One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decline in parks use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment (蚕食)?” asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids, can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive (认知的) skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters (培养) leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time, but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite（仪式）of passage.
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that cement (增强) love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.
51. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that __________.
A. Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods
B. children are expected to develop into protectors of nature
C. kids missing the sense of wonder outdoors
D. parks are in danger of being gradually encroached
52. According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will _________.
A. change wild places and creatures for the better
B. keep a high sense of wonder
C. be over-protected by their parents
D. be less healthy both physically and mentally
53. According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is ___________.
A. the natural experience in their growing up
B. the fault on the part of their parents
C. the effect of their repetitive stress from computers
D. the result of their own carelessness in play
54. In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to ________.
A. show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature
B. blame children for getting lost in computer games
C. inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around
D. encourage children to protect parks from encroachment
How do you think of the following example? Many Japanese never take the vacations they should enjoy, but with the coming of “Golden Week”, several holidays following one after another in late April and early May, they pour out of the country in the tens of thousands.
So when traveling, whether on business or for pleasure, the first thing to think about are hotels. The kind of hotel you choose is decided according to how much money you want to spend. There are small hotels with very few services, where the prices are low, or there are large hotels with all the very latest comforts, where you could spend all the money you have in the bank for a very comfortable night.
There are several different kinds of people who go to hotels. Some want to live, rather than just stay, in a hotel; hotels which are designed to meet their needs are called residential hotels. However, most people who stay in hotels are either business people or tourists on holiday.
In most hotels, there are two kinds of rooms: single rooms, for the use of one person, and double rooms, for the use of two people. In addition, in large hotels, there are also suites (套房), which include two or more rooms connected together — perhaps a bedroom and a living room. They are for people who are very rich or very important.From the example of many Japanese, we can learn that .
| A．they don’t enjoy taking vacations because it’s too expensive |
| B．they enjoy touring in “Golden Week” because it consists of several holidays |
| C．they don’t have vacations unless they go abroad |
| D．they enjoy staying at home unless they have enough time and money |
A person’s choice of a particular hotel is made mainly according to .
| A．how much he is willing to pay for a night |
| B．whether he is traveling on business or for pleasure |
| C．whether the hotel is in the central part of a city |
| D．how good the services of the hotel are |
If the president of a certain country comes, he will most probably .
| A．live in a new hotel | B．stay in a single room of a hotel |
| C．stay in a double room of a hotel | D．stay in a suite of a modern hotel |
If a person stays in a modern hotel with the latest comforts for a night, .
| A．he will become poor |
| B．he will have to pay a lot of money |
| C．he will have to spend all the money he has in the bank |
| D．he will have to draw all of his money out of the bank |
As a result of pollution, Lake Erie, on the borders of the USA and Canada, is now without many living things.
Pollution in water is not simply a matter of “poisons” killing large numbers of fish overnight. Very often the effects of pollution are not noticed for many months or years because the first organisms (生物体) to be affected are either plants or plankton (浮游生物). These organisms are the food of fish, birds, and other creatures. When this food disappears, the fish and birds die too. In this way a whole food chain can be wiped out, and it is not until dead fish and water birds are seen at the river’s edge or on the sea shore that people realize what is happening.
Where do the substances which pollute water come from? There are two main sources, sewage(污水) and industrial waste. As more detergent (洗涤剂)is used in homes, more of it is finally put into our rivers, lakes and seas. Detergents harm water birds by breaking down the natural substances which keep their feathers waterproof. Sewage itself, if not properly treated, makes the water dirty and prevents all forms of life in rivers and the sea from receiving the oxygen they need. Industrial waste is even more harmful since there are many highly poisonous materials in it, such as copper and lead.
So if we want to stop this pollution, the answer is simple. Sewage and industrial waste must be made clean before flowing into the water reservoirs. It may already be too late to save some rivers and lakes, but others can still be saved if the correct action is taken at once.Pollution in water is noticed ________.
| A．when the first organisms are affected |
| B．when many fish and birds die |
| C．when poisons are poured into water |
| D．As soon as the balance of nature is destroyed |
Living things die in a lake or river because there is no ________.
| A．water | B．fish | C．Poison | D．oxygen |
The underlined word “waterproof” in the third paragraph means “”.
| A．full of water | B．not allowing water to go through |
| C．covered with water | D．cleaned by water |
Which of the following things is /are harmful according to the passage？
| A．Industrial waste and chemicals | B．Water in the river |
| C．Coal and wood | D．plastic |
Lilian Hanson, a college student, expects to graduate in about two years. What makes Mrs Hanson different from her classmates is her age — 73 years. She has been studying at college, a few courses at a time, for 27 years.
When Lilian Hanson graduated from high school, she went to the bank to borrow money for further education. The banker gave her no encouragement. He didn’t think that a country girl should borrow money to go to college. He thought she should be at home doing work in the house or around the farm. So Lilian Hanson went home and raised a family of nine children instead of going to college.
