Q: Not everyone goes to university after high school graduation. Some work, others join the army and an increasing number worldwide are taking a "gap year" to travel or do community service in their own countries or abroad. They are studying sharks off the Australian coast, building schools in Mexico and learning Spanish or Italian. The concept of a gap year may not be new, but the recent surge of interest certainly is. Some students are putting off admissions. Others, who don't get into the college of their choice, are taking a year to explore new frontiers before reapplying. Students are choosing to take a breather; they are thinking. They are not sure what they are going to do. They are going and exploring some of their interests. They are getting experience they can take to the school they finally go to. It is an idea actively encouraged by colleges. Princeton University has just launched a "bridge year" program that will send 10 percent of its incoming class to do volunteer work abroad, starting in 2009. And the Harvard has spent the last 30 years urging incoming students to take a gap year. "Many speak of their year away as a 'life-changing' experience or a 'turning point'" says Harvard admissions director Marlin Lewis. "Many come to college with new opinions about their academic plans, their extracurricular interests and the career possibilities they observed in their year away." From the passage we know that _ . A) more and more students will take a gap year B) fewer and fewer colleges will encourage his students to take a gap year C) the gap year can only give one some experience about society D) nobody will change his own interests after the gap year
A: A

Q: "It hurts me more than you", and "This is for your own good" --these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework. That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation. Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we've made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Clomps who says of her students--"so passive" --and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Clomps, contributes to children's passivity. "We're talking about a generation of kids who' vet never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying 'go and look it up', you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid." Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It's time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It' s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it' s for their own good. It's s time to start telling them no again. The main idea of the passage is that _ . A) parents should leave their children alone B) kids should have more activities at school C) it's time to be more strict with our kids D) parents should always set a good example to their kids
A: C

Q: "I've changed my mind.I wanted to have a telescope,but now I want my daddy back ." Lucien Lawrence's letter to Father Christmas written after his schoolteacher father had been knifed to death outside his school gate ,must have touched every heart.Lucien went on to say that without his father he couldn't see the stars in the sky.When those whom we love depart from us , we cannot see the stars for a while . But Lucien , the stars are still there, and one day, when you are older and your tears have gone , you will see them again. And in a strange way, I expect that you will find your father is there too , in you mind and in your heart .I find that my parents , long dead now , still figure in many of my dreams and that I think of them perhaps more than I ever did when they were alive . I still live to please them and I'm still surprised by their reactions.I remember that when I became a professor, I was so proud,or rather so pleased with myself ,that I couldn't wait to cable my parents . The reply was a long time in coming , but when it did , all Mother said was"I hope this means that now you will have more time for the children!" I haven't forgotten .The values of my parents still live on . It makes me pause and think about how I will live on in the hearts and minds of my children and of those for whom I care .Would I have been as ready as Philip Lawrence have been to face the aggressors , and to lay down my life for those in my care ? How many people would want me back for Christmas ? It's a serious thought , one to give me pause . I pray silently , something , in the dead of night , that ancient cry of a poet " _ ), and my darling form the power of the dog ."Yet I know that death comes to us all , and sometimes comes suddenly. We must therefore plan not to live forever , but live as if we will die tomorrow. We live on, I'm sure, in the lives of those we loved , and therefore we ought to have to care for what they will remember and what they will treasure . If more parents knew this in their hearts to be true... What feeling did the author's mother express in her reply ? A) Proud B) Worried C) Disappointed D) Happy
A: B

Q: Squawk! Polly wants a cracker! Pretty bird! Pretty bird! These are just a few of the things you might hear coming out of a parrot's mouth. Although parrots seem to be able to talk, they're not really talking like humans. They're not choosing and saying words with specific meanings. Instead, they're simply imitating sounds they've heard. Repeating sounds they've heard before-often many times-is called mimicry. The "talking" we hear from parrots can consist of imitations of all sorts of sounds, from spoken words to creaking doors to barking dogs. They're not really "talking", but it doesn't mean that parrots' mimicry isn't impressive. Did you know that parrots don't have vocal cords like humans? It's true! Instead, parrots use muscles in their throat to direct airflow through their mouths to mimic the sounds they hear around them. Parrots, such as African Greys and Amazons, aren't the only birds that can learn to imitate sounds, including human voices. Some other birds known for their ability to "talk" include Indian Ringneck Parakeets, Budgies and Cockatiels. If you're wondering why some birds imitate sounds they hear, it's because they're social animals. They feel a need to be able to interact with those around them. When kept as pets, these birds see their owners as their family and want to communicate with them. Since a human owner usually can't learn a bird's "language", the bird instead tries to learn the language of its owner. Although these birds are often quite intelligent, imitation is still the best that they can manage. Mimicry becomes a way for them to get attention and interact with their owners. If you want to have a bird that talks as a pet, the best thing to do is to find a bird that already knows how to imitate sounds. Even if a bird knows how to imitate a few sounds, though, you'll still need to spend lots of time training it and providing positive interactions to encourage more "talking ". You can get a bird to talk more by -. A) showing your kindness to it B) training it in a certain way C) directing airflow through its mouth D) making it imitate another bird
A: B