted, giving information about the fish's age, just like the growth rings of a tree. Ring counting is nothing new to fish scientists. But Thorrold has turned to a new direction. They're examining the chemical elements of each otolith ring. The daily ring gives us the time, but chemistry tells us about the environment in which the fish swam on any given day. These elements tell us about the chemistry of the water that the fish was in. It also says something about water temperature, which determines how much of these elements will gather within each otolith ring. Thorrold can tell, for example, if a fish spent time in the open ocean before entering the less salty water of coastal areas. He can basically tell where fish are spending their time at any given stage of history. In the case of the Atlantic croaker, a popular saltwater food fish, Thorrold and his assistant have successfully followed the travelling of young fish from mid-ocean to the coast, a journey of many hundreds of miles. This is important to managers in the fish industry, who know nearly nothing about the track of the young fish for most food fish in the ocean. Eager to learn about his technology, fish scientists are now lending Thorrold their ears. What can we learn about fish ears from the text? A They are small soft rings. B They are not seen from the outside. C They are openings only on food fish. D They are not used to receive sound. Answer: B. They are not seen from the outside. The newspaper must provide for the reader the facts,pure,unprejudiced,objectively selected facts.But in these days of complex news it must provide more; it must supply interpretation,the meaning of the facts.This is the most important assignment facing American journalists-to make clear to the reader the problems of the day,to make international news understandable as community news,to recognize that there is no longer any such thing as"local"news,because any event in the international area has a local reaction in the financial market,political circles,in terms,indeed,of our very way of life. There is in journalism a widespread view that when you start an interpretation,you are entering dangerous waters,the rushing tides of opinion.This is nonsense. The opponents of interpretation insist that the writer and the editor shall limit himself to the"facts".This insistence raises two questions.What are the facts?And:Are the bare facts enough? As for the first question,consider how a so called"factual"story comes about.The reporter collects,say,fifty facts; out of these fifty,his space being necessarily restricted,he selects the ten which he considers most important.This is Judgment Number One.Then he or his editor decides which of these ten facts shall hold the lead of the piece.This is Judgment Number Two.Then the night editor determines whether the article shall be presented on page one,where it has a large influence,or on page twentyfour,where it has little.Judgment Number Three. Thus in the presentation of a socalled"factual"or"objective"story,at least three judgments are involved.And they are judgments not at all unlike those involved in interpretation,in which reporter and editor,calling upon their research resources,their general background,and their"news neutralism ",arrive at a conclusion as to the significance of the news. The two areas of judgment,presentation of the news and its interpretation,are both objective rather than subjective processes-as objective,that is,as any human being can be.If an editor is determined to give a prejudiced view of the news,he can do it in other ways and more effectively than by interpretation.He can do it by the selection of those facts that support his particular viewpoint.Or he can do it by the place he gives a story-promoting it to page one or dragging it to page thirty. Where a story is presented in a newspaper shows . A the story's factual matter B the editor's prejudice C the reporter's background D the story's impact on the readers Answer: D. the story's impact on the readers
Climate is the average weather usually taken over a 30-year time period for a particular region and time period. Climate is not the same as weather, but rather, it is the average pattern of weather for a particular region. Weather describes the short-term state of the atmosphere . The climate is changing. Many agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns. Is the Earth getting warmer? Yes! The Earth has warmed by about 1degF over the past 100 years. But why? Well, scientists are not exactly sure. The Earth could be getting warmer on its own, but many of the world's leading climate scientists think that things people do are helping to make the Earth warmer. Global Warming may be a big problem, but can you make a difference? Yes! There are several little things you can do to make a difference. Try carpooling. This will help reduce the amount of fossil fuels going into the atmosphere. Whenever you use electricity, you help put greenhouse gases into the air. Turn off lights, the television, and the computer when you are through with them. Also, planting trees is fun and a great way to reduce greenhouse gases. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the air. Finally, don't forget about recycling. Climate is_weather. A the same as B different from C a kind of D part of Answer: B. different from I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. I wasn't an excellent student because I didn't do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn't have much to offer. I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn't too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in. I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she'd give me time off the next. But unluckily, it didn't often work out. I was getting very tired. Because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children. One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification if I wanted to work with children. I didn't think I would be accepted because I didn't take many exams in school. She asked me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten. Now I've got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that I could have a success, even if I am not top of the class at school. When staying with the two girls' family,the writer _ . A was paid for extra work B often worked long hours C got much help from her boss D took a day off every other week Answer: B. often worked long hours Hardly a day goes by without the subject of money being raised in most people's lives. However, it is highly debatable whether money is more important than other things, such as health and happiness, which some people consider to be of greater significance. To begin with, it is often argued that having money enables people to exert their influence over others. Wealthy businessmen, for example, are often the most highly respected members of society, and business tycoons are often referred to by world leaders, who then make policies that affect the whole population. As a result, money can be seen as the single most important factor in everyday life. Secondly, from the point of view of the individual, money is vital for survival. Western society is structured in such a way that, without money, people cannot get proper nutrition and health care. Furthermore, in some cases, the inability to pay heating bills can indeed become a matter of life and death. On the other hand, many people say that one of the factors in life, which is undoubtedly of greater importance than money, is health. As Izaak Walton said, health is, "a blessing that money cannot buy". What is more, money is sometimes of little comfort to those who are suffering from health problems. Despite the fact that money can buy the best medical care available, it is not a guarantee of a longer life. In addition, most people would agree that personal happiness easily outweighs money in importance. Even if an individual is extremely rich, this does not necessarily lead to happiness. In some cases, the contrary is true, and vast wealth brings a whole range of problems. Genuine happiness cannot be bought and it is usually independent of financial status. On the whole, although there are those who would rank money as the single most important thing in life, we, the vast majority, would disagree. Which of the following may the author most probably NOT agree with? A Money is of vital importance to most people. B Health is more important than money. C People often debate the importance of money in life. D Money does not guarantee a longer life but it ensures a happy one. Answer: D. Money does not guarantee a longer life but it ensures a happy one. Rick is a good man.He makes birthday cakes in a shop.His cakes are great and have very good prices,so many people buy his cakes.He makes friends with lots of his customers .They all like him very much.One evening.he wants to go home,but many of his old customers come in.Rick smiles to them,"I am sorry.It is late today.If you need cakes,please come tomorrow."One of them takes out a nice cake and says to him,"You make so many great cakes for us.This birthday cake is for you.Happy birthday, Rick." Where does Rick work? _ . A At school. B In the classroom. C In a shop. D At a party. Answer: C. In a shop. A forest was cleared for the building of a resort, but before construction began, secondary succession set in. Which of these describes why secondary succession appeared so rapidly? A The clearing allowed mosses to grow quickly. B Rock weathering occurred for lichens to grow. C Exposed substrates allowed microbes to grow. D The soil components remained for plants to grow. Answer: D. The soil components remained for plants to grow.
A German company was concerned about talks in Moscow trying to sell some 100 million dollars worth of equipment to a Russian State company. Talks went smoothly but differences remained. So Martin Bayer himself, the CEO of the German Company, decided to come to Moscow to head the talks. Besides caring about his business, the CEO wanted to go to Russia to hunt bears. Martin Bayer was one of the greatest hunters of our time (and the Russians knew about it). He went to the Sahara more than hundred times and hunted lions, crocodiles; he hunted polar bears in the North Pole and tigers in the rain forests of India. But he had never hunted Russian bears. So the Russians decided to organize a bear hunt for Mr. Bayer to sweeten the talks. This wasn't a simple task. Some people in the west still believe that bears may be found and seen everywhere in Russian cities just like squirrels may be seen in our back yards. This is not true. The closest place one may find bears in the wild is maybe 2,500 miles away from Moscow. However, a solution was quickly found. The Russian businessmen went to Moscow Circus and for $2,000 bought a very old bear. This bear used to amuse and amaze audiences in many countries for 30 years, but got and looked too old, and was retired. "Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening," they told to Mr. Bayer. "If compared to the Russian bears, your African lions are nothing more than harmless cats." The bear was brought to a forest 50 miles from Moscow and was left there. Mr. Bayer was told that bears were plentiful in that forest and that many cattle and even people had been eaten in the surrounding villages. Meanwhile, an 18-year old female drove through the forest on a motorcycle and suddenly saw a bear (no bears had been seen in those places for 200 years). She was frightened, fell, left her helmet and her motorcycle and ran away. Mr. Bayer was excited and ready to hunt. This could become the most successful part of his extraordinary hunting experience. The next moment Mr. Bayer saw a bear in a helmet driving on a motorcycle through the forest in front of him. The bear had a happy expression on his face, as he was doing something he had been doing in the circus for 30 years: circling on a motorcycle! Mr. Bayer lives in a private mental institution near Hamburg happily ever after. The equipment was never sold to Russia. It was sold to Iraq instead. Why did the Russians say "Be careful, the Russian bears are very dangerous, and frightening"? A. To tell Mr. Bayer that many people had been killed by bears. B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging. C. To warn Mr. Bayer to mind his safety while hunting. D. To tell Mr. Bayer that the bear is really dangerous. Answer: B. To make Mr. Bayer feel the hunting really challenging. One day, our teacher talked about the stereotypes of different people. I learned the stereotypes of Mexicans: they are poor and lazy. I was ashamed of who I was because I am a Mexican and thought that it would be hard for me to be successful. One day in the eleventh grade, we had a discussion in history class. The kid next to me said, "You look like one of those Mexicans who sell food in the street." I told him that he was also a Mexican. He said, "I don't look as Mexican as you. I have light skin." That was the first time that I'd heard someone say, "I don't look as Mexican as you." Could it be that the people who succeed in this country are those who look like an American? Towards the end of the eleventh grade, I was asked to write a restaurant review. When I went to a restaurant, I saw the waiter talking to the chefs and thought they were judging me. I felt nervous but I couldn't leave because I had to write the review. Minutes later, the waiter stopped talking and took my order. He was happy to serve me. I started asking him questions about his restaurant and I guessed that he liked that because he gave me a free dish. After I left the restaurant, I thought, "That's wasn't bad at all." Not all people think of me as a failure. Now, I am running for the school president in my senior year. I am not sure if I can win, but I tell myself that if I want to be successful, I have to stop despising myself. I want to prove that Latinos can be successful. I do belong to the United States. An American is a person who overcomes struggles to become successful and that is what I'm doing. What is the main idea of the text? A. Where one was born matters a lot. B. Being a Mexican is hard in America. C. Other people's opinions are very important. D. It is what he does that makes him an American. Answer: D. It is what he does that makes him an American. Do you still remember your favorite poem from high school or some other important periods in your life?Why is it that decades later it still stands out in your mind?Probably the main reason is that some aspect of that poem resonates with you. In the same way, you too as a school leader can touch the hearts of your teachers and students. Poetry allows us to experience strong spiritual connections to things around us and to the past. The power that poetry has displayed over time and across cultures actually satisfies _ of the human heart and soul. As one of the oldest art forms, poetry has successfully connected various parts of humanity from one generation to another. Referring to poetry, Hillyer makes a simple yet meaningful statement, "With this key mankind unlocked his heart." School leaders can find and make use of the value of poetry for themselves, their students and their teachers. Beyond the simple use of poetry, techniques of poetry such as repetitions can be used to take advantage of the power of language to transform communication, create meaning and a culture of care and attention. Since schools are mainly about people and relationships, school leaders, like poets, are required to inspire and encourage the human heart. The use of poetry--or even of some techniques of poetry--in school leadership not only helps to improve communication, but also serves to meet the human need for inspiration. Who is the passage mainly written for? A. Students. B. Teachers. C. School leaders. D. Poets. Answer: C. School leaders. When I was little, I'd see tons of bats flying around streetlights at night in my neighborhood in upstate New York. But I'll never forget the first time when I saw a bat up close. By the time I turned 7, though, I noticed something strange: All the bats in my neighborhood had disappeared, and I wondered why. Then, three years ago, when I was 11 and visiting the state fair, I learned what had happened to my town's bats. A disease called "white nose syndrome" had killed 93 percent of New York State's bats. I was horrified. Then I wrote a letter to the host of an environmental program on the local radio station, asking if they could do a show on bats. They did! But I still wanted to find a way to educate people face to face. I reached out to a teacher I had in elementary school and asked if I could make a presentation to her class. I described how bats help farmers by eating crop-damaging insects. It went over so well that other teachers started requesting me. Over the past three years, I've talked in front of everyone from 5-year-olds to senior citizens! Many people think that bats are blind, and that they always carry diseases, but none of that is true. The more I present, the more I notice that I am changing minds. And while getting people to respect bats is pretty hard, getting them to respect me has been difficult too. When I first applied to host a booth at a local street fair, the managers thought I was too young. But I refused to take "no" for an answer. I continued to make my case, and they finally said yes! The best part is, I impressed them so much -- 100 visitors on my first day -- that they now invite me back every year. How did the author save bats? A. By building a new home for them. B. By volunteering to work in the wild. C. By improving their living environment. D. By educating people that they are beneficial. Answer: D. By educating people that they are beneficial. Today tell you a series of information about how students in other countries can attend colleges and universities in the United States. Two years ago we broadcast our Foreign Student Series. Since then we have got more requests for information about how to attend American schools. So we will offer new reports in our series with the most current information. Each week, we will discuss a part of the process of becoming an international student in the United States. Each report will also appear on the Internet at www. Tingroom.com. Currently you can find the programs from the last time our series aired. Foreign students who want to study in the United States have many questions. How do I find out about American colleges? How do I choose the right one for me? What tests must I take? What kinds of documents will I need? How much will it cost? We will answer these and other questions in our reports. We will discuss the American system of higher education. We will tell about financial aid and rules about working in jobs while a student. We will discuss required tests and explain English language requirements. And we will tell where to find help in other countries. Our reports will also describe a few of the three thousand colleges and universities in the United States. We will discuss programs of study as well as living situations at American schools. For students without the ability to come to the United States, we will tell how to take classes by computer. We will also examine how the threat of terrorism has changed some of the rules for study in the United States. In researching our series, we talked not only to officials in education and government, but also to some foreign students. Most students say planning ahead helped make their educational experience successful. That is the purpose of this series--to help you plan. We would like to hear from anyone who has a question about studying in the United States. We will try to answer as many questions as possible as part of our series in the coming weeks. Send your questions to special @ voanews.com. The contents of the program include the following EXCEPT _ . A. discussion about the educational system in America B. description about some colleges and universities in America C. help foreign students to plan D. teach how to use computer Answer: D. teach how to use computer
Question: The earth moves round the sun, and the moon moves round the earth. When our part of the earth turns to the moon, it is night. The sun is much bigger than the moon. But sometimes the moon looks bigger than the sun, because it's much nearer to the earth. The sun is very bright. It gives a very strong light. The moon looks quite bright, too. But it doesn't give any light at all. 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 because they're much farther away from us. Read and choose the right answer Sometimes the moon looks bigger than the sun, because _ . A. it is much bigger than the sun B. it comes out only at night C. it is much nearer to the earth than the sun D. it doesn't give a strong light Answer: C Question: How to look good in a school uniform? You can look great in your school uniform, if you follow these tips: (1) Make sure the uniform is the right size for you. You will need a pair of scissors , but please, don't cut anything until you measure where you want the uniform to reach on your body. If you can find a tailor to do the job for you, it will be better. (2) Make your uniform tidy Your uniform should be taken good care of. Make sure your uniform is always tidy and clean. It helps you look smart. (3) Accessories can help. You can wear a nice watch. It will make you look beautiful and tell you the right time when you need to know. A cute hair clip can also make you, girls, look attractive. Choose a hat that matches the shape of your face or a backpack that goes well with your uniform. Also, have fun in winter by wearing colorful scarves. (4) Walk with confidence. It doesn't matter how cool your uniform is (or is not). If you are not confident, nobody will notice how great you look! The following things can make you look good EXCEPT _ . A. having a pair of scissors B. wearing clean uniforms C. wearing a nice watch D. being confident Answer: A Question: The Post Office in Britain is famous for getting letters and parcels to places to which they should be sent. The problem is that we the public have to observe the rules. For example, we must put a stamp on a letter. If we don't, the receiver will have to pay double. We often see the sign ALL LETTERS MUST BE CORRECTLY ADDRESSED. These days, this means having to use postcodes. If you didn't use a postcode, it's no good complaining that your letter should have arrived sooner. Parcels are a problem because they must be correctly packaged. If Aunt Sophie is going to send you a jar of your favorite jam, she will have to wrap it up well. The most important thing we have to do is to address our letters and parcels legibly and correctly. This means clear handwriting and correct spelling. What we should do and what we actually do are often miles apart. Recently, the Post Office had to deliver a letter which showed a name followed by the word Arijaba. What is this, do you think? Arabic? Hiodustani ? Wrong both times! Say it out loud and you'll see it's just plain English. HARWICH HARBOUR! If you didn't use a postcode, _ . A. your letter couldn't arrive soon B. your letter would be surely lost C. your letter could not be posted D. your letter would be sent back at last Answer: A Question: For pet owners, the hundreds of pet food recalls taking place each year has raised a lot of alarm. "Most people are caring pet owners, and they want to do what helps protect their pet," explains Will Post, founder and CEO, Hound & Gatos Pet Foods Corporation. "Yet the problem is that most are not sure what that means and how to go about it. The more they learn about pet food, the better able they will be to make an informed decision that will keep their pet healthier and safer." Here are several tips that consumers may want to keep in mind when it comes to choosing a pet food that will help reduce the risks. Get to know the company. Most people may know a company name simply because they spend millions on advertising. But that doesn't mean they know much about the company or their morals. Research companies to find one that offers high standards, quality products, and great customer service. Ask questions. Don't be afraid to get in touch with a pet food company and ask them where something was made, where ingredients came from, or any other questions. They should have no problem answering questions about their products, or with being able to provide proof of their quality standards. Read reviews. Do some searches to read some reviews about various brands of pet food. Keep in mind that some reviews can be one-sided and even planted by the company itself, so look for fair third-party sources giving the review. Investigate ingredients. The source of ingredients is of major concern when it comes to reducing the risks of pet food recalls and keeping pets healthy. Read the labels and ask questions to determine where the ingredients are coming from. Understand pet foods. Cat and dog food should contain 100 percent protein, which will supply them with the nutrients their bodies require. The problem with many commercial pet foods is that it is full of numerous fillers, such as cheap fillers and grains. Who are the intended readers of the passage? A. People in general. B. Food companies. C. Pet shop owners. D. Pet owners. Answer: D Question: More and more, the operations of our businesses, governments, and financial institutions are controlled by information that exists only inside computer memories. Anyone clever enough to modify this information for his own purposes can get big reward. Even worse, a number of people who have done this and been caught at it have managed to get away without punishment. It's easy for computer crimes to go undetected if no one checks up on what the computer is doing. But even if the crime is detected, the criminal may walk away not only unpunished but with a glowing recommendation from his former employers. Of course, we have no statistics on crimes that go undetected. But it's disturbing to note how many of the crimes we do know about were detected by accident, not by systematic inspections or other security procedures. The computer criminals who have been caught may have been the victims of uncommonly bad luck. Unlike other lawbreakers, who must leave the country, commit suicide, or go to jail, computer criminals sometimes escape punishment, demanding not only that they not be charged but that they be given good recommendations and perhaps other benefits. All too often, their demands have been met. Why? Because company executives are afraid of the bad publicity that would result if the public found out that their computer had been misused. They hesitate at the thought of a criminal boasting in open court of how he juggled the most confidential records right under the noses of the company's executives, accountants, and security staff. And so another computer criminal departs with just the recommendations he needs to continue his crimes elsewhere. It can be concluded from the passage that _ . A. it is still impossible to detect computer crimes today B. people commit computer crimes at the request of their company C. computer criminals escape punishment because they can't be detected D. computer crimes are the most serious problem in the operation of financial institutions Answer: D
Surfing the Internet for fun will make you a better employee,according to an Australian study. The University of Melbourne study shows that people who use the Internet for their own reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive than those who do not. Study author brent Coker said"Surfing the Internet at times helps increase an employee's attention." "People need to relax for a bit to get back their attention,"Coker said on the university's website."Having a short break, such as a quick surfing of the Internet, helps the mind to rest itself,leading to a higher total Internet attention for a day's work, and as a result, increase productivity ,"he said. According to the study of 300 workers ,70 percent of people who use the Internet at work surf the Internet for their own reasons during office hours. Among the most popular surfing activities are searching for information about products, reading online news, playing online games and watching videos."Firms spend a lot of money on software to _ their employees from watching video, using social networking sites or shopping online, "said Coker."that's not always a good idea." However, Coker said the study looked at people who surfed the Internet in moderation ,or were on the Internet for lee than 20 percent of their total time in the office."Those who spend too much time surfing the Internet will have a lower productivity than those without,"he said. What does the University of Melbourne study mainly show? Answer: I am an e-mail user.When I first started to use the e-mail system. I used to read all my e-mail.I didn't have much mail.1 was very excited about receiving any e-mail.I gave my friends my e-mail address.Soon I had more mail than 1 wanted.Some of the mail was junk mail.1 was worried.I didn't want my mail to control me. I've tried some methods to help me get control of my mail.First,I check my mail at the same time every day.Also I try to allow myself only 15-20 minutes every day to process my e-mail.This doesn't always work,but I try.Sometimes I save the messages.Sometimes I just read them,maybe answer a few,and then delete them.Sometimes I'm not at all interested in a message,so I don't even open it.I delete it right away.This is very much the way I go through the mail that the postal service delivers to my home. These methods are very simple.I have some friends who are very clever with computers.From time to time, _ teach me new tricks for managing my e-mail.I've also learned to transfer some messages to a disk so they don't fill up my mail files .Then I can read them later and maybe use them in my work.I'm still amazed at what e-mail can do for me! I'm still worried,however,about having too much to read. What's the purpose of the writer to write this passage? Answer: The doctor examined Nuala's leg. Nuala tried not to cry, but it was a challenge. Her leg really hurt. "How did you hurt yourself?" asked the doctor. "I jumped off a swing ," said Nuala. "Is it broken?" "It sure is," said the doctor, holding out the X ray. "See right here?" Two hours later, Nuala left the hospital on crutches . Her leg was in a cast . "What will I tell Ms. Chang?" she asked her mother in the car. Ms. Chang was Nuala's dance teacher. The spring dance performance was only two weeks away. Nuala's cast would be on for at least six weeks! "She's going to be so mad at me!" cried Nuala. But Ms. Chang wasn't mad. She said, "We'll think of something." Nuala was unwilling to go on stage with her crutches. "I look stupid," she complained. "I can't dance with these." "Have you ever heard the expression 'The show must go on'?"said Ms. Chang. Together, they went through the show. They thought of how Nuala could move to the music. They thought of ways for her to dance on crutches. The night of the performance, Ms. Chang almost had to push Nuala on the stage. Nuala's cast looked big and clumsy , but she went out and danced. In the end, the audience went wild clapping. Lots of roses were thrown to Nuala's feet! The show did go on! According to the text, the audience considered the show _ . Answer: My name is Frank White. I'm fifteen years old. I was born on May 13th, 1996. Mike is my good friend. His birthday is on May 15th. He is only 13 years old now. Every year on May 14th, we have a birthday party together in our school. We often have a pop concert . I play the guitar. He plays the drum. Many friends come to our party. We are very happy. Mike is _ years old. Answer: Are you planning to visit Britain? Here are a few suggestions for a beautiful weekend away. Bournemouth This famous tourist town has 11 km of beautiful beaches. Last year, 10,000 tourists visited this beautiful town. It's the perfect place to go swimming or sailing. There are lots of lovely parks and gardens to visit and it's a great place to eat out. You can also go to a classical concert or go dancing in one of the nightclubs. Stratford-upon-Avon This was William Shakespeare's hometown. He spent most of his life in this town and wrote his plays here. You can visit his house or see his plays at one of the Royal Shakespeare Company's theatres. There are some interesting museums and lots of beautiful 500-year-old house. You can also go on boat trips and visit traditional English villages. Alford Deep in the Lincolnshire countryside is the pleasant market town of Alford. It is known for its five-sailed windmill . Have a walk round this lovely old place and you'll see many pleasant houses from as far back as the 17thcentury. Captain James Smith, who was one of the founders of James town in Virginia, USA, was educated in Alford. Bath Most people come here to see the 2,000-year-old Roman Baths. But this city is also famous for its beautiful 18thcentury buildings and was the home of the writer Jane Austen. You can learn about her life at the Jane Austen Centre near Queen's Square. In the past, Bath was also popular with the royal family and Queen Elizabeth I spent one or two weeks every year here. Which place did a queen of England use to visit regularly? Answer:
