.
Some schools that are not year-round often have summer programs. In many cases, students take summer classes to repeat a subject they failed. This way they get a second chance to succeed. But schools also offer summer classes to students who want to be free of a required class during the next school year.
Generally, students in these classes want to take fewer subjects during the year because they are involved in a lot of activities. They might be involved in sports or music programs. Or both – and more.
These summer school students do the same amount of work as if they took the class during the school year. But they do it in a much shorter time, one or two months. They say it makes for a lot of reading and homework and not much time for anything else. Some education experts are worried about high school students who take summer school because of pressure to attend a top university.
The New York Times recently reported about summer classes at one of the best high schools in the United States. New Trier High School is in Winnetka, Illinois. Almost six hundred students are in school this summer. Only twenty are repeating classes that they failed. The others are in difficult courses like physics and history.
The students say taking classes like these in the summer means that they can take even more difficult classes next year. They say this shows not only that they are serious about their studies but that they have experienced the most difficult high school program.
Another place with a lot of students in summer school is Palo Alto, California. The Mercury News reported that about twenty percent of the students in the city schools are in class this summer. That is more than two thousand teenagers.
A third are in classes they failed before. The others are taking subjects they do not have time for during the normal school year.
But they are not taking subjects like physics and history. The students in Palo Alto are in classes like creative writing, film studies, literature and cooking.
63. This passage mainly talks about ______.
A. summer classes in American schools
B. why American schools offer summer classes
C. the advantages of American summer school
D. experts’ anxiety(担忧)about American summer school
64. Which of the following is NOT the reason for the students’ attending summer classes in America?
A.Repeating a subject.
B.Completing a required subject ahead of time.
C.Improving their physical quality
D.Learning some special skills
65. What’s the biggest difference between the summer classes in New Trier High School and in Palo Alto?
A.There are more students attending classes that they failed before in Palo Alto.
B.Some students in Palo Alto learn some special skills instead of taking physics and history.
C.Some students in Palo Alto take some subjects so that they can join in sports or music programs later.
D.The students’ attitude towards studies in Palo Alto is worse than that in New Trier High School.
66. What can we infer from the passage?
A.American students in schools don’t have any pressure to attend top universities.
B.Summer school students don’t do the same amount of work as they do during the school year.
C. American students attend summer schools in order to relax themselves very much.
D. American students in high schools face great pressure to attend top universities.
When it comes to protecting the privacy of their children, U.S. parents give social networks a failing grade. According to a recent survey, three out of four parents believe social networks are not doing a good job of protecting kids’ online privacy.
The survey was conducted for Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping families find the right way to deal withthe world of media and technology.
Ninety-two percent of parents said they are concerned that children share too much information online, and 85 percent said they are more concerned about online privacy than they were five years ago. In other findings, Common Sense Media found that 68% of parents are not at all confident in search engines keeping their private information safe and secure and 71% of parents said the same about social networking sites.
The survey found a great deal of concern about the online geo-location services which find and show the exact position of somebody through the net. Ninety-one percent of parents said search engines and social networking sites should not be able to share the physical location of children with other companies unless the parents approve.
“The survey results present a clear divide between the industry’s view of privacy and the opinion of parents and kids,” Common Sense Media CEO and founder James Steyer said.
“American families are deeply worried about how their personal information is being used by technology and online companies, yet the companies appear to be keeping their heads deep in the sand,” Steyer said.
IT companies need to step up but parents, children, schools and government also need to do more, he said.
“Parents and kids have to educate themselves about how to protect their information,” he said. “Schools should teach all students and their parents about privacy protection.”
“And finally, policymakers have to update privacy policies for the 21st century,” he said. According to the survey, more than 60 percent of parents want the US Congress to update online privacy laws for children and teenagers. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 6 mean?
A.Refusing to admit the problem. | B.Refusing to work with others. |
C.Trying to find a solution to the problem | D.Trying to look deep into the problem. |
According to James Steyer, the following organizations should make more contributions to protecting
children’s online privacy except __________.
A.IT companies | B.Government | C.Schools | D.Nonprofit Organizations |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Parents are worried about social networks because they lead to the children’s failing grades. |
B.Most US parents agree that the online geo-location services should be forbidden. |
C.Most USparents will support a law that limits IT companies to using personal information. |
D.US Congress has not yet passed any online privacy law for children and teenagers. |
Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?
