As an effect of the high fuel prices spent on bus transportation, some American schools are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.
Having been approved for three years and beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school from Tuesday to Friday. Each school day will be 65 minutes longer. Officials say the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs.
In new Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in 1974 because of the Arab oil boycott(抵制). Now, 17 out of 89 districts use it.
In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school four days a week since 1995. Superintendent(主管人)Tim Creal says the change has saved about one million dollars over just the past eight years. He sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time, and activities that used to take up class time are now held on non-school days. He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes.
A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers, but working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day.
1. According to Tim Creal, what makes it possible to have even fewer days in school?
A. The increasing number of private tutors.
B. The development of teaching methods.
C. The increase in the number of online classes.
D. The growth in the income of Americans.
2. It can be learned from the passage that______
A. students will be in school from Monday to Tuesday.
B. four-day week was first carried out in South Dakota.
C. Maccray will save one million dollars every year.
D. Minnesota state has approved the four-day week plan.
3. The passage is mainly about______
A. some school’s four-day week plan B. districts using a four-day week.
C. how to save on transportation fees. D. expense of school transportation.
In the southern part of America, when somebody has a birthday, often family or friends, or both, will arrange a party. The party could be elaborate(精心准备的)and include a meal or may be simple with a birthday cake and drinks. One does not plan, nor give, one’s own birthday as is the custom in some cultures. At a party there is usually a decorated cake, often with the words “Happy Birthday” and with the name of the person written on the top of the cake. Sometimes there is also one candle for each year of the person celebrating the birthday before the cake is cut. While blowing out the candles, the person makes a wish for something pleasant.
Usually those invited to a birthday party will bring a gift for the person honored. Gifts given by friends do not have to be expensive, but the family of the birthday person will spend whatever they can afford on a gift.
Christmas parties also are very popular in the South. Often this is the only time during the year that some people see acquaintances(熟人). These parties can be elaborate or simple, ranging from a buffet(自助餐)to a reception called “open house (家庭招待会)”. If you are invited to one of these, you don’t need to take a Christmas gift, as it is not customary to take the hostess a gift every time you are invited to a party or a meal. However, if you wish to take a gift, it should only be something useful and inexpensive and should be given to the hostess at the door as you enter the party. Usually gifts of Christmas food treats are the most appreciated.On one’s birthday, before blowing out the candles, he or she will______.
| A．wear beautiful clothes | B．make a wish |
| C．invite friends | D．eat birthday cake |
This passage mainly tells us about __________.
| A．two kinds of parties in the southern United States |
| B．how to arrange a birthday party |
| C．how to arrange a Christmas party |
| D．who will arrange a party |
In southern America, birthday parties are often arranged by _________.
| A．friends | B．oneself |
| C．family | D．Both A and C |
Which of the following is true?
| A．For a birthday party, the cake is often cut before candles are blown out. |
| B．For a birthday party, neither friends nor the family will buy expensive presents. |
| C．If you take a gift to a Christmas party, you’d better take something useful and inexpensive. |
| D．It’s customary to take the hostess a gift when you are invited to a party. |
What kind of gift is the best if someone is invited to a Christmas party?
| A．Expensive things | B．Candles |
| C．Food | D．Money |
Recently American researchers suggested people on Wednesday to take more vitamin D to lower risk of cancer, saying studies showed a clear link. “Our suggestion is for people to increase their intake , through diet or a vitamin supplement,” Dr. Cedric Garland said in a telephone interview.
Garland's research team reviewed 63 studies, including several large long-term ones, on the relationship between vitamin D and certain types of cancer worldwide between 1966 and 2004. “There's nothing that has this ability to prevent cancer,” he said, urging governments and public health officials to do more to fortify (增强) foods with vitamin D. Garland is part of a University of California at San Diego Moores Cancer Center team that published its findings this week online in the American Journal of Public Health. Vitamin D is found in milk, as well as in some fortified orange juice, yogurt and cheeses, usually at around 100 international units（IU）a serving. “People might want to consider a vitamin supplement to raise their intake to 1000 IUs per day” Garland said， adding that it was well within the safety guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences.
The authors said that taking more vitamin D could be particularly important for people living in northern areas, which receive less vitamin D from sunshine.
“African Americans, who don't produce as much of the vitamin because of their skin colour, could also benefit significantly from a higher intake,” the authors said.The underlined word in the first paragraph probably means _____.
| A．income | B．digest | C．drown | D．uptake |
Who can Garland probably be?
| A．A public health official | B．A scientist |
| C． A health researcher | D．A doctor |
According to the passage, people are advised to take more Vitamin D, because__.
| A．t is not taken enough every day |
| B．it is nutritious |
| C．it can’t harm people’s health |
| D．it can lower cancer risk |
Which of the following food can lower people’s chance of getting cancer?
| A．Milk |
| B．Fortified orange juice |
| C．Fortified yogurt |
| D．All of the above |
People from which area should take more Vitamin D according to the passage?
| A．American people | B．African people |
| C．Asian people | D．European people |
You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mothers’ Day? Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it — those are what probably come to mind for many people when they think of Mothers’ Day. But there’s more to the story.
The earliest Mothers’ Day celebrations were held during spring in ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the mother of the gods. During the 1600’s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday. On this day even servants(仆人) were given the day off to spend with their families. A mothering cake was even served with the family meal.
In the US, Mothers’ Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the famous song The Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested it as a day devoted to peace. But it didn’t really become popular until 1907 when Anna Jarvis started a campaign to honor mothers. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil War. The US isn’t alone in devoting a day to mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also honor their mothers in May. Other countries honor their mothers at different times of the year.