Seisin and Vendee, standing on Greenacre, orally agreed to its sale and purchase for $5,000, and orally marked its bounds as "that line of trees down there, the ditch that intersects them, the fence on the other side, and that street on the fourth side." In which of the following is the remedy of reformation most appropriate? Answer: As later reduced to writing, the agreement by clerical mistake included two acres that are actually beyond the fence. Lincoln Park With its many fashion shops and coffee shops,Lincoln Park is also a wonderful part of Chicago which is a delight for people to visit.The Chicago History Museum shows typical Americas,and then of course there's the park itself.Facing Lake Michigan,it offers beaches,wildlife signs and Lincoln Park Zoo,where you can see gorillas and polar bears free of charge. Lombard-Oak Brook Unlike many parts in Washington DC and New York,Lombard in Chicago is an old-fashioned suburb which shows the traditional attraction of old-time America.It's known for its every year's Lilac Festival ,and for the"Little Orphan Annie"house,where the red-headed character was dreamt up by Harold Gray.The nearby village of Oak Brook is even more pleasant,and known for its golf courses and polo club. Magnificent Mile-River North Forming part of the always busy Michigan Avenue,Magnificent Mile is the place to shop in Chicago.Fashion shops,supermarket department stores,and smart restaurants make it a must-visit.And places to look out for include the epic Wrigley Building and the Chicago Water Tower,one of the few buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.The nearby River North district is well known for its many art galleries. The Loop-Downtown Home to the Civic Opera House,the Goodman Theatre,and the Art Institute of Chicago,where American masterpieces can be found alongside Old Masters,the Loop is worth visiting just for the streets alone.Look up at some of the USA's most famous skyscrapers ,and there is Grant Park-a wonderful place with the huge Buckingham Fountain at its centre. Which of the following statements is TRUE? Answer: If you would like to play golf,you can go to the village of Oak Brook. When would a puddle get smaller and disappear the fastest? Answer: on a day without clouds While we are on the subject of crime, our listener question this week comes from Mohamad Firouzi in Iran. He wants to know about the history of Alcatraz Island and the prison that once operated there. Alcatraz Island is in the harbor of San Francisco, California. It is best known for being a federal prison, which was also called "The Rock." It was once the most famous prison in America. Alcatraz was a military prison from the late eighteen fifties until the nineteen thirties. Then it became a federal prison for the country's worst criminals. These included murderers, bank robbers and kidnappers. One of the main reasons federal officials chose Alcatraz Island to detain these prisoners was because they thought it would be impossible for prisoners to escape. Cold, deep and dangerous waters surround the island. Also, the distance between the island and San Francisco is too far for most humans to swim. No prisoner was ever officially reported to have successfully escaped. However, in nineteen sixty-two, three men broke out of the prison. Each man worked very hard at night for many months to cut through the stone wall of his cell. They made false heads out of paper, paint and hair. On the night of June eleventh, the men placed the heads in their beds to make it look as if they were sleeping. Then, the prisoners escaped through the holes in their cells to get to the water. The men were never seen or heard from again. It is believed that they drowned while trying to swim to San Francisco. The prison closed in nineteen sixty-three because of the high cost of keeping prisoners there and the need for major repairs. The last prisoners were moved to other jails. In nineteen seventy-two, the United States Congress passed a bill creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Alcatraz Island and the old prison are part of this area. Each year, more than one million people visit Alcatraz to see the prisoners' cells and listen to stories about the jail's history. But unlike the prisoners who once lived there, visitors can escape from the prison whenever they want and return back across the harbor to San Francisco. Now Alcatraz _ . Answer: is a place of interest . Roslyn Hing School on long Island recently started a pilot program using iPads in some classrooms. A growing number of schools across the U.S.are multimedia,history through gamse and math with step-by -step animation of complex problems. As part of a pilot program,Roslyn High School handed out 47 iPads on Dec.20,2010 to the students and teachers in two humanities classes. The school district hopes to provide iPads eventually to all 1,100 of its students. The iPads are to be used in class and at hom during the school year to replace texbooks,allow students to correspond with teachers and tum in papers and homework tasks,and preserve a rocord of student work in digital files. "It allows us to extend the classes beyond _ "said larry Reiff,an English teacher at Roslyn who now posts all his course mateials online. But educators are still divided over whether practices to give every student a laptop have made a difference academically. "Thre is very little evidence that kids learn more,faster of better by using these machines,"said Larry Cuban,a retried professor of eduction at Staford University."IPads are excellent tools to attract kids,but then the fieshness wears off and you eget int hard-core problems of teaching and learning." But school leaders say the iPad is not just a cool new toy but rather a powerful and multifunctional tool with a number of applications,including thousands with educational uses. "If there isn't an application that does something I need ,there will be sooner or later,"said Mr.Reiff,who said he now used an application that includes all of Shakespare's plays. The program of using iPads in class is _ . Answer: only an experimental one carried out in some schools
Years ago, the American writer Kurt Vonnegut often said there was one story that would always make a million dollars: Cinderella. In Hollywood and in today's economy, it is more like $70 million and that is just a start. "Cinderella" made that amount in ticket sales when it opened last weekend. But the merchandising deals linked to the movie are also hugely valuable. So the artistic success of the film is open to debate. What is clear, however, is the movie's business success. It is a hit in the theaters but it is also a hit in retail . And Disney widened its usual market for "Cinderella" products. There are products connected to the Disney film targeted not only at little girls, but women, too. For example, the famous shoe designer Jimmy Choo partnered with Disney to create a version of Cinderella's "glass slippers" or shoes. You can buy them for about $5,000. At that price, you would not want to lose one at the ball, even if that is the way you get your prince. Several other shoemakers also accepted Disney deals to design versions of the famous footwear. The makeup company MAC quickly sold all its products with official links to "Cinderella." But lucky buyers were soon selling the products on the online marketplace eBay for many times the original price. HSN is a popular television and online retailer of jewelry, clothing and objects for the home. The marketer is now an exclusive seller of "Cinderella" products. So, is there anything left for the children, those people we think of as the traditional audience for the age-old fairy tale? Yes, you can find toys and other children's products at the American retailer JC Penney. Of course, you can also visit a Disney store. Disney also produced an animated version of "Cinderella." It came out in 1950 and is considered a classic. Which do you think the Disney company does better: live action or animated films? Post your thoughts in the comments section. The film "Cinderella" is also a hit in retail because _ . Answer: Hunters and bears are often put in fairy tales and often provide a lot for us to think about life and human nature. Two hunters, Ali and Hagan, went hunting for bears. For four days they saw nothing. Each night they slept in a nearby village, pledging to make part of the bear's skin against the cost of their lodging . On the fifth day a huge bear appeared, and Ali said nervously to his friend, "I don't mind admitting that I'm afraid to take this bear." Hagan laughed, "Just leave it to me, little coward." So Ali _ like lightning up the nearest tree at once, and Hagan stood with his gun at the ready. The huge creature came, moving on in a slow and awkward way, and Hagan began to grow more and more scared. At last he raised his gun to his shoulder, but by now he was trembling so much that, before he could take proper aim, his gun went off and missed the target . Hagan, remembering that bears never touch a dead body, threw himself flat on the ground and held his breath. The bear came up, sniffed all around him and moved off in the end. Ali, who had been watching the whole thing from the tree, now came down and, congratulating Hagan on his escape, asked him, "What did the bear whisper in your ear just now?" "Don't sell the bear's skin before you have caught the bear," Hagan announced. What can we conclude from Hagan's words at the end of the story? Answer: Imagine a school where there are no academic requirements,no curriculum,and no tests.Children have total contro1 of their education and are free to do what they want all day,every day.Sudbury Valley School in Framingham,Massachusetts has been operating this way since 1968.More than 30 schools worldwide have imitated the Sudbury model,and over 200 schools identify similarly as "democratic schools."These schools are designed based on the belief that children have an innate curiosity to learn and do best when they direct their own learning. Sudbury Vallev School admits anyone who wants to enroll between the ages of 4 and 18.Many parents send their kids from a young age because they believe that kids do best when they learn what they want to learn.Other students come to Sudbury because they had various issues in traditional school systems including rebellion,learning difficulties,and emotional problems. Sudbury is administered through a democratic process where every student and staff member has an equal vote.In fact,students outnumber staff 20 to 1.There's no age segregation ;four-year-olds can hang out with teenagers.Many staff members are part time and have rich careers as historians,businessmen,psychologists,artists,among others. Learning is self-directed and occurs informally through having conversations,starting projects.reading for enjoyment,and playing games.If students are interested in a particular topic,they work with staff and other students to organize courses and find resources.The requirement for getting a high school diploma is to write an essay about how they are prepared t0 be an adult.95%of students graduate.90%of graduates end up going to college,better than the national average of 66%. Most graduates say that they benefited from a self-directed education because they were more motivated than their peers,lacked fear of authority figures,and got a head start in their field of interest.They work hard at doing the things they love to do. Most graduates' attitude towards Sudbury Valley School's education might be _ . Answer: Not everyone goes to university after high school graduation. Some work, others join the army and an increasing number worldwide are taking a "gap year" to travel or do community service in their own countries or abroad. They are studying sharks off the Australian coast, building schools in Mexico and learning Spanish or Italian. The concept of a gap year may not be new, but the recent surge of interest certainly is. Some students are putting off admissions. Others, who don't get into the college of their choice, are taking a year to explore new frontiers before reapplying. Students are choosing to take a breather; they are thinking. They are not sure what they are going to do. They are going and exploring some of their interests. They are getting experience they can take to the school they finally go to. It is an idea actively encouraged by colleges. Princeton University has just launched a "bridge year" program that will send 10 percent of its incoming class to do volunteer work abroad, starting in 2009. And the Harvard has spent the last 30 years urging incoming students to take a gap year. "Many speak of their year away as a 'life-changing' experience or a 'turning point'" says Harvard admissions director Marlin Lewis. "Many come to college with new opinions about their academic plans, their extracurricular interests and the career possibilities they observed in their year away." After a gap year, one would probably _ . Answer: How much do you know about school life in Singapore? In Singapore, many middle school students spend a lot of time on their studies. People there always think that good schooling is the ticket to success . So, many of these students try their best to get good results in their exams. They have a lot of homework every day and exams are usually a big problem to them. Sometimes, a few even have to go to evening classes after school. Schools have many activities outside school hours. The students can join in sports and games, music and dance, swimming and rock-climbing. They also join in community service. In their free time, most students like to listen to pop music. Hollywood movies, Hong Kong and Singapore movies are very popular, too. Some of them also spend their free time searching the Internet, e-mailing their friends, playing computer and video games. They sometimes go to cafes, fast-food restaurants, shopping centers and big bookstores. So life for middle school students in Singapore is not easy but rich and colorful. The passage tells us that many students in Singapore would like to _ . Answer:
Question: Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee . In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries. Perhaps the show's popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It's possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them. But there's still hope for the paint brush. China's Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write. In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher's examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. "If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?" we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. "The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture," she reasons. "Students must learn now so they don't forget when they grow up." says the teacher. What can we learn about the Character Hero? A. It's open to people of all ages and all walks. B. It's the most-viewed TV programs in China. C. It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world. D. It draws great public attention across the country. Answer: D. It draws great public attention across the country. Question: Dude Ranch If you have little cowboys and cowgirls at home, thrill them by visiting a dude ranch on your next vacation. Your children can learn about nature, enjoy horseback riding, and gain an entirely new perspective. You can choose between programs that have you spending quality time with your kids, and programs that are for children only. This summer, enjoy the great outdoors -- at a dude ranch! For more information, visit: www.ranchweb.com/categorydisplay.htm Six Flags Great Adventure Have a classic vacation by visiting one of the most famous theme park chains. With locations all over the U.S., there's sure to be a Six Flags near you. Take the whole family and be back at work on Monday. Escape the summer heat with countless water rides. Take your kids to have brunch with Bugs Bunny, or check out the new Safari Park, where you can interact with real animals. For more information, visit: www.sixflags.com/national/index.aspx Roswell UFO Festival Do you have science fiction fans in your household? Encourage their interests and experience a special vacation at the annual Roswell UFO Festival. Come in costume if you wish, and join the parade . Attend lectures by famous authors and researchers, or watch up-and-coming bands perform. Even if you're not a believer, you can still enjoy the artwork, music, and great celebration. For more information, visit: www.roswellufofestival.com Earthplace It's not easy being green, but it can be fun if you visit the exhibits at Earthplace in Westport, Connecticut. This 62-acre wildlife reserve is committed to educating the public about the environment and promoting positive action to preserve nature. The exhibits provide hands-on features that make learning fun for your kids. After touring the exhibits, visit the garden and the playground, and enjoy the summer weather. For more information, visit: www.earthplace.org/index.html Dude Ranch and Six Flags Great Adventure are similar in that _ . A. they are both suitable for a family vacation B. they both take place in the city C. they both allow people to have brunch D. they both provide water rides Answer: A. they are both suitable for a family vacation Question: Most people are aware of what the adoption process is because it has become rather common in our society. Adoption is where a child is legally placed with guardians or parents (or perhaps a single parent) other than the birth mother or father. Once an adoption is finalized, all parental rights are turned over to the adoptive parents and there is no legal difference between adoptive parents and natural birth parents. There are generally two types of adoption, which are closed adoption and open adoption. When an adopted person has access to his or her adoption file and original records, it is referred to as an open adoption. The term is also used to describe any contact that may be between the adoptive family, the birth parents, and the adopted child. The level of openness can change greatly in such contact depending on each individual relationship. There can be indirect contact between the natural birth parents and the child through the form of letters and photographs, or there can be actual physical contact. A semi-open adoption is where the birth parents may have contact with the adoptive parents before the birth of the child, either once or several times. After the birth there is no more contact. A semi-open adoption may remain as it is or it can become either open or closed. A closed adoption is where only the medical and historical information about the biological parents is given to the adoptive family. Typically, the birth and adoptive parents do not know each other's identities. The record of the birth parents is kept sealed . A closed adoption is usually only effective in the adoption of babies. The adoption of an older child who already knows his or her birth parents cannot be kept closed. From the passage, we know adoption is _ . A. where a child is brought up by the government B. where a child is legally sent abroad by the birth parents C. where a child is legally placed with adoptive parents D. where a child is sent to live with the children whose parents have died Answer: C. where a child is legally placed with adoptive parents Question: Dear Tom How are you? I'm at a new school this term. And I'm writing to you about my school now. My new school is big and nice. There are one thousand and four hundred students and one hundred and forty teachers at my school. I like the teachers. They are very kind to me. My classmates are very friendly, too. They teach me Chinese and I teach them English. There are trees, flowers and green grass at my school. They are very beautiful. Behind my school there is a small river. The water in it is quite clean. We can swim in it. We have no classes on Saturdays or Sundays. Sometimes I go to play football or basketball with my classmates. Sometimes I stay at home and watch TV. Sometimes I go to shops with my father and mother. We all like China. Please write to me soon! Yours Jack Jack's teachers _ . A. teach him English very well B. only teach him Chinese and English C. don't like him at all D. are quite good to him Answer: D. are quite good to him Question: Many of us mistakenly believe that it's wrong to think we have any good qualities. We may spend a lot of time blaming ourselves for our negative qualities, thinking that self criticism is the key to improving our performance. However, a constant focus on our supposed shortcomings can stop our efforts to make friends with other people. How can we believe that others could like us if we believe our inner being is flawed? If someone seems to dislike you, the reason for that dislike might have little or nothing to do with you. The person who doesn't like you might be fearful, or shallow or busy or shy. Perhaps you and that person are simply a mismatch for each other at this particular time. Don't take yourself out of the game by deciding that your flaws are bigger than your good qualities. In fact, some of the very qualities you consider to be flaws may be irresistible to someone else. Although some factors that might cause one person to reject you, there are at least many factors that will work in your favor. You might be thirty pounds over your ideal weight, but you may have a wonderful laugh and a real enthusiasm for life. There are many people who don't mind your extra pounds. You may drive a shabby car, but you might be a great dancer and a loyal friend. There are people out there looking for loyalty, or fun, or sweetness, or wisdom, and the package it comes in is not important. If you are worried that you are not beautiful enough to attract friends, keep in mind that not everyone is looking for physical beauty in their friends. You can decide to feel inferior because you don't have much money and you don't drive a nice car. You can believe that this is the reason that you don't have many friends in your life. On the other hand, if you are very wealthy you may be suspicious that everyone is after your money and that nobody really likes you as a person. The point is that you can focus on just about anything and believe it's the reason you do not have friends and cannot make any. If you are not liked by a person, _ . A. you should find the reason in yourself B. you'd better talk with the person face to face C. you may not be the one to be blamed D. you and that person misunderstand each other Answer: C. you may not be the one to be blamed
The _ film Titanic has brought millions of dollars and thousands of people to the theaters and continues to touch people today in their homes. Why is this film so successful? It is a combination of many different things. Among these are many different elements. Looking at some of these elements will show how the director and others involved were able to create an emotionally charged movie that appealed to millions. The film uses one thematic element called - The Truth of Human Nature. The two main characters seem to represent noble people. Most of the other characters in the film are shown as non-tolerant, rude and cold-hearted people. The element of focusing on the two main characters' love and emotion seems symbolic of an ideal state. There are also social problems addressed. This is done in a few different ways. The most noticeable way is that the lower class people remain locked in the basement as the ship goes down. Throughout Titanic, the lighting is very important. The poor, lower class people are always shown in very warm-coloured light that gives them a sense of life and happiness. On the other hand, the rich, upper class are always shown in a flat light portraying the feeling of hardness and coldness. By using these techniques, they show the issue of class segregation , and they create stereotypes. The main characters are able to break free of these stereotypes and be together. This is the solution to the segregation problem. As you can see, Titanic took a lot of thinking and preparation to film in a manner that would create emotion and bring to the surface the issues and story of the great ship. What can we infer from the passage? _ Answer: Though love is the main theme of Titanic, it also reflects some social problems. Scientists fear rising energy bills may lead to an increase in obesity after discovering a link between poorly-heated homes and higher body -fat. Researchers from the University of Stirling's Behavioural Science Centre set out to explore claims that warm indoor temperatures have contributed to rising obesity levels in winter.Instead, the team found that people who live in well-heated homes are more likely to have low body mass index levels while those who keep their heating turned down or off tend to be heavier. Dr Michael Daly, behavioral scientist and senior lecturer, said: "We set out to investigate the scientific claims that cooler indoor temperatures help us maintain a healthy weight by pushing our bodies to use up more energy. In fact, the research suggests people may eat less and burn more energy when in a warmer indoor environment. The 13-year study, published in the journal Obesity, involved more than 100,000 adults across England. Researchers found reduced weight levels among people living in homes heated to above 23degC(73F), which involved about 15,000 of the households studied. Dr Daly said: "As national gas bills continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation, this research suggests the obesity could worsen where heating is turned down below comfortable levels or off for long periods to cut costs." This is not just about people who live in well-heated homes being in the financial position to afford more expensive low-calorie foods, exercise classes and sporting activities, and therefore finding it easier to maintain a low BMI level.The study took age, sex, social class and other factors into account. "The comfortable temperature of 20degC -23degC is where we feel comfortable in our clothes and are neither hot nor cold.At temperatures above this, we use more energy and we eat less because our appetite is affected." According to the passage, with rising gas bills, people may turn down or off their heating to _ . Answer: save money Price sued Derrick for injuries Price received in an automobile accident. Price claims that Derrick was negligent in (a) exceeding the posted speed limit of 35 m.p.h., (b) failing to keep a lookout, and (c) crossing the center lineDerrick testified on his own behalf that he was going 30 m.p.h. On cross-examination, Price's counsel did not question Derrick with regard to his speed. Subsequently, Price's counsel calls Officer to testify that, in his investigation following the accident, Derrick told him that he was driving 40 m.p.h. Officer's testimony is Answer: admissible as an admission. Most children have heard their parents at one time or another yell "sit up straight!" or "don't slouch!" In the past, this was usually heard at the dinner table as children ate dinner. But these days, it is also heard around another activity-video games. Ten-year old Owaish Batliwala, from Mumbai, India, admits he spends three to four hours each day playing games on his tablet computer. His mother Mehzabin became concerned when her son started saying that his neck hurt. She said, "My son started having neck problems around June or July. The pain slowly spread to his hand and his back. He plays for hours on the iPad and mobile phone. This is what has caused the problem." Sadia Vanjara is a physical therapist. She says the number of young children with chronic pain in their necks, arms and shoulders is on the rise. Dr. Vanjara says the pain is not from aging, accidents or disease. It is from poor posture, or body position, while playing video games. "They are not aging, they haven't had an accident, their age is like, under 10, they are not complaining, the blood reports are fine, their x-rays are fine, their MRI's are fine, then where is the culprit ? And that is the very common thing that is happening amongst all children and that is smart phones and the gadgets ." This is a problem in many parts of the world. But there are more smartphone users in India than anywhere else in the world, except China. Networking equipment company Cisco estimates that the number of smartphone users in India will increase from 140 million today to 651 million by 2020. 19-year old student Nida Jameel says she feels pain in the finger which holds the weight of her smartphone most of the day. She says she uses her smartphone 24/7. This means 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or all the time. "As I use phone 24/7 (all day) like, so probably yeah, it was because of the phone, continuous usage and Snapchat, Whatsapp, more and more you know social media coming, so like phone is the center of everything." Dr. Vanjara says the best treatments for the pain are daily exercises. "And start stretching it in all the possible directions that you can." Correct posture can help prevent pain. Dr. Vanjara teaches children how to hold their gadgets correctly. She tells a patient to hold the gadget in front of the face. She says that bending the head down to look at the device, strains the neck and creates an unhealthy bend to the back. Sadia Vanjara predicts we will see not only physical but psychological and emotional problems resulting from overuse of gadgets. Experts advise taking breaks from using a computer or other device often. Stand up. Stretch your legs, back, shoulders and arms. And when your work or school work is done, unplug and exercise. What can we learn from the passage _ ? Answer: the culprit is smart phones and the gadgets We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why. "Look down, Elsa," Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village, And I saw the criss-cross of streets leading to the square. "See, my dear," Father said gently, "There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road. try another." Now I understood why I was there, Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she didn't believe the lunches were as bad as I said. When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere . Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan. At school the next day, I secretly poured my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I asked our cook to serve it to Mother at dinner. _ She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, "The cook must have gone bad!" Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would deal with the matter of lunches at school the next day! In the following years I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I began to work as a fashion designer two years ago. I wouldn't stop working until I tried every possible means to my goal. Father's wise words always remind me that there is more than one way to the square, What did the author want her mother to do earlier that day? Answer: Speak to the school about lunch.