A.US Congress to Update Privacy Policies for 21st Century |
B.Common Sense Media Warns Against Social Networks |
C.US Parents Want Better Online Privacy Protection for Kids |
D.Worry Grows for Problems Caused by Social Networks |
This is an open letter to the three people who stole my handbagfrom the department store I am employed as a shop assistant.
When you took my bag, I don’t know what you thought you were going to get. With my wages, there’s not much left on a Tuesday. I hope the £5 was useful to you. I have informed the social security office so you won’t be able to cash the child benefit next week. I hope that won’t leave you too short.But if you really need a couple of pounds, I suppose you could always cash one of the two checks left in my check book.Of course, I phoned the bank right away and the check-cashing card is no longer valid(有效的), so it won’t be much use to you.
Actually I don’t mind about the money too much. We single parents who work to support our families understand only too well what it means to be short of cash. However, I don’t suppose it went very far among the three of you. Sorry about that!
I wish you had left the bag behind and just taken the wallet and check book.There were all kinds of papers in it, and notes and things that I really need. I really think that was very inconsiderate of you . I mean, how would you like something like that to happen to you?
Well, perhaps the bag will turn up. It wasn’t even an expensive one, just a plain, old brown leather handbag. You probably dumped it in the nearest rubbish bin or threw it into the bushes. We’ve looked around, of course, but no one saw which way you went after you left the shop.
I’m not really angry with you.I know how the pressures of modern living can affect us, but I am sad at the loss of my personal things. I feel offended and helpless. The police were very icy, and they just shrugged(耸) their shoulders. “It happens all the time,” they told me. Some small comfort, I suppose. But I’ve lost just a little more faith in human nature. And as my young son said when I told him what had happened, “Why? Mummy, why us?” I couldn’t answer that question. I wonder if you can.In writing Paragraph 2, the writer wants to __________.
A.describe the contents of the bag in detail | B.give some suggestions to the three thieves |
C.tell the thieves they could hardly get any money | D.state the fact that she was careless with the money |
Which of the following is the most valuable to the writer?
A.The cash in her bag. | B.The papers and notes in the bag. |
C.The handbag itself. | D.The check books in the bag. |
What can we conclude about the police?
A.They have doubts about human nature. | B.They show sympathy for the woman. |
C.They think the case quite common. | D.They are unable to find the thieves. |
Why does the author write the letter?
A.To give the th![]() |
B.To complain about the fall ofhuman goodness. |
C.To call people’s attention to their belongings. | D.To express her affection for her valuable bag. |
Below is a web page from http://www.parents.com/.
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LIMIT: One entry per family, per child, per week. One weekly prize per child. For entries of more
than one child in a family, the entry process must be completed separately for each child. No group entries.We can learn from the passage that _________.
|
Linda, a mother with seven-year-old twins, wants to enter the competition. She must _________.
|
To enter the competition, photos must __________.
|
The purpose of the passage is __________.
|
Chilean rescued miner Edison Pena ran the New York City Marathon on November 7th , less than a month after he was rescued from a collapsed (坍塌的) mine that trapped him and the other 32 miners for 69 days. Pena ran 10 km daily through the mine’s tunnels (巷道) to beat the anxiety, wearing cut-down boots until rescuers sent him a pair of sports shoes through a narrow hole that served as the miners’ “lifeline” to the surface.
“When I ran in the darkness, I was running for life,” Pena told a news conference in New York. “I was running to show that I wasn’t just waiting around. I also wanted God to see that I really wanted to live.” The miners were discovered alive on August 22---17 days after the mine collapsed, but it took many more days for rescuers to dig a hole big enough to bring them out.
The New York Road Runners, which organizes the marathon, had invited Edison Pena to the event after hearing his story. They thought he could ride in the lead vehicle or hold the finish line tape, but Pena said last week he did not want to watch, he wanted to run. “I was very eager to take on this big challenge,” he said. “I wanted to show the world I could run.” He hoped to run the 26.2-mile race in about six hours. “I have a knee injury, but I am eager to cross the finish line,” he said.
