Somali pirates(海盗) robbed three Thai fishing ships with 77 sailors on board nearly l，200 Miles off the Somali coast，the farthest-off-shore attack to date，an officer said Tuesday.
Pirates have gone farther south and east in answer to increased patro
ls(巡逻)by warships off the Somali shore. The robbing of the three ships Sunday was about 600 miles outside the normal operation area for the international force，said a spokesman．
The spokesman said the attack so far out at sea was a clear sign that the international patrols against pirates were having a "marked effect on pirate activity in the area"．
"Once they start attacking that far out，you're not even really talking about the Somali basin or areas of water that have any connection with Somalia," said an officer，Ro
ger Middleton．"Once you're that far out，it's just the Indian Ocean，and it means you're looking at trade going from the Gulf to Asia，from Asia to South Africa."
"This is the farthest robbing to date．They are now operating near the Maldives and India,"said another officer．
The three ships--the MV Prantalay l l，12，and l 4-had 77 members on board in total．All of them are Thai, the spokesman said．Before the Sunday robbing，pirates held l l ships and 228 sailors．
Pirates have increased attacks over the past year in hopes。f catching more dollar payments. Because of increased patrols and defenses on board ships，the success rate(率)has gone down，though the number of successful attacks has stayed the same year over year.
| 1． |
The pirate attack reported in the text happened．
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| 2． |
According to the text, which can best describe the situation of the pirate problems?
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| 3． |
Which is true about the warship patrols according to the text?
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| 4． |
How many sailors were held by the pirates up to the time of the report?
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You choose to be a winner!
The Winners club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account（交易账户） where you receive a key-card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers.
No account keeping fees!
You’re no millionaire so we don't expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees !
Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make a least two deposits (储蓄)without taking them out in a month.
Convenient
Teenagers are busy—we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet …You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part-time job!
Maga magazine included
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian(so we can organize that cool key-card) but it is easy. We can’t wait to hear from you. It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!The Winners Club is a bank account intended for ________.
| A．parents | B．teenagers | C．winners | D．adults |
The Winners Club provides magazines which ________.
| A．encourage spending |
| B．are free to all teenagers |
| C．are full of adventure stories |
| D．help to make more of your money |
If you want to be a member of the Club, you must ________.
| A．be an Internet user | B．be permitted by your parent |
| C．have a big sum of money | D．be in your twenties |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To set up a club. |
| B．To provide part-time jobs. |
| C．To organize key-cards. |
| D．To introduce a new banking service. |
Television has turned 88 years old on September 7, 2015, and it has never looked better.
In its youth, television was a piece of furniture with a tiny, round screen showing unclear pictures of low budget programs. In spite of its shortcomings, it became well-received. Between 1950 and 1963, the number of American families with a television jumped from 9% to 92% of the population.
As the audience got larger, the technology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. Both of the reception and the picture improved. The major networks started broadcasting programs in color.
Even greater improvements were coming according to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967. Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became a reality. For example: All sets in the not distant future will be color instruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, more reliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work. Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expect screens to get much bigger. However, today's 3D TV is even farther away, if it's coming at all. There is some doubt whether the public would be eager to pay for it, in view of people's cold reception given to 3D movies.
But the technology with the greatest potential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), which was still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cable television was highly interactive. It wasn't cable television that gave Americans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was the Internet. He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big screen televisions for conferences, and computers providing information, at the touch of a button.
Brown ever said, “The future of television is no longer a question of what we can invent. It's a question of what we want.”What can we infer about television sets in the 1960s?
| A．They were very popular with Americans. |
| B．The reception showed no improvement |
| C．They showed black-and-white pictures |
| D．They were out of order now and then |
Which of the followings did Sanford Brown fail to predict?
| A．Television's good quality. |
| B．The invention of 3-D TV. |
| C．The future office’s model |
| D．The potential of cable TV. |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．The shortcomings of television. |
| B．The bright future of television. |
| C．The development of television. |
| D．The invention of television. |
My 17-year-old daughter went off to college and having her away from home brought back memories of watching Peter Pan when she was little. In the classic TV production, one scene in particular impressed me: when Mrs Darling puts her children into bed. As she turns off the last of the night lights, she takes one last look at the bedroom and says, “Dear night lights, protect my sleeping children.” As a mother, I know how much she loves her children.
It has been several weeks since we took our daughter to college and she seems to be adjusting (适应) well after a short period of homesickness. For us, though, it’s another story. Like most parents, I love checking in on my children at night. But now she’s gone, and I find nighttimes the hardest. I miss her most at night.
