SAN FRANCISCO--The "Reading Wizard", an 11 - year - old - boy, whose offer to read to children without being paid at a local library was refused by libraries, will get to read to younger kids after all. Mayor Willie Brown last Wednesday ordered San Francisco Public Library officials to allow John O'Connor to read to preschool children to get them interested in books and stop them from watching television and video games. "I didn't expect this kind of attention. " John said, "It's just shocking." John has chosen his first book, "The King's Giraffe", and made up fliers inviting neighborhood children, aged from three to six, to the Presidio Branch every Wednesday afternoon. He planned to call himself the "Reading Wizard" and wear a special hat, fake glasses and a black coat. But his idea was refused - on the phone, in person and finally with a letter from Toni Bernardi, the chief of the library's children and youth services. Using terms like "age appropriate material" ,she wrote that only library workers are allowed to read to children. John then went to a member of the city board of supervisors , who advised him to write letters to the library officials. "Our libraries are supposed to turn kids on, not to turn them off." Brown said he enjoyed "the creative idea, the sense of civic duty and the caring for others that John clearly showed us." We can infer that Mayor Willie Brown_. A) praised the boy for his new idea B) received a call from the library for children C) informed the boy to stop reading to children D) held a party for John and his friends at the library
A
Less TV Reduce Kids Weight PALO AITO, California--"Switching off the television may help prevent children from getting fatter--even if they do not change their diet or increase the amount they exercise," US researchers said last week. A study of 192 third and fourth grades, generally aged eight and nine, found that children who cut the number of hours spent watching television gained nearly two pounds (0.91 kg) less over a one-year period than those who did not change their television diet. "The findings are important because they show that weight loss can only be the result of a reduction in television viewing and not any other activity," said Thomas Robinson, a pediatrician at Stanford University. " American children spend an average of more than four hours per day watching television and videos or playing games, and rates of childhood being very fat have doubled over the past 20 years," Robinson said. In the study, presented this week to the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual meeting in San Francisco, the researchers persuaded about 100 of the students to reduce their television viewing by one-quarter to one-third. Children watching fewer hours of television showed a significantly smaller increase in waist size and had less body fat than other students who continue their normal television viewing, even though neither group ate a special diet nor took part in any extra exercise. "One explanation for the weight loss could be the children unstuck to the television may simply have been moving around and burning off calories," Robinson said. "Another reason might be due to eating fewer meals in front of the television. Some studies have suggested that eating in front of the TV encourages people to eat more," Robinson added. Which of the following is right ? A) Children usually eat fewer while watching TV. B) Children usually eat more while watching TV. C) Children eat the same amount of meals while watching TV. D) Children usually eat nothing while watching TV.
B
Q: Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for often, achieving what you set out to do is not the most important thing. A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. "What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, "Maybe I can't finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I've found during this period!" The boy's goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for -- to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working! Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, "Yes, but look what I've found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!" It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense. The best title for the text should be _ . A) Joy in the Journey B) A Boy Dug a Hole C) No Pains, No Gains D) Failure Is the Mother of Success
A: A
(Question)
Runners in a relay race pass a stick in one direction.However,merchants passed silk,gold, fruit,and g1ass along the Silk Road in more than one direction.They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road. The Silk Road was not a simple trading network. It passed through thousands of cities and towns. It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea. It was used from about 200 B.C. to about A.D.1300, when sea travel offered new routes . It was sometimes called the world's longest highway. However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path. They passed through what are now 18 countries. The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles. Only experienced traders could return safe. The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product. Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods. But the traders carried more than just silk. Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia. Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China. Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods. Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West. Apples traveled from centre Asia to Rome. The Chinese had learned to graft different trees together to make new kinds of fruit. They passed this science on to others, including the Romans. The Romans used grafting to grow the apple. Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web. The People along the Silk Road did not share just goods. They also shared their beliefs.The silk Road provided pathways for learning,diplomacy ,and religion.* What is the best title for the passage? A) The Silk Road: Pathways for Learning B) The Silk Road:Past and Present C) The Silk Road: Routes Full of Dangers D) The Silk Road:East Meets West
(Answer)
D