Two American scientists told the people in industrial nations that they would be much healthier if they ate more of the same kind of foods eaten by humans living more than 10,000 years ago. The scientists say that the human body has changed very little since human first appeared on earth, but the way we live has changed greatly. Our body has not been able to deal with these changes in life style and this has led to new kinds of sicknesses. These new sicknesses were not known in ancient times. So they are called "diseases of civilization". Many cancers and diseases of the blood system, including heart attacks and strokes are examples of such diseases. Scientists noted that early stone-age people used very little alcohol or tobacco, probably none. Ancient people also got a great deal of physical exercise, but a change in food is one of the main differences between life in ancient times and life today. Stone-age people hunted wild animals for their meat, which had much less fat than farm animals. They also ate a lot of fresh wild vegetables, and fruits. They did not use milk and other dairy products, and they made very little use of grains. But today, we eat a large amount of dairy products and grain foods. We eat six times more salt than stone-age people. We eat more sugar. We eat twice as much fat but only one third as much protein and much less vitamin C. People today probably do not want to live as people thousands of years ago did, but scientists say that we would be much healthier if we ate as those ancient people did, cutting the amount of fatty, salty and sweet foods. New kinds of sicknesses have been found because _ A the human body has changed compared with human first appearing on earth B the way we live has changed a little C our body can't deal with the changes in life style D the way we live today are improper for the human body Answer: C. our body can't deal with the changes in life style BOGOTA (Reuters) -- Colombian mobile telephone users are being tricked by criminals who pretend to be phone operators and instruct them to turn off their cellphones just long enough to demand a large amount of money from their families. prefix = st1 /Colombia has seen a large number of cases in which mobile phone customers receive messages telling them to turn off their cellphones for two hours because their telephones havebeen cloned, police say. The criminals then contact family members of the phone user to say that he or she has been taken hostage . Families who have no way of contacting their are directed where to drop off money before the two hours are up. "If you get a call telling you to turn off your cellphone, contact the official department." Local television channel Caracol told viewers during a Tuesday news program. BERLIN (Reuters) -- A Berlin court has sentenced a man known as "Schnitzel Stephan" to 18 months in prison for cheating 64 restaurants in the past year. The man of 160 kg, with a thin grey beard, would regularly order lamb chops, steak or Viennese schnitzel along with several beers. When the bill came, he either ran for the door or told the waiter he had no money. Iris Berger, a spokeswoman for the Berlin Justice Department, said on Thursday the 43-year-old jobless truck driver had been convicted ( ) on 64 counts of fraud ( ). The total damage to restaurants was $4,100. We can learn from the passage that Viennese schnitzel is. _ . A the name of a kind of food B the name of a restaurant C the name of a person D the name of a truck Answer: A. the name of a kind of food Every weekday morning I take the 8:30 bus to go to my job. I know by sight several people who also ride in that bus. Some of the girls work as maids. They get off at each stop in ones, twos or threes. But at one corner something wonderful happens. Before the bus stops, a little dog races out of the nearest house. He doesn't look at two of the maids who get off. But for the third he has a joyful "Hello!" From head to tail his little body wags his happiness. Everyone on the bus watches until the maid and the dog go into the house. One day not long ago the maid wasn't on the bus. I wondered if the dog would be waiting for her. Sure enough, he was! He stood at the back door of the bus for a minute. I could see his joyful welcome turning into fearful worry. Where was she? The driver closed the back door. The dog ran to the front door. It, too, shut in his face. Everyone on the bus felt sad. Poor little pup! He looked so unhappy, standing there! The driver couldn't stand it. He opened the door and looked down at the dog. "She didn't come today," he said, in a loud, kind voice. A man in a front seat leaned forward. "Maybe she will come tomorrow," he called. The dog wagged his tail as if to say "thank you." He watched the bus as we pulled away. Then he turned to trot home -- alone. The next day everyone on the bus was happy to see the maid back again. Yes, the dog was waiting for her. The welcome he gave her was even warmer and more delighted than usual. We all smiled at one another. How bright and good the morning suddenly seemed to us! What do the people on the bus usually see at one corner? A A little dog coming close to the bus when it stops. B Two maids get off the moment the bus stops. C A dog waiting for someone. D A dog greets a maid merrily and follows her into a house. Answer: D. A dog greets a maid merrily and follows her into a house. Australia is the smallest continent in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is near the south of the equator .So when it is summer in our country, it is winter in Australia. Australia has a small population .The population of Australia is nearly the same as that of Shanghai, a city in China. Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos. After driving for a short time from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep are everywhere. Have you seen a kangaroo? It has a "bag" below its breast . The mother kangaroo keeps its baby kangaroo in the "bag". It is very strange, isn't it? China is _ than Australia. A larger B large C small D smaller Answer: A. larger A mouse happened to look through a hole in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. "What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered. But he was sad to discover it was a mousetrap . Back to the farmyard, the mouse announced this warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The hen clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a great concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." Then the mouse turned to the pig. The pig sympathized, but said, "I am very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers." Then the mouse turned to the cow and repeated the same words. The cow said, "Moo, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and sadly faced the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey . The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it. It was a poisonous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. When she returned home, she still had a fever. Everyone knows fresh chicken soup is good to treat a fever. So the farmer took his knife to the farmyard. The hen was killed. But his wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well but died. So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow killed to provide enough meat for all of them for the lunch. The mouse looked on it all from his hole in the wall with great sadness. How does the author develop the passage? A By argument. B By time. C By discussion. D By space. Answer: B. By time.
Joe Bloggs always had a cigarette on his lips. He smoked while he read, while he watched TV, and while he drank a cup of coffee. He smoked forty cigarettes a day, but he was happy. Joe's friend, Fred Brown, said to him, "It is very bad to smoke". When Joe heard this , he started to worry and became so thin that he went to Fred for help. Fred said , "You must eat more". O Joe did not smoke , but he ate chocolate , and he became very fat. Again he went to Fred for help. Fred said , " You must not eat chocolate". So Joe stopped eating chocolate , but he went back to smoking cigarettes. He became thin again but he was not happy, because he still smoked. Sometimes Joe Bloggs wished Fred Brown was not his friend! In the end Joe was unhappy about his friendship with Fred because _ Answer: he in fact had never really understood what Fred meant Where did that number come from? Eleven and Twelve The reason behind the change in number naming is that eleven comes from the German term ainlif, which translates to "one left". Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif--"two left". Why teen is used instead of lif for 13 through 19? There is something sadly lost in history. 911 for US Emergency Calls Early phones didn't use phone numbers--the operator had to connect your call by hand--and this led to the need for an emergency code . But later phone numbers became popular, that changed. In 1967, 911 was chosen as the nationwide emergency call because it was easy to remember and could be quickly dialed on the phone. 26.2 Miles in a Marathon The story began with an ancient Greek soldier carrying message from a battlefield in Marathon to Athens. The modern marathon was born as a flagship event in the first Olympic Games, in 1896, with a distance of about 25 miles (40 km), as long as the distance from Marathon to Athens. But race organizers for the 1908 Olympic Games in London wanted to add something special. The race began at Windsor Castle and ended at White City Stadium, with runners finishing only after passing the royal box. The distance was 26.2 miles (42.1 km). And since 1924 this distance has been kept in marathon. 28 Days in February Before using the Gregorian calendar that we use today, one of the first Roman calendars had only 304 days and ten months (March through December), with six months of 30 days and four of 31 days. The second king of Rome improved the old calendar. He added 50 days for January and February. To make the new months longer, he took one day from each of the 30-day months, making 56 days to divide between January and February (or 28 days each). Later January was given one more day to add up to 355 days a year, but February still had 28 days. That's how it became the shortest month and it stayed that way ever since. The marathon distance was made longer at London Olympic Games because _ . Answer: the British wanted to make the race different When the Farnsworth family moved to their new farm in 1919, eleven-year-old Philo was surprised to find it wired for electricity. This unusual circumstance contributed to his fate -- to become an important inventor of the twentieth century. By thirteen, Farnsworth had become a self-taught electrical engineer. He was able to fix the farm's generator when none of the adults could. In 1922, he read an article about a new idea of John Baird, a Scottish scientist, who had been working with the cathode ray tube for the transmission of electronic pictures and wanted to attempt it himself. Farnsworth studied everything he could find on the subject. Although many older engineers with money backers were already developing television, Farnsworth made a bold decision -- he was going to perfect a working model of it before anybody else. In college, Farnsworth continued his research with cathode ray and vacuum tubes, but the death of his father, the only money maker in the family, forced him to give up this research and find a job. His first job was for George Everson, with whom Farnsworth discussed his dream of television. While acknowledging the achievements of those who came before, Farnsworth thought that he could get closer. Everson agreed to risk $6,000 for the research. Backers came in 1927 to see the first American television, one year after Baird's. They were astonished to see the image of a single white line resolve itself on the screen before them, and agreed that this new invention was worth putting money into. In 1930, Farnsworth won a patent for his all-electronic TV. By the time he died, he had earned over 300 American and foreign patents for electronic and mechanical devices. When Farnsworth was at a young age, he _ Answer: had shown a surprising ability in the electrical field Which of the following is a central role of carbon in the chemistry of living organisms? Answer: Carbon can form many types of molecules with covalent bonds. There once was a doggy named Jack that was really bored. One day he was sitting on the sofa he thought to himself, "Maybe I'll go for a ride." The dog put on his shoes and hat and walked out of the door. He began riding down the street and he saw a lot of funny things. He saw a pumpkin name Sue using toothpaste, a cat name Walt watching a movie and a bear name Phil cooking on a grill. On his drive back home he saw a rat name Randy, and a lion name Leo riding a bike. When the doggy got back home he wanted to write a book about all of the things that he saw. He went into his office and gathered the pen and paper, sat down and began writing. After hours of writing he felt that his leg was hurting from being bent under the table so long. He wrote his last sentence and got up to walk off the pain. The doggy cooked his dinner, ate, then went to bed and the next day he woke up and read his story and liked what he wrote so much that he thought he would write another story later that day. What did the doggy do first? Answer: Put on shoes and hat
Many people have great difficulty in saying goodbye. But from goodbye moments, we can always learn something. Once, I overheard a father and daughter in their goodbye moment. The father said, "I love you, I wish you enough." The daughter answered, "Daddy, our life together has been more than enough. Your lover is all that I need. I wish you enough, too, Daddy." They kissed and she left ... The father walked over towards me. I could see he wanted and needed a cry. He came over to me and asked, "Did you ever say a forever goodbye to someone?" Before I could answer, he went on, " I am old and she lives much too far away. I know her next trip back would be for my funeral ." "When you were saying goodbye I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?" He began to smile , "It's a wish that has come down from my great-great-grandparents. And my parents used to say it to me." He stopped for a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it. He smiled even more. "When we said'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life full of enough good things." Then, turning towards me, he shared the following "wish" from his heart. I wish you enough sun to keep you bright . I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep you alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye. My friends, I wish you enough. How did the father get the "wish"? What is your zodiac animal? According to the Chinese lunar calendar , 12 animals mark 12 different years. It is the basis of the Chinese zodiac. Nowadays, Chinese zodiac animals have worldwide fame and are increasingly popular among western people. The zodiac is an important part of Chinese culture. People believe that the characteristics of a zodiac animal influence the personality of every person born in that year. For example, people born in the Year of the Tiger are considered powerful and brave. Zodiac animals also have some social functions. When people think it is not proper to ask: "How old are you", they may change their question to "What is your zodiac animal?" With this question, you can figure out roughly which year someone was born and the person's age. Zodiac animals are not special to China. Many countries share a similar zodiac culture with China. For example, in the Japanese Zodiac, a wild boar takes the place of a pig and the Vietnamese zodiac has a cat instead of a rabbit. But have you ever wondered how these 12 animals were chosen to represent each year? According to legend, the Jade Emperor invited all the animals to join him for Chinese New Year. Only 12 animals went to see him. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The ox would have been the first to arrive, but the rat sat on his back and jumped off just before they arrived to come in first place. The characteristics of a zodiac animal may influence the _ of every person born in that year. Having friends may well keep you healthier and help you deal with stress better. Some studies show that people with close friends have a greater ability to fight disease than people who are alone. Place friendship in the first place. Find the time to be with friends even if it means letting the lawn go unmowed or the dishes unwashed for a while. When you can't get together, use the phone to keep in touch. Open up to close friends. Keeping a deep friendship requires a level of "heartfelt" intimacy .Don't be afraid to express your inner fears and disappointments. Listen to your friends when they have problems,but offer advice only when it's wanted. Help raise friends' selfesteem when they are sad about a job loss, or other such events. Have different friends for different activities, such as going to the movies,singing in a choir,and joining in a bowling league. Don't wait for a friend to ask for helps. When a friend has the flu,offer to go to the store or drive his or her children to their afterschool activities. Never take a friendship for granted. Like a good marriage,friendship needs care and patience. Become a joiner. Find a group that matches your interests. Talk to strangers. Conversations started in museums, laundry rooms,or bookstores can lead to firm friendship. _ in an adulteducation course. A classroom is an ideal place to meet others with similar interests. People with close friends have a _ ability to fight disease than people who are alone. Students who want to study in the United States may find that their chances for financial aid are limited. They often have to pay for their education with their own savings or their family's money. A recent report from the Institute of International Education in New York looked at 2008-2009 school year. Colleges and universities in the United States had more than half a million foreign students. 63% of them paid for school mostly by themselves or with family help. 26% percent were supported by the school they attended. There are other sources of financial aid for international students. These include a student's home government or university, or the United States government. Private sponsors, international organizations and employers may also provide support. Yet during the last school year, not many students were able to depend on any of these other sources. Current employers provided the most help. Still, they represented the main support for just four percent of international students. Those at the graduate level, however, are more likely than undergraduates to receive financial aid in the United States. More than 80% percent of foreign undergraduates depended mostly on personal and family money to pay for school last year. The same was true of less than half of graduate students. Most of the others received financial aid from their college or university in the United States. A list of American schools that offer financial aid to foreign students can be found at a useful Web site. The address is edupass.org. This site also provides information about scholarship programs. But it warns foreign students not to pay if there is any charge for scholarship application forms. You could be cheated out of your money. Which of the following statements is true according to the text? Even before they start school, many young girls worry that they are fat. But a new study suggests watching a movie starring astereotypically thin and beautiful princess may not increase children's anxieties. Nearly half of the 3 to 6 year old girls in a study by Professor Stacey Tantleff-Dunn and doctoral student Sharon Hayes said they worry about being fat. About one-third would change a physical feature, such as their weight or hair color. The number of girls worried about being fat at such a young age concerns Tantleff-Dunn because of the potential effects later in life. Studies have shown young girls worried about their body image are more likely to suffer from eating disorders when they are older. The encouraging news for parents is that taking their young daughters to see the new Disney film "The Princess and the Frog" isn't likely to influence how they see their bodies. "The media have a great effect on how young girls see their bodies. That's why it's important for parents to use movies such as 'The Princess and the Frog,' to start conversations with their children about weight, skin color and their views of beauty. They can explain that princesses' tiny waists are not realistic for girls and that children don't need Cinderella's golden hair or Snow White'sporcelain skin to look good," Tantleff-Dunn said. "We need to help our children challenge the images of beauty, particularly thinness, that they see and idolize, and encourage them to question how much appearance should be part of their self-worth," said Tantleff-Dunn. "We should help them build a positive self-image with an appreciation for many different types of body features." And as their children's most important role models, parents also should avoid criticizing their own bodies. What is especially considered as beauty by girls according to the passage?