In my neighborhood, most of the parents whose kids are off to college are dealing with similar melancholy. My husband is filled with anxiety. One friend talked about getting this sick feeling in her stomach as she prepared for the college drop-off. We complained that many of us were too busy to truly enjoy being with our children while we had them.
For us moms, seeing Toy Story 3 only made the sadness worse as we watched the character Andy, who is the same age as our kids, say goodbye to his childhood as he prepares to leave for college. And it’s not just “first-time” parents like me. Two moms who have kids already well into college said the separation didn’t get any easier. “You feel like something has been taken away from inside you,” said one of them.
I imagine things will get easier with time, especially as I see my daughter adjust to college life. Meanwhile, as I keep my cell phone close to me in bed and text my daughter goodnight and sweet dreams every night, I like to think that messages serve as a night light that keeps her safe.The writer was deeply impressed by the scene in Peter Pan because ___________.
| A．she watched the scene with her daughter |
| B．the scene was very exciting and interesting |
| C．the scene taught her and her daughter a good lesson |
| D．the scene showed a mother’s deep love for her children |
After he daughter went to college, the writer ___________.
| A．didn’t get used to the change for a long time |
| B．often cried as she missed her daughter so much |
| C．realized she hadn’t done enough for the daughter |
| D．failed to have a good sleep every night |
What is the underlined word “melancholy” in Paragraph 3 similar in meaning to?
| A．Happiness. | B．Anger. |
| C．Sadness. | D．Excitement. |
According to the last paragraph, why did the writer keep her cell phone close to her in bed?
| A．To call her daughter any time |
| B．To wait for her daughter’s calls |
| C．To say good night to her daughter |
| D．To wait for her daughter’s messages |
If you want to find a part-time job or learn something different during your spare time, you can have a look at the following jobs offered by the DC Public Library.
Teens of Distinction Program
The DC Public Library offers part-time jobs for teens through the Teens of Distinction Program. Teens work for 10-12 hours per week all year long, helping the library with important tasks and projects. The Teens of Distinction Program is now hiring! To apply, you have to：
● be a DC resident
● have and maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average
● be 16 to 18 years old
● be able to work for 10-12 hours per week
● be able to work for DCPL for at least 9 months
Oh, and of course you have to impress us with your wonderful personality!
Teen Volunteer Opportunities
If you want to earn community service hours for school, Youth 202 is a good choice.
Youth 202 is a radio program created by youth and for youth. You can learn radio production skills, interview people around you, and help keep other teens to learn news, events, and anything else you think is important.
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
Every summer, teens can work here to help library customers organize books and learn lots of new skills, such as program planning, writing and media production.
On Friday, January 25 at 12：15 p．m., the application for the 2014 SYEP will be open to teens between the ages of 14 and 21.
Applications will be processed on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Space is limited this year, so teens are encouraged to apply early, and remember not to miss the deadline, Saturday, February 16.Working for the Teens of Distinction Program, teenagers will ________．
① become a DC resident
② work for 10-12 hours per week
③ work for DCPL for at least 9 months
④ have a wonderful personality
| A．③④ | B．①②③ | C．①③④ | D．②③ |
If a teenager wants to interview people around him, he should apply for a job at ________．
| A．Teens of Distinction Program |
| B．Teens Library |
| C．Youth 202 |
| D．Summer Youth Employment Program |
Who has the biggest chance to work for the 2014 SYEP?
| A．A teenager who is smart. |
| B．A teenager who is popular. |
| C．A teenager who gets high grades in exams. |
| D．A teenager who applies early. |
The aim of the text is to ________．
| A．introduce the DC Public Library |
| B．offer teenager part-time jobs in the DC Public Library |
| C．teach how to apply for part-time jobs |
| D．describe the job of library workers |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity（繁荣）. Others say that competition is bad, that it sets one person against another and that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit（追求） of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which only values the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary player, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “ I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by them is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot.
Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued．Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to disappear can we discover a new meaning in competition.Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It pushes society forward． |
| B．It builds up a sense of duty. |
| C．It improves personal abilities. |
| D．It encourages individual efforts. |
The underlined phrase “ the most vocal” in Paragraph 3 means _____.
| A．those who try their best to win |
| B．those who are against competition most strongly |
| C．those who value competition most highly |
| D．those who rely on others most for success |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Competition should be encouraged. |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |