Dear mommy and daddy,
I write this letter to you in hopes that you should consider your method of parenting me before I arrive. I am a joyous child. I expect love and respect, order and discipline. When I arrive, I will seem very small to you. Even though I don’t look like an adult, please understand that I am a human being.
Even though I will not speak words to you, I will know you with my heart. I will feel all your feelings, absorb your thoughts. I will come to know you more than you may know yourself. Do not be misled (误导) by my silence. I am open, growing and learning more rapidly than you can imagine.
I will keep in heart all that I see, so please give me sweet music and language that tells me how much I am loved. Give me silence to rest my ears. I will absorb all that I feel, so please wrap life in love.
I am waiting patiently to be with you. I am so happy to have the opportunity to be alive. Maybe when you see me you will remember how precious life is too!
Your joyous childAccording to the letter, why did the child write this letter?
| A．Because the child wanted to apologize to its parents. |
| B．Because the child wanted the parents to consider the method of being parents. |
| C．Because the child expressed the happiness of having such parents. |
| D．Because the child wanted to show how much it understood its parents. |
According to the text, we can infer the “child” is in fact _______ .
| A．a lovely boy | B．a joyous child |
| C．an unborn baby | D．a lovely girl |
The child in the text required all the following EXCEPT that ________ .
| A．it should be looked on as a human being |
| B．it would like to be loved by its parents |
| C．it wanted to be with the parents an soon as possible |
| D．it wanted a place full of beautiful music and love language |
The letter is likely to be printed in the part of ______ in a magazine.
| A．“Baby’s world” | B．“Current news” |
| C．“Young parent center” | D．“Science and our life” |
Europe’s deadly outbreak of a rare form of E. coli bacteria (大肠杆菌) has brought new attention to food safety issues. One of the problems when people get sick from food is that the simplest question is often difficult or even impossible to answer. Just what did the people eat that made them sick?
Of course, one way to avoid these medical mysteries is to keep dangerous organisms out of the food supply. This is easier said than done, but scientists keep looking for new ways.
Scientists in the United States have developed an experimental system that uses a high-tech optical scanner. The system is designed to identify the presence of contaminants(致污物) like soil or animal waste on fresh produce. These can be sources of E. coli. E. coli bacteria naturally live in the intestines(肠) of humans and many animals. Most kinds of E. coli are harmless but some can make people sick.
The new scanner can also show damage and imperfections that might make the produce unappealing to shoppers.
Scientists designed the system at a Department of Agriculture research center in Beltsville, Maryland. Moon Kim of the Agricultural Research Service led the team.
MOON KIM: “We were requested, we were asked, to develop a method to detect contamination in produce. So we started with the apple as the model sample.”
The scanner uses a high-speed camera placed over the conveyer belt that moves the produce along. As the apples move along the belt, the scanner captures images of each piece of fruit.
Moon Kim says the team hopes the system will be available before long.
MOON KIM: “We are targeting for development in commercial plants for the next several years.”
The scanner can direct a sorting machine to separate the bad apples from the good ones. The system is currently able to show the surface of only half the apple as it speeds by. The inventers hope to improve the process so it can show the whole surface.What is the main topic of the text?
| A．Bacteria. | B．A high-tech scanner. |
| C．A camera | D．Food safety. |
E. coli bacteria ______.
| A．broke out all over the world | B．comes from soil or animal waste |
| C．is extremely harmful to health | D．does not cause illness |
The high-tech scanner ______.
| A．can help to sort out different fruits |
| B．make the produce appeal to shoppers |
| C．can only capture images of the whole apple |
| D．can identify the presence of contaminants |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．The scanner needs to be improved. |
| B．The scanner will be available in the next several years. |
| C．Moon Kim is unwilling to develop the scanner. |
| D．The scanner is connected to a sorting machine. |
Until the 1980s, the American homeless population is mainly made up of older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.
Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis. But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.
One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not treated as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.
Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions（规定） of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.
| A．the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties |
| B．many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities |
| C．there is a serious shortage of academic facilities |
| D．homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education |
The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.
| A．350,000 | B．1,500,000 | C．440,000 | D．110,000 |
One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.
| A．the homeless children are too young to be treated as children |
| B．the homeless population is growing rapidly |
| C．the homeless children usually stay outside school |
| D．some homeless children are deserted by their families |
The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ___.
| A．the educational problems of homeless children are being recognized |
| B．the estimates on homeless children are hard to determine |
| C．the address of grade-school children should be located |
| D．all homeless people should have free education |
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E-mail:harcourt@learning.comThis advertisement aims at calling on people to ________.
| A．attend full-time universities |
| B．work part time to further their education |
| C．improve their education at home to get better jobs |
| D．earn their degrees in different ways that suit them |
Which of the following is NOT clearly mentioned in this advertisement?
| A．The way how you will get your degree. |
| B．Tuition price. |
| C．The hot fields you will be preparing yourself for. |
| D．The length of time it will take you to get a degree. |
What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?
| A．To show that their training is widely used in the country. |
| B．To show that the training program is fully supported by famous companies in the U. S. |
| C．To prove the value of their training in every area. |
| D．To show the importance of getting recognized by the most famous companies. |
It seems to the writer that the greatest attraction for people to take their training is______.
| A．its convenience |
| B．the degree’s nation-wide recognition |
| C．the economic benefit it will bring about |
| D．the hot fields the training will help people to enter |
It is quite reasonable to blame traffic jams, the cost of gas and the great speed of modern life, but manners on the road are becoming horrible. Everybody knows that the nicest men would become fierce tigers behind the wheel. It is all right to have a tiger in a cage, but to have one in the driver's seat is another matter.
Road politeness is not only good manners, but good sense. It takes the most cool－headed drivers great patience to give up the desire to beat back when forced to face rude driving. On the other hand, a little politeness goes a long way towards reducing the possibility of quarrelling and fighting. A friendly nod or a wave of thanks in answer to an act of politeness helps to create an atmosphere of good will and becomes so necessary in modern traffic conditions. But such behaviors of politeness are by no means enough. Many drivers nowadays don't even seem able to recognize politeness when they see it.
However, misplaced politeness can also be dangerous. Typical examples are the driver who waves to a child crossing the street at a wrong place into the path of oncoming cars that may not be able to stop in time. The same goes for encouraging old ladies to cross the road wherever and whenever they want to.
An experienced driver, whose manners are faultless, told me it would help if drivers learnt to correctly join in traffic stream without causing total blockages that give rise to unpleasant feelings．Unfortunately, modern drivers can’t even learn to drive．Years ago, experts warned us that the fast increase of the car ownership would demand moregive-and-takefrom all road users．It is high time for all of us to take this message to heart. According to the passage, where is it that the nicest men would become short-tempered?
| A．Beside the wheel. | B．Before the wheel. |
| C．In a cage. | D．In the driver’s seat. |
Which of the following is proper when drivers are forced to face rude driving?
| A．Fighting and quarreling. |
| B．Showing great patience. |
| C．Calling back. |
| D．Beating back |
What can be dangerous from the passage?
| A．Road politeness. | B．Road sense. |
| C．Inappropriate politeness. | D．Traffic jams. |
The following statements are right EXCEPT that________.
| A．Modern drivers are good at driving |
| B．Blockages can cause unpleasant feelings. |
| C．Modern drivers can’t master the roadmanship. |
| D．All road users should understand the meaning of “give-and-take”. |
Which section of a magazine is the passage most probably taken from?
| A．Health and life. | B．Health and society. |
| C．Human and society. | D．Human and environment. |
The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蚁堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping complex—uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning plant didn’t have to be imported.
The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings—days as warm as 31℃ commonly drop to 14℃ at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃ and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned building, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.What’s the meaning of “complex” in the second paragraph?
| A．Something that is difficult to understand. |
| B．A group of buildings together in one place. |
| C．A group of things that are connected. |
| D．A mental state that is not normal. |
How is fresh air from outside drawn out?
| A．By fans. | B．Via ceiling vents. |
| C．Through chimneys. | D．Via ceiling vents and through chimneys. |
What is NOT the factor that makes Eastgate Building work well?
| A．Skies without clouds. |
| B．Little dampness. |
| C．Daily rapid temperature changes |
| D．Seasonal rapid temperature changes. |
In general, how is the daily temperature of the building?
| A．It changes in a certain range with some exception. |
| B．It changes from one extreme to another. |
| C．It remains the same without any exception. |
| D．It is hard to endure. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners. |
| B．How air-conditioning works. |
| C．Fans make Eastgate Building’s temperature comfortable. |
| D．How Eastgate Building’s temperature control system works. |