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Dear Annie, Thank you for your letter. I'm glad you like your school. I go to school from Monday to Friday. We have four classes in the morning and two classes in the afternoon. We have many things to do after class. On Monday and Wednesday afternoon we do sports. On Tuesday afternoon some of us have a singing class and on Thursday afternoon some have a drawing class. On Friday afternoon, we practice speaking English. My Chinese friends like to talk with me in English. They think I am like an English teacher. Isn't it great? On Saturdays and Sundays I don't go to school. Very often I go to the parks and have a good time with my family there. Yours, Henry Henry's friend likes to _ .
A. write to him in English
B. write to him in Chinese
C. talk with him in Chinese
D. talk with him in English
Answer:
| D |
Andrew Carnegie, once the world's richest person, was born in 1835 to a weaver's family in Scotland. As a child, he was expected to follow his father's profession. But the industrial revolution destroyed the weavers' craft, and the family had to leave for new possibilities in America. In 1848, the Carnegies arrived in Pittsburgh, then the iron-manufacturing center of the country. Young Carnegie took odd jobs at a cotton factory and later worked as a messenger boy in the telegraph office. He was often asked to deliver messages to the city theater, where he would stay to watch plays by great playwrights. He also spent most of his spare time in a small library that a local sponsor made available to working boys. After the Civil War, Carnegie saw great potential in the iron industry. He devoted himself to the replacement of wooden bridges with stronger iron ones and earned a fortune. He further introduced a new technique to change iron into steel. By 1900, Carnegie Steel produced more of the metal than all of Great Britain. However, Carnegie often expressed his uneasiness with the businessman's life. Wishing to spend more time receiving instruction and reading systematically, he once wrote, "To continue much longer overwhelmed by business cares and with most of my thoughts wholly upon the way to make more money in the shortest time, must degrade me beyond hope of permanent recovery." The strong desire for getting knowledge led him to sell his company and retire at 64. Fond of saying that "He, who dies rich, dies disgraced," Carnegie then turned his attention to giving away his fortune. He opposed charity; instead, he used his money to help others help themselves. He established over 2,500 public libraries, and sponsored numerous cultural, educational and scientific institutions. By the time he died in 1919, he had given away 350 million dollars. Which of the following can best show how Carnegie managed his business?
A. He was willing to make new changes.
B. He set out to beat all the other competitors.
C. He was happy to make more money in the shortest time.
D. He did not hesitate in doing business in his hometown.
Answer:
| A |
Hawaii is a truly beautiful place. Most people know Hawaii for its lovely beaches. However, Hawaii is also a land full of legends . One of the oldest legends tells of a special dance called the hula, which started here around 300 years ago. One hula teacher tells the story of how the dance started. "The hula started, as far as the legend tells it, when Hi'iaki and her good friend Hopoe went down to the beach. And then, when they were there, they noticed the waves ...and they imitated the waves. And then started to use their hands...like showing the waves.That is how the hula started." However,not everyone has always liked the hula.In 1820,some religious people from Western countries came to Hawaii.The visitors were shocked by the hula because the dancers were not wearing many clothes.So they asked the local government to ban the dance. After that,most Hawaiians were not allowed to perform the hula in public for almost 60 years.But that did not mean the dancing stopping.Many dances still performed the hula in secret.The dance was always there. Things have changed.At the moment,people of all ages want to study the old culture.They want to learn how to dance the hula.As a result,more and more people are attending halaus. Halaus are special schools that hula in the traditional way. Kumano is a hula teacher. For him, the dance is a way to bring the best of old Hawaii culture to people today. Kumano says that the dance is not really about the body.He feels that it is more about the mind.He explains this feelings,"...the hula is more... not so much a physical thing,but more of a mental thing.For new dances,the dancing means very little,because for Hawaiians today,many of them don't speak the Hawaiian language. So,what I try to do is to mind the real thing they see today." What can we learn from the passage?
A. Hi iaki and her good friend Hopoe got the idea of the dance from nature.
B. The hula had already had a history had a history of over 200 years when it was banned.
C. Many people attend hulaus because they teach the hula in a modern way.
D. Kumano thinks that the hula dance is good exercise for people of all ages.
Answer:
| A |
Bill was a boy of 15. His parents went to gambling day and night. Nobody cared about hi. He always failed in his exams. So his teachers didn't like him, nor did his classmates play with him. Bill often slept in class because his heart was not in school. He almost gave himself up. One day, Miss Jones, a new teacher, came to Bill's class. She was a smiling, beautiful woman. Bill was in love! For the first time in his young life, he couldn't take his eyes off his teachers; yet, still he failed. It was Miss Jones' class. She was asking a question. "I'd like the smartest boy to answer my question." Then she said loudly, "Bill, please!" Bill was surprised. And he stood up without a word. "Just try it! I believe you can!" After school, Miss Jones had a long talk with Bill. She told him that she cared about him and believed in him. Bill thought a lot that evening. From then on he arrived at school on time every day. Miss Jones helped him with his homework in the afternoon. She even cooked delicious food for him. She told Bill, "Nothing is impossible if you put your heart in it." Later, Miss Jones gave another exam. Bill did it with all his heart. He was very excited to find that he had passed the exam. Now Bill discovered that not only could he learn, but he could do it well. A changed took place in Bill's heart. You see, one teacher saved one boy, it's simple , really. Bill always failed in the exams at first because he _ .
A. went gambling
B. talked in class
C. didn't answer
D. gave himself up
Answer:
| D |
Today is Sarah's birthday. She is seventy-five. We asked a few old friends to dinner. Like most elderly people, I suppose, we spent most of the evening talking about old times. Thirty years ago, the village used to be a quiet place. Now it has changed. Every Sunday hundreds of cars pass through the village at what I think a dangerous speed. They make the village almost as noisy as the streets of a large town. As a boy I enjoyed riding on the backs of the farm horses. Things are different now. Today there are very few horses working on the farms. The farm workers today drive tractors, not horses. A man is not of much use on a farm unless he knows all about machines. Now almost every house in the village has a TV set. Is it a good thing for children to spend the evening sitting in front of a TV set? When I was young I did not waste my time indoors. I would spend the long summer evenings outdoors. I would play with my friends, go fishing or walk by the river. When my grandchildren asked me the reason why I haven't bought a TV set, I tell them there are many books I still want to read. I can't find time for both reading and watching TV. I would rather _ than _ .
A. watch TV; do some reading
B. play with friends; go fishing
C. do some reading; watch TV
D. go fishing; play with friends
Answer:
| C |
Eye injuries from paintball games have increased among children, even as the protective equipment for the sport has improved, according to a study released yesterday in the journal pediatrics. The Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated the number of emergency room visits for eye injuries caused by paintballs at 545 in 2001 and more than 1,200 in 2003. More than 40 percent of those injuries were believed to involve children, the study said. Paintballs are fired at a speed of up to 300 feet a second, the study said. Being so small, they can fit inside the bones meant to protect the eye. The study's author, Dr. David A. Listman of St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, said paintball shopping centers had generally switched to full face masks ,which have become more effective at protecting the eyes than earlier _ . But most injuries now occur in backyard play, which is more likely to involve teenagers or children."The injuries being seen are mostly in people who did not wear the proper, or for that matter any, safety equipment,"Dr. Listman said. Those injuries can involve permanent damage to sight, he said. Dr. Listman said he believed that paintball guns should be restricted to regulated places. In the absence of such action, parents should limit children's access to the guns and insist on proper protection. Paintball guns"should be treated with the same respect as any other firearm,"he said"These are the only guns that are made to shoot at your friends." Paintballs may cause injuries mainly because of_.
A. their content and size
B. their speed
C. their shape
D. their content and shape
Answer:
| B |
It is the last day of June today. It is grandma's birthday. Father, mother and I go to see her. My grandma lives with my uncle in a village not too far away. Uncle works there. Early in the morning we buy a birthday cake and some fruit and go to her home by bus. Grandma and uncle are very glad to see us. We give the present to grandma and say, "Happy birthday to you!" She is very happy. Then we sit down to talk. Uncle goes to prepare lunch. The meal is very nice. We all enjoy it very much. At 4 o'clock, we say goodbye and go back home. Grandma's birthday is _ . .
A. on May 1
B. on June 30
C. on June 31
D. on June 1
Answer:
| B |
To be able to motivate oneself, or self-motivate, occurs when a person has the willingness to do something and is internally motivated to do it. Sometimes it's very difficult to get ourselves moving.The natural tendency is to postpone.Life just seems to get in the way! There is a job to go to, groceries to do, television to watch--whoops! I guess we get pretty good at finding excuses to escape getting started on goals like an exercise routine or reading a new book.The fact is that we are creatures of routine and habit.So what can we do to motivate ourselves to accomplish our goals? Here are some tips on how to get moving: Decide what you want.It's hard to motivate an aimless mind.Set a goal and decide how you are going to go about it.Then break it down into smaller sections so it's easier to handle and less overwhelming. Keep track of your progress.Keep a log or journal where you can measure how much you have accomplished.Looking at it can also motivate you to keep pushing ahead. Post motivating pictures or slogans within your sight.It is always inspiring to see pictures of people who have accomplished what you're going for.It makes it attainable and realistic.Likewise, little slogans like "go for it" or "just do it" can give you the little support you need. _ .If you remind yourself to go for the desired promotion, it will re-establish why you are doing what you're doing. Make it a habit.Once you have accomplished your objective, e.g.becoming an early riser, keep it up so that it's second nature to you and you don't have to think about it anymore. According to the author, some people fail to achieve their goals because _ .
A. they don't have enough desire
B. their life is filled with routine work
C. they benefit from the force of habit
D. they naturally put off forming new habits
Answer:
| D |
Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don't know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it's quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with (...)each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas. It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends in their lives. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among(......) them on the phone. This communication is very important in children's growing up, because friends can discuss something. These things are difficult to say to their family members in fact. However, parents often try to choose their children's friends for them. Some parents even stop their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions? Who choose your friends? Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you? Have you got a good friend your parents don't like? Your answers are welcome. Choose the best answers:(. ) When teenagers have something difficult to say to their parents, they usually _ .
A. stay alone at home
B. fight with their parents
C. discuss it with their friends
D. go to their brothers and sisters for help
Answer:
| C |
Put your car keys away and forget about your travel pass --- it's time to do a bit of walking. National Walking Month is organized every May by Living Streets, an organization that campaigns for the rights and the needs of pedestrians, so the organization is previously known as the Pedestrians' Association. The association's aim is to make streets safe, attractive and enjoyable spaces for people to live, work, shop and play. By putting people (rather than vehicles) first, Living Streets wants to create streets and spaces where people feel happier, healthier and more sociable. The annual campaign gives participants a great opportunity to experience the many virtues of walking. These include the physical health benefits of becoming fitter; the environmental advantages of not using vehicles; the delight of local discoveries --- seeing more of your local areas on foot; the enjoyment of walking with other people, whether family, friends or work colleagues and finally the stress relief that comes from walking --- walking can clear your head. Walk to School Week, 18 to 22 May, is part of the month's activities and its aim is to encourage parents to send children to school on foot, rather than take them in the car or let them use public transport. The movement was started in 1995 with only five participating schools and now two decades later, more than one million children take part. Similarly, there is Walk to Work Week, 11 to 15 May, where grown-ups are encouraged to walk. In the morning, getting off the bus a stop early or parking a few streets away is a good way to add more steps to the daily total. And during the working day, after having lunch at the desks or in the canteen, take a walk and get some fresh air. Walk home with your workmates and chat away about everything under the sun but work! What can we learn from Walk to School Week?
A. It is organized by the government.
B. It is held before Walk to Work Week.
C. It has developed rapidly over the last 20 years.
D. It encourages students to walk to school alone.
Answer:
| C |
Is your schoolbag too heavy to carry? The e-schoolbag will help you. It is said that e-schoolbags are going to be brought into use in Chinese middle schools soon. In fact, the e-schoolbag should perhaps be called an e-textbook. It is a small computer for students. Heavy schoolbags are a problem for them. But the e-schoolbag will change everything. It is much lighter than a usual schoolbag. Also it is as small as a usual book, but it can still hold all the things for study, such as a textbook, an exercise book and so on. They can be made into chips that are as small as a stamp. The students can read the text page by page on the _ , take notes, or even send e-mails to their teachers. All they have to do is to put the right chip into the e-schoolbag and press a button . Some say that e-textbooks can be easily broken; some say it is not good to students' eyes. But only time will tell. Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A. E-schoolbags may be easily broken.
B. It may not be good to students' eyes.
C. The students can read the text page by page with e-schoolbags only.
D. The e-schoolbag will solve the problem of the heavy schoolbags.
Answer:
| C |
Suppose you are thinking about attending college in the United States, but perhaps you might not be ready for a university with a four-year program. About 88,000 international students have found solution. They are attending U.S. community colleges. Such colleges are sometimes called junior colleges. They offer two years of education above the secondary or high school level. Community college students can choose from subjects like medical assistance, computer science or law. At the end of their study program, they receive a document of completion, called a certificate. Some students work toward an associate degree in traditional academic subjects like science or history. After getting it, the students can move on to a four-year college or university. They may have only two years of study left before they receive a bachelor's degree. Many educational experts agree that saving money is the major reason to consider a community college. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) says that a public two-year college costs 3,000 dollar a year on average. That is true if the student lives in the same state as the school. A student at a four-year public college may pay 8,500 dollars a year for classes and user fees. That does not include books and other materials. Some international students may need more preparation in English before entering a community college in the United States. For example, Istrif Montgomery came to the U.S. from Kosovo in 2006. First, he worked to improve his English at Montgomery College for a year. Then for the next two years, he attended classes in basic subjects in a community college. The international students at two-year colleges need to find a place to live. Most community colleges do not provide student housing on their grounds. But Mr Montgomery had a home nearby. He was able to ride the bicycle, and he was able to walk if he wanted. In fact, most community college students live within five to ten miles off the college. What's the biggest advantage of a community college?