Learning more about Mothers’ Day and celebrating Mothers’ Day are important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mother, or grandmother, or aunt has really done for you. And that will certainly be appreciated more than one day in year. Where was the earliest Mothers’ Day celebrated?
| A．In ancient Greece. | B．In the US. |
| C．In England. | D．In Italy. |
According to Paragraph 3, we know that ____________.
| A．Julia Ward Howe composed a song about Mothers’ Day |
| B．American people started to celebrate Mothers’ Day in 1907 |
| C．Anna Jarvis attached great importance to mothers |
| D．Mothers’ Day celebrations are held at different times in the US |
We can learn from the passage that ______________.
| A．Rhea is the mother of a king in ancient Greece |
| B．not all the countries celebrate Mothers’ Day in May |
| C．only mothers were given a day off on Mothering Sunday |
| D．it was in 1872 that Mothers’ Day really came into being |
The last paragraph tells us that ____________.
| A．all the people should celebrate Mothers’ Day |
| B．only mothers are honored on Mothers’ Day |
| C．understanding mothers’ work is more important than just celebrating Mothers’ Day |
| D．people should celebrate Mothers’ Day every day |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The reason why people celebrate Mothers’ Day. |
| B．The ways people honor mothers. |
| C．The history of Mothers’ Day. |
| D．The great contribution of mothers. |
The events of Saturday night in Kunming are deeply engraved in the mind of Xie Qiming, who narrowly escaped death in the terrorist attack at the city's railway station.
The 48-year-old policeman intervened（介入） to stop the butchering of unarmed civilians, saving many from death and injury, but he was injured in the process. Lying in a hospital bed, his head and nose marked by serious hacking （砍）wounds - one more than 20 centimeters long - Xie recounted（详细叙述） his actions on the day he describes as a nightmare. "I shot at them but fell to the ground during the fighting. After the shots, the terrorists turned their attention to the police and several of them surrounded me and stabbed（刺，戳） me like crazy," he said. "There is no humanity in them."
Xie is from the Beijinglu Police Station, the closest to the attack, and four police officers from the station were the first to respond. He survived because he was wearing a bulletproof vest, which was damaged by the attackers. When the officers arrived, the attackers were running out of the ticket hall, attacking people with long knives.Xie and his colleagues tried to stop the attack, which is when Xie was injured. In addition to the deep cuts, his skull（颅骨） was fractured(裂缝), and at the time of writing he was awaiting further surgery.
Zhou Hongmei, director of the Medical Reform Office at the Yunnan Health Department, said a team of medical experts including 29 doctors had arrived in Kunming by Monday night. They have been working at the five hospitals treating victims of the attack. Chen Min, a Neurology Department nurse at Kunming First People's Hospital, said the department usually had seven nurses in the daytime and three at night. "But all the other nurses who were not on duty returned to the hospital voluntarily on Saturday night," she said. In the past three days, none of them had more than 10 hours of rest.
"The important factor in saving lives in such incidents is treatment without delay," said Chai Wenzhao, associate director of the Intensive Care Unit （重症监护室）in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Chai has participated in many emergency rescue efforts. He said that the victims will need psychological advice once their physical injuries have been dealt with, because the emotional impact of such an incident can be severe. Four psychologists from Anding Hospital in Beijing have begun treating some of the victims.What does the underlined word “engraved” mean in the passage?
| A．feared | B．disappointed |
| C．attacked | D．impressed |
What can we learn from Zhou Hongmei,?
| A．Victims of the attack have been treated by a team of medical experts. |
| B．the victims will need psychological treatment, because the emotional impact of such an incident can be severe. |
| C．Treatment without delay should be given to save lives in such incidents . |
| D．The attackers had obviously prepared and practiced for a long time, |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Survivors recount nightmare |
| B．Many people was injured in the attack |
| C．A terrorist attack happened in Kunming. |
| D．Police stopped the terrorist attack. |
A recent experiment held in Japan shows that it is almost impossible for people to walk exactly straight for 60 metres. Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology found 20 healthy men and asked them to walk as straight as possible to a target 60 metres away at normal speed. Each man had to walk on white paper fixed flat to the floor wearing wet colored socks. The footprints revealed（展现） that all walked in a winding rather than a straight line. Researchers found that people readjust（调整） the direction of walking every few seconds. The amount of the winding differed from subject to subject. This suggests that none of us can walk in a strictly straight line. We walk in a winding way mainly because of a slight structural or functional imbalance of our limbs (四肢). Although we may start walking in a straight line, several steps afterwards we have changed direction.
Eyesight helps us to correct the direction of walking and leads us to the target. Your ears also help you walk. After turning around a lot with your eyes closed, you can hardly stand still, let alone walk straight.
It’s all because your ears help you balance. Inside your inner ear there is a structure which contains liquids. On the sides of the organ are many tiny hair-like structures that move around as the liquid flows. When you spin (旋转) the liquid inside also spins. The difference is that when you stop, the liquid continues to spin for a while. Dizziness is the result of these nerves in your ear. When you open your eyes, although your eyesight tells you to walk in a straight line, your brain will trust your ears more, thus you walk in a curved line.The experiment held in Japan proved that _______.
| A．none of the participants finished the 60 metres |
| B．all the participants had a good sense of direction |
| C．the experiment was done in different ways |
| D．the participants kept readjusting（调整） their direction of walking |
The underlined word “subject” in Para. 1 refers to ________.
| A．a person with a functional imbalance |
| B．the subject one studies at school |
| C．a person chosen to be studied in an experiment |
| D．the direction of walking |
The purpose of writing the article is to ________.
| A．prove that ears and eyes help us to walk straight |
| B．point out the importance of noticing everyday science |
| C．explain why we can hardly walk in a strictly straight line |
| D．give background information about a latest study |