Students who date in middle school have significantly worse study skills. They are four times more likely to drop out of school and report twice as much alcohol and tobacco use as their single classmates, according to new research from the University of Georgia. "Romantic relationships are a trademark of adolescence, but very few studies have examined how adolescents differ in the development of these relationships," said Pamela Orpinas, study author and professor in the College of Public Health and head of the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior.[: _ Z _ X _ X _ K] Orpinas followed a group of 624 students over a seven-year period from 6th to 12th grade. Each year, the group of students completed a survey indicating whether they had dated and reported the frequency of different behaviors, including the use of drugs and alcohol. Their teachers completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts. He found some students never or hardly ever reported dating from middle to high school, and these students had consistently the best study skills according to their teachers. Other students dated infrequently in middle school but increased the frequency of dating in high school. "At all points in time, teachers rated the students who reported the lowest frequency of dating as having the best study skills and the students with the highest dating as having the worst study skills," according to the journal article. Study skills refer to behaviors that lead to academic success such as doing work for extra credit being well organized, finishing homework, working hard and reading assigned chapters. "Dating a classmate may have the same emotional complications of dating a co-worker," Orpinas said, "When the couple break up, they have to continue to see each other in class and perhaps witness the ex-partner dating someone else. It is reasonable to think this could be linked to depression and divert attention from studying." "Dating should not be considered a ceremony of growth in middle school," Orpinas concluded. When doing his study, Orpinas _ . A) followed a group of students of 6th and 12th grade B) completed a survey and a report each year C) completed questionnaires about the students' academic efforts D) found that the students' study skills have connection with their frequency of dating
D
(Question)
Bobby was sitting out in his back yard in the snow. The thin sneakers he wore had a few holes in them. Try as he might, he could not come up with an idea for his mother's Christmas gift. Ever since his father had passed away three years ago, his mother worked nights at the hospital, but the small wage could only be stretched so far. What the family lacked in money and material things, they more than made up for in love and family unity. They ran the household in their mother's absence. All three of his sisters had already made beautiful gifts for their mother. It was Christmas Eve already, and he had nothing. Bobby started to walk down to the street. He walked from shop to shop. Everything seemed so beautiful and so out of reach. It was starting to get dark, then suddenly his eyes caught a shiny dime. Never has anyone felt so wealthy as Bobby did at that moment. He went inside a flower shop. When the owner asked if he could help him, Bobby presented the dime and asked if he could buy one flower. The shop owner looked at Bobby, then said, "You just wait here and I'll see what I can do for you." The shop owner returned holding red roses all tied together with a big silver bow. Bobby's heart sank as the owner placed them gently into a long white box. "That will be ten cents, young man," said the shop owner, reaching out his hand for the dime. Slowly, Bobby moved his hand to give the man his dime. Then the shopkeeper's wife appeared. "Where are the roses you were fixing?" The shop owner replied, "A strange thing happened to me this morning. I thought I heard a voice telling me to set aside a dozen of my best roses for a special gift. I wasn't sure at the time whether I had lost my mind or what, but I set them aside anyway. When I saw that little boy tonight, I knew who that voice was." Bobby slowly gave the dime to the shop owner because _ . A) he did not want any rose flowers B) the flowers weren't worth a dime C) the shop owner would cheat him D) he hardly believed what had happened
(Answer)
C
Ques: The knowledge society will be a highly competitive one, for organizations and individuals alike. Information technology, although only one of many new features of the next society, is already having one hugely important effect: it is allowing knowledge to spread near-instantly , and making it accessible to everyone. Given the ease and speed at which information travels, every institution in the knowledge society--not only businesses, but also schools, universities, hospitals and increasingly government agencies too--has to be globally competitive, even though most organizations will continue to be local in their activities and in their markets. This is because the Internet will keep customers everywhere informed on what is available anywhere in the world, and at what price. This new knowledge economy will rely heavily on knowledge workers. At present, this term is widely used to describe people with considerable theoretical knowledge and learning :doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants chemical engineers. But the most striking growth will be in "knowledge technologists": computer technicians, software designers, analysts in clinical labs, manufacturing technologists, paralegals. These people are as much manual workers and they are knowledge workers; in fact, they usually spend far more time working with their hands than with their brains, but their manual work is based on a substantial amount of theoretical knowledge which can be acquired only through formal education ,not through an apprenticeship . They are not, as a rule, much better paid than traditional skilled workers, but they see themselves as "professionals", just as unskilled manual workers in manufacturing were the _ social and political force in the 21thcentury, knowledge technologists are likely to become the dominant social--and perhaps also political--force over the next decades. The quick spread of knowledge in the next society _ . A) is based on information technology B) results from a highly competitive society C) is likely to increase information flow D) will become the biggest problem to tackle
Ans: A
Bright red post boxes, the Queen and queuing--what do they all have in common? They are all important parts of British life. At least I thought so. However, the ability to queue for long periods of time, once believed to be a traditional characteristic of the British, is no longer tolerated by people in the UK, according to a survey done for British bank Barclays. Once upon a time, queuing was seen as normal. During World WarII, everyone had to queue up to receive their daily supply of foods. In fact, if you didn't stand up and wait in line with all the others, it was seen as uncivilized. The famous English double-decker buses, with only one entrance, might also help explain why queuing was seen as a part of British life. Almost always, there is queue to get on. www.zxxk.com But perhaps the British are tired of being pushed past by the Spanish, the Italians or the French as they queue up to get a table at a restaurant. The people of these other European countries have more than one entrance to their buses, which explains their more relaxed attitude to the queue. Two minutes is now the longest time most British people are prepared to stand and wait. But could it be that the Internet, which allows us to carry out tasks quickly, is the main reason why British people are no longer prepared to queue? "Used to buying without delay, customers are even giving up purchases rather than wait their turn," says Stuart Neal of Barclaycard. "Shoppers are also less likely to queue for long if the item they are buying is of low value." Perhaps I will have to replace "queuing" with "impatience" in my list of things I relate to the British. It can be learned from the text that _ . A) the British used to buy without delay B) the British have to queue to receive food C) the British get impatient with queuing for long D) the British prefer to take double-decker buses
C