A. The classes are free of charge.
B. The students can save much time.
C. The students can save a lot of money.
D. It is convenient for students to live in the college.
Answer:
| C |
Have you ever wondered how and why a fall leaf changes color? We first have to understand what leaves are and what they do. Plants are the world's food factories. Plants take water from the ground and take CO2from the air. Plants use sunlight to turn water and CO2into glucose . Glucose is a kind of sugar. Using it as food, plants get energy and grow. Plants using sunlight to turn water and CO2into sugar is called photosynthesis . _ helps photosynthesis. It gives plants their green color. As summer ends and autumn comes, the days get shorter and shorter, and trees "know" to begin getting ready for winter. During winter, there is not enough light or water for photosynthesis. Trees rest during this time and live on the food they store during the summer. They begin to shut down their food -- making factories. As the green chlorophyII disappears from the leaves, we begin to see yellow and orange leaves. These colors have been in the leaves all the time. We just can't see them in the summer, because they are covered up by the green chlorophyII. The bright reds and purples we see in leaves are made mostly in autumn. In some trees, glucose is caught in the leaves after photosynthesis stops. Sunlight and the cool nights of autumn turn this glucose into a red color. The brown color of trees is made from waste left in the leaves. It is mixture of all these things. It makes the beautiful leaves during autumn. . What's the main meaning of this passage?
A. What's photosynthesis?
B. How and why leaves change colors?
C. Different kinds of leaves.
D. How the seasons change.
Answer:
| B |
Country music is one of the most popular kinds of music in the United States today because it is about simple but strong human feelings and events-love, sadness, good times, and bad times. It tells real-life, stories and sounds the way people really talk. As life becomes more complicated , it is good to hear music about ordinary people. Country music, sometimes called country-western, comes from two kinds of music. One is the traditional music of the people in the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern Unite States. The other is traditional cowboy music from the west. The singers usually play guitars, and in the 1920s they started using electric guitars. At first city people said country music was low class. It was popular mostly in the South. But during World War II, thousands of Southerners went to the Northeast and Midwest to work in the factories. They took their music with them. Soldiers from the rest of the country went to army camps in the South. They learned country music. Slowly it became popular all over the country. Today country music is also popular everywhere in the United States and Canada--in small towns and in New York City, among black and white, and among educated and uneducated people. About 1, 200 radio stations broadcast country music twenty-four hours a day. English stars sing it in British English, and people in other countries sing it in their own languages. The music that started with cowboys and poor southerners is now popular all over the world. During World War II many Southerners went to the Northeast and the Mid-west because_.
A. they wanted to take music with them
B. they wanted to make other people like country music
C. they wanted to work in the factories there
D. they wanted to make country music popular
Answer:
| C |
Success is often measured by the ability to overcome adversity.But,it is often the belief of others that gives us the courage to try. J.K.Rowling,author of the Harry Potter book series,began writing at the age of 6.In her biography,she remembers with great fondness when her good friend Sean,whom she met in secondary school,became the first person to encourage her and help build the confidence that one day she would be a very good writer "He was the first person with whom I really discussed my serious ambition to be a writer.He was also the only person who thought I was bound to be a success at it,which meant much more to me than I ever told him at the time." Despite many setbacks,Rowling persevered in her writing,particularly fantasy stories.But it wasn't until 1990 that she first conceived the idea about Harry Potter.As she recalls,it was on a long train journey from London to Manchester that the idea of Harry Potter simply fell into her head."To my immense frustration ,I didn't have a functioning pen with me,and I was too shy to ask anybody if I could borrow one.I think,now,that this was probably a good thing,because I simply sat and thought,for four (delayed train) hours,and all the details bubbled up in my brain,and this scrawny,blackhaired,bespectacled boy who didn't know he was a wizard became more and more real to me." That same year,her mother passed away after a tenyear battle with multiple sclerosis,which deeply affected her writing.She went on to marry and had a daughter,but separated from her husband shortly afterwards. During this time,Rowling was diagnosed with clinical depression.Unemployed,she completed her first novel in area cafes,where she could get her daughter to fall asleep.After being rejected by 12 publishing houses,the first Harry Potter novel was sold to a small British publishing house. Now with seven books that have sold nearly 400 million copies in 64 languages,J.K.Rowling is the highest earning novelist in history.And it all began with her commitment to writing that was fostered by the confidence of a friend! Who believed J.K.Rowling was to be a good writer?
A. Her friend Sean.
B. Her mother.
C. Her daughter.
D. Her husband.
Answer:
| C |
The road to Grandpa's house was long and winding. There were lots of tall trees and animals in the woods. The trip took a long time because Jimmy was walking in his new boots and he wasn't used to them yet. He could have taken a ride to Grandpa's house, but that wouldn't be as fun. Jimmy liked to collect insects on the way to his Grandpa's house, so had picked the longer path. As he went along, Jimmy found more and more insects to add to his jar. His favorite was the lightning bug and he had found five of them total. He liked the moths too, but they were difficult to catch and took up a lot of space. Finally, Jimmy arrived at Grandpa's house and knocked. Grandpa answered the door with a smile and welcomed Jimmy inside. They sat by the fire and talked about the insects. They watched the lightning bugs light up as night came. Where do Jimmy and his Grandpa sit?
A. On insects
B. Outside
C. By the fire
D. On the path
Answer:
| C |
Only children are happier than those with brothers or sisters, according to a new research which shows _ rivalry can have a serious effect on a child's emotion. Over half of the children surveyed said they had been bullied by a sibling, and one in three said they had been hit,kicked or pushed by a sibling, others complained of name-calling and having their belongings stolen. Other reasons for only children being much happier include not having to compete for parents' attention or share bedrooms with a sibling, said Gundi Knies, a researcher on the project. Dr. Ruth Koppard, a child psychologist, said, "In an average home, the more children, the less privacy for each child. Some love sharing a bedroom with a sibling but they would rather choose to do it than have to do it". Homes with just one child make up nearly half of all families in Britain. The study, to be published on Friday, questioned 2,500 young people. It also found that seven out of 10 teenagers are "very satisfied" with their lives. Only children are happier than those with brothers or sisters for the following reasons EXCEPT _
A. they won't be bullied, hit, kicked or pushed by a sibling
B. they needn't worry about name-calling and having their belongings stolen
C. they needn't compete for parents' attention or share bedrooms with a sibling.[:Zxxk.Com]
D. they can get what they want, and more love from their parents
Answer:
| D |
"Cool" is a word with many meanings. Its old meaning is used to expressa temperature that is a little bit cold.As the world has changed, the word has had many different meanings. "Cool" can be used to express feelings of interest in almost anything. When you see a famous car in the street, maybe you will say, "It's cool." You may think, "He's so cool," when you see your favorite footballer. We all maximize the meaning of "cool". You can use it instead of many words such as "new" or "surprising". Here's an interesting story we can use to show the way the word is used.A teacher asked her students to write about the waterfall they had visited.On one student's paper was just the one sentence, "It's so cool. " Maybe he thought it was the best way to show what he saw and felt. But the story also shows a scarcity of words. Without "cool", some people have no words to show the same meaning. So it is quite important to keep some credibility . Can you think of many other words that make your life as colorful as the word "cool"? I can. And I think they are also very cool . In the passage, the word "express" means " _ "
A. see
B. show
C. know
D. feel
Answer:
| B |
A serious earthquake can be a terrible experience, and it is easy to forget safety measures in disorder . _ , most earthquake safety measures are common sense, but if you forget everything else, remember the following instructions: drop, cover, and hold on. Also, most of earthquake deaths happen after the earthquake, so remember that the danger does not end when the shaking does! If you stay indoors during an earthquake, move away from unsupported areas and windows. Try to get under a doorway or another area of the building which is held up by strong beams . Stay under a table or desk only if it is very strong. Do not rush to lifts, because it is far safer to stay where you are. Cover your head with your arms around it and curl into a ball, and wait for the shaking to stop. If you stay outdoors during an earthquake, move to an area which is as open as possible. Don't move to buildings, electric poles and other objects which may fall during an earthquake and injure you. Protect your head and stay low to the ground till the shaking ends and it is safe to move. After an earthquake, many buildings are less strong, although they appear safe. If you stay indoors, move people from the building quickly and help disabled or injured people. Once outdoors, move well away from the building so that if it falls down, you will not be injured. Wait till public safety officials announce that it is safe to stay indoors. By planning ahead and keeping calm during an earthquake, you can greatly increase your chances of survival without injury. If you stay outdoors during an earthquake, you can do all the following except _ .
A. trying to protect your head
B. moving to an open place
C. moving away from buildings
D. taking the disabled people into the room
Answer:
| D |
It was blazing hot, just like most July days. I stepped into a tiny ice-cream shop to cool off with a chocolate ice-cream. It was an old woman bent over a table near the door. Her back was so badly twisted that her face nearly touched the tabletop. I sat down facing her a couple of tables away. "Poor woman," I thought, "What does she get out of life? Why God let people live so long past their _ ?" As I thought, another aged lady entered the shop and sat down with her. Soon the two of them were talking about childhood days. They talked of how little the shop had changed in 70 years... In minutes, the two of them were trembling with laughter. I looked again at the first woman, then in the mirror on a nearby wall, catching a picture of myself. I was wearing a dirty shirt. She was well dressed in white, her hands sparking with gold rings. I was sad. She was laughing, smiling. I was putting the pieces of my life together. She had millions of wonderful memories to recall. I sat alone. She was sharing the day with a good friend. I was secretly worried about getting old. She was old, but it wasn't hurting her. As I left the shop, I thought of my foolish question about God letting people live past their prime. Why, that woman was more alive, more sensitive to life than I was. Age has not bent her spirit. Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?
A. To tell us the life of old people
B. To show that old age does not mean being short of spirit.
C. To show the difference between the old and the young.
D. To make the reader have a pity on the old people.
Answer:
| B |
In an investigation, which of these procedures is most important in reaching a conclusion?
A. classifying and sequencing methods
B. evaluating and interpreting data
C. developing multiple hypotheses
D. predicting the most likely outcome
Answer:
| B |
One weekend, a wife and a husband went to visit a shop in London. After they got back home, they couldn't find their camera. They thought the camera must be in the shop. After a few weeks,they went to that shop again and the boss gave their camera back to them. When their picture of the camera came out, the husband saw two pictures he did not take. One isa man standing at the door of the shop. In his hand there is a piece of paper with some words onit "I find your camera". The other is a boy with a piece of paper in his hand. There are somewords on the paper too, "I take the pictures." Who took the pictures?
A. The boss.
B. The man.
C. The boy.
D. The wife.
Answer:
| C |
The "babies" tend to be on or near me, or crying, or both. I spend a fair amount of time trying to get William to sleep, to get Elliott to get involved in something that will actually keep him happy for a little while, or to get William to play on the floor for 10 minutes straight so that I can get something done. But, a lot of days, it seems like I'm not succeeding in any of those efforts. So, yesterday, a friend of mine posted a picture on Facebook. This particular friend has a baby who is about a month younger than William. The picture was of the baby, who had made his way across the floor to the toys housed along the side of the room. I just kept looking at that picture and thinking that if only William had some different toys to play with, perhaps he would stay occupied a bit longer at a stretch. But William seems so bored with all of his toys! _ . In order to find a way to make him playing longer, I kept looking at that picture. Suddenly, I realized my sons need to play closer to me. So I cleared off the cubby shelves in the playroom, and my husband and I moved it to the living room. We found all of the toys that would be safe for William and put them in the cubbies. Then, we pulled the play kitchen in. William was so interested in what I was doing that he sat there and played and chewed on his toys while we moved furniture. When we were done, I moved him over closer to the cubbies and he got so excited that he didn't disturb for an hour, while I made dinner and cleaned up! Even Elliott played happily for a few hours. It was a dream come true! And I got to know that my lack of happy children was because of my desire for a toy--free living room. Why did the author move furniture and toys into the living room?
A. Because she wanted to sort out her house.
B. Because she wanted to throw the unnecessary items.
C. Because she wanted to have her sons closer to her.
D. Because she wanted to teach her sons to cook.
Answer:
| C |
Unless we spend money to spot(,) and prevent asteroids now, one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it, say some scientists. Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands of asteroids whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth. But $500 million worth of new telescopes right now, then spend $10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one, the scientists say, we'll have a way to change its course. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are (i) How likely the event is; (2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare but if one did fall. It would be the end of the world. "If we don't take care of these bid asteroids, they'll take care of us," says one scientist. "it's that simple." The cure, though, might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets(,) of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? "the world has less fear from doomsday rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them." Said a New York Times article. What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?
A. They are heavenly bodies different in composition.
B. They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.
C. They are more asteroids than meteoroids.
D. Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.
Answer:
| B |
The kids were playing outside. They were drawing with chalk. They drew many things with the chalk. One of those things was a star. There was nothing else for them to do because it was the weekend. Then they stopped drawing with the chalk a little later. They did not want to go on because they were tired. They walked a little then started to splash by the lake that was nearby instead. They thought it was a good idea because it was a hot day. They played for hours. They were making a lot of noise and laughing and talking. They went home. They did this because they were very tired. They all ate some bread. They were now quiet. They couldn't have anything else to eat until their mother called them for dinner. They waited and did not say a word. They were resting. Soon it would be time for the family meal. Why did they splash by the lake?
A. They thought it was a good idea because it was a hot day.
B. Because they wanted to laugh.
C. Because they wanted to play.
D. Because they were bored.
Answer:
| A |
Most Chinese people don't understand why some westerners don't eat meat. In China, to eat meat is a sign of wealth. If a westerner doesn't take a bite of their Peking duck, there is something wrong. But many people in Europe and America choose not to eat meat or fish -- they are known as vegetarians. In the US alone there are 12 million vegetarians and 19,000 more people stop eating meat every week. People often become vegetarians in order to lose weight or eat more healthily. A lot of research has shown that vegetarian diets are healthier than the average western diet. Fried chicken may be delicious to eat, but all that extra fat can damage your heart. There are many other reasons for "turning veggie". It could be that you cannot afford to buy meat. Or maybe you just don't like the taste of it. A large number of vegetarians choose to give up meat because they believe it is cruel to kill animals for food. They believe many animals are not allowed to live in comfort and, when they are killed, it is carried out in a very painful way. While some vegetarians are happy not to eat animals, others take it one step further and refuse to eat any animal product. They are known as vegans and will not eat cheese, yoghurt and eggs, or drink milk. Neither will they wear clothes or shoes made from animal skin, such as leather. They say that if it is wrong to kill an animal for food, it is worse to kill it for clothing. But there are some groups that go even further. Fruitarians believe it is wrong to kill any living plant or animal. Besides refusing to eat meat, they will only eat fruit and vegetables that have not been killed when harvested. This means they cannot take an apple from a tree: they must wait until the apple falls to the ground. Only then can it be considered dead. According to the text, which one of the following is not mentioned?
