At the U.S. Open championships in Flushing Meadows, New York last week, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) held an unusual youth press conference . I say "unusual" because the main idea wasn't to promote the sport for young children. Yes, there was a youth tennis exhibition in which a group of fresh-faced kids from the area showed off their well developed skills. They used junior racquets and larger, low-pressure balls on a half-size tennis court-a way the organization supports as a means to help children have early success and stick with the game. But the event's real purpose was to help parents realize the importance of introducing kids to all kinds of athletic programs rather than focusing specially on one. _ may sound like something easy to do, but it's not. In today's achievement-oriented ( ) environment, children are being pushed to specialize in a single sport-whether it's tennis, hockey, soccer, or gymnastics - at ever-younger ages. Tom Farrey, executive director of the nonprofit Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, says year-round sports programs are now offered down to age 5, too early an age for a child to limit himself or herself to a single activity. While parents naturally want the best for their child, they are being pressured by coaches to let him or her stick with one thing. The result: More kids under age 12 are suffering injuries or, worse, burnout. According to the Aspen Institute's report, Project Play, fewer kids today are staying involved with sports than five years ago, partly because of forced specialization. Today's children are already on track to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents because of obesity and related diseases, and this trend is only worsening matters. Multi-sport participation, however, leads to better performance (because kids get a chance to develop different sets of skills ) and greater enjoyment of the game, says Farrey. The headlining athletes at the event repeated the idea that having kids do more than one sport is a plus (good for them). What's the best title for the passage? A) The Importance of Doing Sports B) The Necessity of Physical Education C) Stop Specializing in Sports So Early D) Develop Children's Athletic Abilities
C
(Question)
"Joe? Is chat you?" The woman speaking to me at he baseball game looked somewhat familiar, "Marci? " "It IS you ! " she exclaimed, smiling broadly. "God, it's good to see you again !" It was good to see Marci, too. Very often during the past few decades, I've wondered about her, I almost tried to reach her a few years ago after talking to a shared friend, who had indicated that the 1990s had been pretty rough for Marci. So, running into her at the baseball game was, at the very least, just happening by chance. We spent a few minutes talking about the business of our lives: kids and grandkids, husbands and houses, education and recreation. It's always a little upsetting to see how few words are required to summarize 32 years of living. We played a little "have you seen...?" and "did you know,..?" And we recalled the good old, bad old days we used to spend together. Then Marci grew quiet for a moment, looking out over the crowd walking about the marketing area at the stadium. "You know, Joe." she said, "I've always wanted to tell you...how...you know...how sorry I am for the way I treated you." Hearing that, I felt I was suffering extreme embarrassment. One does not like to remember when one has been rid of by others roughly and suddenly. "It's OK." I said. "No big deal." At least, I thought to myself, not now. "But I was so stupid: she continued. Yes, you were. I thought. "We were both pretty young:' I said. "I know," she said. "But that's no excuse for..." She hesitated. then continued. "It's just always bothered me, remembering how mean I was to you.And I've wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. So...I'm sorry." The smile on her face was warm and sincere, and there was something in her eyes, it looked a lot like relief-- _ since she had played Wif'fle ball with my heart. "OK:'I said. "Apology accepted! Overcome by the sweetness of the moment. I reached an arm around her and gave her a quick hug Just then, the... From what Marci said, we can learn that she _ . A) was always a kind and polite woman B) had more consideration for others than before C) had a strong sense of responsibility D) used to be an honest and reliable woman
(Answer)
B
Ques: Many people once thought that air pollution had a bad influence upon only the area immediately around large cities with factories and heavy automobile traffic. Today, we know that although these are the areas with the worst air pollution, the problem is nearly worldwide. On several occasions over the past decade, a heavy cloud of air pollution has covered the entire eastern half of the United States and led to health warnings even in rural areas away from any major concentration of factories and automobile traffic. In fact, the very climate of the entire earth may be affected by air pollution. Some scientists feel that the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide( ) in the air resulting from the burning of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is creating a"greenhouse effect" - holding in heat reflected from the earth and raising the world's average temperature. If this view is correct and the world's temperature is raised only a few degrees, much of the polar ice cap will melt and cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and New Orleans will be under water. Another opinion, less widely held, is that increasing tiny substances in the atmosphere are blocking sunlight and lowering the earth's temperature-a result that would be equally disastrous.A drop of just a few degrees could create something close to new ice age and would make agriculture difficult or impossible in many of our top farming areas. At present we do not know for sure that either of these conditions will happen (though one recent government report prepared by experts in the field concluded that the greenhouse effect is very likely). Perhaps, if we are very lucky, the two tendencies will make up for each other and the world's temperature will stay about the same as it is now. As far as the greenhouse effect is concerned, the author _ . A) shares the same view with the scientists B) is uncertain of its consequence C) rejects it as being ungrounded D) thinks that it will increasingly destroy the world
Ans: B
Question: Xinhua News Agency-The International Conference on Power Engineering (ICOPE) 2013, organized by the Chinese Society of Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, China-EU Institute for Clean and Renewable Energy, opened in Wuhan, on Oct 24. More than 300 energy experts, scholars and businessmen from countries and areas including the United States, Japan, the EU, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Nigeria, Arab and China are attending the three-day academic conference on the world's energy problems. Professor Zheng Chuguang, from the School of Energy and Power Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology, gave a speech on the development of oxygen fuel technology in China, and said that settling the problem of cost ranks highest. George Saxon, vice-president of Conco Systems Inc, US, presented a report on the topic of Energy Engineer to Shape the Future. He said that the company's research and innovation are of great significance for the future and already contribute to reducing costs and improving efficiency . Professor Didier Mayer from the Ecole des Mines de Paris, France, spoke about "Wind Energy R&D Line Based on the Global Renewable Energy Status", and Professor Yasuo Koizumi of Shinshu University in Japan and Li Chun-Zhu of Curtin University of Technology in Australia also gave speeches at the conference. The academic meetings are expected to cover topics from various fields. In addition, the participants will discuss the most advanced academic research around the world, the latest progress and development trends in the various fields. The conference has attracted 232 academic papers, with 176 papers from China, and 56 from abroad. According to Professor Zheng, what matters most about energy problems? A) Reducing cost. B) Using wind energy. C) Saving energy. D) Developing new fuels.
Answer:
A