While students in Hainan are quite used to clear skies, Beijing teenagers are not so lucky. As another warm winter approaches, the city can expect the normal clouds of smoke caused by air pollution. But things could start to get better soon. The government is co-operating with a US- based environmental protection agency to update existing buses and trucks with clean fuel technology. The new technology could reduce air pollutants in existing diesel vehicles ( ) by 40 per cent. The programme will begin by testing buses in Beijing to see if the technology can be applied to them. "We encourage the development of public transportation. But at the same time we need to reduce pollution from them," said an official. Efforts are being made to improve the capital's environment with tighter controls on emissions . Some heavily polluting factories and construction sites, such as those owned by the steel giant Shougang Group, have been asked to cut production in November and December or be closed. Beijing was the third polluted city in the world at the end of last century, according to the UN. But thanks to recent measures, the capital has made some progress. Last year 224 clear days were rated as having good air quality. In 1998 the air quality index gave just 100 days as good. "I am glad to see an improvement," said a Senior 1 boy living in the northwest of Beijing. "Compared to other places, the air quality of Beijing is still worrying though. I hate the pollution. Once I was riding my bike in the morning when I almost had a traffic accident because I couldn't see a car only metres away from me in frog." In early October, the skies were covered by such a thick fog that a display show by the visiting French air force was called off. Rapid development, industry, traffic fumes and sandstorms from the desert all contribute to the city's bad air. Which is not correct according to the passage? A) Beijing's air quality is getting worse and worse. B) Development, industry, traffic fumes and sandstorms are all the causes of bad air quality. C) Clouds of smoke in the sky is the common feature in the winter of Beijing. D) The government is making every effort to stop air pollution.
A
The Independent Project at the Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, is attracting huge interest in the education field. The program is a new concept that has developed a wide variety of students' abilities and excited their interest in education and self-directed learning. They are a group of students that , instead of being educated through the normal school courses, have created their own subjects and project-based interactive learning. The students are almost completely independent. They choose a goal that they want to accomplish and work on for the whole year. These goals have included some impressive attempts such as writing a novel, writing a play , learning the piano and more. Along with these larger attempts , the students meet every day to ask questions about other subjects like natural sciences , social sciences, etc. Although most of them say that they don't like math, they did eventually develop an interest in math through this independent learning technique. The education program, which has attracted a huge variety of students, allows the students to learn and develop research skills and questioning techniques and allows them to truly be interested in the subjects they are diving into . They also teach each other what they have learned , which allows them to develop different way of presenting and gathering material that they have researched. I wish that I could have participated in such a project during my high school career, like writing a novel. I am currently studying English as well as education to pursue a teaching degree. I would love to adapt independent driven projects into a classroom in the future. This project also raises some crucial questions. Do we need to rethink the structure of the education system itself? Are too many students being simply fed through a conveyor belt that we blindly see as working toward their education? I think that the education system needs some improvements , and different learning styles need to be addressed... What is the passage mainly about ? A) The benefits of interactive learning B) Individual differences in learning. C) A group of independent students. D) An unusual education program.
D
Q: Does school start too early? Judging from the teenagers who yawn in class, it does. And those students aren't just lazy. Scientific studies have shown that school does start too early for young students. According to a series of studies done across the U.S., the later classes begin, the more academic performance improves. Boys and girls naturally stay up later and sleep in later. The trend begins around age 13 or 14 and peaks between 17 and 19.The teens also need more sleep in general, so forcing them to be up early for school cuts into their sleep time as well as their sleep rhythm, making them less ready to learn during those first-period classes. Practice is proving the science. Hundreds of school districts in the U.S. have experimented with later start times and the academic performance of students has improved as a result. A study of 9,000 high school students in three states showed that grades in science, math, English and social studies all rose when school began at 8:35 or later. What's more, attendance goes up and student depression goes down. The later school starts, the better the result, too. According to a study, delaying the opening bell from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. paid off more than delaying only until 8:00 a.m. Students who get at least eight hours of sleep, and preferably nine, perform better than those who do not, so a greater delay raises the chances of achieving those numbers. So, it turns out morning class is just too early for students to learn chemistry equations or study an ancient poem. If you cannot change the school schedule, adjusting your own timetable to ensure eight hours' sleep can also help you perform better at school. It is implied in the passage that in the morning _ . A) there should be no classes B) students' sleep should be guaranteed C) there should be Chinese lessons D) there should be no science lessons
A: D
(Q).
Accidents happen almost every day. Some accidents are not serious and some are. We read about such accidents nearly every day in the newspapers. It is wrong for people to think that accidents take place only on the roads or highways, or even at work places. Home accidents are just as common. Because very few home accidents are reported, people come to think that there are few accidents which happen in homes. There have been many cases where people fall to their deaths from high rise flats. Children often fall over while coming down the stairs. Old people may slip on wet floors if they are not careful. Nowadays there are a lot of modern electrical appliances such as rice cookers which make life easy for the modern house wives. These appliances can kill if they are not used in the proper way. Gas stoves used for cooking are also dangerous if they are not properly used. They may cause burns or, in more serious cases, even fires. But all such accidents can be stopped if we are careful and follow simple rules of safety. For example, it is unwise for people to try repairing their own electrical appliances if they do not know how to. It is safer to get them repaired by an electrician . Which of the following accidents may NOT happen in homes? A) People may fall to death from high buildings. B) People may be knocked down by cars on the roads. C) Gas stoves may cause burns or even fires. D) People may be killed by an electrical appliance.
(A).
B