A. Only in China, there are so many people eat meat.
B. There are many vegetarians in Europe.
C. Vegetarian diets are healthier than the average western diet.
D. There are many reasons for people turning vegetarians.
Answer:
| A |
A man from a big city with a new cart and a beautiful pair of horses was driving along a country road . He did not give much attention to where he was going. Very soon he knew he lost his way, but he kept on driving hoping he would meet someone or find his way back. It was a long way. For many hours he kept on driving. When it was almost dark he saw a farmer who was working in a field. He stopped and shouted, "Hello, farmer!" "Hello, yourself!" the farmer answered, still working. "Where does this road go?" "I have never seen it go anywhere. It always stays where it is." said the farmer, without stopping his work. "How far is it to the next town?" said the stranger, with a little louder voice. "I don't know. I've never measured it ." Answered the farmer. By the time the city man was getting angry. "What do you know? You're the biggest fool I've seen." The farmer stopped and turned and looked for a while at the man. Then he said, "Maybe I do not know much, perhaps I'm a fool. But at least I'm not lost." Was the farmer the biggest fool?
A. Yes, he was.
B. No, he wasn't.
C. Yes, he is.
D. We don't know.
Answer:
| B |
A mechanism that a ____ uses is a ____
A. see-saw; pulley
B. crane; pulley
C. lever; lever
D. cat; fishing rod
Answer:
| B |
Biotic components need to be recycled through an ecosystem. Which type of organisms are best able to recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem?
A. decomposers
B. predators
C. producers
D. scavengers
Answer:
| A |
Time magazine named Russian President Vladimir Putin its "Person of the Year" for 2007 on Wednesday, saying he had returned his country from chaos to "the table of world power" though at a cost of democratic principles. He doesn't care about civil liberties; he doesn't care about free speech; he cares about stability. But Putin, 55, is enormously popular in Russia, presiding over a resurgent economy based on income from oil and natural gas. On the other hand, stability is what Russia needed and that's why Russians adore him. Time magazine said on its Web site that Putin, the son of a factory worker had led Russia with persistence, a sharp vision and a sense that he showed the spirit of "Mother Russia". The selection came days after Putin announced a plan to hold onto power after his term ends next year. Putin said on Monday that if his close ally ,Dmitry Medvedev, won the presidency, he would serve as Medvedev's prime minister. "Putin has put his country back on the map. And he intends to redraw it himself,"Time said. "He will continue to lead his country as its prime minister and attempt to transform it into a new kind of nation, beholden to neither East nor West." Time said the person of the year distinction, which it has awarded since 1927, is not an endorsement or a popularity prize but a recognition of the individuals and forces that shape the world. "At significant cost of, the principles and ideas that free nations prize, (Putin) has performed an extraordinary _ of leadership in placing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power. For that reason, Vladimir Putin is Time's 2007 Person of the Year," the magazine said. Time had earlier selected four other Kremlin leaders for the distinction: Stalin, who was chosen twice, Nikita Khrushchev, Yuri Andropov and Mikhail Gorbachev. What's the major reason why Putin becomes popular in Russia?
A. His successful economy policy
B. His outstanding ability of politics
C. His great contributions to Russian economy and social stability.
D. His wisdom of changing the world.
Answer:
| C |
OTTAWA -- Canada's western city of Calgary is the world's best city when it comes to healthy living, local press reported Monday. According to an international survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, a London-based consulting firm, Calgary was put at the top of a list of 144 cities. It scored 121 points, just above Honolulu's score of 120. Helsinki(,) and Ottawa followed at 119.5 and 118.5 respectively. Three other Canadian cities came in the top 20. Montreal and Vancouver tied for ninth and Toronto came in at 18th. The scores are based on air pollution levels, availability and quality of hospitals and medical supplies, as well as the efficiency of waste removal and sewage systems. In America, the lowest scoring city was Atlanta, which was ranked 76th. Athens was the lowest scoring city in Western Europe, ranking 120th because of its air pollution. London was ranked 59th. Among the following cities, which is the lowest scoring one?
A. Atlanta.
B. Athens.
C. London.
D. Helsinki.
Answer:
| B |
Do you have any foreign friends? Do you know their characteristics ? The Germans are very quiet and they always keep calm. They don't like to speak more words. They look very serious. They like different kinds of amusements. The Germans are very hard--working. They like _ , especially the women, who always keep their home clean. In some ways, the Englishmen look the same as the Germans. They are very quiet and never talk too much with the strangers. They are really polite, so we often hear they say "Thank you." Or "Sorry." The gentlemen are also the Englishmen. The French's holidays are very long. They like traveling and usually spend their long time staying in other countries. The Frenchmen are more outgoing than the Germans. It is very easy to make friends with them. Compared to the Frenchmen, the Americans are more outgoing. And they are even opener than all of the Europeans. They don't like to depend on others. So it is very common that the students do part-time jobs in their free time. And in Americans' eyes, success is an important part in their life. In the writer's eyes, the gentlemen are _ .
A. the Germans
B. the Frenchmen
C. the Englishmen
D. the Americans
Answer:
| C |
When policy experts debate climate change solutions, they often talk about "a price on carbon." They are arguing about whether companies should pay when they put carbon pollution in the air. Proponents say that it's simple economics -- if it's free to pollute, you'll get a lot of pollution. Opponents claim it will raise the cost of energy that's produced from high carbon sources, like coal. But here's the secret that most people seem to be missing: There already is a price on carbon, and it's paid by the taxpayers. Carbon pollution, like every other form of pollution, has an impact on the environment. Throwing waste into a river will cause the fish to die and the people who drink the water to get sick. And when you produce carbon pollution, you get climate change -- sea level rise, stronger storms, severe droughts, damage to agriculture, and more. All of those impacts cost money. Insurance rates go up when storms get more destructive. Taxes increase when cities have to rebuild bridges and roads. Military budgets go up when droughts and population changes cause conflicts. Not to mention impacts on agriculture and health care costs. In other words, the price on carbon is what we all pay when there is no market force to limit the pollution that causes climate change. So the debate is really about who will pay that price -- the companies who are making a profit from the fossil fuels, or the taxpayers who pick up the cost now? Right now, we have private profit and public cost. It's just like if we allowed every business to throw its garbage in the street because it's too expensive to have it moved away properly. Does it add a little bit to your dinner check to require that restaurants dispose of their trash properly? Sure. But it would be more expensive for you if the city had to clean the streets of their garbage every day. So just like we put a "price on garbage" we need a "price on carbon pollution." Now, a "price on carbon pollution" can mean a lot of things. You could tax companies based on the amount of carbon pollution they produce, and return the money to taxpayers. You could put a limit on how much they can produce, thereby requiring them to invest in ways to conduct business in a less polluting way. What do the policy experts argue about carbon pollution?
A. Whether the companies should pay for it.
B. Whether taxpayers could get profit from it.
C. Who have the ability to change it.
D. How much should be paid for it.
Answer:
| A |
In elementary school, Guadalupe Quintanilla was often referred to as a "slow learner" by her teachers. But she really wasn't slow at all. She just didn't understand the language used in the classroom. Her problem was that she didn't speak English. So she left school after the fourth grade. When Guadalupe grew up, married, and had children of her own, she knew that her children were clever. But some of their teachers didn't think so. The children were having trouble in school because they didn't speak English. Mrs Quintanilla was angry. She didn't want people to think that her children were slow learners. So she decided to learn English herself as a way of helping them. She practiced English. She looked up words in the dictionary. She asked the school headmaster to let her sit in on classes. It wasn't easy, but she passed all her exams. She said that many of the other students helped her. Mrs Quintanilla has helped her children with their lessons. Her two sons have won success. One is a teacher, and the other is a doctor. Her youngest child, a daughter, is studying in a university. According to the story, children who don't speak English _ .
A. may have more trouble in school
B. have trouble playing football
C. often write a diary
D. grow up to be teachers
Answer:
| A |
Japanese people,who never miss a chance to be photographed,were lining up to get their pictures on a postage stamp.Vanity stamps with personal photographs went on sale for the first time in Japan as part of an international postage stamp exhibition.The customer's photo was taken with a digital camera and then printed on stamp sheets,a process that takes about five minutes.Sold in a sheet of 10 stamps for $8.80,little more than the cost of lunch in Tokyo,each stamp printed a different scene from a traditional painting along with the photo. The stamps can be used normally to mail a letter,and postal officials hope they will help encourage interest in letter writing in the Internet age."Certainly e-mail is a useful method of communication,but letters are fun in a different way,"said Hatsumi Shimizu an official in the Post Ministry."We want to show young people that letters can be fun too."[ While similar stamp sheets appeared in Australia in 1999 and are now sold in some nations and territories,Japan's fondness for commemorative photos is likely to make them especially popular here.Indeed,officials had prepared 1 000 sheets but they were sold out in less than 30 minutes.Although the stamps are currently only available as a special service during the exhibition,postal officials said they may start selling them on a regular basis in the future. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Japanese people like to take photos.
B. This kind of stamps must be used to mail letters.
C. Japanese people can get this kind of stamps easily after the stamp exhibition.
D. This service is more popular in Japan than in other places.
Answer:
| D |
In what leaf structure is photosynthetic tissue found?
A. cuticle
B. upper epidermis
C. mesophyll
D. vascular bundle
Answer:
| C |
Americans like to think of themselves as martyrs to work. At this time of the year they admire the laziness of their European cousins, particularly the French. Studies show that the average American gets only four weeks of paid leave a year compared with seven for the French and eight for the German. In Paris many shops close down for August; in Washington, where the weather is really hot, they remain open, some for 24 hours a day. But when it comes to the young, the situation is just opposite. American children have it easier than most other children in the world, including the supposedly lazy European children. They have one of the shortest school years anywhere, a mere 180 days compared with an average of 195 for OECD countries and more than 200 for East Asian countries. German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones, and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equal to an entire year. Americans also divide up their school time strangely. They cram the school day into the morning and early afternoon, and close their schools for three months in the summer. The long summer vacation acts like a mental eraser, with the average child reportedly forgetting about a month's worth of instruction in many subjects and almost three times that in mathematics. American academics have invented a term for this phenomenon, "summer learning loss". It is leaving American children ill-equipped to compete. They usually perform poorly in international educational tests, coming behind Asian countries that spend less on education but work their children harder. California's state universities have to send over a third of their classes to take some extra courses in English and math. During the long summer vacation, American children _ .
A. will make up for their lost lessons
B. spend most of the time learning
C. probably don't care about studies
D. will suffer some memory problems
Answer:
| C |
Years ago, as we know, zoos kept animals in cages. Cages made it easy for visitors to see the animals, but a small cage is not a good place for an animal to live in. Today animals live in open areas. There are usually plants and a little lake around, like the animals' habitats. Visitors usually stay in the bus to see the animals outside. Zoos help to protect all kinds of animals. They protect animals in the zoo as well as animals in the wild. How do they do this? Zoos tell people how animals live in the wild and how to help protect their environment. The number of many kinds of plants and animals is becoming smaller and smaller. Mammoths, which are related with Asia elephants, are now extinct(.Scientists say that 74 different kinds of living things are disappearing a day! Zoos are working together to help animals-our friends. Today, zoos keep animals _ .
A. in open areas
B. in bigger cages
C. in smaller cages
D. in the buses
Answer:
| A |
Can noncombustion technology create a no-pollution way to drive?Imagine pulling into a service station to fuel up your car. But not at the gas pump or electric battery charger --at the air pump! That's not hot air, either! The next generation of cars may run on thin air. Wouldn't that be an incredible way to cut both pollution and dependence on foreign oil? If you've ever inflated a balloon and then let it go, you've got the basics to test-drive the amazing MiniCAT, currently being developed by Noteur Development International (MDI), headquartered in Luxembourg. Invented by Formula One racing car designer Guy Negre, this experimental vehicle is unlike any car you've ever seen. While your family's traditional car or SUV draws its horsepower using combustion, the only fuel that MiniCAT needs (CAT stands for Compressed Air Technology) is the air we breathe. Start with about 25,000 gallons of air. Now, press it all into a space smaller than your school locker--because that's the size of two super-strong, high-pressure air tanks, made from fiber and fixed beneath the air car. _ that much air inside those small tanks generates an internal pressure of over 4,000 pounds per square inch. That's over 300 times normal air pressure. When this cold, high-pressure air enters MiniCAT's unique engine, it interacts with warmer air to create pressure waves that pump the engine's engineered pistons to move the car. MiniCAT's projected top speed is 60 miles per hour, with a range of 120 miles on a full air supply. What is MiniCAT according to the passage?
A. The name of a car.
B. The name of a balloon.
C. The name of a car company.
D. The name of a car designer.
Answer:
| A |
What is it that makes people laugh? More than two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle defined jokes as the pleasure that results from a feeling of triumph by showing we're better than someone else in a certain way. According to Aristotle and many other philosophers, all jokes depend mainly on showing inferiority in another person or group of persons--that is, putting it clearly, on showing that they are worse off than ourselves. Jokes raise our good opinion of ourselves at someone else's expense. Showing how much better than other people we are is only one reason we like jokes. Someone may also use a joke to express their anger or their cruelty or any other kind of action that is not acceptable to us. We feel free to laugh when we hear about someone sliding on a banana skin. The joke lets us express those attitudes which are usually unacceptable to society. This is probably the reason why some of the jokes, especially those involving cruelty, are so popular with certain people. Besides, all jokes depend on our enjoyment of laughing at something that is strange and out of place because it's different from things which are happening around it. The same situation can be either sad or pleasant, depending entirely on how strange and out of place it is. If a girl in a bathing suit falls into a swimming pool, we don't laugh because nothing unusual has happened. But if a man in a smart suit falls in, the situation is at once unusual in a pleasant way and we laugh. A good joketeller will always try to build up a situation in which one thing is expected until something unexpected suddenly happens, and so we laugh. According to Aristotle, all jokes depend mainly on _ .
A. showing inferiority in another person or group
B. resulting in a sense of success
C. having a good opinion of other people
D. making people laugh unexpectedly
Answer:
| A |
It seems that the Great Wall is the place to rock . There will be two parties held on the Great Wall this month. Great Wall I The latest Great Wall party is sponsored by the Club and Elektrobeat and held at Jinshanling. Local DJ Mark, as well as guests Slab from Australia, Usami and Bobby from Hong Kong will sing at the party. All drinks are priced at 20 yuan($ 2.4). Tickets: 200yuan($ 24), including bus ride there and back plus entrance fee to the Great Wall. T/D: 8p.m. to 2 a.m., Sept. 20. Pre-sale tickets are to be booked at: Public Space: 6416-0759; Neo Lounge: 6416-1077. Buses: Leave at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20 from Neo Lounge, 99 Xinfuncun Zhonglu, Sanlitun, Chaoyang District. For more info: www. elektrobeat. com Great wall II The other party at the end of this month at Jinshanling will be started with live performances by Askar, Brain Failure, Longkuan, Supermarket, Mr. Zhou, Beijing Talking and the Yi band. Dance till dawn to the wonderful sounds of DJs Ben, Mickey Zhang, Will, Cheese, Gao Hu and Huang Weiwei. T/D: 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., Sept. 27. Tickets: 350 yuan ($ 42) or 300 yuan ($ 36) for groups of 10 or more, 500 yuan ($ 60) at the door and VIP tickets 800 yuan ($ 72), transportation included. Buses: Depart from the north gate of Wbrkers' Stadium at noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., Sept. 27. For more info: contact Li Zhenhua at lah@msgp. Org or call 133-2119-1731. If you want to book tickets for Great Wall I in advance, you can phone _ .
A. 6146-0759
B. 6146-1077
C. 6416-0759
D. 133-2119-1731
Answer:
| C |
All students need to have good study habits .When you have good study habits, you will learn things quickly and also remember them easily. Do you like to study in the living room? This is not a good place because it is usually too noisy. You need to study in a quiet place, like your bedroom. A quiet place will help you only think about one thing. When you study, don,t think about other things at the same time. Only think about your homework. If you do so, you will do your homework more quickly , and you will make fewer mistakes. Good study habits are very important. If you do not have them, try to learn them. If your study habits are already good, try to make them better. If you have good study habits, you can _ .
A. learn things quickly and remember them easily
B. do things quickly and remember them easily
C. read books quickly before forget them easily
D. write words quickly but forget them easily
Answer:
| A |
Section 1 of the Vehicle Code of State makes it illegal to cross a street in a central business district other than at a designated crosswalk. Section 2 of the Code prohibits parking any motor vehicle so that it blocks any part of a designated crosswalk. Ped wanted to cross Main Street in the central business district of City, located in State, but a truck parked by Trucker was blocking the designated crosswalk. Ped stepped out into Main Street and carefully walked around the back of the truck. Ped was struck by a motor vehicle negligently operated by Driver."If Ped asserts a claim against Trucker, the most likely result is that Ped will
A. prevail, because Trucker's violation of a state statute makes him strictly liable for all injuries caused thereby.
B. prevail, because the probable purpose of Section 2 of the Vehicle Code of State was to safeguard pedestrians in using crosswalks.
C. not prevail, because Ped assumed the risk of injury when he crossed the street outside the crosswalk.
D. not prevail, because Driver's conduct was the actual cause of Ped's harm
Answer:
| B |
In high school, "cool" is the rule, so teenagers will do anything to avoid possibly embarrassing situations. But not Samantha Elton, 15. She seeks them out. And if she can make a fool of herself as in the process, well, that's even better. For the past two years, Elton, has been a practitioner of improvisation, doing things that others would be embarrassed to consider. Elton is a member of High School Jesters, a group that teaches improvisation techniques to students. The group was founded two years ago by Nicholas Kopatich, himself a keen improviser. "I was sitting in my dorm room and some friends were having chats about comedy and improvisation," Kopatich recalls. They asked for lessons after Kopatich told them he had improvisation experience. The small group turned out to be pretty good at it, so they did a show for the dorm. And things snowballed. While even her mother marvels at Elton's ability to get up in front of audience without a script to fall back on, the teen enjoys such opportunities. Performing improvisation comes with a certain freedom that theater doesn't provide. "What I like about it the most is that I don't have to be a certain character or a certain way, and because of that I can't get anything wrong," Elton says, "I get to write the story while I'm doing it." Monica Elton, Samantha's mom, thinks the workshops are a valuable outlet that a lot of students may not get in their schools. High school kids don't usually like to act silly or look uncool, she says, but improvisation teaches them that it's OK to have flaws. "I like to think we give kids positively that allows them to gain confidence," says Brent Mukai, a High School Jesters instructor. The great thing about improvisation is that it is an art form that is open to anyone. But there's more to it than getting up in front of audience and telling jokes or acting silly. "You don't need to be the most amazing actress to be an improviser," Samantha Elton says, "It's really a place where I can show people my creativity. I can paint pictures for people and entertain others." It's really free. The passage mainly tells us that _ .
A. teens make a fool of themselves
B. teens perform improvisation to be cool
C. teens express creativity through arts
D. teens gain confidence in the improvisation
Answer:
| D |
Why do companies heat up milk before they bottle it?
A. the milk is probably sour
B. it tastes bad that way
C. small organisms could make you sick
D. the cow could get angry
Answer:
| C |
Half a year ago I came across a book called"Salt,Sugar and Fat. How the Food Giants Hooked US",but finished it only recently. I am far from being a fan of junk food,over-salty,or over-sweet stuff,and honestly this food doesn't appeal to me at all. Maybe it is related to the fact that I grew up in Russia and at that time we were not so exposed to the foreign, especially made in America foods. We knew Coca Cola,Pepsi,juice powder and Cheetos,but this stuff was not so cheap or available to buy it every day and we couldn't buy them in large quantities. We didn't know the word"fat"was not a bad thing but a normal of life for some people. We always had sweets and especially on holidays they were served as a dessert along with a cake. Russians like eating sweets when they drink tea. Even with my passion to desserts I still can'trelate myself to the people Michale Moss was writing about, those consumers who could not say"no" when it came to junk food. What I found interesting in the book was that the author didn't focus on diets, necessity to exercise,sleep well at night and all other things we all are pretty aware of. The aim was not to teach people how to live but instead,after having made a huge research,interviewed more than 100 people in the food industry,Moss reveals the ugly of the food business. It puts all the facts in front of us and offers a choice:to buy or not to buy. However,the answer was known at the very beginning. Moss mentions the well-known food like Coca,Cola,Pepsi,Nestle and some others and tells how skillfully the consumers can be cheated when it comes to choosing what to put in the food basket in the supermarket. We like this taste of a chocolate,the crispy chips,and sweet porridges because it was all put on test by groups of scientists who made experiments to reveal what kind of taste will be most appealing to us. It involves brain,of course. Apart from scientific researches, it was also due to successful marketing strategies and plans that people prefer to buy food. In this companies'money race,the most vulnerable victims are kids. They can't tell good from bad and love everything that makes them feel good. Commercial ads of fast food particularly targeted kids and played on the fact that mothers can't fully control what their children eat because they spent all day at work. Mothers themselves buy chocolates bars and com flakes for their kids,guided by a powerful brainwashing that actually,these products were not unhealthy, on the contrary, it was encouraged to give them to kids, because fat and sugar provide energy, so they are good,right? Giving a credit to some food companies, they made attempts to fight the trend, but consumers,who already worked a habit of eating too salty, too fatting and too sweet products,didn't react to the changes. So the companies returned to the old policy. Surprisingly,such behavior was strongly backed up by the govermment. I would definitely recommend reading this book not only to those who struggle in the battle with his addiction to fast food but also people living healthily. It casts light on many things,including how vulnerable we can be in front of corporations and their powerful and accurate marketing strategies. The author wrote the passage mainly to _ .
A. introduce a healthy diet
B. expose the ugly side of food companies
C. call on the potential readers to live healthily
D. recommend the book written by Moss
Answer:
| D |
Parents might tell older children to "Act your age". But some researchers say that is what persons from thirteen to nineteen years old are doing. While teenagers can look all grown up, studies have shown that their brains are still developing. How much this explains their behavior, though, is a subject of debate. Jay Giedd of America's National Institutes of Health is a leader in this area of research. Doctor Giedd has been studying a group of young people since 1991. They visit him every two years for imaging tests of their brains. He says considerable development continues in young people from the teenage years into the twenties. A part of the brain called the dorsal-lateral prefrontal cortex appears especially undeveloped in teenagers. Researchers believe that this area controls judgment and consideration of risk. So, its underdevelopment may explain why young people seem more willing to take risks like driving too fast. Laurence Steinberg is a psychology professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. He says stronger laws and stronger parental control are needed to protect teens from themselves. That includes raising the age for driving. He says research shows that teenage brains are not fully equipped to control behavior. Other researchers, however, say there is not enough evidence to make a strong case for such findings. Psychologist Robert Epstein is a visiting scholar at the University of California in San Diego. Mr. Epstein notes that teen behavior differs from culture to culture. He says behavior depends for the most part on socialization. He believes that teenagers will demonstrate better, safer behavior if they spend more time with adults, and are treated more like them. But is that always true? Mike Males works at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. He suggests that all of this talk lately about brainless teens could be an attempt to take away attention from the reality. Writing in the New York Times, he says it is middle-aged adults whose behavior has worsened. In his words, if grown-ups really have superior brains, why don't we act as if we do? The passage is written mainly to tell people that _ .
A. development continues in young people from the teens into the twenties
B. teenagers' behavior differs from culture to culture
C. there is still a debate between researchers about people's behaviors
D. the talk about brainless teens could take away attention from governments
Answer:
| C |
Are you fond of tomatoes? Bunol,a town in Spain,held its yearly tomato festival on the last Wednesday of August.Thousands and thousands of people made their way from all corners of the world to fight in it,the world's biggest food fight.Tons of fully-grown tomatoes were thrown in the streets. No one knows exactly how this event started.Maybe it came from a local food fight between friends,or a joke that was played on a bad musician. On Wednesday,at 11am,the fight began.A cannon shot was fired to start the fight.At first,people fought one another,but slowly they began to fight in groups.After exactly one hour,the fight ended when the cannon shot was fired once more.At this point,no more tomatoes could be thrown. Those who attend this event are encouraged to wear protective glasses.And they must press the tomatoes before throwing so that they won't hurt others.Another rule is that no one is allowed to take anything -- such as a glass bottle -- into the fight.Although it is forbidden to tear another person's clothing,the crowd seems to tear the shirt of any clothed person,whether they are men or women. Fire trucks are used to clean the streets after the fight with water provided from a Roman channel .The government seems more concerned with cleaning up the town than the visitors,and people go to the Bunol River for a wash. After the tomato fight,the town government _ .
A. provides water to the people
B. cleans up the streets with fire trucks
C. takes people to the Bunol River
D. holds other activities about tomatoes
Answer:
| B |
When thinking about quitting (stop) smoking, list all the reasons why you want to quit. Every night before going to bed, repeat one of the reasons 10 times. Decide positively that you want to quit. Try to avoid negative thoughts about how difficult it might be. Develop strong personal reasons as well as your health and responsibility to others. For example, think of all the time you waste taking cigarette breaks, rushing out to buy a pack, hunting a light, etc. Set a date for quitting --- perhaps a special day like your birthday, a holiday. If you smoke heavily at work, quit during your vacation. Make the date holy seriously, and don't let anything change it. Begin to condition yourself physically; start a modest exercise; drink more water; get plenty of rest. Immediately after quitting... The first few days after you quit, spend as much free time as possible in places where smoking is prohibited, e.g. libraries, museums, theatres, department stores, etc. Drink large quantities of water and fruit juice. Try to avoid wine, coffee, and other drinks which remind you of cigarette smoking. Strike up a conversation with someone instead of a match for a cigarette. If you miss the feeling of having a cigarette in your hand, play with something else --- a pencil, a pen, a ruler. If you miss having something in your mouth, try a fake cigarette. From the passage, we know smokers _ .
A. should drink a lot of coffee
B. have to stop to smoke from time to time
C. should drink a lot of wine
D. should not do any exercise
Answer:
| B |
Auckland, New Zealand After two months of learning, Monty, and Porter were able to drive an automobile around a racetrack. "We wanted to prove how smart rescue dogs are," animal behaviorist Mark Vette says. Vette first used voice commands and treats to teach the dogs how to turn a steering wheel and how to change gear . The dogs' ride only accelerated up to 7.5 miles an hour, and trainers could stop the auto using a remote control. GOLDEN ZEBRA Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Zoe the zebra's markings are special. The animal has white and golden stripes. Zoe's appearance resulted from a rare condition called amelanosis . Her body doesn't make enough melanin, the substance in an animal's skin and hair cells that produces color. "Only 25 other golden zebras are known to exist in the world,"says Ann Goody, who runs the wildlife refuge where Zoe lives. In the wild, life may be difficult for animals with amelanosis because predators can easily spot them. But Zoe is protected at her refuge. COCKATOO MAKES TOOLS Vienna, Austria When Figaro the cockatoo spots food lying just out of reach from his cage, he builds a tiny wooden tool to sweep the tasty prize in his way. The bird first revealed his talent when a stone he was playing with rolled out of his cage. The cockatoo couldn't reach the stone. So he flew away and returned with a small branch, slipping it through the fence to slide the stone toward him. Wondering if he would do it again, scientists placed a nut exactly where the stone had been. This time, Figaro pulled out a small piece of wood in his cage and dragged the nut toward him. What is the text mainly about?