Mrs Hanson never forgot her dream of getting a higher education. When her children were grown, she tried again. She finds the hardest part of going back to school at her age is the sitting in class for long periods of time. Because she is not as flexible（易适应的） as she used to be, Mrs Hanson often gets up and walks around between classes to keep from getting stiff（僵硬）. At the beginning of a course in using the computer, the other students all stood and gave her a warm welcome when she introduced herself and explained why she was there and what her aims were.The difference between Lilian and her classmates is that .
| A．she works harder at her lessons |
| B．she is eager to graduate from college |
| C．she is much older |
| D．she is a country girl |
Lilian wasn’t able to go to college after graduation from high school because ________.
| A．she wanted to teach herself | B．she got married |
| C．she had to look after her children | D．she hadn’t enough money |
The writer wrote the passage in order to show us that ________.
| A．a friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．one is never too old to learn |
| C．knowledge is power |
| D．education is of great importance |
Lilian could get a higher education when she was old because ________.
| A．she borrowed money from the bank |
| B．her husband and children helped her |
| C．her classmates encouraged her to get it |
| D．the reason isn’t mentioned in the passage |
Don’t drive your kids to school. Let them ride a bike to school.
In England 8.3 million children travel to school every day. It is reported that only a small number of pupils cycle to school (under 2%), although one in three children would actually like to.
Experts say that to stay healthy, children need at least one hour of moderate (适度的) exercise every day. But only six out of ten boys and four out of ten girls get that. One of the reasons is that parents have developed a habit of driving their children to school when they could just walk or ride a bike to school.
Teachers often say that children who walk or ride a bike to school are more ready to listen to their classes, ask and answer questions in class than those driven by car, and the school journey is a good chance for children to learn about road safety and other life skills. Also, for many children, riding a bike is more fun than going to school by car.
Most parents know the benefits (益处). Then what’s stopping them from letting their kids ride a bike? Safety is the number one worry for them. But actually riding a bike is not as dangerous as parents think it is.
When you decide to buy a bike, you should be aware（意识到） that a bike that is too big or too small is dangerous. Don’t try to get a bike that your child will “grow into”. Get the right size in good working order. Generally, 20-inch wheels are on bikes for 5-8 year olds; 24-inch wheels are for 9-11 year olds; 26-inch wheels are suitable for those over 11, and some older children should even take bikes with 28-inch wheels, but the main thing is that the bike fits your child. This passage is mainly written for ________.
| A．teachers whose students have asked their parents to drive them to school |
| B．children who have asked their parents to drive them to school |
| C．parents who drive their children to school |
| D．parents who drive to work |
Which of the following benefits of cycling to school is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．It will help children keep healthy |
| B． It will make children more active in class. |
| C．It will make children feel freer |
| D．It will be more fun for children. |
Parents don’t allow their children to ride a bike to school mainly because ________.
| A．their children don’t want to. |
| B．they are worried about their children’s safety. |
| C．they don’t know what size bike to choose |
| D．They haven’t enough money to buy a bike. |
Generally, what size bike is suitable for a 10-year-old child？
| A．A bike with 20-inch wheels | B．A bike with 24-inch wheels |
| C．A bike with 26-inch | D．A bike with 28-inch wheels |
Mother stayed at home cooking and cleaning while Father left for work. Two or more children took the bus to school. In the evening, all the family members got together at home again. This is what a traditional family was like twenty years ago. But now great changes have happened in British families.
As many as 2 out of 3 marriages now end in divorce(离婚), and many children have to live with one parent and only see the other at weekends or during holidays.
There has been a great increase in the number of working women with children. Many women have to work to support themselves and their children. Even in the family where there is no divorce, both parents have to work in order to survive.
Also women are no longer happy to stay at home taking care of children. Many of them have jobs and some of them can even make more money than men, the traditional breadwinners.
What’s more, the increasing number of single-parent families have caused an increase in the crime rate (犯罪率) among children in a way. It is thought that if a child doesn’t have a father, he or she will be harmed.
However the changes may be good for some people. For women it’s now much easier to have well-paid jobs. Although it is difficult to be a working mother, it is no longer seen as a bad thing for children.
As for some children, they learn how to solve problems by themselves at an early age.Which of the following statements is TRUE about a traditional family in Britain twenty years ago?
| A．Both the mother and the father had to work to support the family. |
| B．The father stayed at home taking care of the children. |
| C．The mother didn’t need to work. |
| D．A family had only one child. |
Which of the following things is NOT mentioned in the passage ?
| A．The increasing number of divorces. |
| B．The increasing number of fathers who stay at home. |
| C．The increasing number of working mothers. |
| D．The increasing crime rate among children. |
According to the passage, a “breadwinner” refers to a person who ________.
| A．has got some bread | B．is good at making bread |
| C．stays at home raising children | D．works to support the family |
From the passage we can learn that ________.
| A．In a family where the parents are not divorced in Britain，the mother doesn’t have to work. |
| B．Children whose parents are divorced have to start working early. |
| C．The father is very important to a child’s growth. |
| D．The changes in British families do no good to people. |