On Thursday a new boy came into the classroom. He didn't have any uniform on. Just trousers, a jacket and a shirt. Tom could see that the boy wasn't quite comfortable. He had a plastic bag with exercise books, pens, pencils, rulers and erasers in it. The boy stood at the blackboard. Mrs. Brown talked to the boy, and then she said, "Boys and girls, this is Peter. He is your new classmate. Peter is your age. I hope you'll get on well with each other. Peter will spend a lot of time together with you."Mrs Brown asked Peter to sit next to Tom at the desk near the window. The students had math after that and Tom could see that Peter was not bad at it. He counted well. It was not difficult for him at all. Then Mrs. Brown said," It is half past twelve. It's time to have lunch. "Peter joined Tom and went to wash his hands. Then the boys sat down on the floor and started to open their lunch bags. Tom opened his bag and put his hand in it. He took out an old brown apple, some old cheese and some fish from dinner."Oh, no!" cried Tom." This is rubbish. I have the wrong bag. I took the rubbish bag and left my lunch bag at home. I have only rubbish for lunch today." The other children laughed and laughed. Then Peter said," I have two eggs. Why don't you have one? I don't need two. And would you like some bread?" Tom smiled," Thanks. It's very kind of you." Which of the following is TRUE about Peter? It was August 10, 2011. Diana Nyad was dozens of miles into her dream to complete a 103-mile swim from Cuba to Key West. Because of the currents in the Florida Straits, Nyad would have to last 60 hours-if everything went perfectly. For two years, this dream of swimming from Cuba to Florida had been part of her every waking hour. She was about to turn 60. "I wanted to be filled with commitment to the best of myself so that 1 wasn't looking back later saying, 'What have I done with my life?''' says Nyad. Those extreme physical struggles are not new to her. In 1974, 25-year-old Nyad became the first person to swim across Lake Ontario against the current. A year later, Nyad's 28-mile swim around the island of Manhattan made the front page of the New York Times. "Physically, I'm stronger. I weigh a lot more," Nyad said after a training swim in Key West in June. "There are also mental advantages to being older," says Steven Munatones, an expert in swimming. Feeling a sharp pain in her right shoulder, she changed the angle of stroke , telling herself to go gently until her hand caught the water. In the 17thhour, she swam over to the boat, and the crew located a pain reliever. Nyad took it. She lay on her back, rolled onto her belly and continued swimming, and then she'd turn on her back again, gasping, unable to fill her lungs. "I'm trying to make it. I'm barely going forward. I feel so sick. This has been my dream forever, but I can hardly make it another hour," Nyad told David Marchant, the boat's navigator . Between the 23rd and 27th hours, Nyad had gone just five miles. "OK, Diana, I'm going to touch you, and it's going to be over," Stoll said. Nyad agreed. And with that, 29 hours and 43 minutes after she'd leaped into the water, the swim came to an end. "She just wouldn't quit. It was more amazing to see her not make it the way she fought than if everything had gone exactly right and she'd made it the whole way," says Mark Sollinger, who piloted Nyad's lead boat. At a press .conference in Key West after being pulled onto the support boat, Nyad choked back tears and said, "Sometimes the will is so strong. But I was shaking and freezing, and I thought, 'There's no mind over matter anymore.' I think I'm going to have to go to my grave without swimming from Cuba to Florida." But when Nyad returned home to Los Angeles, the pain began to fade. "Something says to me the goal is still there," says Nyad. We can learn from the passage that Nyad _ . Today anyone will accept money in exchange for goods and services. People use money to buy food, furniture, books, bicycles and hundreds of other things we need or want. When they work, they usually get paid in money. Lots of the money today is made of paper. But people used to use all kinds of things as money. One of the first kinds of money was shells. Shells were not the only things used as money. In China, cloth and knives were used. In the Philippine Islands, rice was used as money for a long time. Some Africans once used elephant tusks, monkey tails, and salt as money. The first metal coins were made in China. They were round and had a square hole in the center. Different countries have used different metals and designs for their money. Later, countries began to make coins of gold and silver. But even gold and silver were inconvenient if you had to buy something expensive. Again the Chinese thought of a way to improve money. They began to use paper money. The first paper money looked more like a note from one person to another than the paper money used today. Money has had an interesting history, from the days of shell money until today. The first paper money _ . Jeffery Deaver looks more like a brainy villain in a James Bond movie than a "00" agent in Her Majesty's secret service.Best known for his thrillers starring criminalist Lincoln Rhyme, Jeffery Deaver has a new mission: Bring Bond into the 21st century in a new 007 novel. The yet-to-be-named book is cryptically referred to as "Project X" by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd., which owns the rights to Fleming's work.Most of the details surrounding Project X, to be published in May, are being kept under wraps, but under gentle coaxing Deaver begins to spill his guts."The novel," he says, "is set in the present day, in 2011.Bond is a young agent for the British secret service.He's 29 or 30 years old, and he's an Afghan war vet." That in itself is big news.After all, if Bond were aging in real time -- he first appeared on the screen in 1953 -- the now doddering 007 would be nearly 90. But first up: a new stand-alone Deaver novel, Edge (Simon & Schuster, $26.99), to be published Tuesday.It's about a federal agent who risks his life to protect a Washington police detective from a man hired to extract information from him using any means at his disposal . Sipping coffee while seated on a leather chair in a sitting room decorated with portraits of his dogs and show ribbons, the mild-mannered author who writes about murderers and serial killers talks about his career and the solid fan base that has allowed him to pursue writing full time since 1990."I may not sell as many books as John Grisham(although he has sold a cool 20 million), but I have a very loyal fan base," says Deaver, 60, who wrote some of his novels while working as a Wall Street lawyer.Deaver's initiation into the Bond family -- more than 100 million 007 novels have sold worldwide -- could significantly raise his profile . Other novelists have written Bond novels since Ian Fleming's death in 1964 -- including Kingsley Amis, John Gardner and, most recently, Sebastian Faulks -- but they all took place in the original era.Deaver is taking a new approach."There's no more Cold War to fight," says Deaver, so his new Bond, of the Fleming estate, will fight "post-9/11 evil." "I want to stay true to the original James Bond, who many people don't know much about," he says, referring to the secret agent Fleming portrayed in 14 novels, and not the movie Bond."People know Daniel Craig, they know Pierce Brosnan, they know Roger Moore and Sean Connery, all of whom brought a great deal to the stories of 007.But the original Bond was a very dark, edgy character." What do you know about the new 007 novel from the passage? Heavy rains have caused disasters across China this summer, bringing the worst landslides in decades. The most deadly disaster happened on August 8 when a big landslide hit Zhouqu County in Gansu province, killing at least 1,407 people. On August 18, landslides hit Gongshan, a town in northwestern Yunnan. At least 38 people were killed and 54 are missing. Heavy rains also caused landslides in several counties in Sichuan province. People were forced to evacuate to safe places. Landslides and devastation Landslides take place when dirt and rocks slide down a slope together. Sometimes these landslides are small, and hardly noticeable. Other times however, they can be massive, involving the entire side of a mountain. Landslides can be caused by a number of different things. Often rain, which adds weight to the side of a slope, can cause one. Other times they might be caused by erosion .When a stream slowly removes the base of a slope, it weakens the entire side of the mountain. As a slide moves down a mountain slope, it can pick up great speed and energy. Some slides travel at a speed of 300km an hour. The resulting winds can be so powerful that they are known to strip the leaves off surrounding trees. Earthquakes and landslides Some experts think the landslides in Sichuan were related to the magnitude-8.0 Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. The quake has caused a change in the structure of the Earth's surface, making it more likely that land will slide in the rain, according to geologist Xu Qiang of the Chengdu University of Technology. Landslides pose threats to 140 cities and towns in the country, one quarter of which are in Sichuan, said Wei Fangqiang, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Landslide prevention If you want to avoid being a landslide victim, the easiest thing to do is avoid living on slopes or close to mountains. If you live in a landslide-threatened area, try not to water the slopes if possible. If there are large rocks on the slopes above your house, remove them so that they don't cause damage if they fall. It might also be helpful to plant trees on the slopes. Over time, the tree roots may make the soil firmer. Which of the following is the right way to avoid becoming a landslide victim?
About 97% of the world's water is salty and is found in our oceans and seas. But, as we can't drink seawater, how can it be important? Every part of our seas and oceans contains an amazing number of animals and fish that live at different ocean depths. Most of the different species of animals and fish depend on simple plants for their food. These simple plants called algae drift near the surface of the ocean and use sunlight to turn carbon dioxide and water into food and oxygen. In fact, algae produce over half of the oxygen people breathe. How important seawater is! Each plant or animal in our seas and oceans is an important link in a food chain. The algae are eaten in large amounts by microscopic animals, which are in turn consumed by larger animals. These food chains are delicately balanced. The bad news about the food chains in the oceans is that they are under threat because of man. People once thought that the oceans were so big that it didn't matter if we dumped rubbish into them or caught huge quantities of fish and whales for food. But we now know this is not true and fish stocks in the oceans have started to drop. Thankfully, the world is taking steps to protect the future of our oceans by introducing international agreements to protect marine habitats. Most countries have introduced fishing restrictions to protect fish stocks in the oceans and new techniques are being pioneered to cope with pollution. Finally, the importance of protecting oceans is being made known to more people. This is just the beginning of a long process to protect the oceans for our future. We depend on the oceans for fish which are an important part of the human diet. How important seawater is! People used to think that the rubbish thrown into the sea _ . A. wouldn't harm the fish in the sea B. would change the balance of the food chain C. would be broken down in the sea D. wouldn't do much harm to the sea Answer: D I had a lot of teachers that I loved. However, the teacher that I remember most was Mrs. Green from Marianna, Florida. She was my 5thgrade teacher. Since I was a new student, not only in her class, but at the school, she made my time there much more pleasant. I immediately began to like her. She was really funny and I knew that she liked me. She made learning fun. I remember one day for Christmas holidays, she taught us how to make ornaments from eggs. My parents still have some of the ornaments I made. She made me leader for many group projects and that made me feel special. I think that would make any child feel special, especially when a child is in a new place with no friends. She made me want to be like that. Not to pick a "favorite" student, but to make every student feel that they are special. That year, I received the Presidential Academic Award . I was really proud and so were my parents. Looking back at it, I think the reason why I did so well was that I felt important. Students do better when they feel like they are important or loved. Mrs. Green always gets to know her students and forms personal relationships with them, which I will try to do some day. I just hope that there will be a student who finds me to be their favorite teacher as I found her to be mine. What will the author probably do in the future? A. become a teacher B. become an artist C. become a leader D. become the President Answer: A It was the last day of the final exam in a college. Outside the classroom, a group of students were waiting for the last exam. On their faces was confidence. They knew the exam would be easy. The teacher said they could bring any books or notes during the test. Right after they came into the classroom. The teacher handed out the papers. There were only five questions on it. Three hours passed. Then the teacher began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked _ but they looked very nervous. The teacher watched these worried faces, and then asked. "How many of you finished all five questions?" No one answered. "How many of you answered four?" Still no one put up the hand. "Three? Two?" The students moved restlessly in their seats. "One, then? Certainly somebody finished one." But the class kept silent . The teacher said, "That is what I thought. I just want to make you know clearly that you finished four years of study, but there are still many things about the subject you don't know. These questions you could not answer are common in everyday life." Then, he smiled and said "You will all pass this exam, but it doesn't mean that you learned the subject well. There are still more things for you to learn in your later life." Now we can't remember the name of this teacher clearly, but we can't forget the lesson he taught us. What can the students learn from the last exam? A. He laughs best who laughs last. B. A good beginning is half done. C. One is never too old to learn. D. The early bird catches the worm. Answer: C if a place has experienced fog, what could be responsible? A. there has been excess condensed vapor B. animals are reproducing currently C. the local deities are angry D. the water lacks oxygen Answer: A You can see Pizza Hut every some blocks, so it must be a very big business. Indeed it is. But believe it or not, the business was started in 1958 by two college students with a _ of 600 dollars. The Carney brothers were trying to make some money .so that they could pay their way through college. They borrowed the money from their mother and sold pizza in a small house in their neighborhood. That's how they got the name of the business. On the first day of business, they gave away pizza to draw customers . Year after year, their business grows and now they often give free meals and work chances to those in need. The word "loan" here in the story means _ . A. money the brothers borrowed from others B. money the brothers lent to others C. something bought for nothing D. something given away Answer: A
Jack Green is 75 years old. He is not in good condition. "I think I'm ill," he tells his wife, "I feel awful. I've got a headache and I don't feel like eating." "You've put on a lot of weight recently. You should see the doctor," his wife says, "ask him how to lose weight. It's not good for your health." "OK," says Jack. He goes to see a doctor. The doctor checks his heart and weighs him. Then he says, "You are too heavy. You need to do some excercise to lose about 30 kilograms. Run two miles a day for the next 100 days. Then call and tell me your weight." A week later, the doctor receives a call from Jack. "Doctor, I ran two miles every day and I feel much better. But I have a new problem." "What's that?" asks the doctor. "I'm 14 miles away from home, and I can't find my way back." Choose the right answer according to the passage. According to the doctor, how many kilograms should Jack lose? A. Thirteen. B. A hundred C. Thirty. D. Fourteen. Answer: C. Thirty. Climate change could affect food supplies, water resources, human health and homes. If greenhouse gas emissions keep increasing at the current rate, global temperature is expected to rise between 2degC and 6degC by 2100. This doesn't sound much, but a 5degC change is the difference between the current warm period and an ice age. Global warming leads to other changes in the climate: melting ice, more evaporation , changes in geographical patterns of rainfall, heavier downpours separated by longer dry spells, more frequent heat waves, more intense hurricanes, and sea level rise. These changes could affect crop growth as drought, increased evaporation and shrinking glaciers disrupt water supply. Some crops could suffer heat stress. While there may be benefits in some regions, overall climate change is likely to have a negative impact on global food supplies. The impacts of climate change on agriculture will vary widely around the world. A global temperature rise of 1-2 degC is expected to increase food production in some regions, particularly mid-latitude areas. But in tropical regions even a small amount of warming could reduce crop yields. A temperature rise of 3 degC or more could threaten global food resources, as all regions are likely to experience negative impacts overall. Freshwater resources could also diminish, especially in tropical regions, as rain patterns change and evaporation speeds up. Some communities could lose essential melt water as glaciers disappear, while more intense rainfall and hurricanes could cause more flooding, leading to water pollution and bacterial diseases such as cholera becoming more widespread. Climate change could lead to a variety of health impacts - both positive and negative. On the negative side, scientists anticipate more cases of malnutrition, heatstroke and waterborne diseases such as cholera. Although some populations will benefit from a reduced risk of cold-related illnesses such as _ , overall a warming world is likely to have negative effects on human health. Scientists also expect damage to homes and buildings from more intense hurricanes, heavier rainfall and rising sea levels. Climate change is likely to affect infrastructure by increasing the risk of both coastal and inland flooding around the world, owing to a combination of heavier rainfall, rising sea levels and increased storm damage. Homes and buildings could also be affected by the thawing of frozen ground and greater risk of forest fires. The consequences of climate change will have an impact on people around the world. According to the passage, climate change has both positive and negative effects on _ . A. food supplies and buildings B. freshwater resources and homes C. human health and food supplies D. human health and homes Answer: C. human health and food supplies Down by the salley gardens Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet; She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet. She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree; But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree. In a field by the river my love and I did stand, And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white _ . She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs; But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears. The best word to fill in the blank of Line 12 should be _ . A. head B. face C. hand D. arm Answer: C. hand Dr Asim Syed, 32, has performed more than 100 operations at London's Hammersmith Hospital in the country's busiest transplant unit, but never imagined that he would one day become a donor himself. He stepped forward when was told his 64-year-old mother might be dead within months unless she got a new kidney . The worried surgeon brought her to London to be cared for at his hospital. However, it was not all plain sailing. Tests showed Dr Syed was the wrong blood group, so the only way was to go through a special blood-washing process. He consulted colleagues about that, but they didn't agree, because the risk of rejection is still too high. Dr Syed and his mother were then advised to consider a new way of donating and receiving, called an organ-paired. That is, Dr Syed donated his kidney to an unknown person and another donor in the chain was a successful match for his mother. The chain of three transplants took place at the same time on July 31 with Dr Syed's kidney going to a recipient in the Midlands and Mrs. Syed receiving her kidney from a person in the south of England. Just hours after donating his own kidney, Dr Syed found himself recovering in bed next to his mother. Mrs Syed said, "When I came round from my operation Asim was in the next bed and the first thing he said was, 'Mum now all your worries are over.' Tears fell down." Now mother and son are recovering well with Dr Syed already back at work. Mrs. Syed is staying with him for several months while the hospital monitors her progress. He said, "I did what anyone would do when they see a relative suffering disease. Although I wasn't able to help mum directly, by agreeing to be part of a chain, I was also very happy." Why didn't his colleagues agree to the method of blood-washing? A. It is very dangerous. B. It costs too much. C. They didn't know how to do it at all. D. They didn't have the relative equipment. Answer: A. It is very dangerous. Telephone, television, radio, telegraph and the Internet all help people communicate with each other. As a result, ideas and news of events spread quickly all over the world. For example, within seconds, people can know the results of an election in another country. An international football match comes into the homes of everyone with a television set. News of a disaster such as an earthquake or a flood can bring help from distant countries within hours. Help is on the way. Because of modern technology like the satellites that travel around the world, information travels fast. How has this speed of communication changed the world? To many people, the world has become smaller. Of course this does not mean that the world is actually physically smaller. It means that the world seems smaller. Two hundred years ago, communication between the continents took a long time. All news was carried on ships that took weeks or even months to cross the ocean. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it took six weeks for news from Europe to reach America. This time difference influenced people's actions. For example, one battle, or fight, in the War of 1812 between England and the United States could have been avoided. A peace agreement had already been signed. Peace was made in England, but the news of peace took six weeks to reach America. During these six weeks, the large and serious Battle of New Orleans was fought. Many people lost their lives after a peace treaty had been signed. They would not have died if news had come in time. In the past, communication took much more time than it does now. There was a good reason why the world seemed so much larger than it does today. From the passage we learn that _ . A. the world now seems smaller because of faster communication B. the world is actually smaller today C. the world is changing its size D. the distance between England and America has changed since the War of 1812 Answer: A. the world now seems smaller because of faster communication
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England. He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity of the bourgeoisie . Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago. Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end. Dickens only received a little formal education because _ . A he wanted to teach himself B he wanted to work and made a lot of money C he was too poor to afford any more formal education D he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist Answer: C Doppler is charged with aggravated assault on Vezy, a game warden. Doppler testified that, when he was confronted by Vezy, who was armed and out of uniform, Doppler believed Vezy was a robber and shot in self-defense. The state calls Willy to testify that a year earlier, he had seen Doppler shoot a man without provocation and thereafter falsely claim self-defense. Willy's testimony is A admissible, as evidence of Doppler's untruthfulness. B admissible, as evidence that Doppler did not act in self-defense on this occasion. C inadmissible, because it is improper character evidence. D inadmissible, because it is irrelevant to the defense Doppler raised. Answer: C If I had known the following things when I was in high school, my life would have been 100% easier back then and probably would have helped me greatly. I realized some of these things I was told but being young and ignorant I refused to listen. 1.Your high school sweetheart will probably not be your spouse. When I was in school, I thought my boyfriend and I were the "one and only true love". Honestly as most young people do, statistically only like 2% of people end up marrying their high school sweethearts and even if they do they probably won't be as happy as they were in high school. Being an adult is very stressful and your relationships become different. 2. _ How many kids play sports per year? How many kids are good enough to get a scholarship by playing sports? How many of them even make it to the Olympics after college or university? The kids who actually stay at home and focus on getting good at computers or math are the ones who make the most in the adult world financially. 3. It doesn't matter what university you go to. I was convinced I was going to go to a great art school when I graduated and I was so stressed out about it that I ended up dropping out of school. In reality my life wasn't over; I only got my GED a year ago but I am in a decent school now. In the real world when you go to apply somewhere all they care about is "do you have a degree or a certification"? 4. Your friends probably won't be your friends after you graduate. I really thought I was going to get an apartment with my friends and our kids were going to grow up together. The truth is, when people grow up they move, have kids, get married, and therefore change. You will change; you will not be the same person you were. High school is just a transitional period of your life. So don't worry about who is saying what about you or who is making fun of whom. Which of the following statements is FALSE? A The writer had never heard about the advice above in high school. B In real world employers don't care so much about which school you graduated from. C Relationships in high school won't have great effect on your later life. D It's not easy to earn scholarships by playing sports for high school students. Answer: A Did you hear of the supercomputer? Recently, China's Tianhe-1 was ranked as the world's fastest supercomputer, according to a new list of world's TOP 500 supercomputers. It took 200 Chinese scientists two years to build the fastest supercomputer. It can do 2,507 trillion calculations in a second! That means it will take a personal computer 600 years to finish the work that a supercomputer does in a day! The US now leads the world in the area of supercomputers. It is home to more than half of the world's top 500 supercomputers. Japan also has advanced technology. China is developing its supercomputer technology quickly. But experts say it will take years before China's total computing power can catch up with that of the US. Supercomputers can work on many different things. They can solve problems in areas like national defense , energy and science. In business, you can also use supercomputers. Oil companies use them to find oil and gas. Banks use them for quick trades. Food companies even use supercomputers to make sure that they put potato chips into cans without breaking them. To make a supercomputer, scientists first need to link thousands of small computers together. Then they use software to turn them into one supercomputer. In fact, any person with enough knowledge about computers can make a supercomputer. But you need the top technology to make a supercomputer run fast. According to the passage, to make a supercomputer, _ . A you needn't know enough knowledge about computers B you need to know how to play computer games C scientists first need to link thousands of small computers together D scientists first need to make some software Answer: C Every country has its traditional festivals. The Chinese New Year is now known as the Spring Festival because it starts from the beginning of spring. Though there are some sayings about its origin, all agree that the word Nian, which in modern Chinese means "year", was originally the name of a beast that started to eat people the night before the beginning of a new year. One story goes that the beast Nian had a very big mouth that would take in a great many people at one time. People were very afraid. One day, an old man came to their help and said he would stop all this. He said to Nian, "I hear that you are very strong, but can you eat up all the beasts on earth instead of people who are too weak to be your enemies?" "Yes," Nian agreed with him and went to kill many of the beasts on earth. People were very happy because those beasts also did bad things to people and killed their farm animals from time to time. After that, the old man, who was a god, rode on the beast Nian and left. Nian was gone, and other beasts also went into forests; people began to enjoy their happy life. Before the old man left, he had told people to put up red paper-cuts on their windows and doors at each year's end to drive Nian away, because red is the color the beast felt most afraid of. From then on, every year at the beginning of spring, people prepare to "Guo Nian". The word "Guo Nian" means "go through the Nian safely". Putting up red paper-cuts to drive Nian away and making dumplings for a better new year are still an every-year doing by the Chinese people. However, people today have long forgotten why they are doing all this, they just feel the color and the food make the New Year very enjoyable. Which of the following statement is TRUE? A Nian can eat up all the beasts on earth at one time. B Nian is a tall beast that likes to eat farm animals. C Nian is afraid of red paper-cuts. D Nian doesn't like to use his own mind. Answer: C