A. Amazing animals.
B. Ways to help animals.
C. Animals' unique talents.
D. Tips on training animals.
Answer:
| A |
"Hey, Jenna, do you think we' ll still be friends when we're eighty-two?" I asked my friend. Losing Jenna would be like losing a very close sister. "Of course, we'll still be friends when we're eighty-two," Jenna announced loudly The next year, in Grade Four, we met Jamie. The three of us soon became close friends. We played together almost every day. I thought even time couldn't pull us apart, but I was sadly mistaken. The three of us started fighting a lot. Before Christmas, We had a really big fight, and Jamie and Jenna were against me, both saying I was bossy . I felt helpless and lonely. I thought Christmas would be horrible! _ "Wow," I said, breaking the silence as we stood on either side of my front door. "Thanks." "Okay...well... I have to go," she said softly. "Okay. See you later then..." and I closed the door. "Who was that at the door?" my mom asked. "It was Jenna, my classmate." I said. The card started off with "Merry Christmas", but then it said, "I am so glad we're friends. I am sorry about what I said when we were fighting. A fight won't stop us from being friends. Besides, we said we were going to be friends even when we're eighty-two." I stopped reading and started laughing. I couldn't believe I had forgotten what she said that day in the backyard. I couldn't believe I had been so selfish in trying to make my friends feel sorry for me. How would the author and Jenna get along with each other after Christmas?
A. They would be close friends again.
B. They would not speak to each other.
C. They would lose touch with each other.
D. They would go on fighting with each other.
Answer:
| A |
Who hasn't found themselves reaching for the closest food available when they're tired and stressed? More and more research is proving that this isn't all in our mind. Some foods really do lead to a change in our moods . Carbohydrate for calm This is how some people medicate themselves with food -- by reaching for cookies or pasta whenever they're upset. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. You must eat a meal consisting of 100% carbohydrate, on an empty stomach, to obtain the serotonin increase so that you have a good mood. To get the wishedfor effect, you must not eat anything for four hours and then eat at least 30 grams of straight carbohydrate. Dry cereal , a piece of bread with jam, or a potato should _ Protein for power Of course, sometimes we don't need to be calm and sleepy.Sometimes we need a great deal of mental concentration, so this is when it's important to mix protein and carbohydrate. The protein will prevent the tryptophan from flooding your brain,and the rise in serotonin won't occur. Why dessert makes us happy Fat and sugar cause the brain to let go endorphins , which send pleasure signals throughout the body. This would be fine, except humans are not particularly good at stopping at one cookie or cake. You can also satisfy your sweet tooth by choosing fruit for dessert. Timing your meals for energy Blood sugar drops after four hours of going without food, causing a decrease in energy. Eating usually fixes this within 20 to 30 minutes, but don't suppose that eating more will cause a faster increase in energy. When you eat has as much of an effect on your mood as what you eat. If you regularly go for a long period of time between meals, rethink your schedule and plan ahead. The main idea of the passage is _ .
A. eating for a better mood
B. eating to make you calm
C. eating for more protein
D. eating to make us strong
Answer:
| A |
Often speakers at a meeting experience dry mouths and ask for a glass of water.You can solve the problem by activating the saliva in you mouth.First gently bite the edges of your tongue with your teeth.Or,press your entire tongue to the bottom of your mouth and hold it there until the saliva flow.Or you can imagine that you are slicing a big juicy lemon and sucking the juice. Before you begin your talk,be kind to your voice.Avoid milk or creamy drinks which coat your throat.Keep your throat wet by drinking a little sweetened warm tea or water-down fruit juice. If you sense that you are losing your voice,stop talking completely.Save your voice for your speech.You may feel foolish using paper to write notes,but the best thing you can do is to rest your voice.If you feel the need to see a doctor,perhaps getting some advice from a professional singer can be a better choice.In the meantime,do not even talk in a low voice. What about drinking alcohol to wet your throat?I advise you not to touch alcohol before speaking.The problem with alcohol is that one drink gives you a little confidence.The second drink gives you even more confidence.Finally you will feel all-powerful and you will feel you can do everything,but in fact your brain and your mouth do not work together properly.Save the alcohol until after you finish speaking. Perhaps you want to accept the advice,but you may wonder if you can ever change the habits of a lifetime.Of course you can.Goethe,who lived before indoor skating rinks or swimming pools,said,"We learn to skate in the summer and swim in the winter."Take this message to heart and give yourself time to develop your new habits.If you are wiling to change,you will soon be able to say that you will never forget these techniques because they've become a part of your body. What does the writer suggest when you feel you are losing your voice?
A. Going to see a doctor.
B. Asking a professional singer for help.
C. Whispering the things that you want to say.
D. Keeping on talking rather than use a paper to write notes.
Answer:
| B |
A new research shows that in Britain more and more people are returning to the old tradition that the whole family have a meal at table. Worrying about the obesity and breakdown of a family, people change their eating habits so greatly, according to analysis. They find the number of the family having a meal together increases by 5% from 2002 to 2004, and most people who have meals with their family come from the rich social class. The new discovery makes doctors and the people struggling against obesity extremely excited. Giving up the tradition that the whole family have a meal together is exactly one of the reasons for a series of problems including children's overweight. If a child has a meal in front of the television or the computer alone, he will often eat some fast food. Jason Collins is one of the persons returning to the old tradition. Collins is a manager of a bake house. He finds after he gets used to having a meal at home with his child, the child becomes much more obedient . Dr. Jin is a child psychologist, and she expresses welcome to this result of the study. She says it can make parents have a very good chance to chat with the child when the whole family have a meal together. Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A. The child having dinner with his parents doesn't like watching TV.
B. Children become overweight all because of having dinner alone.
C. The family having dinner together is more united and friendly.
D. The reason a child has dinner alone is that he likes fast food.
Answer:
| C |
Maria sat by the glass door that faced the side yard. The door hadn't been opened as long as she had lived there. The dirty yard outside was overgrown with weeds . Maria liked to look at the weeds. Small flowers would grow, followed by seed balls. And the seed carriers would fly away. The late afternoon sunlight died into night. Turning on the light, Maria picked up her color1ed pencils and notepaper. She worked on a picture of a clearing in a forest. "Maria!" called her father, who knew where to find her. "I'm back!" He had been working at the apartments next door. "Did you fix their broken blender, Papa?" She asked, and he said, "Yes." He pushed his daughter's wheelchair into the kitchen so that she could help him prepare dinner. Maria cut up the vegetables that Papa had grown in the small yard behind the house. She loved their bright color1s, their strange shapes, and their fresh, crispy taste before being cooked. She would have loved to garden herself, but it was hard for her to sit on the ground and work. As they ate and talked about their day, Papa told Maria that his brother, Ramon, would be coming over the next day to help him with a special project. Papa had asked Mr. Yamato, the bus driver, to take her to Aunt Gabriela' s house after school. Then Papa would pick her up when the project was finished. Maria wondered why she had to be away while he worked. There was something in Papa's eyes and in his voice, perhaps -that told her not to ask. When Papa brought her home the next evening, he asked her to close her eyes while he took her to the glass door. She heard him open the curtain. Then he said, "Open your eyes." Surely she was dreaming! The tall crowd of weeds was gone. In its place was a beautiful garden. There were young trees, flowery bushes, and color1ful little flowers. Papa opened the glass door. He wheeled Maria to a path that placed her at the heart of the little garden. Then she saw the best part. Along the house were raised wooden beds of soil, just waiting to be planted - by her! They were exactly the right height for her to reach from her wheelchair. "First I'll draw a plan," she said excitedly. "And then we'll go to the garden center," said Papa. "You're a gardener now, Maria!" From the story, we can learn that Papa _ .
A. likes his garden better than his daughter
B. is interested in fixing broken blenders
C. wants the readers to look at his project
D. cares very much for his daughter Maria
Answer:
| D |
Did you watch the 2012 London Olympic Games? If you did, you must know a person who changed men's swimming history of China and set a new world record for us. Yes, that's Sun Yang who gave us lots of surprise by winning two Olympic gold medals in swimming. Sun Yang became the first Chinese male swimmer to earn a gold medal as he won the 400m freestyle with an Olympic record in London on July 28th, 2012.It is the first gold medal that a Chinese swimmer has ever won in the Olympic history. All of the Chinese are proud of him. He is the hero of the whole China. Sun Yang was born on December 1st, 1991 in Zhejiang. He is 198cm tall and 89kg in weight. Sun Yang's hobbies are singing and reading. Sun Yang loved sports when he was very young. He kept training hard every day and that is why he has made such great achievements. Now nearly every Chinese knows him. When he goes anywhere, he must be followed by his fans, which makes his life less convenient and difficult, but he is very rich. So do you want to be a person like him? What does Sun Yang probably do in his free time?
A. Swimming and running.
B. Singing and reading.
C. Playing chess and skating.
D. Playing football and basketball.
Answer:
| B |
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. Which of the following is true according to this passage?
A. Eurail Pass is a passport.
B. Under 26 year olds cannot buy 1st class Eurail pass.
C. In Switzerland you cannot use Eurail Selectpasses.
D. Train service is probably the first and best choice for the young to travel Europe.
Answer:
| D |
In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens. Since then many countries have successfully held the Olympics, such as England, France, Germany, Canada, the USA, Spain and Australia. After more than a century the Games returns to its hometown. When people hold the Olympic Games, they always make an emblem . The emblem of the Athens Olympic Games this year is a white circle of olive branches in the sky. " Athens is developing a spirit of peace ." An officer said, "While in Athens, the world should be at peace. We hope the peace is not just for a short time. We would like the message from the Athens Games to help countries come together and solve their problems." Four years from then, the Olympic Games will be held in Beijing ,China. And China has already made a seal as the emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The emblem has a single Chinese character on a red seal and means "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing(.)". Below it, there are the words "Beijing 2008". The character in the emblem is "Jing". It means "capital'' of China and it is also like a runner or a dancer. The running figure on the emblem shows the spirit of the Olympics--faster, higher and stronger. The spirit of the Olympic Games is _ .
A. history and friendship
B. faster, higher and stronger
C. running and dancing
D. peace, friendship and development
Answer:
| B |
It all starts with a tree.In fact, it starts with several trees.Since the first modern guitars were made in northern Spain over 150 years ago, crafts persons have known the wood to be used is important in making a guitar. Every guitar is made of several different kinds of wood.Each piece is carefully chosen and then cut to fit the part of the guitar for which it is designed.The most important part of a guitar is the soundboard--the piece of wood with a large hole that lies under the strings(,).Guitar makers are careful to make the soundboard just the right shape and thickness.Then they fix stripes of wood across the inside in a special pattern, which helps strengthen the soundboard and improves the tone of the guitar. Wood for the curvy sides of the guitar must be soaked in water and bent over a hot iron pipe.When all the pieces of the guitar are ready, they are carefully stuck together with glue .Special woodworking tools are used to shape and smooth the neck of the guitar.The craftsperson must make sure that the neck is perfectly centered over the soundboard. Then it is time to use varnish .This brings out the beauty of the wood.Varnish also improves the sound of the guitar but too much varnish makes the guitar sound flat and dull. Finally guitar strings are attached and tightened to make just the right musical tones.Then it's time to play a song. Which of the following doesn't affect the sound of a guitar?
A. soundboard
B. strings
C. neck
D. color1
Answer:
| D |
Animals Can Sense Natural Disasters Among the dead in South Asia' s tsunami were many tourists at Sri Lanka' s national wildlife park at Yala. But very few of the park's animals -- elephants, buffaloes, monkeys and wild cats -- appear to have died. There are theories that animals can sense natural disasters and run away to safety. First, it's possible that the animals may have heard the quake before the tsunami hit. The underwater burst produced sound waves known as infrasound . Humans can't hear infrasound, but many animals including dogs, elephants, tigers and pigeons can. A second early warning sign the animals might have sensed is ground vibration . The great quake would have produced vibrational waves known as Rayleigh waves. These vibrations move through the ground like waves moving on the surface of the ocean but faster. They travel at ten times the speed of sound. The Rayleigh waves would have reached Sri Lanka hours before the water hit. Mammals, birds, insects and spiders can sense Rayleigh waves. So the animals at Yala might have felt the Rayleigh waves and then run to higher ground. But what about humans? While we can't hear infrasound, we can feel it, although we don't necessarily know we're feeling it. We also experience Rayleigh waves by special sensors in our joints , which exist just for that purpose. Sadly, it seems we don't pay attention to the information when we get it. Maybe we screen it out because there's so much going on before our eyes and in our ears. Why did few animals at Yala die when the tsunamis that caused a huge number of human deaths hit?
A. Because human beings cannot hear the infrasonic sound.
B. Because the animals were staying at a higher place in the park.
C. Because the animals were able to run much faster than human beings.
D. Because the animals might have picked up the danger signals and ran away.
Answer:
| D |
Bill, Frank and Dave were three brothers. Every year they sent their mother expensive gifts on her birthday,. They liked to show her how rich they were. The eldest brother. Bill, had a lot of money and he wanted his mother to have the most expensive gifts, but he didn't know what to buy. So he put an ad in the newspaper. "Wanted-the greatest gift for my mother." About a week before his mother's birthday a man came to his office. He brought a big bird. "This bird." the man said, "can speak ten languages and sing some pop songs." "Really? I'd like to listen to it," Bill said. The man made the bird talk in French and tell a joke in Japanese. Then the bird sang a beautiful song. Bill was very happy and paid nine thousand dollars for the bird. The next day Bill sent the bird to his mother with a birthday card. The day after his mother's birthday he called his mother. "Well, mother" he asked, "What do you think of the bird?" "Oh, it's very delicious, dear." said his mother. How much did Bill pay for the bird?
A. Nine dollars
B. Ten dollars
C. Nine thousand dollars
D. Ten thousand dollars
Answer:
| C |
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. This text is mainly intended to _ .
A. inform readers about an event
B. persuade readers to try drumming
C. sell crafts and souvenirs to readers
D. educate readers on different types of powwows
Answer:
| A |
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers follow certain uniform standards for various features of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men's clothes tend to button from the right, and women's from the left. Considering most of the world's population--men and women--are right-handed, the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women's clothes button from the left? History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17thcentury, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women's shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men's shirt button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt. Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since any one who noticed that would believe they were wearing men's shirts. The passage is mainly developed by _ .
