Americans like to think of themselves as martyrs to work. At this time of the year they admire the laziness of their European cousins, particularly the French. Studies show that the average American gets only four weeks of paid leave a year compared with seven for the French and eight for the German. In Paris many shops close down for August; in Washington, where the weather is really hot, they remain open, some for 24 hours a day. But when it comes to the young, the situation is just opposite. American children have it easier than most other children in the world, including the supposedly lazy European children. They have one of the shortest school years anywhere, a mere 180 days compared with an average of 195 for OECD countries and more than 200 for East Asian countries. German children spend 20 more days in school than American ones, and South Koreans over a month more. Over 12 years, a 15-day deficit means American children lose out on 180 days of school, equal to an entire year. Americans also divide up their school time strangely. They cram the school day into the morning and early afternoon, and close their schools for three months in the summer. The long summer vacation acts like a mental eraser, with the average child reportedly forgetting about a month's worth of instruction in many subjects and almost three times that in mathematics. American academics have invented a term for this phenomenon, "summer learning loss". It is leaving American children ill-equipped to compete. They usually perform poorly in international educational tests, coming behind Asian countries that spend less on education but work their children harder. California's state universities have to send over a third of their classes to take some extra courses in English and math. In the writer's opinion, American children _ . A) are more creative than children from other countries B) are poorly equipped for the future C) can benefit much from the long vacation D) don't make full use of their school time
B
If you were on the street in Mexico today you might think you were in an operating room, surrounded by doctors. You could see many concerned people with masks trying their best to stop the swine flu . And the masks aren't only being used in Mexico. A friend of mine traveling from New York City to Florida was given a mask and a pair of gloves just after he reached the airport. And another friend went to get a haircut only to be faced with a hairdresser wearing a mask! But do the masks really work? Is covering your nose and mouth the key to stopping the swine flu? To find out the truth, ABC's reporter Sharyn Alfonsi talked with germ expert Dr. Elaine Larsen. It turns out that when you sneeze the air coming out of your mouth at a speed of one hundred miles per hour carries germs which can travel anywhere around you and make people around you infected . However, whether you become infected actually depends on the weather. As Sharyn reported, when you sneeze, the germs leave your body in small drops of water coming out of your mouth. If the weather is wet, the wet air will make the small drops bigger and heavier and they drop down towards our feet. If this happens, we won't become infected. But if the air is dry, those small drops can float higher up, making it possible for them to touch someone else's nose, mouth or their mask. Larsen says the masks can stop the germs well but after a few hours, they start to get wet, holding a lot of germs they come across and causing you to breathe them in. The masks do work, but the key to stopping the germs is changing your masks often. According to the passage a patient spreads germs mainly through _ . A) breathing B) Speaking C) touching others D) sneezing
D
Q: Undoubtedly there are a few positive characters who are able to "rise above" their environment, who are able to impress the people with whom they come in contact in spite of their clothes. Sometimes we read of some learned woman, who has "made good in her profession," who says that she has not looked in a mirror for years; but such a woman is a rare exception, and one is not safe in gambling with one's chances of success by following her. It is not the positive characters with whom we are concerned, however, for they are few and somehow manage to take care of themselves. The vast majority of the race are not so blessed, and we need to observe but little to realize that with them the reaction of clothes is an important factor. School girls should know that clothes may make a career; happiness and leadership in all the years of high school and college life may be affected by the story a Freshman's clothes tell. Many a girl with a keen mind, who has a natural disregard for clothes, perhaps, or who has not been trained in the appreciation of beauty in clothes, has lost her opportunities for leadership and self-expression which by right her brain power should have given her. One of the mental capacities which we all exercise and yet exercise most unconsciously is that of passing judgment on the people we meet. In a majority of cases the judgment is superficial and inaccurate; but the estimate is made. Some people may not get their final judgment till they hear one talk and will judge one by the tone of voice and by what is said as the true index; but the vast majority will form an opinion based largely, if not entirely, on appearance. One tells the world daily of one's ideals, ambitions or good breeding through dress; and it is told so plainly that "he who runs may read" and, perhaps, he who reads may run. Who is the text intended for? A) Book writers B) Women C) Men D) Fashion designers
A: B
(Question)
The Internet is not perfect. There are many problems with it. The Internet is not organized. There is no one in charge of the Internet. It is sometimes difficult to find what you are looking for. It is also easy to get the wrong information on the "Net". Some businessmen cheat people on the Internet. Internet thieves can steal credit card numbers. Some advertisers send spam to e-mail boxes. E-mail boxes are often filled with these unwanted advertisements. Illegal businesses can operate on the Internet. These businesses sell X-rated materials, cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers. The Internet has websites with information about making bombs, breaking the law and terrorism. Criminals can fool people, especially children, in chat rooms. They can spread poisonous information and attack new members. The Internet is the greatest advance in communication since human emerged. But it can also like a dark alley in a dangerous part of town. Parents need to set parental controls on their children when they use the Internet. This will keep some of the bad material away from their children. The Internet can be dangerous to computers, too. Some people who have evil intentions enjoy causing problems for other people they don't even know. They create computer viruses. A computer can get virus by downloading a program that has a virus in it. Some virus come by e-mail. A virus can destroy the data a person has saved in computer files. A virus can cause a computer to crash. A virus can also reproduce itself! It can send copies of itself to everyone on a person's e-mail address list. Then these people's will have the same problems and can't work normally! We can infer from the passage that the key to solving the problems with the Internet is _ A) to improve the computers B) to find a medicine to kill computer viruses C) to order people not to use the Internet D) to improve people's moral level .
(Answer)
D