My father left me a treasure when he died. It wasn't a big house or a car. It wasn't cash or gold. In the eyes of the world my father died a poor man. He was a simple mechanic who worked hard to support his family. My father's treasure, rather, was in a thousand wonderful memories that he gave me over the course of his life. One particular one stood out in my mind today. I was just a boy playing in the backyard of a friend's house while my father spent the afternoon under the hood of an old car, trying to get it running again. It seemed to take hours and I wasn't sure whether he could bring the ancient car back to life again this time. At long last, though, he closed the hood and turned the key in the ignition . There was a sweet smile of satisfaction on his face as the engine started. There was a twinkle of joy in his eye when he shook his head. And there was a quiet hum of happiness in his voice as we drove back home that day. This memory made a home in my heart and became a priceless pearl for my soul to cherish. Time and time again, my father showed me that a kind life, a giving life and a heavenly life was created one choice at a time. Not all of his choices were the right ones, but most of them were. He did the best he could. He lived the best he could. And he helped to bring out the best in me, too. He once said to me, "It is lucky that all of your choices are driven by love and inspired by joy." As I look back into those memories my father left me, I realize that each one of them inspired me to live and to love. May all of your choices bring memories of happiness to those around you! What was the most precious thing the author's father passed on to him? Answer: Memories of his father and himself. Joel made some measurements and recorded this data: Sample 1 - 45 mL Sample 2 - 15 mL Sample 3 - 30 mL Sample 4 - 20 mL Which of these tools would most likely have been used to obtain these measurements? Answer: graduated cylinder The Albinas married when Mr. Albina was 30, and they spent the early marriage in Argentina. Then they decided to move to Chile, which meant they had to cross the Andes Mountains. They and their 20s sons made the difficult two-week journey on horses. One night there was a terrible snow storm in the mountains, during which Mrs Albina gave birth to triplets , a boy and two girls. Mrs Albina now has 30 more girls, including the twins who are 15 months old. The oldest Albina children are in their 30s and 40s. They are on their own now, but 18 of the kids still live with their parents in a two-room house. The house has electricity but no toilet or running water. Clearly, the Albinas don't have enough money and food for the big family. Why, then, do they continue to have children? The Albinas do not use birth control because it is against their religion. They can let other people take care of their kids, but Mrs Albina doesn't allow it. "When we were babies," she said, "our mother left us at an orphanage and never returned. Then a couple adopted my brothers, and I was left behind. I was heartbroken. I promised that when I became a mother I would never give my children away." So the Albina family continues to grow. They have so many kids that they run out of names and have to give some children the same name. There are three Susannas, three Miriams, two Estrellas, and two Soledades. Will the family stop at 53 kids? Mr Albina is 77, and Mrs Albina is 59. "I am getting old," she said with a smile, "and I would like God to think of me and consider my age. But if God sends more children to me, yes, there will be more." How old was Mrs Albina when the Albinas got married? Answer: 12. It's not every week that England's greatest playwright William Shakespeare hits the headlines, but the Bard of Avon has been the subject of two news stories in recent days as new information has come to light about the writer and his working environment. In the first development, a portrait of Shakespeare, which is believed to be the only picture painted of him during his lifetime, was _ in London. The artwork has been dated back to 1610, meaning it was painted six years before the writer's death. The painting had been owned by a family descended from Shakespeare's literary patron tor hundreds of years without them ever knowing who the man in the picture was. Alec Cobbe, who inherited the portrait, realized that the painting was a likeness of Shakespeare after visiting an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery where he saw a portrait that had, until 70 years ago, been accepted as a life portrait of Shakespeare. Mr Cobhe immediately realized he was looking at a copy of the painting that had been in his family for centuries. The painting will now go on display in Shakespeare's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon. In a separate story, archaeologists in London believe they have unearthed the remains of Shakespeare's first theatre. The site was excavated by a team from the Museum of London last summer, and is believed to have been built in 1576. Experts think that Shakespeare himself acted at the theatre, which may have been where the play Romeo and Juliet was premiered . It is believed that 25 years after construction, the building was pulled down and moved timber by timber to the South Bank of the Thames, where a reconstruction of the theatre now stands. .Before visiting the exhibition, Alec Cobbe _ . Answer: was unknown who the man in the painting was SPEAKING in front of groups may not be a big deal for some people, and there are those who probably sail through their careers without ever having to do so.When I was studying for my C.P.A., I was sure that I d be safe.But life isn't predictable.I ended up in a career that depends on public speaking. I ran my own accounting firm for eight years, and in 2009 was co-founder of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches, a nonprofit group based in San Diego that educates accountants, lawyers and other tax professionals. Before we started the organization, in fact, I thought I) d better get some practice--but my first talk around that time, in front of group of 200 professional advisers for older taxpayers, with my body trembling all the time, was a fiasco . After that, I decided to _ as many speaking opportunities as possible, to try to become more comfortable with the idea of talking before groups.I knew it wouldn't be easy.I know the material --I've written two books about taxes ?but I am a bit of a perfectionist and rely heavily on notes, which can create a lot of anxiety. I talked to my father about how the magic trick had bombed, and he suggested that I have him criticize me.I gave the same speech to him, without the magic trick.He said that I seemed more nervous when I relied on my notes and that I should speak more from my heart.I've done that ever since, and it has helped. To gain more experience, I still look for speaking opportunities. I speak before various associations, and I started appearing on television news and talk shows a little more than a year ago.I've been on local TV in places like San Diego, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Hawaii. I've made much progress.I've had several audience members come up to me and say they thought my talk was great and that they learned a lot.It' s hard to believe, but some people have asked: u Do you ever get nervous? Because you don' t look nervous at all.You' re such a natural at this. The writer's first talk in public failed because _ . Answer: he was too nervous to express himself well
People in the UK often talk about their homes: their mortgages , the interest rates, and rising prices. Here's a guide to some of the words and phrases you might come across. It's a good idea in the UK to arrange a mortgage with a bank before you start looking. This is when the bank tells you how much money they will lend you so you have a good idea of how much you can afford. The next step is to go to an estate agent and see what sort of properties they have available in your budget range and in your area. If you see something you like, the estate agent will arrange for you to view the property, so that you can see the house or flat for yourself. If you see something that takes your eye, you put in an offer. The vendor can accept or decline this offer, and if the vendor accepts it, you can move forward with the sale. However, as you don't pay any money at this point, the offer isn't legally binding , and in theory, you can pull out of the offer at any time that you like. Your next step will probably be to get a structural survey done. A qualified surveyor will inspect the house and write a report that illustrates any structural problems, like damp or drainage problems. If you still want to go ahead with the sale, you need to appoint a lawyer to do the legal paperwork.. If you already own a house, you might also be busy trying to sell it. Many house owners prefer to sell to first-time buyers (those people who don't already own a home), as they are not in a chain (waiting for other people to buy the house before they can buy their next house). Finally, once the contracts are signed and exchanged, you complete on your house. You get the keys and you can move in whenever you want. Then you might want to throw a house-warming party. Congratulations! According to the passage, these statements are correct EXCEPT _ . A People can borrow the whole money for a new house from a bank. B People care for mortgages, interest rates and the prices &house. C The sellers are more interested in the first-time buyers. D After getting the keys, the owners sometimes have a party. Answer: A. People can borrow the whole money for a new house from a bank. The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is a serious infection that man receives. The most widespread mistake of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by touching directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in separate Arctic areas, explorers have reported being free from colds until touching again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes. During the First World War, soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches, cold and wet, seldom caught colds. In the Second World War, prisoners at Auschwitz concentration camp, bare and starved, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for a long time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in a room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose. If then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in winter? Despite the most hard research, no one has yet found out the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and that makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on. No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain-killers such as aspirin, but all that they do is to reduce the symptoms. Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit _ . A suffered a lot B never caught colds C often caught colds D became very strong Answer: A. suffered a lot As a boy growing up in India, I had longed to travel abroad. I used to listen to the stories my father would tell me about his stay in Canada and tours to Europe in the 1970s, with great interest. My big moment finally came in the summer of 1998 when I was able to accompany my parents to Europe, where my father was to attend a meeting. We planned to travel to Belgium, Netherlands and West Germany. I have clear memories even today of going to Mumbai airport at night all excited about finally going abroad. I had heard several great things about Lufthansa till then but now I finally got to experience them first hand, during the flight to Frankfurt. We flew business class and even today I can remember the excellent service by the Lufthansa crew . The flight was really smooth and thoroughly enjoyable, even for someone like me, who is especially afraid of flying. After spending almost two weeks in Europe, we took the Lufthansa airport express from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt airport, for our return flight. What a journey that was! All along the Rhine , it was simply an unforgettable experience. I had a sombre feeling on the flight back to Mumbai as it marked the end of a wonderful vacation, but the Lufthansa crew members were able to change it into a most enjoyable experience yet again, with the quality of their service. Being the first airline to take me abroad, Lufthansa will always hold a special place in my heart. Even today,I continue to enjoy flights on Lufthansa and simply cannot dream of choosing any other airline. Flying, in general,for me,has always been a terrible and painful experience.Flying on Lufthansa,however, is something I always have and always will look forward to. ks5u What made the author so interested in traveling abroad? A Growing up in India. B Once staying in Canada. C Once traveling to Canada with his father. D His father's stories about his traveling experiences. Answer: D. His father's stories about his traveling experiences. Xinhua Sept.25,2008 JIUQUAN, Gansu---China launched successfully its third manned spacecraft on Thursday with three astronauts on board to attempt the country's first-ever space walk. The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gansu Province at 9:10pm.after a breathtaking countdown to another milestone on China's space journey. On board pilots Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng are expected to orbit the earth for three days, when one of them will float out of the cabin about 343 kilometers above the earth. When they make it, China will become the third country in the world who is able to conduct extravehicular activity (EVA) in space following the former Soviet Union and the United States. President Hu Jintao watched the historic moment at the launch center, joined by Chinese experts and other work staff. Hu briefly met the trio astronauts before they entered the spacecraft Thursday afternoon, wishing them "a complete success in this glorious and sacred mission". "During the mission, you will carry out China's EVA with homemade EVA space suit, which is a great leap for China's space technology." said Hu. Other tasks of the Shenzhou VII crew include the release of a small monitoring satellite and a trial of the data relay of the satellite Tianlian-I. If successful, the mission would be of great significance to the country's future plans to build a space lab and a space station, said ZhangJianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project. What is the great leap for China's space technology during the space journey? A The spaceship Shenzhou VII blasted off successfully. B The astronauts will carry out China's EVA with homemade EVA space suit. C Three astronauts are expected to orbit the earth for 3 days. D The spaceship Shenzhou VII will release a small monitoring satellite. Answer: B. The astronauts will carry out China's EVA with homemade EVA space suit. I opened my eyes and found the doctors were standing by my bed. They had some welcome news. I had been living in the bone marrow transplant unit of the famous cancer center for a month. The doctors told me that while my immune system was still very weak, my brother Adam's healthy cells were beginning to work in my bone marrow. I was showing signs of progress: I was able to walk around---slowly---without assistance, my blood counts were going in the right direction, and I no longer needed to be connected continuously to an IV machine. It was the"graduation"day. The doctors were sending me to the Hope Room, a halfway house sponsored by the American Cancer Society. I would live there for the next three months and would be cared for by my boyfriend, Seamus, who is again helping me write this column for Internet readers as I regain my strength. Pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair, I took my first breath of fresh air in weeks. But before I could enjoy this moment, my mother helped me put on a mask. I gave her an annoyed look, but I knew she was right. For the immediate future, I would need to wear gloves and a mask wherever I wanted to go in public. No subways, no crowds. However, I can enjoy my freedom, even if cancer continues to limit my choices. My new freedom means not being waken up every couple of hours by a nurse with pills in her hand, not seeing doctors with their masks and their caring, and not being connected to an IV machine 24 hours a day. Freedom also means being patient with my mother and boyfriend, who try hard to cook for me in the kitchen and make sure I don't fall off my chair in the shower. Freedom is the responsibility to take medicine on time. Freedom also means returning to the hospital several times a week to receive follow-up examinations. But all is well worth. You surely know the reason. I love every one of my family and I love Seamus. The author gave her mother an annoyed look because _ . A her mother didn't follow the doctors' instructions B her mother didn't push her wheelchair in the right way C her mother took a wrong mask D she was eager for fresh air Answer: D. she was eager for fresh air
A scientist discovered a fossil of an ocean plant in the rocks of a desert. What does the discovery of this fossil most likely tell the scientist? The area was once covered by water. Old age may not sound exciting.But recent findings offer good news for older pepole and for people worried about getting older. Researches found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty.In fact,they say by the age of eighty--five,people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old. The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States.The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008.At that time,the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty--five.The searches asked questions about emotions like happiness,sadness and worry.They also asked about mental or emotional stress. Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study.His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty--two and twenty--five.The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies.The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties. The study also showed that men and women had similar emotional patterns as they grew older.Hower,women at all ages reported more sadness,stress and worry than men.Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older.One theory is that,as people grow older,they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotion .They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences. The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children,being unemployed or being single.But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well--being related to age. When do people feel happier according to the passage? After their seventies If you look at the night sky, you'll often see stars moving very quickly. In fact, they move much more quickly than they should according to their size and the laws of physics. Scientists do not completely understand why the speed of these stars is so high. But many believe the reason is that much of the universe is made of something called "dark matter". Groups of stars called galaxies, such as the Milky Way, might even be made up of 90 percent dark matter. How much something weighs depends on where it is. The same object weighs only half as much on Mars as it does on Earth and almost three times as much on Jupiter. So scientists prefer to talk about the mass of something rather than how much it weighs, because mass does not change. They can work out the mass of galaxies by measuring the distance between them and the speed they move at. Recently, Jorge Penarrubia, a senior academic at Edinburgh University, UK, and his team discovered something interesting: The mass of the Milky Way is only half as much as the mass of another nearby galaxy, Andromeda. This seems strange, and dark matter may explain why. Finding out more about dark matter could help us understand how the universe began, but this is not easy. Lots of scientists with different types of expert knowledge are working on the problem. We can't see dark matter, it's very difficult to measure and we can't find out its mass. Unlike stars, dark matter doesn't produce or reflect light. But we can make a good guess that it is there because of the way things move and the way light bends. Experts now think dark matter may be very different from the matter that we find on Earth. There may also be five times as much dark matter in the universe as ordinary matter. According to the text, dark matter _ . may help us identify the origins of the universe It is said that a great many things about languages are mysterious, and many will always be so. But some things we do know. Firstly, we know that all human beings have a language of some kind. There is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language, no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one another. In historical times, there has never been a race of men without a language. Secondly, there is no such thing as a primitive language. There are many people whose cultures are underdeveloped, who are, as we say, uncivilized, but the languages they speak are not primitive. In all known languages we can see complexities that must have been tens of thousands of years in developing. This has not always been well understood; indeed, the direct contrary has often been stated. Popular ideas of the language of the American Indians will illustrate. Many people have guessed that the Indians communicated in a very primitive system of noises. Study has proved this to be nonsense. There are, or were, hundreds of American Indian languages, and all of them turn out to be very complicated and very old. They are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with, but they are no more primitive than English and Greek. A third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequate. This means each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language. Finally, we know that language changes. It's natural and normal for language to change; the only languages which do not change are the dead ones. This is easy to understand if we look backward in time. Change goes on in all aspects of language. Grammatical features change as do speech sounds and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidly. Vocabulary is the least stable part of any language. American Indian languages are mentioned to prove that they are _ . as fully developed as some wellknown languages My heart sank when the man at the immigration counter gestured to the back room. I was born and raised in America, and this was Miami, where I live, but they weren't quite ready to let me in yet. "Please wait in here, Ms. Abujaber," the immigration officer said. My husband, with his very American last name, accompanied me. He was getting used to this. The same thing had happened recently in Canada when I'd flown to Montreal to speak at a book event. That time they held me for 45 minutes. Today we were returning from a literary festival in Jamaica, and I was shocked that I was being sent "in back" once again. The officer behind the counter called me up and said, "Miss, your name looks like the name of someone who's on our wanted list. We're going to have to check you out with Washington." "How long will it take?" "Hard to say...a few minutes," he said, "We'll call you when we're ready for you." After an hour, Washington still hadn't decided anything about me. "Isn't this computerized?" I asked at the counter, "Can't you just look me up?" "Just a few more minutes," they assured me. After an hour and a half, I pulled my cell phone out to call the friends I was supposed to meet that evening. An officer rushed over. "No phones!" he said, "For all we know you could be calling a terrorist cell and giving them information." "I'm just a university professor," I said. My voice came out in a squeak. "Of course you are. And we take people like you out of here in leg irons every day." I put my phone away. My husband and I were getting hungry and tired. Whole families had been brought into the waiting room, and the place was packed with excitable children, exhausted parents, and even a flight attendant. I wanted to scream, to jump on a chair and shout: "I'm an American citizen; a novelist; I probably teach English literature to your children." After two hours in detention , I was approached by one of the officers. "You're free to go," he said. No explanation or apologies. For a moment, neither of us moved. We were still in shock. Then we leaped to our feet. "Oh, one more thing," he handed me a tattered photocopy with an address on it, "If you aren't happy with your treatment, you can write to this agency." "Will they respond?" I asked. "I don't know--I don't know of anyone who's ever written to them before." Then he added," By the way, this will probably keep happening each time you travel internationally." "What can I do to keep it from happening again?" He smiled the empty smile we'd seen all day, "Absolutely nothing." After telling several friends about our ordeal, probably the most frequent advice I've heard in response is to change my name. Twenty years ago, my own graduate school writing professor advised me to write under a pen name so that publishers wouldn't stick me in what he called "the ethnic ghetto"--a separate, secondary shelf in the bookstore. But a name is an integral part of anyone's personal and professional identity--just like the town you're born in and the place where you're raised. Like my father, I'll keep the name, but my airport experience has given me a whole new perspective on what diversity and tolerance are supposed to mean. I had no idea that being an American would ever be this hard. We learn from the passage that the author would _ to prevent similar experience from happening again. do nothing
changes in an environment cause plants to A. morph for continuation B. boogie C. bake cakes D. take long naps Answer: A The Celerifere, an early version of the bicycle, was built around 1791 by a French man, Comte Mede de Sivrac. It was basically a scooter with a high seat. There were no pedals---you had to push with your feet like you do with a skateboard or a scooter. Around 1816 Baron Karl Drais de Sauerbrun in Germany added a moveable steering handle. These early machines were often known as dandy horses or hobby horses, but weren't very popular. The improvement that made them popular was added by a Scottish blacksmith around 1839. Kirkpatrick Macmillan added pedals to enable it to get up hills. It was this improvement that made the bicycle a serious form of transportation. Bike were called velocipedes or bone-shakers, because of the lack of the proper tires made for a rough ride! It wasn't until around 1869 that they began to be called bicycles ("two-wheels"). Carriage makers in Paris (either Pierre and Ernest Michaux, or their employee Pierre Lallement) switched the pedal to the front wheel. That's why it is usually either Lallement or the Michauxs, not Macmillan, who are considered as the inventor of the bicycle. In 1869 the penny-farthing or high-wheeler was invented. With the large wheel the rider could go much farther with each push of the pedal, but caused many accidents because the seat was so far off the ground. In the mid-1880s Englishman James Starley manufactured what he called the "safety bicycle" , which had two similarly-sized wheels and a major improvement--- a chain and sprocket driven rear wheel, with the pedals between the two wheels like modern bicycles. One more historical note---it's possible that the idea of the bicycle was thought of almost 400 years before it was actually invented. There is a drawing of a bicycle-like machine in one of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, which dates back to about 1493. Which of the following statements can NOT be inferred from the passage? A. The "safety bicycle" was much like the modern bicycle. B. Leonardo da Vinci once drew a machine similar to the bicycle. C. The penny-farthing did not last long because it was a bit too dangerous. D. Comte Mede De Sivrac's invention had both a steering handle and pedals. Answer: D You want to know about my staying in America ,right ? Well ,to tell you the truth ,it is really an eye-opening experience to study here . In China ,I had English classes five times a week since fifth grade .However ,I didn't know how different textbook English could be from everyday English until I came to Hotchkiss School ,Connecticut . When I first studied English ,I was told to say ,"I am fine"when people say"How are you ?"But in the US ,I found that people say ,"I am good "or"I'm tired". One day , someone greeted me with "What's up ?"It made me _ .I thought for a moment and then smiled because I didn't know what to say . Since then ,I have discovered more and more differences between Chinese and US cultures . To my surprise ,US girls spend a lot of time in the burning sun to get a tan .However , in China ,girls try every possible way to get their skin paler , or"whiter". I was also surprised by how hardworking US students are . In China ,schoolwork is almost everything ,so we study hard and that's it .But here ,a "good "student gets good grades ,does a lot for the public and plays sports or music . The kids here are so talented ,I am starting to be sorry that I gave up playing the piano at an early age and that I have never thought about sports . Which of the following is NOT true ? A. The writer is now in US . B. American girls love to have white skin . C. US students are talented and hard working. D. The writer regrets that he gave up playing the piano . Answer: B You may have noticed that you feel hungry a lot. This is natural----during teens, a person's body needs more nutrients to grow. Snacks are a great way to satisfy that hunger and get all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs. But you need to pay attention to what you eat. Filling your stomach with a lot of fries after class may give you a short-time help, but a snack high in fat and calories will only slow you down in the long time. To keep energy levels going---and avoid gain weight---keep away from foods like candy or soda. Look for foods like bread and grains and combine them with some food like peanut butter or low-fat milk or cheese. Choosing healthy snacks means shopping smart. Be careful of the health instructions on food bags. Here are some things to watch out for. That something is "all natural " doesn't necessarily mean that it's nutrients. For example, "all natural" juice drinks or sodas can be filled with sugar (which means they'll be high in calories and give you little nutrition.) A granola bar is a good example of a snack that people think is healthy. Although granola bars can be a good source of certain vitamins and nutrients, may also contain a great deal of fat, including a particularly harmful type of fat called trans fat. Check the Nutrition Facts instructions on the bag to be sure. In order to choose healthy snacks, we should try to make sure that _ . A. They are all natural B. They are high in nutrition C. They have good bags D. They contain trans fat Answer: B Britain is facing a sharp rise in its rat population as growing numbers of people leave what they cannot finish of the fast food in the street, an environment group warned .Keep Britain Tidy said the rats were stopping their traditional hunts underground and were running across the streets, invited by burgers, pizzas and crisps left behind by man. "The rat population is on the rise and soon it'll be as common to see a rat on our street as it is to see a dog or a cat," said group Director, Sue Nelson. The practice of spreading fast food litter and scraps on the street rather than in the dustbin--with young men the worst group--was behind the rise. According to the National Rodent Survey in 2005, Britain's rat population has grown by nearly one quarter since 2000 and is now estimated at 60 million, two million more than the human population. On average a rat can give birth every 24-28 days and just a single pair of rats can produce a family of 2,000 a year. Around 200 people a year get Weil's Disease -an infection which can lead to liver or kidney failure and eventually death and which is carried in rats' waste. To attract people's attention to the problem, Keep Britain Tidy produced a cinema ad with a title "How close do you want them to get?" The ad gave a shocking image of a young woman sleeping in a bed of rats--reminding people of the terrible scene from James Herbert's classic horror tale The Rats, in which rats begin to hunt for humans. What was the rat population in Britain in 2000 according to the writer? A. Around 60 million B. Around 45 million C. Around 38 million D. Around 2 million Answer: B
Question: The popularity of bicycling continues to rise, and it is no surprise. It's fun, healthy and eco-friendly. Maybe that's why there are 1.4 billion bicycles and only 400 million cars on roads worldwide today. Bikes can take you almost anywhere, and there is no fuel cost! Hop on a bicycle and ride around your neighborhood. You may discover something new in your community. Stopping and getting off a bike is easier than stopping and getting out of your car. In many communities, you can bike to work and benefit from exercise without polluting the environment. You don't even have to ride all the way. Folding bikes work well for workers who ride the train. Just fold the bike and take it with you. Have you ever thought about bicycling across a foreign country? It's a great way to experience another culture, see beautiful scenery and meet friendly people. Bicycle enthusiast Goran Kropp bicycled across not just one country but several. He rode a remarkable 11,000 km from his home in Sweden to Nepal and then climbed Mount Everest! And now, bicycling across a country to raise money for a charity or to advertise a cause is also popular. To encourage people to bike, many cities in Europe have established bike-share programs. In Paris, for example, thousands of bikes are parked at bike stations around the city. Users can rent bikes at any station. The first half-hour of use is free. After that, users pay a small fee. When they've finished riding, they simply park their bikes at any station. For people who don't want to drive, the bikes are an excellent alternative to buses and taxis, which burn fuel and cause pollution. As a result of the success of bike plans in Europe, they're spreading to the US., Australia and other countries as well. Look for one in your city soon. We can learn from the passage that _ . A. bikes are becoming more and more popular B. bikes save people's time C. bikes have increased in price D. buses and taxis will be replaced by bikes Answer: A Question: The Chinese Antarctica expedition returned to Shanghai on March 20 following a month living on the ice. It was the first time Chinese scientists had visited the Amery Ice Shelf--the longest ice shelf in the world. The team collected ice samples and data on temperatures, which are necessary for research on global warming. So far, about 27 countries have visited Antarctica for scientific research. Although the living conditions are very hard, many scientists have to stay there for long periods of time. So, how do they manage their lives on the ice? Well, during the summer, the temperature in Antarctica reaches about-20degC. It falls to about-60degCin winter. So, even if there are 24 hours of sunshine, scientists must keep wearing all the correct clothes to protect them from the cold. These clothes include jeans, running shoes, jackets, long underwears, boots and woolen socks. Although highly technical clothing provides much protection against the extreme cold, scientists often need to go outside when there is an icy wind blowing and the temperature is-30degC. Natural protection such as facial hair can also help. "That's why many researchers wear a beard. It really does keep you warm,"says German explorer Arved Fuchs. Usually, the polar researchers have good meals. Some even have feasts on holidays like Christmas and New Year's Day. Vegetables are always welcome and usually finished the quickest. Life on the ice means living with other researchers in tight living space. Most people sleep in dorm style rooms. More remote field camps use separate tents. So, at least some researchers don't have to _ annoying snorers . But what do they do for fun in their spare time? There are actually a lot of things they can do. They watch movies, read tons of books, listen to music, have saunas ,paint and ski. Some female researchers might even do some knitting. It is important for a polar researcher to be in good physical condition. They can be required to climb to heights of more than 3, 000 meters. And the Antarctic atmosphere has less oxygen than that of any other continent. Why do some polar researchers wear beards? Because _ . A. they have no time to shave their beards B. beards are helpful to keep warm C. beards will come out soon when they are shaved D. they think beards will make them look handsome Answer: B Question: Four students are talking about the future after class. Deng Yu: In 2050, China will be richer than it is now. Beijing will be getting ready for the 40thOlympic Games in 2050. We will see the blue and clear sky and smell the fresh air. There will be more pandas living happily in China. I believe that 2050 will be the year of China. Liu Yan: A holiday to the moon will no longer be a dream. We can also travel far to other planets and talk with spacemen. We might also eat something like pills instead of today's meals. Everyone will enjoy a longer life. Sun Wei: Robots will be more popular. They will do what people don't want to do. We'll build new homes on other planets. By then, I'll be sixty years old. Zhang Lan: By the year of 2050, cloning will have been used in many ways. It will bring back animals which disappeared many years ago. There will be no pollution. The whole world will be one big family. There will be no wars. We'll live a much easier and better life. Which of the following is NOT true according to the text? A. China will be richer than it is now. B. Shanghai will be getting ready for the 40 thOlympic Games. C. We will see the blue and clear sky and smell the fresh air. D. More pandas will live happily in China. Answer: B Question: Five years ago, I met her in a shopping center. I was walking through the shop when I saw her. Then she came back to my house with me. After that, we became friends. Once she had to go into hospital to have an operation on her leg. I was worried about her and looked after her every day. I made breakfast for her. I was not good at cooking, but she never complained. I also helped her take showers. I have no idea why we can be good friends, because she is quite different from me. I like writing, reading and playing computer games. But she loves outdoor activities. She likes playing balls best. She also loves sleeping. She will run all around the house to lick my face if someone shouts "Kiss for Dad." That is the only name she knows me by--Dad, though I call her by many names--Pickle, Missile and Little. But her real name is Pixar. This week she turns seven years old. What's the best title for the passage? A. How to Make Friends B. My Good Friend C. Strange experience. D. How to Be a Good Friend Answer: B Question: All police officers should be made to take a fitness test every year,with a pay cut for those who repeatedly fail,a review said. In the Metropolitan Police,more than half(52 percent)of its men officers are over- weight, a fifth (22 percent) are obese, and one in 100 are"morbidly obese".For women officers in the Met,a third(32 percent) are overweight,16 percent are obese and 2 per-cent are morbidly obese. Tom Winsor,who has carried out the widest-ranging research of police pay and conditions in more than 30 years,said those who fail the test three times should face a pay cut. Chief constables should be able to fire any officer as part of budget cuts, ending a job for life. It also recommended that applicants should be able to enter the police service directly at inspector rank,and,"after strict testing",at superintendent rank. Mr Winsor said:"I think the public will be surprised that after passing a fitness test when they join the police,physical fitness is not tested again in a 30,35-year career." An initial yearly test requiring officers to reach level 5'4 on the bleep test should be brought in by September next year. This is equal to an average speed of 8. 8kph(5.5mph) for three minutes 35 seconds,he said. But this should get tougher by September 2018,along similar lines to the test currently used in Northern Ireland. This includes climbing over walls and pulling bodies and was designed to reflect situations which"police officers do and can become involved in". Mr Winsor expected that many officers would welcome the proposals,saying they would see it"as a necessary protection for themselves and the public". In order to cut the budget,Chief constables _ . A. try their best to make policeman a life-long career B. must hire policemen after strict testing C. have the right to fire those who are unfit for the job D. recommend applicants become police directly at inspector rank Answer: C
Although I am not in my childhood. I still prefer reading fairy tales. They often make me think of some special experiences and feelings. This summer I have received this kind of tales ,The Little Prince .It was Published in 1940 .It is the world-famous fairy tale by the Frenc h author Antoine. I ,the narrator of the story ,is a pilot . His plane has something wrong and lands in the Sahara . The little prince lives on a small planet ,and he grows a flower called ROSE there . One day they have a quarrel ,so the little prince runs away . On his all alone journey, he meets different kinds of people . From these people he gets a conclusion that grow-ups are strange . And with the help of the man he meets , he descends in the Sahara . The book moved me a lot . It is not only a fairy tale for children and teenagers, but also for grow-ups . ,. The writer of The Little Pri nce is from _ . 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. This research work took . A kidnapping statute in State A makes it a crime for a person, including a parent, to "take a child from the custody of his custodial parent, knowing he has no privilege to do so." After a bitter court battle Ann and Dave were divorced and Ann was given custody of their daughter, Maria. Dave later moved to State B where he brought an action to obtain custody of Maria. A local judge awarded him custody. His attorney incorrectly advised him that, under this award, he was entitled to take Maria away from Ann. Dave drove to State A, picked Maria up at her preschool, and took her back to State B with him. He was indicted for kidnapping in State A, extradited from State B, and tried. At trial, he testified that he had relied on his attorney's advice in taking Maria, and that at the time he believed his conduct was not illegal. If the jury believes his testimony, Dave should be Bum rate is the speed at which a startup business consumes money. My rate would be $ 50,000 a month when my new media company started. So, I began looking around for individuals who would be my first investors. "Angel money" it was called. But when I reviewed my list of acquaintances to find those who might be able to help, I found the number got small. With no other choices, I began meeting with the venture-capital companies. But I was warned they took a huge share of your company for the money they put in. And if you struggled, they could drop you cold. As I was searching for "angel money", I started to build a team who trusted me even though I didn't have money for paychecks yet. Bill Becker was an expert in computer programming and image processing at a very famous Media Lab at M. I.T. With his arrival, my company suddenly had a major technology "guy" in-house. Katherine Henderson, a filmmaker and a former real-estate dealer, joined us as our director of market research. Steve White came on as operating officer. He had worked for the developer of a home-finance software, Quicken. We grabbed him. We had some really good people, but we still didn't have enough money. One night, my neighbor, Louise Johnson, came for a visit. She and I were only nodding acquaintances, but her boys and ours were constant companions. She ran a very good business at the time. Louise was brilliant and missed nothing. She had been watching my progress closely. She knew I was dying for money and I had prospects but could offer no guarantees of success. She told me that her attorney had talked to mine and the terms had been agreed upon. She handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $ 500,000. I almost fell down. I heard her voice as if from heaven. "I have confidence in your plan," she said. "You' 11 do well. You're going to work hard for it, but it' s satisfying when you build your own company." Who would have thought I'd find an angel so close to home? There were no words sufficient for the moment. We just said good night. She left and I just stood there, completely humbled and completely committed. For a newly-established business, bum rate refers to _ . With the development of economics , the problem of left-behind children has become a serious social problem. More and more people have realized we should do something to help them. One of the biggest problems is that the children are all hungry for the love from their parents. Many of them can just get a call or a letter from their parents half a year, a year or even several years, which makes _ When they meet their own troubles, they have no one to talk with. Nobody gives them enough care. Because of being too far away from their parents, the left-behind children's study is the second biggest problem. From a survey about their study, only two per cent of the children get good results, while ten per cent of them are common and eighty-eight per cent of them are poor. What a pity! There are also many other problems of the left-behind children, such as having no ability to protect themselves, unhealthy lifestyles, spending too much pocket money and being crazy about Internet and so on. In a word, to solve all the problems of the left-behind children needs the government, families and schools to try their best together. What is the best title of the article?
Once upon a time, there was a cowgirl named Clementine. Orange was her favorite color. Her favorite food was the strawberry. She really liked her Blackberry phone, which allowed her to call her friends and family when out on the range. One day Clementine thought she needed a new pair of boots, so she went to the mall. Before Clementine went inside the mall, she smoked a cigarette. Then she got a new pair of boots. She couldn't choose between brown and red. Finally she chose red, which the seller really liked. Once she got home, she found that her red boots didn't match her blue cowgirl clothes, so she knew she needed to return them. She traded them for a brown pair. While she was there, she also bought a pretzel from Auntie Anne's. What was the cowgirl's name? A Clementine B Blackberry C Strawberry D Orange Answer: A Mary went to Canada on vacation. After a week, she came back to New York. She told lots of interesting things to her best friend, Jack. Jack was very interested in Canada and decided to have a visit there. The next summer vacation, Mary and Jack had a plan to go to Canada together. But her mother was badly ill so she went to the airport to see her friend off. When they got to the airport, Mary had to got to the washroom. When she came back, she couldn't find Jack because there were so many people at the airport. She looked for him everywhere, but it was hard to find Jack among the people. Suddenly Mary saw Jack and she felt very happy, so she shouted,"Hi, Jack. Here, here." At the same time, Jack waved his arms,"I'm here." In 3 minutes, so many policemen came to the front of Jack and caught him, "Please come with me to the police office." After the policemen found out the reason, they let them free. Why? Because the word "hijack" in the English has different meanings. Mary lived in _ . A Canada B London C Toronto D New York Answer: D It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics. In recent years, many writers have begun to speak of the 'decline of class ' and 'classless society ' in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class. But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging study of pubic opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in a particular class; 73 percent agreeed that class was still a vital part of British society.; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an imprtant part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of _ . One unchanging aspect of a British person's class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during the 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice. Most people said this accent sounds 'educated ' and 'soft '. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional city accents. These accents were seen as 'common ' and 'ugly '. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice. In recent years, however, young upper midder-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song ' Common People ' puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may ' want to live like common people ' they can never appreciate the reality of a working class life. The study in the US showed that BBC English was regarded as _ . A regional B educated C prejudiced D unattractive Answer: D Rolanda is growing tomato plants in her garden. She has created a compost pile and has been adding compost around her tomato plants to help fertilize them. Compost is solid waste in which organic material is broken down by microorganisms in the presence of oxygen to where it can be safely stored, handled, and applied to the environment. On what does Rolanda primarily rely in order for composting to work? A producers B consumers C scavengers D decomposers Answer: D China has been drinking tea since the time of Shennong, 5,000 years ago. Britain's relationship with tea is much shorter, but tea enjoys the pride as the UK's national drink. According to the UK Tea Council, British people drink an average of three cups a day or a national total of 165 million cups every day. With figures like these, it is no surprise that time spent taking tea affects the working day in Britain. A recent survey found that 24 minutes a day are lost to making, buying and drinking tea and coffee. That is, PS400 a year is lost in working hours per employee, or 190 days over a lifetime. So, should employers be worried about this lost working time, or does the tea break make up in other ways? One argument is that caffeine improves mental state: a drink of tea or coffee can make you active and focus on work. Professor Rogers of the University of Bristol disagrees. After years of studying caffeine he sees nothing can prove that. "Workers would perform equally well if not drinking it at all," he says. "But if they're often drinking it and then go without, they'll feel tired and won't work well." Psychologist Cooper instead emphasizes the role tea breaks play in office life, and in building social relationships. "We need to make people more active and see other people. The tea break is one way of doing this," says Cooper. And Professor Rogers also points out the comfort effect of a hot drink: "We warm our hands on them on a cold day; they're comforting and play a big role in our everyday life. Whatever the caffeine's doing, I'd say these 24 minutes aren't wasted." We learn from a recent survey that in Britain _ . A PS400 is lost in working hours for each person B tea breaks take up 24 minutes in a working day C people spends 190 days drinking tea and coffee each year D people drink 165 million cups in working hours every day Answer: B
A computer needs what to be functional Answer: positive ions Silence is unnatural to man.He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness.In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else.Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence.If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox .He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than _ , but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure . The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito .But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing -with his neighbors. Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel. At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists. According to the author, people make conversation to _ . Answer: overcome their fear of silence Happy-Time Beverages agreed in writing with Fizzy Cola Company to serve for three years as a distributor in a six-county area of Fizzy Cola, which contains a small amount of caffeine. Happy-Time promised in the contract to "promote in good faith the sale of Fizzy Cola" in that area; but the contract said nothing about restrictions on the products that Happy-Time could distribute. Six months later, Happy-Time agreed with the Cool Cola Company to distribute its caffeinefree cola beverages in the same six-county area. If Fizzy Cola Company sues Happy-Time for breach of their distribution contract, which of the following facts, if established, would most strengthen Fizzy's case? Answer: For many years in the soft-drink industry, it has been uniform practice for distributors to handle only one brand of cola. Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition--to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy. One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut. With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child. It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band. Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: "If those old people next - door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened." Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda? Answer: kind, hardworking and clever On 17 March 2003, Robin Cook, Leader of the House of Commons and former Foreign Secretary, resigned from the Cabinet in protest against the coming war in Iraq. His resignation speech inspired the first long applause in the history of the House and marked the end of the ministerial career of one of Labor's most brilliant politicians. For the previous two years, Robin Cook kept a diary, a personal record of the life of Labor's second term, a diary that forms the center of the narrative . The Point of Departureis Robin Cook's plain account of this extraordinary period in our political history, the most important political publication of the decade. Though surprised by his abrupt dismissal as Foreign Secretary, he became determined to bring about some changes in Parliamentary democracy that he believed was essential if Parliament was to move into the 21stcentury. As Tony Blair told him, "This is the job for you." Drawing on first-hand experiences in the Commons and the Cabinet, of encounters in conferences, and late night conversations, we follow his gathering disillusionment as the political compass of the government changes to directions which he believes to be completely mistaken: from its failure about Lords reform and its unwillingness to provide leadership for social change, to a foreign policy which has led us away from our responsibility in Europe, into closer relationship with the most right-wing government in American history, and participation in Bush's war on Iraq. This is the story of a government in power and the tensions between those who govern. But above all it is a story of a politician who truly wanted to bring democracy closer to the people, but who saw a government increasingly separated from the values of himself and his party, and who developed a growing belief that on Iraq, its position was morally, diplomatically and politically wrong. Robin Cook first entered Parliament as MP for Edinburgh Central in 1974. He held a number of senior positions in Opposition -- Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Health and Social Services Secretary -- before becoming Foreign Secretary in 1997. In 2001 he was appointed Leader of the House of Commons, a position from which he resigned in March 2003 in protest against the coming war in Iraq. The Point of Departuremight be the name of a _ . Answer: book
One way to recycle is by turning A. plastic into food B. plastic into shoes C. plastic into trees D. plastic into rivers Answer: B. plastic into shoes We always read reports about costs of oil going up and we will think this is our most valuable material. However, water is the most valuable resource . People in the Middle East are more worried about this than oil. Maybe the next war will be about water. In the future, to control the quality and quantity , you will use different water for different usages. The water used to wash your car, water your flowers or wash your clothes doesn't need to be as clean as the water you drink. One in five people live in countries without enough fresh water and in 25 years, the number is believed to be one in every three people. Our world population is increasing. What do you suppose this will suggest for us in the future? Population control? Traditional management of the water industry has been out of date since the 1990s. When technologies develop so rapidly in the world, we have loads of information for technologies in the business world, but in the water industry we don't have any. Britain and France have already taken measures to successfully improve their water industries. All the water services in Britain have been provided by private companies since 1991. Since then, improvement has been made in the rules for their water quality and pricing. What can you do now for the future? Using water more efficiently in your house can make a great difference not only to the world but to your money. Even if you don't have to pay much now, you will when you start to pay big prices for different water usages. Water shortage is getting more serious because _ . A. the world population is growing up. B. there will be more wars about water. C. people don't have efficient management of the water industry. D. water services will be provided only by private companies. Answer: A. the world population is growing up. One way that scientists learn about man is by studying animals.In this lab, the scientists are studying the relationship between diet and health. They are studying the relationship between the amount of food the mice eat and their health.The mice are in three groups.All three groups are receiving the same healthy food.The first group is eating one cup of food each day, the second group is eating two cups, and the third group is eating three cups. After three years, the healthiest group is the one that is only eating one cup of food each day.The mice in this group are a little thinner. But _ are more active.Most of the day, they are running, playing with one another.Also, they are living longer.Mice usually live for two years.Most of the mice in this group are still alive after three years. The second group of mice is healthy, too.They are active, but not as active as the thinner mice.They are only living about two years. The last group of mice is receiving more food than the other two groups.Most of the day, these mice are eating or sleeping.They are not very active.These mice are living longer than the scientists thought-about a year and a half.But they are not healthy.They are sick more often than the other two groups. The experiment lasted for at least _ years. A. one and a half B. two C. two and a half D. three Answer: D. three 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." We can learn from the passage that A. all the characters created by Dickens are popular B. people prefer films based on Dickens' novels to his works C. Dickens were more interested in performing than in writing D. the films and plays based on Dickens' novels raise his popularity Answer: C. Dickens were more interested in performing than in writing The quality of water supply in southern Beijing has been improving in recent years, an official said. In addition to improvements in the network of pipes, the government has been upgrading three recycled water plants in the south of the capital, said Zhao Lei, spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. "The transformation of the three plants has increased the recycled water processing capacity by 160,000 cubic meters per day," he said. In addition, the city is also speeding up the construction of sewage treatment plants to further recycle the sewage, Zhao said. Zhang Xiang, a researcher from Nature University, an environmental protection NGO in Beijing, said recycled water use should be promoted, especially in water-scarce cities such as Beijing. Setting up more recycled water plants in the capital will not only promote efficient water use, but also reduce costs because recycling water is much cheaper than transferring it over long distances, he said. According to the Beijing Water Authority, the capital will set up 46 more recycled water plants citywide in the next three years while upgrading 20 sewage treatment plants. The treatment rate of domestic sewage in downtown Beijing will reach 98 percent by the end of 2015, it said. The capital's recycled water is mainly used for industry, landscaping and cleaning, Zhang said. Many new communities in southern Beijing are equipped with a network to recycle water. In the past, people were not enthusiastic about using recycled water. However, as the government has boosted the quality of recycled water and set up more recycled water plants, more residents are gradually accepting it. Residents in southern Beijing will also enjoy more clean energy, as the government will replace traditional coal-burning stoves with electric radiators as part of a three-year plan to develop southern Beijing from 2013 to 2015. Since 2010, Beijing has taken measures to develop its southern areas. Earlier efforts have seen the region, which used to rely heavily on low-end industries such as cement factories and small coal mines, being turned into a bustling commercial center and home to many educational institutions. How many recycled water plants will the capital city have in about 3 years? A. 46. B. 20 C. 3 D. 49 Answer: D. 49