A. analyzing causes
B. making comparisons
C. examining differences
D. following the time order
Answer:
| A |
Many people have described television as a passive activity that is harmful to children's education. However, there are good and bad ways to watch television. Parents who are interested in exploiting television as a learning tool can actually turn time in front of TV into an educational chance. Probably the most familiar educational way to use television is to simply watch educational programs. In particular, this means selecting channels and programs specially designed for educational purposes. Along with traditional educational shows for children on public broadcasting channels, cable television now offers kids and adults a wide variety of educational programs, with everything from nature shows to historical events in different countries. Captioning ,such as "closed captioning" for hearing disabled viewers provides another way for parents to exploit the educational possibilities of television.One study showed that children who watched captioned TV got great improvement in their vocabulary and oral reading ability. In addition, parents can make any show a learning class by watching television together with children. By actively joining children in the programs that they are watching, parents can help with the development of such skills as predicting and summarizing. In order to develop predicting skills, parents and children could first refer to a program's description in a viewing guide.After reading the program description and guessing what might happen in the program, parents and children could watch together to see which predictions were correct. And to practice summarizing, after watching a program, parents can turn off the TV and ask what the story was about. This kind of activity helps children develop thinking skills such as arranging events in an order and memorizing information. Although there will still be plenty of times when children watch TV simply for passive enjoyment, parents can help make at least part of their children's viewing time a more productive activity.Used intelligently by exploiting the learning chances available through various programs, television can play an instructive role in children's education. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Parents can simply make any show a learning class for their children.
B. To make watching TV a more productive activity parents should include themselves in the producing process.
C. Most parents have changed their attitude to their kids' watching TV and become positive to the problem.
D. In a way, it is how parents act that leads to whether watching TV may do good or not to their children.
Answer:
| D |
Mrs Green had a young dog which was very clever. It often helped her buy a newspaper. One winter evening, the dog went out to play. It was snowing heavily. Soon the ground became white. " The dog never loses his way. Where is he now?" Mrs Green thought. She shouted his name. But still the dog didn't come back. So she telephoned the police and told them a lot about her dog. " My dog is very clever. He always goes out and comes back soon. Sometimes he plays with his friend, Mickey. He can buy a newspaper. _ ." The policeman was tired and said, " I think you'd better put your telephone down. Maybe _ is trying to telephone you now." The ground became white because _ .
A. some painted white
B. There are some paper on it
C. It snowed heavily.
D. It is really very clean.
Answer:
| C |
Blackbird A good sign Paradise Magic Seeing a blackbird for most is a good sign. It can also mean shyness and insecurity, which directly means a lack of self-confidence. The color black, as we know, is connected with supernatural power. Bluebird The arrival of spring Hard work Joy Bluebirds are connected with joy, and they most often mean a happy condition or good news coming your way. They may also refer to the hope of an individual for their inner child, which means innocence . Bluejay Fearless Truthful Talkative A bluejay can mean being faithful to others. Seeing a bluejay either in its natural habitat or in your dreams could also send across a message to develop an innate talent. Canary Joy Freedom Intellectual development Canaries are happy birds that spread joy and a sense of well-being. For some, a flying canary can be a sign of the spread of unwanted information. It can also mean that you are the cause of the gossip as an individual. A canary is also a symbol of selflessness. Both the bluebird and the canary can be a sign of _ .
A. innocence
B. joy
C. the coming of spring
D. shyness
Answer:
| B |
The heat was intense as we moved down the long corridor. Not only was it a difficult blaze, but the July heat made things even worse as we struggled to get the best of the flames. As we finally made the turn into the apartment where the fire had started, the words of the young mother outside screamed in my brain, 'Please help! My baby is in there!' We moved into the bedroom and I started looking in the usual spots where a child might seek refuge: under the bed, in the corners. As I groped my way through the thick smoke, I suddenly fell forward, tripping over something on the floor. It was the child. Ripping off my mask to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, I grabbed the child and raced for the stairs. When we reached the waiting Rescue Squad members, I collapsed in a heap in the gutter. The ambulance sped off into the night, its siren wailing. Later that evening, we received word that the child had died in the hospital's emergency room. Another small life lost in the city. Why do little children such as that one have to pay the price for the neglect of others? During my career as a fire fighter, I have seen this happen many times. You would think that we would become hard and callous, but we don't. We mourn each person who dies. What bothers me is that many senseless tragedies could have been prevented. An overwhelming number of deaths in fires can be prevented by just one thing - a smoke detector. It is estimated that fewer than 50 percent of all dwellings in the United States are protected by smoke detectors. Why are so many people ignorant about the need for smoke detectors? Smoke detectors save lives. They are easy to install. Their cost is reasonable, and they offer immediate protection. People must persuade their communities to provide fire education for everyone. The money spent on fire education reaps a reward that cannot be measured. If you do not think so, then consider your reactions if the child I carried out of that flaming apartment had been a member of your own family. You would probably then be willing to do anything at all to undo that tragedy. The author's main purpose in the passage is to _ .
A. advertise a new brand of smoke detector.
B. persuade readers to become fire fighters.
C. plead for donations from the public.
D. encourage fire safety measures.
Answer:
| D |
Which of these could cause water vapor to condense into rain droplets?
A. sunlight warming the surface of oceans
B. air rising into colder regions of the atmosphere
C. lightning heating the air in the atmosphere
D. winds blowing along the surface of the ground
Answer:
| B |
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance, The purpose is to let children learn from experience at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly ,The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs ,from family to family. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance in no time ,Lf they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget ,which demands choices between spending and saving ,Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs ,like clothing or electronics. But it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home ,These jobs are a normal part of family life , Paying children to do extra work around the house , however, can be useful .It can even provide an understanding of how a business works. Allowances give children a chance to experience the things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause .They can spend it by buying things they want., Or they can save and maybe even invest it , Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice; you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers ,lean about personal finance .A savings account is an excellent way to lean about the power of compound interest. Compounding works by paying interest on interest .So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year .The second year, the money will earn to percent of one dollar and two cents,, and so on ,That may not seem like a lot .But over time is adds ,up. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as one of the ways children can deal with money?
A. Donating their money to the poor.
B. Buying a desirable new cell phone
C. Setting costly goals for themselves
D. Saving it in a personal bank account
Answer:
| C |
It's not easy to be an astronaut's son.Everybody expects you to be special or perfect. I often wonder how my father ever had a son like me. I mean he's so special and so good at everything he does. Even in middle school he was monitor and captain of the football team. Well, to be honest, I often dream about being some kind of hero or doing something special--like saving a child from a burning building One morning my teacher said there would be a Father's Day writing competition for the whole school."I hope we have a winner right here in my class." When I got home,I started to think about what to write.My father is an astronaut. No, I wouldn't start like that. That was the way others saw him.How did I see my father? Hmm...I saw him sitting with me in the dark when I had a terrible dream.I remembered how he hugged me for hours when my dog Spotty was killed by a car. Yes, these were the things I was going to write. To me,he wasn't just a famous astronaut. He was my dad. My parents and l went to school Thursday night. There were so many people in the big hall! My dad looked at me, and I shrugged . The third prize was announced and it was not me.1 was relieved and disappointed at the same time. The second prize was announced. it was me. I went up to the stage and read what I had written,"My father's son".When I finished,Dad put his hand on my shoulder."Son,this is the proudest moment of my life.'' It was the proudest moment of my life, too. Maybe I'll never be a great hero or win a Nobel Prize, but it was enough just to be my father's son. In order to _ the writer would like to save a child from a burning building.
A. become astronaut
B. become a great hero
C. be made school team captain
D. be made monitor
Answer:
| B |
An 80-year-old couple was having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them. When they arrived at the doctor's, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory. After checking the couple out, the doctor told them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left. Later that night, while watching TV, the man got up from his chair and his wife asked, "Where are you going?" He replied, "To the kitchen." She asked, "Will you get me a cup of ice cream?" He replied, "Sure." She then asked him, "Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?" He said, "No, I can remember that." She then said, "Well, I would also like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down because I know you'll forget that." He said, "I can remember that. You want a cup of ice cream with strawberries." She replied, "Well, I also would like some whipped cream on top. I know you will forget that so you'd better write it down." With anger in his voice, he said, "I don't need to write that down! I can remember that." He then went into the kitchen. After about 20 minutes he returned from the kitchen and handed her a plate of bacon and eggs. She stared at the plate for a moment and said angrily, "I told you to write it down! You forgot my bread!" The husband got angry because his wife _ .
A. asked him to take her an ice cream
B. complained he forgot to take her bread
C. asked him to take her a plate of bacon and eggs
D. reminded him to write down what he would do
Answer:
| D |
The piano on which Mozart wrote all of his late works returned home to Vienna for the first time since his death in 1791.The piano will stand in his former Vienna home, now a museum, for two weeks, ending in a concert of the works by Mozart. Mozart bought the instrument from Anton Walter, the most famous piano maker of his time, in 1782.He wrote more than 50 works for the piano on it, many of them in the apartment in Vienna.After Mozart's death, Constanze, Mozart's wife, gave the instrument to their elder surviving son, Carl Thomas, who donated it to the Mozarteum Salzburg on what would have been the composer's 100th birthday.The piano is now part of the permanent exhibition in the Austrian city of Salzburg. " It was very hard to let it go," said Matthias Schulz, director of the Mozarteum Salzburg." If we didn' t know it was in the best hands, we wouldn' t have done it." The piano is much smaller and lighter than modern concert ones.Its sound is fresher and brighter than that of a modern piano, with lighter action and hammers . Piano restorer Josef Meingast, who has looked after the Mozart piano since 1975, said it was superior to any of its surviving copies.Meingast said he had to fight to replace the existing strings , dating from a 1973 restoration, with softer ones that produce a rounder sound thought to be more similar to what Mozart would have produced. Russian pianist Alexander Melnikov, who planned to give a concert of Mozart' s music on the piano on November 7, said he was privileged to play such an instrument.It's easily the biggest day of a musician' s life." According to the passage, the piano _ .
A. is now being owned by the Mozart family
B. has been kept by Carl Thomas since Mozart died
C. is much bigger and heavier than modern ones
D. is part of the permanent exhibition in the city of Salzburg
Answer:
| D |
The U.S. government may issue stronger regulations about the use of tobacco. Many governments and private buildings have "No Smoking" regulations. In airplanes, on trains and at cinemas, Golf courses are seriously thinking of keeping out smokers, so are schools, shopping malls and even football fields. So where do people go to fill their lungs with nicotine? The government is working on it. One suggestion is that the government set aside a piece of land somewhere in the United States where smokers could go when they want a cigarette. Yellow Stone Park has been in the list, but many people don't agree because they fear that second-hand smoking would make the bears there sick. The Mojave Desert in California is also being studied, and so are Las Vegas Casinos . The smokers were not too nervous about the government idea. They say they are not going to California just to light up. They have a right to smoke at home. To make life more pleasure for those who find it hard to give up smoking, the government is seriously thinking of getting somewhere for the smokers. The tobacco companies are fighting the idea like mad. They say nobody has proved that cigarettes are bad for you. They say as a matter of fact, the doctors have proved that a cigarette saved a person's life after that person was shot. Other places under consideration are: the cold areas in Alaska, the Rocky Mountain in Colorado and the Whitewater River in Arkansas. The smokers are not too nervous about the government banning smoking for they think _ .
A. it is not a good idea
B. it is still far away
C. they have rights to smoke anywhere
D. they may smoke at home
Answer:
| D |
While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states--at least in getting people off welfare.It's estimated that more than 2 million people have left the list since 1994. In the past four years, welfare list in Athens County have been cut in half.But 70 percent of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $ 6 an hour.The result: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent --twice the national average.For advocates for the poor, that's an indication that much more needs to be done. "More people are getting jobs, but it's not making their lives any better," says Kathy Lairn, a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington.A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed families were earning money on their own, but that average income for these families actually went down. But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory."Welfare was a poison.It was a poisonous substance that was poisoning the family," says Robert Rector, a welfare-reform policy analyst."The reform is changing the moral climate in low-income communities.It's beginning to rebuild the work ethic , which is much more important." Mr.Rector and others argued that once "the habit of dependency is cracked," then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards. .From the passage, it can be seen that the author _ .
A. believes the reform has reduced the government's burden
B. insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor
C. is not interested in the success of welfare reform
D. considers welfare reform to be fundamentally successful
Answer:
| D |
The word's largest aircraft made its public debut last week at Europe's biggest factory, a purpose built assembly line in Toulouse, souther, n France.The Airbus A380 will have 50 per cent more floor space than American rival Boeing's 747 Jumbo, with room for duty-free shops, restaurants and even a sauna.This new arrival is expected to change the face of air travel. The A380 will enter service in early 2006 with Singapore Airlines. Airbus claims the A380 will burn less fuel, make less noise, create less pollution and cost 17 per cent less per seat than the 747.It will also reduce traffic problems in the skies. The aircraft, which cost between PS140 million(US$250m) and PS157 million (US$280m) each compared with PS84 million (US$150m) for Boeing's new Dreamliner jet, is being built at 16 factories in Germany, France, Spain and the UK. But activists have warned of more noise and pollution from the Superjumbo, while Boeing believes huge aircraft will not be in great demand over the next decade. As a result, it is putting faith in the much smaller 7E7 Dreamliner.But Airbus is pinning its hopes on the "big is beautiful" theory, gambling on size being the key factor in the US-European battle for the skies. Airbus said it was in talks with half a dozen global airlines about buying the A380. China Eastern Airlines, already an Airbus customer, is said to be targeted, while executives made it plain that they wanted to fight for the Japanese market, which had traditionally been controlled by Boeing. Over the next 20 years, Airbus hopes to sell 750 of the new planes into a market worth PS185billion (US$330bn).The company already has129 firm orders for the A380, with 52 options. According to the news, the prospect of A380 may be _ .
A. not so good
B. cheerful
C. undesirable
D. gloomy
Answer:
| B |
September is a difficult month for all students as they return to continue their education, but for high school and university green hands, it is not just the heavy study tasks they need to follow. They will also go through military training, which aims to help students improve their health and help them adapt to college life. The Ministry of Education requires that universities should carry out at least 14 days' military training for freshmen. Hou Zhengfang, an education expert, questioned the benefits of military training. "It does little to improve students' physical health over only two weeks' time," she said. "Maybe some disaster prevention training, such as earthquake survival or escaping from fires, would be of greater benefit." A freshman who fainted during training said that many students, especially girls, are unwilling to train in direct sunshine. "For me, military training is physically challenging and even damages my health," said the 19-year-old. Although Chu Jinjing, a Tsinghua University freshman, did feel some discomfort while training in the heat, the 18-year-old did recognize the benefits of military training. "By going through this tough training, I've become more independent and determined," said Chu. "I have also managed to make a lot of friends." Wang Hui from Xi'an Jiaotong University sees the advantages of military training besides character building. "From senior high school to college, we join military training to start a new journey," said Wang. "I would feel a bit incomplete without it." According to the passage, what is the author's attitude towards military training?