An Elvis Presley fan who asked rescuers to send the singer’s music down into the mine, Pena broke into song at the news conference with the Presley hit Return to Sender.
On the morning of November 7th, Pena, known as “the runner” by fellow miners trapped with him
, set out to cover the course along with thousands of other runners and completed the race in five hours and 40 minutes.
When trapped underground, Pena ran a long way every day to _______.
A.find a way to get out | B.dig a lifeline to the ground |
C.keep himself from coldness | D.get rid of his uneasy feelings |
According to the passage, Pena _______.
A.was not expected to run the marathon at first |
B.failed to achieve the goal he had set for the marathon |
C.wore sports shoes while working underground |
D.was asked to sing a Presley’s song at a news conference |
During the rescue of the Chilean trapped miners, the digging of the escape hole lasted about
_________.
A.17 days | B.22 days | C.52 days | D.69 days |
Pena can be best described as _________.
A.smart-minded | B.strong-willed | C.hard-working | D.warm-hearted |
I have never heard about a “Fashion Week” outside of New York, London or Milan. But then one just happens to turn up in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan. Actually, I’m ignorant of all those countries in Central Asia, whose names are always ending in “stan.” For decades, even centuries, Central Asia has been out of focus, a blank on the map of empires. Just as the introduction from Turusbek Mamashov, from the Tourism agency of the president of the Kyrgyz Republic, says, “Throughout this Fashion Week project, we need to create a revolution in the minds of our people, preparing the country for the international tourism market. It is an opportunity as well as an investment.” What he says is right. If you just give it a glimpse (一瞥), you’ll find out that the flavor (风情) of the Silk Road is still there.
As part of the route for Silk Road traders and migrating tribes through its epic(史诗的) history, Kyrgyzstan, like other Central Asian countries, is a vast place of desert, grassland and mountain ranges. It is not widely known that Kyrgyzstan is the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai’s birthplace.
Bishkek, the place holding Fashion Week, is the capital and industrial center of independent Kyrgyzstan. It is a relaxed, handsome place with wide streets and large amounts of greenery. Especially in the autumn of November, the yellow leaves falling everywhere make the whole city a legend in fall. The mountains are just at its rear, in that case a unique scene of picturesque beauty is composed by snow-white peaks, lakes and the urban Landscape.
Today, Ala-Too Square is the center of the poetic places worth seeing in Bishkek. The “White House,” the seat of the Kyrgyzstan Government, is just at the west of the square. Behind this is Panfilov Park, a great place to head for a national holiday. The State Museum of Fine Arts is opposite, which is also called the Gapar Aitiev Museum of Applied Arts, featuring Kyrgyz jewelry, rugs and works by local artists.
One of the joys besides the scenery is the openness of the people. Bishkek is a city without a big population but mainly good-natured people from many races, 47 percent are Russian and about a third are Kyrgyz. Most travelers vote Kyrgyzstan as the most appealing, accessible and welcoming of the former Soviet Central Asian republics. It is written by a tourist that Kyrgyzstan is the country Russians most desperately want to keep: hills always covered with grass and wild flowers. Kyrgyz men always ride a horse wearing a photogenic hat. According to the passage, Kyrgyzstan used to be ___________.
A.an international fashion centre | B.an important part of Silk Road |
C.the focus of the world | D.a vast desert land in Central Asia |
The Fashion Week in Bishkek is supposed to __________.
A.start a revolution in Kyrgyzstan | B.attract foreign investment to Kyrgyzstan |
C.promote tourism in Kyrgyzstan | D.celebrate the independence of Kyrgyzstan |
Which of the statements is NOT ture according to the passage?
A.Bishkek is a crowded modern city surrounded by mountain ranges. |
B.Panfilov Park is a popular destination for local people during holidays. |
C.The majority of the population in Bishkek are Russian and Kyrgyz. |
D.The famous poet Li Bai is thought to have been born in Kyrgyzstan. |
What is the most important message the author wants to convey in the passage?
A.Reflections and thoughts on the glorious history of the Silk Road. |
B.Feelings about the ongoin![]() |
C.The geographic features and imposing history of Kyrgyzstan. |
D.The natural and cultural characteristics and attractions in Kyrgyzstan. |