How to deal successfully with a child showing outstanding musical ability? It's not always clear how best to develop and encourage his gift. Many parents may even fail to recognize and respond to their children's need until discouragement explodes into uncooperative behavior. And while most schools are equipped to deal with children who are especially able in academic subjects,the musically gifted require special understanding which may not always be available in an ordinary school. Such children may well benefit from the education offered by a specialist music school. The five music schools in Britain aim to provide all environment where gifted children can develop their skills under the guidance of professional musicians. Children here spend about half of a day on musical activities,for example,individual lessons,orchestras,chamber groups,voice training,conducting and theory. They also spend several hours a day practicing in private rooms .The rest of their time is taken up with the subjects:English,maths and basic sciences. What are the disadvantages? An obvious problem is that the fees are high .However, each school will often scholarships and other forms of financial aid. Secondly, not all parents want to send their children to boarding school, especially at an early age .Almost all the directors of the specialist schools express doubts about the wisdom of admitting children as young as seven into such a tense and disciplined environment. They stress,however, that their main aim is to turn out "well-rounded and well--balanced individual." The passage mainly talks about _ . A) education and development about children B) disadvantages of music schools C) music schools for children with music gift D) how to deal with music talented children
C
(Question)
When we think of Hollywood, we think of films and famous film stars. They are part of Hollywood' s history. Today people make films in other places, too. Not all famous film stars live in Hollywood. But Hollywood is still a very special part in Los Angeles, California. You can easily see where Hollywood is in Los Angeles. There is a big sign on the hills. It says "HOLLYWOOD". The white letters are fifty feet tall. You can see the sign from far away. The Hollywood sign is a famous Hollywood landmark in Los Angeles. Many postcards show this famous Hollywood landmark. In the hills of Hollywood, there is also the Hollywood Bowl. This is an open-air theatre. It is one of the biggest open-air theatres in the world. It has seventeen thousand seats and a very different stage . The design of the stage was by a great American called Fran Lioyd Wright. You can listen to all kinds of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. At the Hollywood Bowl _ . A) All postcards are made B) Only 7000 people can get together C) People can enjoy music D) You can hardly listen to different kinds of concerts
(Answer)
C
Ques: An upper class British lady once declared: " Anyone seen on a bus after the age of 30 has been a failure in life." This may sound arrogant and ignorant. Unfortunately, there are still people thinking that way. Some wealthy folk in the West look down on buses and boast about how many years it has been since they last travelled by one. How sad is that? Our roads are packed with cars and the air is full of the pollution they emit. But still, many car users are unwillingly to get on a bus or a bike or a train to take themselves to work. It's convenient to drive, they'll say. Buses are so unreliable, they'll claim. And trains are expensive - at least in the UK. It's an attitude which may have to change. It doesn't make sense to drive a car in a city where there's a public transport system. Also, these rush hour commuters usually travel alone. As a result, transport authorities in the UK are looking at solutions to city center congestion . One is to increase the number of parking spaces at out-of-town railway stations. More motorists can then leave their cars and travel into the city by train. Light rail or tramways are another environmentally friendly solution. Many cities across Europe have had light rail or tramway systems. The subway in London is used by everyone, rich and poor. It's the quickest way of getting around the city, whatever your bank balance. And then there are the cycle hire plans you find in many modern cities. In London and Paris, you can hire a bike by the hour to get you where you need to go. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is often pictured cycling to work. David Cameron, the British prime minister, cycled to the House of Commons before he became leader. How many solutions to congestion have been mentioned in the article? A) 3. B) 4. C) 5. D) 6.
Ans: B
(Q).
GENEVA, Feb.11 (Xinhua) --The current La Nina weather phenomenon may just be a partial cause of south prefix = st1 /China's freeze-up at the start of 2008, said the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Monday. The latest La Nina pattern, which began in the third quarter of 2007, has picked up strength in the past three months, with sea surface temperatures now about 1. 5 to 2 degrees Celsius colder than average over large parts of the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean, said the latest report issued by the WMO. Presenting the Geneva-based body's report, Rupa Kumar Killi, a WMO climate expert, said the recent month-long snow and ice-storms in China's central, southern and eastern regions could be connected with the La Nina phenomenon, the climatic opposite of El Nino . However, he said China's freeze-up was a result of several causes combined and was partly caused by a cold surge from the north and west. He also said the present La Nina cycle may last at least until mid-2008 and it is also possible, if less likely, that the cycle could stretch into the third quarter. La Nina is a large pool of unusually cold water in the equatorial Pacific that develops every few years and influences global weather. It is the climatic opposite of El Nino, a warming of the Pacific, and both have been associated with extreme weather around the globe. Since Jan. 10, snow, sleet and low temperatures have swept China's southern regions, a rare occurrence for the area. What partially caused south China's freeze-up at the beginning of 2008? A) La Nina. B) El Nino. C) Typhoon. D) Frost.
(A).
A
Ques: The passport photographs of the future could turn out to be more than just another pretty picture if a new computer technique developed by Israeli scientists catches on. Researchers at Ben-Gurion University, in Israel, have invented a way to hide information such as a fingerprint or signature in color images. They believe this could improve passport safety or be used to produce product bar codes or designs that cannot be seen. "The papers can be faxed, scanned and reprinted without hidden data disappearing," New Scientist magazine said last week. Joseph Rosen and a team of scientists worked out the new instrument by creating a mathematical model. The model turns a fingerprint or signature into a series of numbers which are used to shape the dots that make up a color picture. "Each dot can be forced out of the usual place slightly without noticeably changing the final appearance of the image," the magazine said. Several images that can be hidden in a single picture are scanned into a computer which does the work. The hidden images or fingerprints cannot be shown until the picture is scanned again. The computer rebuilds the fingerprint by measuring the displacement of the dots in the picture. The magazine said that if he model is used for passport checkpoints the picture can be unscrambled to show the fingerprint or signature and checked against the person holding the passport. The researchers are now working on a handheld, and instrument which could make unscrambling the hidden information easier. The writer probably got the information about the new passport photos from _ . A) Israeli scientists B) a radio or TV C) a newspaper D) a magazine
Ans:
D