A. He supports it very much.
B. He is strongly against it.
C. He doesn't express his own opinions.
D. He thinks it's good for his health.
Answer:
| C |
Children and teenagers who spend lots of time in front of screens-especially TVs-are easier to get more weight as they age .according to a new study. The findings agree with research suggesting all that inactive sitting and always watching advertisements may lead to poor eating habits. Researchers used results from a long-term study of children Who took surveys every other year. Children were between ages 9 and 16 when the study started. Out of 4,300 girls in the Study. 17 percent were overweight or obese .Twenty-four percent of the 3 .500 boys were also above a healthy weight The surveys included questions about their height and weight as well as how much time they spent watching TV and DVDs and playing computer and video games. From one survey to the next, each one-hour increase in children's daily TV watching was in connection with an increase of about 0.1 points on a body mass index(BMI) , which measures weight in connection with height. That's a difference of about half a pound per extra hour of TV. "The weight of the evidence is so strong that television watching is connected with unhealthy changes in weight among youth,"says Jennifer Falbe . Who led the study while at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "It's important for parents to know all the obesity-causing screens that really should be limited in their children's lives, Falbe says. " When children watch TV. There are many food advertisements on TV that might lead them to eat a cookie or drink a soft drink. " What's mare .she says . " You can get into a hibernating state on the sofa. Even if children are sitting down while playing a computer game. for example. they might be a bit more active." According to Falbe , what should parents do to stop children getting fat?
A. Limiting the time of children watching TV.
B. Buying children food advertised on TV.
C. Not allowing children to watch TV.
D. Encouraging children to play computer games.
Answer:
| A |
Chinese girl looking for language exchanger Posted Feb 10, 2012 16:25 by Sophia Tag: Seeking Language partners Guangzhou Sex: Female Race/Ethnicity: Chinese I am a Chinese girl in my 20's, can speak and write in English, but I'd like to make some improvement. People always look for making it better, right? Meanwhile, I also like to meet more friends if we really have some topics to share. And if you are in Guangzhou or visit here, I am more than willing to show you around in my spare time. Reply to happycora@hotmail.com or call 15015704625 Tianhe nice apartment for share Posted Feb 24, 2012 16:47 by Vivian Tag: Seeking roommates Guangzhou Tianhe District Up to 2000 RMB I have a room available for rent in a shared apartment in Central Tianhe district. The room has a big window with a nice view. The apartment itself is on the 22th floor of a new secure building on Tianhe Bei Lu, about 10 minutes walk from metro stations on lines 1 and 3, as well as buses and other transportation methods very close. If you are interested, please feel free to phone me (Vivian) on 13145751201 (message preferred), or email me on vivian _ liu2003@hotmail.com. Business Interpreter/Guide Posted Feb 26, 2012 08:46 by Sony Tag: Business Services Guangzhou Baiyun District Dear Foreign Friends, I am a professional interpreter, now looking for a Freelance interpreter job urgently. Please read my CV at below: Name: Sony Song Gender: Male Age: 22 years old Education: Studied English in Da Shan Foreign Language College Birth: 9th Oct 1987, Luohe city, Henan province, China. Ability: Speak fluent English, know Guangzhou city very well, can also guide you to Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Shunde, Macao, Hongkong, etc. Contact Detail: E-mail/MSN: sonysong4@hotmail.com; cell phone: 15112015812 Looking for flat Posted Mar 11, 2012 14:03 by Lucy Tag: Apartments wanted Guangzhou Hello, This is Lucy coming from Peru and looking for a short term flat, from 15th April until 30th April 2012. If somebody can give some information, send me pictures, price and address. Email: lucitamaron@hotmail.com; cell phone: 13800013900 Thanks a lot in advance! To share a department where the traffic is quite convenient, you may send text message to _ .
A. Sophia
B. Lucy
C. Vivian
D. Sony
Answer:
| C |
One of my main concerns when I am helping people achieve their goals is how they measure success. I see individuals getting frustrated as they struggle hard for success. One of the main reasons that cause this frustration is that people allow their definition of success to be determined by someone or something else. Another is that they become frustrated at their own apparent lack of success when comparing themselves to other people. We are individuals with individual wants, skills and experiences. We should look at our own skills to determine what is successful to us. We should look inwards to determine what it would mean for us to be successful in our own mind rather than someone else's. Evaluating a successful person needs to look at his pathway to success, his actions ,his determination and translate that into his own experience to see how he can improve himself. You must set your own course of action, and stay on your course. You alone must determine what success means to you. Do what you do to the best of your ability and the rest will take care of itself. For example, I believe that I am successful but I am not a millionaire! Others may not see me as successful in their eyes but that does not matter. It is how I see myself that is important to me and my life. Here is the truth. Being a success is doing your best, not being the best. Success is not something you become; it is something you continue being. When we get to that point, we will experience a lot more joy and a lot less frustration. And that sounds good to us! Remember the great quote from Napoleon Hill, "If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." Which is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Success is something you keep on being rather than you become.
B. Evaluating a successful person needs to look at others' judgment.
C. It doesn't matter others may not consider you as a success in their eyes.
D. It matters that you set your own course of action and stay on it.
Answer:
| B |
This is not a diet. It's a simple way to lose weight~ And you don' t even have to give up the food you love or join a gym. You just follow some habits that thin people have. Keep them, and you'll become thin. ( 1 ) Wake - up When you wake up in the morning, sit up slowly without using your hands. With legs straight out, bend( ) forward until you feel sore in your back. It will burn about 10 calories (,). (2) Start with soup When you have a meal, order a clear soup, and have it before having the main food. In this way, you'll feel fuller, so you'll eat less when the main food comes. (3) An apple (or more) a day Apples are full of fiber and water, so your stomach will want less. The study shows that people who eat at least three, apples a day lose weight. (4) Stand up and walk around Every time you use the mobile phone, stand up and walk around. Heavy people sit on average two and a half hours more each day than thin people. This skill is very important as standing up and walking around will burn 50 or more calories. Use these skills, and you will have a big weight loss. ,A, B, C, D,. (5,2,10) Eating apples make one's stomach want less food _ .
A. Because apples are delicious.
B. Because apples are full of fiber and water.
C. Because apples are sour.
D. Because only apples are filled with calories.
Answer:
| B |
Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden change in pronunciation started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16 century the British had contact with people from around the world. This means that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Spelling and grammar became fixed and the dialect of London became the standard. In 1604, the first English dictionary was published. The numbers of words in Early Modern English and Late Modern English differ. Late Modern English has a lot more words because of two main factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language took in foreign words from many countries. From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of American English. Some English pronunciation and words when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English. Some expressions that the British call " Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies but were lost in Britain. Spanish also had an influence on American English, with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English. French words and West African words also influenced American English. Today, American English is the most influential . But there are many other kinds of English around the world, including Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English , Indian English and Caribbean English. They have differences. What can we know from Paragraph 1?
A. The dialect of London became the standard in the year 1604.
B. Vowels were pronounced longer towards the end of Middle English
C. The first English dictionary was published in the early 17
D. Many new words entered English because many people moved to Britain.
Answer:
| C |
Dear Highlights Ask a question! E-mail it to letters @ Highlights, com. Gift Giving I'm going to China, and everyone in my chss is asking me to buy them something. What should I do? Reply from the Highlights Editors Your classmates arc probably just excited about your trip. Most likely they don't expect you to buy gifts for everyone. Sending a /cw postcards to the entire class during your trip would be a wonderful way to share your experiences. The pictures on the cards and your words of description will be thi' best gift of all. Dog Bagging My dog always begs for food at the dinner table. I really want to feed him, but my mom says I can't. I'm afraid he won't like me anymore. What should I do? Reply from the Highlights Editors Your dog loves you for many more reasons than just for what you feed him. You can show him that you care about him by playing with him, by petting him and speaking kindly to him. and by making sure he has fresh water. It might be best if your dog is not near the din!ner table while you are eating. You could teach him to stay in another room. Being BiHngua(> My aunt insists that we speak our language (Tagalog) at home and English outside the house. Do you think she is right? Reply from the Highlights Editors It is a great gift to have someone in your family who is willing to take the time to teach you another language. It's a good way to keep family traditions alive, and it helps to develop your language skills. Your ability to use both English and Tagalog will help you learn a third and fourth language later in life So it sounds like a great idea! According to the Highlights editors, if your dog begs for food at the dinner table, you'd better
A. feed him immediately
B. speak loudly to him
C. provide him with fresh water
D. teach him to stay in another room
Answer:
| D |
I am Lin Feng. This is a picture of my family: my grandfather, my grandmother, my father, my mother, my sister and I. My grandparents are in Beijing now and we are in Zhejiang. My mother is a teacher and my father is a doctor. My sister and I are middle school students. My sister is in Class 1,Grade 8 and I am in Class2, Grade 7. I have a good friend here. Her name is Zhang Ning. We are in the same class. There are _ people(;) in Lin Feng's family.
A. three
B. four
C. five
D. six
Answer:
| D |
Mr.Brown is 80 years old. Every morning he goes for a walk in the park. And he comes home at twelve thirty for lunch.But today a car stops at his house. At twelve, two policemen help him get out.One of them says to Mr.Brown's daughter, "The old man can't find his way in the park. He asks us to take him home by car." The daughter thanks the policemen and leave. Then she asks her father,"Dad, you go to that park every day. But today, you can't find the way. What's wrong with you?" The old man smiles like a child and says, "I can find my way. I don't want to walk home." Why does Mr.Brown ask the policemen for help?
A. he wants to go home
B. he wants to have lunch early
C. he doesn't want to walk home
D. something is wrong with him
Answer:
| C |
Come to Austria Soll is a village in the mountains in western Austria. And the Post Hotel is clean and not expensive. It is opened by a local family. From the hotel you can see the whole village, the forests and the mountains. Temperatures in summer are usually 20degC to 25degC in the daytime, but much cooler by evening. Enjoy Thailand When you visit Bangkok in Thailand, don't miss the early morning river boat trip to the Floating Market outside the city. There you will find many kinds of fruits and vegetables. And you can pay for them when you sit in your boat. Don't forget your hat: the sun can be strong and it may be as hot as 40degC at noon. Visit Hawaii! Maybe the most beautiful place in Hawaii is Kauai. You can visit its long, sandy beaches in the south and west of the island, and mountains and forests in the north, but don't be surprised if it rains in the centre of the island. Daytime temperatures there are usually around 24degC to 26degC by the sea, and only a little cooler by late evening. If you want to visit both mountains and beaches, you'd better choose _ .
A. Soll in Austria
B. Bangkok in Thailand
C. the Floating market
D. Kauai in Hawaii
Answer:
| D |
Scottish pupils recently were part of a new scheme that allowed them to take their exams online. Those examinations provided a glimpse of the future in May when 120 _ in 10 centers in Scotland sat in front of computers to take a multiple-choice online exam. Although candidates were using a computer mouse instead of a pen, in all other ways the exam was the same as normal. Exam rooms were set out to ensure that only the candidates and the teachers were able to see the individual screens. The online answers were sent directly to a safe area. According to the students at St Ninian's in East Renfrewshire who took an online French exam, it was definitely the most motivated they had ever felt when taking an exam. "I could go as fast as I wanted to, rather than as slow as everyone else wanted to," said one. "It was better than looking back and forth between the questions," said another. One pupil even described it as fun. Their head teacher, Dorothy Graham, was not so surprised, "They are so used to doing things on computers that it seems natural for them. The boys liked it because they didn't have to worry about how neat their work was." The only things that worried her were power cuts and systems' crashing. It's thought that online exams could be the norm in about five years. However, last year there were warnings about computerizing exams in England and Wales. It's thought that it could be unfair to some students if they come from homes without access to a computer. According to the head teacher, pupils won't be able to take the exam if _ .
A. they don't have a computer at home
B. the computer system breaks down
C. the teacher sees individual screen
D. they take pens into the exam rooms
Answer:
| B |
"I was only thirteen when four of my team members and I were chosen by my swim coach to train with the Chinese National Team. The following piece shows how that experience has influenced me." The night before I left for China, my mother called me into her room. I entered not knowing what to expect. I sat down at the end of her very neatly-made bed, opposite the bedroom table on which she kept a Ming-style vase illustrated in great detail. She told me that my great-grandmother was still living in the surroundings of Beijing. Her name was Ren Li Ling and she was 97 years old. This was the first time I had ever heard of her. The dragon on the vase snaked through the flowers and vines as my mother said, "Pu Pu, look at me. You need to hear this so that when you go to China you will understand. You must keep this knowledge in your heart." She told me a story about my grandfather, Ren Li Ling's son, who left Beijing to go to college in Taiwan. She told me how the Chinese civil war kept him away from his mother for fifty years, so neither of them even knew that the other was alive. No one from Taiwan could visit, write, or call anyone in mainland. All lines of communication were cut off. She told me of my grandfather's devotion to his own children, and how difficult it was for him to send his daughter to America for her education, fearing that same separation. He gave my mother all that he could give -- nineteen years of love and fifty years of savings. I learned how my mother, through means only available in this country, would finally be able to unite my great-grandmother with my grandfather again. The dragon curled around the vase, connecting the separate vines. For a fleeting second, I felt it was present in my mother's room. It was all very strange, yet very clear. I began to understand that this trip to China was not just for me; it was for my mother, and her father, and his mother. Now, I had not only a future, but more significantly, a past. I saw the world with new eyes. And so I went to China and met my great-grandmother. My great-aunt picked me up at the training center, and we rode in a taxi through the crowded city. The noise of the taxi and the city united into a deep roar. We finally stopped in front of a narrow street lined on either side with small one-level houses. As we made our way to a house like all the others, I drew the stares of many people in the street. My great-aunt led me through a rotting doorway into a room with a furnace , table, and a rocking chair where an old woman wearing gloves sat facing the doorway, covered with a worn brown blanket. I walked over and immediately embraced this frail woman as if I had known her all my life. My limited, broken Chinese wasn't up to expressing my complicated feelings. And even though I couldn't completely understand what she was saying in her thick Beijing accent, I knew -- the same way I knew what my mother had been trying to tell me before I left. Her joy shone through her toothless smile. She wouldn't let go of my hand. I haltingly asked her how she had managed to live such a long life. She answered in words I will never forget, "Hope has kept me alive. I have lived this long because I wanted to see my son before I died." My fellow team members must have wondered how two people separated by three generations could be so close. Before this trip, I would have wondered the same thing. And even now, I can't quite explain it. We were as different as two people can be; some 85 years and 8,000 miles apart. We came from two entirely different cultures; yet we were connected by a common heritage . I stayed for dinner which was cooked in a black iron wok over the furnace. The meal was lavish , prepared in my honor. As I began to eat, with my great-grandmother beside me, I felt the dragon was present. But this time, the feeling didn't pass; the dragon had become a part of me. My great-grandmother passed away last year at the age of 100. With her highest hopes and wildest dreams fulfilled, I know she died happy. The writer's mother called him into her room to _ .