She is a cute , quiet girl. As a daughter, she has no secrets from her mother, who is very pleased with her. But recently she has become somewhat mysterious, not so open as before: what if she falls in love, which is too early for a girl of her age. After all, she is reaching the "dangerous stage". These thoughts have caused trouble in the mother' mind. One weekend the girl came to tell her mother that she was going to the cinema with her schoolmates and would return late. This was the first time her mother had agreed , and she couldn't help worrying because her daughter had never been away at night before. The mother waited till nine and her uneasiness got the upper hand over her. She decided to go out to meet her daughter. Just at that moment the noise of a car pulling up drew her to the window and ------there was her daughter, waving goodbye to a boy. Her heart missed a beat. When the girl came in, the mother was watching TV, pretending nothing had happened. "Mum, I'm back." "Yeah." "Sorry to be late. Still sitting up?" "Yes, Oh, that... Who's that boy?" The daughter was stunned for a moment. "Ah. It's my monitor. He gave a lift on his way home. Mum, I'm going to bed" "All right. Go to sleep early." Next morning, when the mother went to the daughter's room to do some tidying, she found her diary left at her pillow. After a few minutes' hesitation she finally opened it to the entry of the night before. It read: Mum, it was love that made you ask, but it would show your understanding of me if you hadn't. Holding the diary, the mother fell in thought. Which of the following is TRUE according to the story? Answer: What the girl did recently worried her mother. A teacher showed three toys to his students and asked them to find out the differences. All the three toys seemed to have the same shape, size and material. After looking at them carefully, the students discovered holes in the toys. The first toy had holes in the ears. The second toy had holes in its ear and mouth. The third toy had only one hole in one of its ears. Then the teacher put a needle in one ear hole of the first toy. The needle came out of the other ear. For the second toy, when the needle was put in its ear , it came out of its mouth. And for the third toy, when the needle was put in, it did not come out. So the teacher explained to his students," The first toy represent those people who seem to be listening to you and caring for you. But they are just pretending to do so. After listening, as the needle comes out from the next ear, the things you said to them are gone. In fact, they don't care for you at all." "The second toy represents those people who listen to you and care for you. But as in the toy, the needle comes out from mouth, these people will use what you tell them to fight against you. They tell others what you said and tell your secrets for their purposes." "As for the third toy, the needle does not come out. It represents those people who will keep the trust you put in them. They are the ones that you can believe." The teacher's purpose of showing the toys was _ . Answer: to help students know different people A NEW weapon is on the way in the fight against smoking in Europe. Soon when smokers buy cigarettes they might see a shocking photo of a blackened lung or a cancer patient staring back at them from the packet . Some boys may think of smoking as cool and sexy. Their friends won't agree when they see their packets of cigarettes lying on the table. The European Union announced on October 22 that it had chosen 42 photos that showed the damage cigarettes could do to the body. It called on member nations to put these pictures on packets to discourage smokers. To catch the attention of teenagers, the special packets warn of long-term medical dangers, like cancer. Short-term effects, like bad skin, are also on the list. "The true face of smoking is disease, death and horror. That is the message we should send to the young," said David Byrne, an EU health official. "Hopefully these pictures will shock students out of their love for cigarettes." The EU head office hoped the pictures would work better than current written warnings on packs of cigarettes. The warnings included "smoking kills" and "smoking can lead to a slow and painful death." So far, Ireland and Belgium have shown interest in the photos. Canada has used similar pictures and warnings on cigarette packs since 2000. The country has recently seen a fall in the number of smokers. According to studies, smoking is the single biggest cause of avoidable death in EU. Every year more than 650,000 smokers die, more than one person a minute.(272) The main purpose of using the photos is to warn _ . Answer: young smokers Mr. and Mrs. Wilson lived in a big city. They liked traveling. One summer they went to the countryside for their holiday. They enjoyed it very much, because it was a quiet and clean place. One day they went out for a walk early in the morning and saw an old man. He lived on the farm, and he was sitting alone in the warm sun in front of the house. Mr. Wilson asked him, "Do you like living in the quiet place?" The old man said, "Yes, I do." Mr. Wilson asked, "What are the good things about it?" The old man answered. "Well, everybody knows everybody. People often come and see me, and I often go and see them. And there're lots of children here." Mr. Wilson said, "That's interesting. And what are the bad things?" The old man thought for a minute and said, "Well, the same things." Did the old man think the good things were the same as the bad things? _ . Answer: Yes, he did. Michael Jordan is the most famous basketball player in the world. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He didn't like to talk to other people about himself. He was also very short. He didn't play very well when he joined the basketball team in his high school at first. But the next year things changed greatly for him as he grew much taller. Michael Jordan became famous when he joined the university basketball team in North Carolina. Michael used his speed and strength to reach the basket again. He played so well that people called him "Air Jordan". After college, Michael became a basketball team member in the Chicago Bulls. The NBA was very surprised at this high-flying player. He was named "Rookie" of the year in 1985 and "Most Valuable Player" in 1987. He once set a record by getting 63 points in one game. The NBA was very surprised at the superstar when _ . Answer: he joined the Chicago Bulls
Question: Many years ago, there lived an old man with his three sons, Dharma, Harrison and Keith, in a village. The man worked hard when he was young, son he had the largest farmyard and the most beautiful house in the village. However, his sons were all born to be lazy, which mad him disappointed. He was worried that his sons would use up his money and starve to death. One day, the old man came up with a plan. He called his sons and said to them, "Look, my dear sons: in the land we have at the farmyard, there is lots of hidden gold. If you should work together, you may find it" In a wish to find out the gold, his sons worked hard from the morning to the evening digging and digging all through the land. The days had passed, but they didn't find what were they were looking for. They got frustrated and angry. They decided to give up and returned to ask their father. "There is no gold in the land. We are cheated." "Since the land has been dup soft. Why don't you pant some crops there?" was the reply of the father to the sons. Off went the sons. Soon the whole once-useless land was rich crops. "This if the real gold, my sons." Said the now proud father. Why did his sons agree to dig the land? A. They wanted to help their father. B. They wanted to grow their own crops. C. They didn't want to be lazy any more. D. They wanted to find the hidden gold. Answer: D. They wanted to find the hidden gold. Question: Adults usually do not remember most of the things that are taught by their teachers at school. But this story is one such lesson that I will never forget. Every time I drift off course, I think of this story. It was a normal Monday morning, and my teacher was teaching us on important things in life and about devoting ourselves to what is important to us. This is how the story went: An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get onto the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years. His house was dirty, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled terrible. The neighbors could not stand the smell any more, so they called for the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years. The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire . They waited outside his house expecting to share the good news with him. When the old man arrived home that evening, one of the officers told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire. But the old man said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, sat at the street corner and continued to beg. Clearly, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing. When the old man knew he was a millionaire, he _ . A. remained calm B. became excited C. felt worried D. became nervous Answer: A. remained calm Question: China is now sending more college students to study in the United States than any other country. A new report shows a 23 percent increase in the number of Chinese students coming to the U.S. The latest edition of the annual Institute of International Education(IIE)and another US institute found a 5 percent rise in the number of international university students in the US compared to one year ago. There are now over 157, 000 Chinese students at U.S. colleges and universities. Aisa accounted for four of the top five countries and regions to take advantage of the US higher education system. "Increased numbers of students from China, particularly at the undergraduate level, largely accounts for the growth this past year," the report stated. "They really enroll in a full range of US higher education," said Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president of IIE, the group that made the report. "20 years ago, students from China only knew of a handful of US insitiutions, but now, they are enrolling in our community colleges, in our small liberal arts institutions, in the research universities. Really spread across the country," she said. Chinese mainland was in the number one spot, while India was the number two country of origin. South Korea was third and Canada was number four. China's Taiwan held the number five spot. Saudi Arabia was in sixth with a 44-percent increase, while Japan was seventh, down 14 percent. Blumenthal attributes the increase in the number of Chinese students heading to US colleges to limited university places in China, as well as a feeling from students and their parents than they want a "unique" educational experience. China's family planning policy, says Blumenthal, has also meant that families can concentrated resources on a single child. The University of California at Los Angeles has one of the largest Asian student populations of any college in the United States. Which ranked the third place sharing US higher education? A. Saudi Arabia B. South Korea C. Canada D. India Answer: B. South Korea Question: With the new year coming, a new website was set up to offer ringtones of the sounds of dozens of rare and endangered species from around the globe. The Center for Biological Diversity started offering free wildlife ringtones for cellphones a year ago to educate people about the _ of the animals, and the campaign enjoyed such success that the environmental group has collected more ringtones and added them to its website for this year. The group plans to release a kind of new ringtones each month, including the sounds of the African elephant and the emperor penguin of the Antarctic, said Peter Galvin, the group's conservation director. "We've hit the 100,000th download in over 150 countries," Galvin said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "It's pretty interesting. We didn't realize how much of an international hit it would become." The response, he said, reinforces the worldwide movement to save endangered and rare species. Available ringtones include the howl of an endangered Mexican gray wolf, the bellows of an Arctic beluga whale and the calls of dozens of other mammals, birds and reptiles. Website visitors can also get cellphone wallpaper and facts for each of the species. And later this year, the website will be available in Spanish and more ringtones from species in Latin America will be added, Galvin said. What would be the best title for the passage? A. Ringtones are popular with cellphone users B. New wildlife ringtones released in a website C. New strange ringtones enjoy great success D. A new way to protect wildlife Answer: B. New wildlife ringtones released in a website Question: Which tool would best help a person observe the parts of a plant cell? A. hand lens B. telescope C. binoculars D. microscope Answer: D. microscope
It seems that some people go out of their way to get into trouble. That's more or less what happened the night that Nashville Police Officer Floyd Hyde was on duty. "I was on the way to a personal-injury accident in West Nashville. As I got onto Highway 40, blue lights and sirens going, I fell in behind a gold Pontiac Firebird that suddenly seemed to take off quickly down the highway. The driver somehow panicked at the sight of me. He was going more than a hundred miles an hour and began passing cars on the shoulder. " But Hyde couldn't go after him. Taking care of injured people is always more important than worrying about speeders, so the officer had to stay on his way to the accident. But he did try to keep the Firebird in sight as he drove, hoping another nearby unit would be able to step in and stop the speeding car. As it turned out, keeping the Firebird in sight was not that difficult. Every turn the Pontiac made was the very turn the officer needed to get to the accident scene. Hyde followed the Pontiac all the way to his destination. At that point he found another unit had already arrived at the accident scene. His help wasn't needed. Now he was free to try to stop the driver of the Firebird, who by this time had developed something new to panic about. "Just about that time," Hyde says, "I saw fire coming out from under that car, with blue smoke and oil going everywhere. He'd blown his engine. Now he had to stop. " "After I arrested him, I asked him why he was running. He told me he didn't have a driver's license." That accident cost the driver of the Firebird plenty -- a thousand dollars for the new engine -- not to mention the charges for driving without a license, attempting to run away, and dangerous driving. Why did the driver of the Firebird suddenly speed down the highway? Answer: Do you usually go Dutch(AA) when you take someone out to dinner? Do you expect your date to pay for the whole meal? Many people say that as long as there's love, money doesn't matter much. But this might change when the relationship gets serious and it is related to the money borrowed from the bank, the family present accounts and debt. A survey among 8 million couples in the UK suggested that 44% of married couples don't know exactly what their partner earns. An astonishing 23% actively try to keep their finances secret from their partners. About 38% of them are open to each other. Another 12% refuses to tell the truth. British relationship expert Russell says: "It's very difficult to talk about money. Often there's guilt, there's shame. To start those conversations is difficult. Money can be about how we value ourselves, how we feel valued. It's not just a simple case of talking about hard cash." So if you are in a couple, it might be a good idea to check if you both are on the same page about money before bills pile up on the kitchen table and love flies out of the window. When moving in together, couples should not only talk about their personal habits but also about their financial ones. Russell has a word of advice: "Accept the fact that in your relationship you might do money differently - there might be a spender or a saver. It's very attractive if your partner does things differently to say they're wrong. Do it differently but plan it well." And now, back to that date. Would you be bored with someone who was attractive but expected you to pay the bill by yourself? There's food for thought. According to relationship expert Russell, what should people do no matter whether they are savers or spenders? Answer: Welcome here! The Southern Spring Home & Garden Show will be held at The Park Expo and Conference Center. This show will last from Wednesday (March 2) to Sunday (March 6,2012). Admission : Adults $10.00. Teenagers under 15 free with a paying adult. Join Lincolnton's own Tammie Davis as she performs her original country songs at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday,March 5th. Special Days: The Spring for Kids First Night Gala benefiting the Council for Children's Rights will take place from 7 p.m. to 10p.m. on Wednesday, March 2,2012. Tickets are $50 and include an access to Freedom Hall, where you can enjoy delicious food, beverage and entertainment free of charge. Seniors Day(55+):Wednesday is for them. Cost is $7.00 but without coupons . Hours :Wednesday,Thursday &Sunday :10 a.m.---5p.m.;Friday &Saturday :10 a.m.----9 a.m. Wheelchairs are available on a first come first served basis for you. The cost is $1.00 and you are required to leave a valid driver's license or ID. Parking :All Day Parking: $6.00;Half Day Parking:$3.00; Every Hour Parking:$1.00 For more Information: Come to visit Mardee Woodward in person. E-mail: mwoodward@southernshows.com Telephone:704-376-4085 .How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and a child aged 16? Answer: Oprah Winfrey, the queen of American daytime talk TV, is considered one of the most powerful women in the world.Now, after 25 years' hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show, the star has announced she is calling it quits. According to the Los Angeles Times, the move "signals the beginning of the decline for the daytime talk show." More women are working full-time jobs, and people are turning to cable and pre-recorded shows for their entertainment. It may be that Oprah isn't quitting so much as moving on.She has created the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), and will most likely move her show to the network.If audiences around the world need Oprah, they well know where to look. Oprah Winfrey was born to a single teenage mother in a small town in rural Mississippi, US.As a child, she lived with poverty and abuse.But she got a job at a local radio station, where her honesty, emotional style won her many fans.She quickly rose through the ranks of radio and television before launching her own production company and starting her own show. Oprah's talk show was not the first of its kind, but it quickly became the best and most popular.It made talk shows popular, and others jumped in to start similar shows.But while other talk shows turned ugly, featuring guests who argued and attacked each other with chairs, _ "Part of her power lies in the fact that her life story resonates with her audience, as a kind of version of the American dream," writes Kevin Connolly, a reporter with the BBC. She became a star because of the way she opened up about her problems to her audience.She shared her own struggles with relationships and weight.She focused on self-help.Connolly believes "something in her honesty and her sometimes painfully emotional directness struck home with a certain type of American". From Kevin Connolly, we know people like Oprah's show for all the reasons EXCEPT _ . Answer: Today, roller-skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn't easy at all. Before 1750, no one had any ideas of roller-skating. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. He liked to make things and play the violin in his free time. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer. One day Merlin was invited to a party. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make an amazing entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought everyone at the party would show much interest if he could skate into the room. Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was proud of his invention and dreamed of arrived at the party on wheels while playing the violin. On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was surprised to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. The mirror fell down, breaking into pieces. Merlin's idea was so good that nobody forgot his special entrance for a long time. But could he find out a way to stop his roller skates? People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _ . Answer:
The personal computer has overtaken the family dog as man's best friend.according to a study. Researchers found that just 6 per cent of us believe that" most people rely more on their dog than they do on their PC",while 67 per cent think the opposite to be true. Even 38 per cent of dog owners admitted to relying more on their PC than on their dog, although 36 per cent disagreed. And 71 per cent of 18 to 24-year-old dog owners said they relied more on their computer. Paul Allen,editor of Computeractive magazine said:"These days you can even you're your PC for fl walk,provided you have a laptop or tablet." "It's only a matter of time until the first PC that fetches your slippers." Researchers questioned 2,000 British adults to find out the change modern technology has brought to their home life. They found that male dog owners are almost twice as likely as female owners to rely on their computer than a _ companion. Mr.Allen said:"With broadband bringing them global news and newspaper sales falling,the family dog even misses out on the pleasure of taking the paper to his owner." But it's not all bad news for obedient dogs. "The family PC has given dog owners access to a wealth of resources and information that can help with the long-term care that a dog needs,"Mr.Allen said. What is the general idea of the passage? Answer: The personal computer has replaced the dog as man's best friends. Time out Cover Price: PS2.35 Save up to 42% Time out -- London's arts and entertainment weekly. This magazine offers the best listings and reviews of arts, music, films and nightlife, and it is a necessary guide to the entertainment capital of the world. If you're not using Time out, you're losing out on London. School Sport Magazine Cover Price: PS4.40 School Sport Magazine is the only publication of its kind to celebrate the sporting achievements of schools, pupils and teachers in the UK. The purpose of the magazine is to report sporting news and record national and regional school sporting events as well as interviews with famous sport stars about their own sporting schooldays. Five issues a year. Time Cover Price: PS2.70 Save up to 76% Every week, Time keeps you well informed of world news, covering all the matters that affect your life, from political struggles to scientific progress, environmental problems, and what's new in business, fashion and arts. Its feature articles give you brief but true information and unique insights from world-leading journalists. Time is a great magazine, which can help you develop a truly global perspective. FourFourTwo Cover Price: PS3.90 Save up to 25% FourFourTwo is a monthly football magazine for grown-up readers. Feature articles and wonderful action photographs will keep you attracted. You can read interviews with big name football stars, from today, tomorrow and yesterday. You'll love it! Which of the following magazines is suitable for a 13-year-old boy who wants to know about a famous football star's playing experiences at school? Answer: School Sport Magazine. There is an elephant and a monkey. They're friends. But one day they want to know who is stronger. One of them says, "Who can get apples over there, who is stronger." There is a river over there. The monkey says, "I can't swim." The elephant says, "I can swim. Please sit on my back." They go across the river. The apple trees are very tall. The elephant can't reach the apples. The monkey climbs up the tree and gets many apples. Now they know they should help each other. _ can't swim. Answer: The monkey Ways to reuse paper could be Answer: use as window cleaner You will have a lot of reading to do in this grade this year. You can do more of it in less time if you learn to read rapidly. Perhaps you have been told about some habits which keep a person from reading fast and have been strongly asked to break those which you might have. Do you still have any of these bad habits? Check yourself by answering "yes" or "no" to these questions. (1)Do you move your lips when reading silently? (2)Do you point to words with your finger as you read? (3)Do you move your head from side to side as you read? (4)Do you read one word at a time? If you answer "yes" to any of these questions, start at once to break the habit.If you move your lips, hold your fingers over them,or hold a piece of paper between your lips while you are reading. Then if your lips move, you will know it and can stop them. If you point to words, hold the two sides of your book, one side with your left hand, the other side with your right hand. Then you won't have a free finger to use in pointing while reading. If you move your head, place your chin in one hand and hold your head still . If you read no more than one or two three words at a time, you need to work very hard in learning to take in more words at each glance as your eyes travel across the lines of words. Even if you do rather fast now, you can learn to read even faster.As you probably have been told, the fast reading is to take in whole groups of words as each glance. Read in thought groups and force your eyes along the lines of words as fast as you can make them go. Anyone who practices doing these things will be able to read faster You may hold your fingers over your lips while reading so as( _ . Answer: to feel whether your lips move or not
Question: Jenny was a five-year-old girl. One day, while she was shopping with her mother, she saw a plastic pearl necklace and loved it so much. So she asked her mother to buy it for her. Every night, before Jenny went to bed, her dad would read stories to her. One night, when he finished the story, he asked, "Jenny, do you love me?" "Dad, you know I love you," Jenny answered. "Well, give me your necklace," Dad said. "No, Dad. But you can have my favorite doll." Several times, when her father asked her to give him the plastic necklace, Jenny would give him something else instead. One evening, after Jenny's father read her a story, Jenny said, "Here, Dad." She put her plastic pearl necklace into her father's hand. Her father hold the necklace in one hand and opened the other hand. There was a real pearl necklace in it. He had had it for a long time, and waited for Jenny to give up the cheap one so that he could give her the real one. So, don't be _ . If we are generous , maybe we will get something better. From the passage, we know that _ . A. Jenny's father bought the plastic necklace for her B. Jenny didn't love the plastic pearl necklace later C. Jenny knew her father bought her a real pearl necklace D. Jenny's father gave her a real pearl necklace Answer: D. Jenny's father gave her a real pearl necklace Question: One of the best-loved American writers was William Sydney Porter, or O.Henry. From 1893 he lived with his family in a house in Austin, Texas, which is now a museum. Visitors to Austin can see the house. It was saved from destruction and turned into a museum in1934. The museum is a good way to learn about the interesting life of the American writer. William Porter rented this house in Austin and lived there with his wife Athol and daughter Margaret for about two years. Many objects in the museum belonged to the Porters. Others did not. An important piece in the room is the original photograph over here. It was taken there in the house about 1895. The piano there goes back to the 1860s. His wife took lessons on it when she first moved to Austin. Porter did not start his career as a successful writer. He worked at a farm, land office and bank. He also loved words and writing. The museumm has a special proof of Porter's love of language --- his dictionary. It is said that he had read every word in that dictionary. Later William Porter was forced to leave Austin because he was charged with financial wrongdoing at the bank and lost his job. Because he was afraid of a trail , he left the country secretly. But he returned because his wife was dying. After her death, he faced the trial and became a criminal. He served three and a half years in a prison in Ohio. William Porter would keep his time in prison a secret. But there was one good thing about it. It provided him with time to write. By the time he was freed, he had published 14 stories and became well known as O.Henry. Porter later moved to New York City and found great success there. He published over 180 stories in the last eight years of his life. What do we know about the piano in the house? A. It was hated by Porter's daughter. B. It has a long history of about 150 years. C. Porter's wife gave music lessons on it. D. Porter usually created music on it. Answer: B. It has a long history of about 150 years. Question: Listed here are four of the thousands of impressive museums around the world. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Bilbao, Spain Built in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is one of the newest in the world. It has transformed the industrial city of Bilbao into a travelers' desired destination. The beautiful architecture of the museum has provided a dramatic background for movies and commercials. The Louvre in Paris, France Probably the most famous Louvre also holds the most famous painting in the world, the"Mona Lisa"by Leonardo da Vinci. Crowds can be found any day surrounding the small, but mysterious painting of the smiling woman. But, the Louvre is much more than a home to the"Mona Lisa". The Louvre is visited by more people each year than any other museum in the world. The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, America Just opened in its new downtown location in 2012, the Barnes Foundation is unique in that it is a completely reproduced display from one man's private collection. Dr. Albert C. Barnes started collecting art in the early 20th century and collected, among others, the largest number of original Renoir paintings in the world. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy Walking on the marbled floors feels like stepping back in time. The building itself is a beautiful palace-like structure with frescoes decorating the ceilings and walls. Viewers are bowled over by the works by Botticelli, such as"The Birth of Venus". Classic artworks from nearly 1,000 years ago describe religious events of the time. Which of the following is the most popular? A. The Louvre. B. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. C. The Barnes Foundation. D. The Uffizi Gallery. Answer: A. The Louvre. Question: If you're not a fan of KFC's famous Double Down hot dog, don't worry! KFC in the UK is developing a new treat: an edible coffee cup. The product is still in the trial stage and not yet available for purchase, but according to a KFC news report, the treat is made from a unique biscuit, wrapped in sugar paper, and lined with a layer of heat-resistant white chocolate, which helps keep the coffee hot. As you drink the coffee in the cup, the white chocolate lining will begin to melt slowly, and the biscuit begins to soften. But it doesn't end there --- the cups are not only edible, they also have a pleasant smell. KFC partnered with The Robin Collective, an experimental food company, to make the cups with coconut sun cream, freshly cut grass and wild flowers scents. According to the news report, that's because the scents arouse the positive memories we associate with warm weather, sunshine and summer holidays. Sounds ... delicious? A manager at KFC said, "We have been experimenting with the edible packaging in limited quantities to see if it could be a popular product in the market. We believe if our customers occasionally like to have their cake and eat it, why wouldn't they want to have their cup and eat it instead! " The edible cups will only be available in the UK when it comes out. According to a spokesperson for KFC, there are at present no plans to bring it to the U.S. yet. What is the best title for the passage? A. KFC's new product---Edible coffee cups B. A new treat---Coffee cups and positive memories C. Coffee cups made from biscuits and chocolate D. The development of KFC company in the UK Answer: A. KFC's new product---Edible coffee cups Question: My name is Tom.I want to join a club in my school.I'm not famous now,but maybe I can be famous someday.I can't sing or dance or act,but I can do many other things.I can play three kinds of instruments:the guitar,the violin and the drums.I think I can be in the music club.Maybe I can be a famous musician.I like to read storybooks and I can write stories.Maybe I can be a famous writer.I like sports,too,but I am not good at it,so I don't join the sports club. Tom thinks he can be a famous _ or a famous writer. A. musician B. actor C. singer D. sportsman Answer: A. musician