A. prepare him for the trip and warn him against possible problems
B. remind him of his origin
C. ask him to look for his great-grandmother
D. share with him the story of her childhood
Answer:
| B |
My mother is the only living person who has never communicated via email or text. She has never turned on a computer, registered an email account, used data storage media or searched the Internet. Since 1955, she has settled in Silicon Valley, married to an extremely technical specialist in applied physics and engineering, designing photometric systems for NASA. Only when Dad suffered from cancer could we convince her she needed a cell phone. Mom's being separated from the information age is voluntary and deliberate. Mom is still that farm girl, and she takes the most pride in it. She sees her neighbor and her community "real". She shows no interest in the digital and virtual life. My mother saw Depression, World War II and the beginning of the Cold War before reaching voting age. She enjoyed country music on "The Sons of the Pioneers", a Canadian broadcast. The battery was so precious a resource that radio was limited to the barn because Grandma thought it helped cows produce milk. In the age when Churchill moved millions for the first time with radio broadcasts, she only experienced live media monthly, if at all. In her early twenties, Mom completed nurses' training and worked in that field before marriage, family and church became her life's concerns. She never really warmed up to television, though I think she appreciated a few of the series we watched, comedies like All in the Family. Computers, the Internet and mobile apps are simply not part of her experience. Mom disagrees with the opinion that technology simplifies life. In her life, she sees online records, email and paperless systems as mysteries in which no written reference can assist her. However, I can partly understand: I like such kind of experience and relationship one has with physical books. I am a child of television who only recently switched to online viewing. I've written down my awkward, love-hate relationship with my devices. _ , but it works for her. She's happiest as she is. What is the author's attitude towards his mother's such kind of experience?
A. Critical.
B. Positive.
C. Neutral.
D. Negative.
Answer:
| B |
Forks trace their origins back to the ancient Greeks. Forks at that time were fairly large with two tines that aided in the cutting of meat in the kitchen. The tines prevented meat from twisting or moving during cutting and allowed food to slide off more easily than it would with a knife. By the 7th century A.D., royal courts of the Middle East began to use forks at the table for dining. From the 10th through the 13th centuries, forks were fairly common among the wealthy in Byzantium. In the 11th century, a Byzantine wife brought forks to Italy; however, they were not widely adopted there until the 16th century. Then in 1533, forks were brought from Italy to France. The French were also slow to accept forks, for using them was thought to be awkward. In 1608, forks were brought to England by Thomas Coryate, who saw them during his travels in Italy. The English first ridiculed forks as being unnecessary. "Why should a person need a fork when God had given him hands?" they asked. Slowly, however, forks came to be adopted by the wealthy as a symbol of their social status. They were prized possessions made of expensive materials intended to impress guests. By the mid 1600s, eating with forks was considered fashionable among the wealthy British. Early table forks were modeled after kitchen forks, but small pieces of food often fell through the two tines or slipped off easily. In late 17th century France, larger forks with four curved tines were developed. The additional tines made diners less likely to drop food, and the curved tines served as a scoop so people did not have to constantly switch to a spoon while eating. By the early 19th century, four-tined forks had also been developed in Germany and England and slowly began to spread to America. How did forks become popular in England?
A. Wealthy British were impressed by the design of forks.
B. Wealthy British thought it awkward to use their hands to eat.
C. Wealthy British gave special forks to the nobles as luxurious gifts.
D. Wealthy British considered dining with forks a sign of social status.
Answer:
| D |
What best describes the relationship with the moon, Earth, and the sun?
A. the Earth is absorbing sunlight
B. the moon is equidistant from the sun and Earth
C. the moon is a star
D. the sun travels around the Earth
Answer:
| A |
Welcome to Our Clubs in Masonic Village Art Club The Art Club provides a place for aged people to paint, improve their artistic talents and show their works of art. Members can also sell items that they painted. The money raised goes toward providing painting supplies for club members. Anyone may join the Art Club, whether you already know how to paint or you want to learn how to better express your creativity. Painting supplies are provided by the club for free. Time: Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Freemasons Cultural Center Art Studio. Cost: $12 per year Computer Club This club is meant for aged people with little knowledge of computers. Various topics are discussed at each meeting about computers (such as the Internet, software and email) as well as related technologies. The club has a computer lab with high-speed Internet connection. Members of the club have free access to the computer lab. Time: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Computer Resource Room on Level 2 of Smith North. Open general lab sessions are available for free. Cost: $35 per year Tai Chi for Arthritis Arthritis is a common disease for old people. The joints in the patients' body often hurt badly. Tai Chi for Arthritis is designed to improve the quality of life of those people who are suffering from arthritis using Sun-style Tai Chi. This style includes quick-moving steps and exercises that may improve mobility, breathing and relaxation. The movements don't require deep bending. Time: Wednesdays from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Irem Clubhouse. Cost: $65 per year Which of the following is one feature of arthritis according to the passage?
A. Terrible coughs.
B. Red eyes.
C. Painful joints.
D. Cold hands and legs.
Answer:
| C |
How does a young dog or cat get to know a new home? The animal uses its nose. Right away it smells its new places. Then it makes wider and wider circles, smelling all the time. Before long it can find its way home very well, even in the dark. It simply follows something it knows well. Stories happen about animals who found their way across land they had never smelled before. Take the case of Smoky, a small white cat. Smoky had some funny red hair around its right ear. One day Smoky and his owner began a long journey. They were moving from Oklahoma to Tennessee. When they were just eighteen miles from their Oklahoma home, Smoky jumped out of the car. Then he found his way back to the old house. There he _ around outside for many days. Finally he disappeared. A year later Smoky meowed at the door of a house in Tennessee. A man opened the door. "Is that you, Smoky?" he said in surprise. At first he couldn't believe it. Then he saw the red hair around its right ear. It was Smoky! What is the best title of the passage?
A. A Kind Owner
B. A Humorours Cat
C. A Surprising Journey
D. An Excellent Memory
Answer:
| C |
Fire can be very dangerous. We should be careful with it. This is what to do in a fire: *Shout out. Shout as loudly as you can, because people may be asleep. *Call 119. Don't try to put out the fire yourself. Tell 119 where you are and what is on fire. *Keep down next to the floor. There is less smoke down there, so it's easier to breathe and see where you are going. *Test the door. If the door is cool, open it carefully. If the door is hot, do not open it! Try to find a different way out. *Get out. Do not stop to pick up anything. A fire can become very big in a few seconds! *Don't use the lift. Always use the stairs .The lift may go wrong and keep you inside. *Don't go back. Even if your pet is still inside, do not go back for it Animals have a very good sense of smell. They often get away from buildings before people. If the door is hot, we should _ .
A. open it and get out
B. find another way out
C. stop to pick up things
D. go back for something
Answer:
| B |
Sea turtles come in many different sizes, shapes and colors. The shell of each sea turtle species is different in length, color, shape and the arrangement of the scales . Sea turtles do not have teeth but use their jaws to eat. Their sense of smell is excellent. Their eyesight underwater is good, but they have _ out of water. Their special bodies make them adapt to life at sea. However, sea turtles maintain close ties to land. Female sea turtles have to go to the seaside to lay their eggs in the sand; therefore, all baby sea turtles begin their lives on land. Most research on sea turtles has been focused on female turtles nesting and the baby sea turtles in the nest, largely because they can be found most easily. After decades of studying sea turtles, much has been learned about. However, many mysteries still remain. Researchers do not yet know how long baby turtles spend in the open sea, or exactly where they go. People believe they spend their earliest years floating in the sea, where they do little more than eat and grow. Once turtles reach dinner-plate size, they appear at feeding grounds in waters near the shore. They grow slowly and take between 15 and 50 years to grow old enough to bear baby sea turtles, depending on the species. There is no way to know the age of a sea turtle from its physical appearance. It is believed that some species can live for over 100 years. Which of the following statements is NOT true about sea turtles?
A. They don't use teeth to eat.
B. They have a good sense of smell.
C. Sea turtles are more adaptable to life at sea.
D. Different species have different shells.
Answer:
| C |
Right in the middle of the town are some long ponds . They are only about half a foot deep. The men of Symi dug out the earth to make the ponds. Over each pond is a low cover. It is made of glass that you can see through. At night, sea water is taken into the ponds. The next day, the hot sun shines through the covers. The sun light turns the water into vapor and the vapor goes up from the ponds. The salt is left behind. As it goes, the vapor became mist. On the inside of each cover, the little drops of mist run together to make big drops. These drops run down the sides of the cover, filling other ponds with fresh water. The salt left in the ponds is washed out each night. Then more sea water is taken in. The factory is ready for the next day's work. The covers and other parts of the factory cost very little. Sea water and sun cost nothing. Most people of Symi are poor. So to them this new way of getting fresh water seems wonderful. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. The sea water is taken into the ponds at night every day.
B. There is a very big river running through the town to the sea.
C. The people in Symi can get fresh water from the factory.
D. People may see the water in the ponds through the cover.
Answer:
| B |
India is a developing country. It has thousands of years of tradition and culture. Different types of people live in India. In the old days the educational institutions were called "ashramam" and teachers were "gurus". A guru was a respected person in society. Now we are living in the technological world. Big changes are occurring in people's living. The influence of television, telephone, radio, computer, Internet and mobile phones is very strong in everyday life. But even today, teachers are role models for students. Teaching is still a respectable job. But there are great changes in the education system. One of the most obvious changes is that the influence of Western culture has increased. We are paying too much attention to doing business, just like the Western world. Teachers are likely to to be influenced by this too, but it is not good. Teachers are nation builders. The development of any country depends upon its education system. All types of development are possible through education. Another change has happened in the curriculum . The curriculum connects the teacher and the student. While education is about learning, curriculum means the situations in which one learns. When we say that education deals with "what", then curriculum deals with "how" and "when". But at the moment, it is hard to say whether the curriculum is playing such a role. In India, an ashramam was _ .
A. a teacher who was respected by people
B. a person who worked for the government
C. a place where students were taught
D. a place where tradition and culture developed
Answer:
| C |
Ling Tao is a student in Class 6, Grade 1. He has a good friend in the school, and his name is Tony. Tony is not a student. He is Ling Tao's English teacher. He is from England. He is only twenty-three years old, and he is a tall boy. He likes to wear blue clothes. He likes eating healthy food. Tony is good at singing. He often teaches the students to sing English songs and plays games with them. The students all love him and he loves them, too. ,. Ling Tao's English teacher likes to wear _ clothes.
A. blue
B. red
C. yellow
D. red
Answer:
| A |
A river rushes and pebbles are smacked around one another until
A. they are wet
B. they are clear
C. they are rough
D. they are velvety
Answer:
| D |
New archaeological discovers suggest that trade between Europe and Asia along the Silk Road probably began in some form many countries earlier than once thought. The findings, _ with a widening range of scientific and historical research, could add a fascinating new page to the epic of the Silk Road. The latest and most surprising discovery is pieces of silk found in the hair of an Egyptian mummy from about 1000 BC, long before regular traffic on the Silk Road and at least one thousand years before silk was previously thought to be used in Egypt. Other research may extend human activity along this route back even further, perhaps a million years to the migration of human ancestors into eastern Asia. The official origin of East-West commerce along the road is usually placed in the late 2nd century BC when an agent of the Chinese Emperor Wu-di returned from a dangerous secret mission across the desert into the remote high country of Central Asia. The agent, Zhang Qian, travelled as far as Afghanistan and brought back knowledge of even more distant lands such as Persia, Syria and a place known as Lijien, perhaps Rome. Historians have called this one of the most important journeys in ancient times. His journey opened the way for what have been thought to be the first indirect contacts between the ancient world's two superpowers, China and Rome. Chinese silk, first traded to central Asian tribes for war horses and to the Parthians of old Persia in exchange for acrobats and ostrich eggs, was soon finding its way through a network of merchants to the luxury markets of Rome. But the new discoveries show that Chinese silk was apparently present in the West long before the Han emperor started organized trade over the Silk Road. The research could change thinking about the early history of world trade and provide insights into the mystery of just how and when Europe and the Mediterranean lands first became aware of the glorious culture at the other end of Eurasia. Historians have always considered Zhang Qian's mission important because they believe _ .
A. be brought back knowledge of Rome to the emperor
B. be discovered the Silk Road
C. be helped establish East-West trade
D. be travelled as far as Afghanistan
Answer:
| C |
A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night's sleep. But now a study has found it really does help people nod off--if it is milked from a cow at night. Researchers have discovered that "night milk" contains more melatonin , which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety. The study, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea, involved mice being fed with dried milk powder made from cows milked both during the day and at night. Those given night milk, which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin, were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime, according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food. Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer. While the effect of cows milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now, taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who are struggling to fall asleep at night. Previous studies have also indicated that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content, which helps people to relax. Milk is also sugar-free and additive-free with nutritionists recommending skimmed milk as the best choice before bed as it is the least fattening. The more fat you take in before bedtime, the greater burden you will put on your body at night. According to the text, the mice fed with daytime milk _ .
A. started sleep more easily
B. were more anxious
C. were less active
D. woke up later
Answer:
| B |