In a house with more than one kid, there are bound to be some problems. Brothers and sisters borrow stuff, and don't always return it in top condition. Younger kids sometimes feel the older kids get to do whatever they want. Older brothers and sisters think that the baby of the family gets more attention. These are typical problems found throughout the ages, everywhere in the world. When brothers and sisters don't get along well, it's called sibling rivalry. A sibling is a brother or sister and rivalry means competition. It's normal, but too much competition can make for an unhappy home life. A little competition isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it can keep you working hard--when you and your brother spend time shooting hoops. If he's good at it, it may make you want to improve, too. But some sibling rivalry involves arguments--when you think your brother is hogging the ball. People who love each other might argue sometimes, but too much fighting is unpleasant for everyone. Have you ever heard of the green-eyed monster called jealousy ? Sometimes brothers and sisters are jealous of one another. For instance, if your sister always does well at school, it may be frustrating for you, especially if your grades are lower. Although you are probably proud of your brothers and sisters, it's normal to be a little jealous, too. It may make you feel better to focus more on doing your own personal things, rather than comparing yourself with a brother or sister. All kids want attention from their parents, but sometimes you need to take turns. It you are feeling ignored or your brother or sister is always in the spotlight, talk to your mom or dad. If a parent knows you're feeling left out, he or she can figure out ways to help you feel better again. When sibling rivalry happens, it proves a fact that _ . A. brothers and sisters will have to get away from their home B. no competition will be made by brothers and sisters C. no one can stop brothers and sisters arguing all day long D. brothers and sisters don't get along well with each other Answer: D. brothers and sisters don't get along well with each other NANJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou will shake hands in their historic meeting scheduled in Singapore on Saturday, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday. The two-part meeting includes one session open to the media and another behind closed doors, said Zhang Zhijun, who is also head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, when interviewed at the Zijinshan Summit for Entrepreneurs across the Taiwan Strait. According to Zhang, Xi and Ma, as "leaders of the two sides" of the Taiwan Strait, will exchange views during the closed-door meeting. After the meeting, press conferences will be held by both sides. Later, the two leaders are expected to attend a dinner, said Zhang. Zhang said the meeting will lift cross-Strait communication to a new high. The landmark meeting is a breakthrough in face-to-face exchange and communication between the leaders across the Taiwan Strait after the relationship became strained following the events of 1949. Zhang said the meeting will improve mutual trust and allow for an exchange of opinions on handling the cross-Strait ties. In addition, the meeting will help strengthen the 1992 Consensus , which was reached in talks between the two sides in 1992 and recognizes the one-China principle, and safeguards the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, according to Zhang. Zhang added that the scheduled meeting will also benefit regional peace and stability. Also at Wednesday's summit, Chiang Pin-kung, former chairman of the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, _ the upcoming meeting between the two leaders as a milestone for cross-Strait ties. Chiang told the media that he believed the meeting will give a boost to the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties. Which of the following statements about the 1992 Consensus is not true? A. It was reached in 1992. B. It recognizes the one-China principle. C. It is an agreement between China and Japan. D. It safeguards the peaceful development of cross-Strait ties. Answer: C. It is an agreement between China and Japan. Our senses aren't just delivering a strict view of what's going on in the world; they're affected by what's going on in our heads. A new study finds that hungry people see food-related words more clearly than people who've just eaten. Psychologists have known for decades that what's going on inside our head affects our senses. For example, poorer children think coins are larger than they are, and hungry people think pictures of food are brighter. Remi Radel of University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, France, wanted to investigate how this happens. Does it happen right away as the brain receives signals from the eyes or a little later as the brain's high-1evel thinking processes get involved. Radel recruited 42 students with a normal body mass index. On the day of his or her test, each student was told to arrive at the lab at noon after three or four hours of not eating. Then they were told there was a delay. Some were told to come back in 10 minutes; others were given an hour to get lunch first. So half the students were hungry when they did the experiment and the other half had just eaten. For the experiment, the participant looked at a computer screen. One by one, 80 words flashed on the screen for about l/300th of a second each. They flashed at so small a size that the students could only consciously perceive. A quarter of the words were food-related. After each word, each person was asked how bright the word was and asked to choose which of two words they'd seen-a food-related word like cake or a neutral word like boat. Each word appeared too briefly for the participant to really read it. Hungry people saw the food-related words as brighter and were better at identifying food- related words. Because the word appeared too quickly for them to be reliably seen, this means that the difference is in perception, not in thinking processes, Radel says. "This is something great to me. Humans can really perceive what they need or what they strive for. From the experiment, I know that our brain can really be at the disposal of our motives and needs. "Radel says. What can we infer from the passage? A. 42 participants are too small a number for a serious investigation. B. An experiment with hungry and non-hungry participants is not reliable. C. Our thinking processes are independent of our senses. D. Humans can perceive what they need without involving high-level thinking processes Answer: D. Humans can perceive what they need without involving high-level thinking processes Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to connect the brain with computers. Braincomputer interface(BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines. Recently, two scientists, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytehnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, show a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts. In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts. "Our brain has billions of body cells . These send signals through the spinal cord to the body part to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the body part." Tavella says. "Our system allows disabled people to communicate with outer world and also to control machines." The scientists designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp and sends them to a computer. The computer finds meanings of the signals and commands the wheelchair with an engine. The wheelchair also has two cameras that tell objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain. Prof. Millan , the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that finds meanings of brain signals and turns them into simple commands." The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two kinds: communication, and controlling objects. One example is this wheelchair." He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can get advantages from. And the other is sure that they can use the technology for long. Which of the following would be the best title for the text? A. Switzerland, the BCI research Center B. New Findings About How the Human Brain Works C. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled D. Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Sickness Answer: C. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled BEIJING--Heavy haze still covered north and east China on Saturday, with highways closed and flights delayed or canceled . The smoggy weather affected the country's land from north to south, including Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong, with visibility less than 50 meters in some areas. Cities like Shanghai and Nanjing have been enveloped in the grey sky for the past several days. Many walkers in the street had to wear masks. In the Lukou airport in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, more than 60 inbound and outbound flights were canceled on Saturday because of the hazy, which also forced primary and middle schools and kindergartens to stop classes on Thursday and Friday in Nanjing. The Ministry of Environmental Protection said earlier this week that there were several main reasons behind the widespread haze: unfavorable weather conditions making it difficult for pollutants to diffuse , motor vehicle exhaust , coal use for winter heating. The Chinese government now plans to clean up the air by cutting coal use, closing some factories and promoting cleaner production. "We must face up to the realities," said Yan Naiqiang, a professor of environmental science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. "The treatment of smog will be a long battle." Which of the following statements is TRUE? A. Few people go out because of the heavy haze. B. China is trying to take action to solve such kind of problems. C. Big cities in east China are easily affected by the bad weather. D. Students in Shanghai even stop their classes because of the bad weather. Answer: B. China is trying to take action to solve such kind of problems.
The word dream is probably heard most frequently from people in show business, where everyone dreams of standing under the spotlight and being somebody. But the truth is that most end up being nobodies. Hong Kong director Derek Yee's latest film" I Am Somebody" shows respect for these unknown extras in the film industry. In the film, Wan Guopeng, son of a woodcutter, comes a long way from the Northeast with only 1,000 yuan to the dream factory of the East to become an actor. In real life, when the young man was chosen by the director to play the leading role, he had only 20 yuan left but still hadn't considered giving up. Famous Hong Kong actor Tony Leung remembered that 30 years ago, he was a salesman but knew that it was not the kind of life he wanted to live. "Wan is exactly like me back then...Only when I was in an acting training course did I realize that what I wanted to be was an actor, not a star winning the best actor awards." Yee chose real nobodies to play themselves in the movie. Their strength was their deep understanding of the feelings of the characters they played. But the disadvantage was also obvious: They lacked acting skills. When emotional performances were needed, their expressions and moves seemed unnatural. The entertainment industry might be the field with the most broken hearts and most efforts gone _ . Here luck, opportunity and physical appearance are probably much more important than hard work. In the film, Qin Peijun, a survivor from a coal mine collapse , goes all out to take hold of every possibility to appear in the lens of the camera, even if only as an extra. However, it is obviously much harder for him to realize the dream of becoming a professional actor than for Wang Zhao, who is a lazy bone with a pretty face. Some critical comments are directed at the sudden inversion in the last part of the film. The two leading actors' happy endings seem to disagree with the film's realistic style. But anyway, this movie is not a documentary but a way to reinforce that every brave heart deserves to have their dreams realized. Derek Yee chose real nobodies to play in the film because _ . A. he respected these people B. they knew well about the characters C. he needed emotional performances D. they asked for less money Answer: B The Fourth "21th Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition is to be held in prefix = st1 /Shanghai. Organizers: ChinaDaily andShanghaiBroadcasting Network. Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association (CUESA). Co-sponsors : English Speaking Union (ESU), Lotus Software (China)Co. Ltd. , Times Publishing Group of Singapore, HiltonShanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. Date: March 26 ( Friday), 2007 Place: Hilton Shanghai. Competition Format : Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges. Prepared speech period: six minutes. Q & A period: three minutes. Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony in a new age + your personal opinion. (Topics for the off hand speech will be given on the day of competition). Prizes: Besides books and certificates , the top two winners will be offered scholarships to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 2007. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language(IATEFL) Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition? _ . A. Where and when it will take place. B. Its program. C. What each winner will be offered. D. The number of its competitors. Answer: D Writer: Ralph Ellison Novel : Invisible Man Invisible Man is Ellison's best known work, most likely because it was the only novel he ever published during his lifetime and because it won him the National Book Award in 1953. Ellison, originally from Oklahoma worked hard to match his earlier success but felt that he could not make any progress on his next novel that eventually came to include well over 2000 pages. It was not until Ellison's death that this novel was condensed ,edited and published under the title Juneteenth. Writer: Margaret Mitchell Novel: Gone with the wind Margaret Mitchell, born in Georgia, never wanted to seek out literary success and wrote this expansive work in secret, only sending to publishers after she was mocked by a colleague who didn't believe she was capable of writing a novel. She turned out to be more than capable, and the book won a Pulitzer Prize and was adapted into one of the best-known and loved films of all time. Mitchell would not get a chance to write another novel, as she was struck and killed by a car on her way to the cinema at only 49 years of age. Writer: Anna Sewell Novel: Black Beauty Sewell didn't start off her life intending to be a novelist, she didn't begin writing Black Beauty until she was 51 years old, motivated by the need to create a work that encouraged people to treat horses ( and humans) humanely and it took her six years to complete it. Upon publication it was an immediate bestseller, rocketing Sewell into success. Unfortunately, she would not live to enjoy but a little of it as she died of hepatitis five months after her book was released. Which novel has been adapted into one of the most successful films? A. Invisible Man B. Gone with the Wind C. Black Beauty D. Juneteeth Answer: B Many cities in the world are benefiting from the night activities of a group of people who call themselves guerrilla gardeners. Armed with trowels, spades and a van full of flowers and plants, guerrilla gardeners turn abandoned urban land into a blaze of color. In city centre locations where there was mud, weeds and empty plastic bottles, residents often wake up to find that the wasted area has been transformed overnight with brightly-colored bedding plants. In most British cities, local governments and police turn a blind eye to the effort of the gardeners, whose activities are always carried out under cover of nightfall. And so far, there has been nothing but praise from the astonished and delighted local residents when they find their neighborhood transformed in such a striking fashion. Not only do the guerrilla gardeners beautify neglected places, they also return regularly to water the plants and weed the flower beds. They also make sure that at least some of the plants they bring are evergreens, which means that the area doesn't look depressing in the winter months. The first guerrilla gardener in London was Richard Reynolds, whose day job is at an advertising agency. Mr. Reynolds, a graduate of Oxford University, began his efforts two years ago when he moved to a flat in a tower block in South London. From his balcony, he could see several empty concrete pots, placed by the local governments to contain plants but never used. He went out after midnight and filled the pots with plants, and then planted more flowers in the path leading to the entrance to the block. He then set up a website to explain his plan and called upon more gardeners to join him. Cash donations flooded in and, more importantly, volunteers rushed to be part of the campaign. Within six months, there were five hundred people in London prepared to come out at very short notice to restore neglected parts of the urban landscape. There are now unofficial but carefully-organized groups in many cities in Britain and North America and there is also a website where would-be urban gardeners can find out the location of the next expedition. These guerrilla gardeners do their work _ . A. at the request of the government B. nearby their house C. often in return for others' help D. out of their own free will Answer: D Herta Muller, the Romanian-born German writer, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature.The award was announced in Stockholm on Thursday. Ms.Muller, 56, immigrated to Germany from Romania in 1987.She is the first German writer to win the Nobel in literature since Gunter Grass in 1999 and the 13th winner writing in German since the prize was first given in 1901.She is the 12th woman to win the literature prize.But unlike previous winners like Doris Lessing and V.S.Naipaul, Ms.Muller is ly unknown outside of literary circles in Germany. "I am very surprised and still cannot believe it," Ms.Muller said in a statement delivered by her publisher in Germany."I can't say anything more at the moment." She has written some 20 books, but just 5 have been translated into English, including the novels "The Land of Green Plums" and "The Appointment." At the news conference on Thursday at the German Publishers & Booksellers Association in Berlin, where she lives, Ms.Muller, wearing all black and sitting on a leopard-print chair, appeared nervous with all the cameras flashing on her. When asked what it meant that her name would now be mentioned in the same breath as German greats like Thomas Mann and Heinrich Boll, Ms.Muller remained philosophical."I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse," she said, adding: "My inner thing is writing.That's what I can hold on to." Earlier in the day, at a news conference in Stockholm, Peter England, secretary of the Swedish Academy, said Ms.Muller was honored for her "very, very distinct special language" and because "she has really a story to tell about cruelty and repression in a village much like the one Muller grew up in." The awards ceremony is planned for Dec.10 in Stockholm.As the winner, Ms.Muller will receive about $1.4 million. By saying "I am now nothing better and I'm nothing worse", Ms.Muller meant that _ . A. she thought highly of herself B. she thought nothing of herself C. she was very modest D. she was no worse than the other German writers Answer: C
Phil Donahue,the former television talk show host,had something of a reputation for giving clergy a hard time,and he has said the reason he's that way is that he has little respect for them.Most clergy will do anything for some media attention,he says.In his autobiography ,however, he tells about an encounter with a minister who was different.It happened while Donahue was a young television reporter in Ohio,and one day he was sent to West Virginia in the bitter cold winter to cover a mine disaster.He went by himself in a battered little car, carrying a mini camera to film the story. It was so cold when he got there,however, the camera wouldn't work.So he put it inside his coat to warm it up enough to run.In the meantime,the families of the trapped miners were gathered around.The),were just simple mining people--women,old men,and children.Several of the trapped men were fathers. Then the local minister arrived.He was tall and thin,and he didn't speak well at a11.But he gathered all the families around in a circle,and the held one another in their arms while he prayed for them. As this was going on,Donahue was still trying to get his camera to work,and he was extremely disappointed because he couldn't film the scene.Finally,after the prayer was over,Donahue managed to get his camera operating.So he told the minister he had his camera working now and asked if the minister would please do the prayer again so he could film it for the evening news. This simple West Virginia preacher, however,told Donahue,"Young man,we don't pray for the news.I'm sorry,but we've already prayed,and I will not pose." To this day,Donahue remembers that minister with respect.You don't forget that kind of character,no matter who you are or what you believe. What did the minister refuse to do? Mark Twain, the famous American writer, was traveling inprefix = st1 /France. Once he was very tired and wanted to sleep. He therefore asked the conductor to wake him up when they came toDijon. But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. "I'll strongly protest when you try to wake me up," he said to the conductor. "But do not take any notice, just put me off the train anyway." Then Mark Twain went to sleep. Later, when he woke up it was night time and the train was inParisalready. He realized at once that the conductor had forgotten to wake him up atDijon. He ran up to the conductor and began to shout at him." I have never been so angry in all my life," Mark Twain said. The conductor looked at him calmly. "You are not half so angry as the American whom I put off the train atDijon," he said loudly. Why did Mark Twain get so angry? John bought a new puppy. He named the new puppy Spike. Spike was a good dog and minded John. John took Spike to the pond behind his house. Spike loved playing in the water. John would throw the frisbee to Spike. He would also throw a bone to Spike. Spike loved running. Jessica came to the pond to visit John. Jessica and Tom always played with John. Jessica was John's best friend. They both loved Spike and Spike loved them. Jessica brought lunch to the pond. She also brought colas to the pond. They ate and Spike sat by them being a good dog. When they were done eating they packed their lunch up. They put Spike on his leash and they went home. What did John throw to Spike? The Great Barn Adventure One morning when I was 11, I explored the town's abandoned round grain barn . I found a chained sliding door that was wide enough for me to pass through. Inside, there was a heavy smell of dead mice in the dark. After my eyes adjusted, I noticed a shaft that rose all the way to the top of the barn. On one side was a one-man elevator with a long rope and roller. I stepped onto the platform and gave the rope a drag and the elevator began sliding up the shaft, but stopped halfway. After a brief panic attack, I noticed holes in the wall at regular intervals, forming a ladder. For reasons known only to an 11-year-old, I decided it would be better to go up than down. So, with shaking hands, I began climbing the wall. After what seemed like forever, I reached the top of the shaft. I stood up, dusted myself off and found absolutely nothing of interest. It was just an empty room with a ladder leading up to the roof. I climbed all the way up here for this? Then I noticed a fire extinguisher ,which I'd always wanted to shoot off. So this was the chance of a lifetime. I tried it, and, much to my surprise, the thing worked! It shot out a thick cloud of powder that instantly filled the room. I couldn't breathe. I was going to choke to death, and they'd probably never even find my body. Luckily, I remembered the ladder to the roof. I climbed up, popped the straw roof and saw a bright blue sky. I suddenly realized the dust and powder pouring out of the top could draw attention. So when the dust had settled, I climbed down and slipped out of the chained door. I'm not sure if I was more excited about being alive or about not being caught, but I ran all the way back home. After getting out of the chained door, the author might feel _ . A student finds a round, smooth pebble on a beach. Which action made the pebble smooth?
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." What's the best title for this passage? Answer: A christmas tree gives hope for a miracle I have a lot of friends. My best friend is Mai. She is 16 years old. She is 2 years older than me. We live in the same town and we began to know each other when we were very young. Now we are classmates. Mai is tall and thin, with long black hair. She has an oval face with big eyes, a high nose and a small mouth. Mai is helpful . When her friends have difficulties, she always tries her best to help them. Mai is one of the best students in our class. I like studying with her. She always helps me with my studies. Although we have the same hobbies and interests, we also have some differences. I am sociable and enjoy telling jokes. Mai, however, is serious and quiet. We believe in each other, so we are good friends. I hope we can keep our friendship forever . Which of the following is TRUE? Answer: Mai and the writer are in the same class. Today we bring you an old tale. It's the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf that blew down a house made of straw and one made of sticks. The only house left standing was the one made of bricks. Now there is new evidence to suggest that houses built with bales of straw can be very strong. They are also very environmental. Pete Walker is a professor at the University of Bath in Britain. He and a team of researchers there have built a house made out of straw bales and hemp material. During the next twelve months the team will study the effectiveness of these materials in home building. Professor Walker says there are many good reasons for using straw. Professor Walker: "One of the benefits is it's a relatively inexpensive renewable material that's readily available." He also agrees that straw takes in carbon dioxide as it grows and helps the environment in other ways. So it can be seen as having no harmful effects on the environment. Professor Walker: "The straw bale walls are relatively thick and so all that straw provides very good thermal insulation. So we make buildings that require very little heating in the winter or indeed very little cooling in the summer. So they require very little additional energy." Professor Walker says this reduces home operating expenses. It also reduces the effect on the environment. He says the current interest in straw bale houses is a direct response to the problem of climate change. David Lanfear owns an eco-friendly home building service in the United States called Bale on Bale Construction. He says he laughed when some friends first told him about houses built of straw. But after doing his own research, he learned that building with straw bales made a lot of sense. He has now helped to build more than ten straw bale houses and says the building material is becoming more widely accepted. To build the houses, he fills a wood frame with tightly packed bales of straw. Next he coats the walls inside and out with layers of clay plaster. He says the common ideas about straw houses continue, including stories about the threat of fire. Mr. Lanfear says straw bale houses have done well when tested for fire resistance. And he says his builders use the same building methods as traditional builders to keep out rain. David Lanfear: "We use what we call good shoes and a good hat, and that would be a solid foundation and a really good roof." What's David Lanfear's attitude towards the straw houses at last? Answer: Approving. Starting from April, 2010, you won't be hearing the word "NBA" on sports programs on CCTV. Instead, sport host will give the full Chinese name when they refer to the NBA - National Basketball Association. You also won't hear any other English abbreviations on CCTV's Chinese programs, such as GDP (gross domestic product), or WTO (World Trade Organization). You will hear their Chinese translations. CCTV received a notice from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television telling it to avoid using English-language abbreviations in their reports to protect the "purity" of the Chinese language. A few other TV stations also received the notice. Fu Zhenguo, an editor of People's Daily, is one of the people who suggested the change. "Firstly, using English in a Chinese-speaking environment is against Chinese law," he said. "Then, using English on Chinese TV programs is unfair to people who don't understand English. What's worse, it will have a bad language influence on kids and teenagers." A lot of netizens have criticized the move, saying that it will cause problems for them. "I understand what CD, VCD and DVD mean when I hear them. But I won't know what the TV programs are talking about if I hear those products' full Chinese names," a netizen wrote in a BBS post. Following the same post, another netizen wrote jokingly: "I'm not listening to my MP3 now. I'm listening to my Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3 ." What can be the full name of CCTV mentioned in the text? Answer: China Central Television Mr Brown lives on Green Street now. He wants to send a postcard to his pen pal in Toronto,but he doesn't know where the post office is."Which is the way to the post office?"he asks his new neighbor Joe. "I want to send a postcard to Toronto.""The post office is quite far from here," answers Joe. "If you only want to post some letters or post cards ,you needn't go to the post office. You can put them into a mailbox down the street Where is the post office? Answer: We don't know.

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