DIwrotetotheWhiteHouseaskingab-优题课

A
An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起）the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point, putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultimately as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.
What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?

A．To invite authors to guide readers.

B．To encourage people to read and share.

C．To involve people in community service.

D．To promote the friendship between cities.

According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?

A．In large communities with little sense of unity

B．In large cities where libraries are far from home

C．In medium-sized cities with a diverse population

D．In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached

The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean_____.

A．exchanged ideas with each other

B．discussed the meaning of a word

C．gave life experience

D．used the same language

According to Nancy, the degree of students of the project is judged by ______.

A．the careful selection of a proper book

B．the growing popularity of the writers

C．the number of people who benefit from reading.

D．the number of books that each person reads.

A generation of parents raised according to the permissive principles of postwar childcare experts is rediscovering the importance of saying "No" to their children．They are beginning to reclaim the house as their own．Even spanking（打屁股）is back．
While today's parents do not want to return to the Victorian era （时代）—when children were seen, spanked, but not heard—there is a growing acknowledgement that the laissez-faire approach produced a generation of children running rings around puzzled parents struggling to restore order．
Janthea Brigden, a trainer with Parent Network, says: " The problem is that parents don't want all that controlling things．What they want is to be able to discipline （管教） their children through teaching and encouraging．"
According to Steve Biddulph, the author of More Secrets of Happy Children, the permissive era was often just an excuse to ignore children．He believes discipline involves firm but friendly teaching and does not need to involve punishment．He teaches a method called "stand and think" , where a child is helped to figure out what is wrong and how to get it right．Mr．Biddulph understands parents using spanking, but lie is against it．"The happiest children are those who know Mum and Dad are in charge．As children grow into their teens, more negotiation can take place, such as: Prove you can be home safely by 1l pm, and we might let you stay out till midnight．"
" There is no good evidence that an occasional, properly administered spanking is harmful in any way．" says John Rosemond, an American who has won a huge following by calling for "parent power"．It is pure nonsense to believe that restricting children to their room as a punishment could make them have negative feelings about the room and cause sleep problems．
Mr．Rosemond tracks the overturning of traditional family values to the end of the Second World War．He blames the change of the American family into a child-centered, self-respect-oriented （以…为导向） unit on psychologists and social workers, who for 30 years have weakened traditional approaches．Previous generations of American parents raised children not by the book, but by self-evident truth, he says．Children should be seen and hot heard．If you make your bed, you'll have to lie in it．He says that those phrases contain time-honored understanding and principles that helped children to develop what we refer to as the "three Rs" of parenting: respect, responsibility and resourcefulness．
Which is closest to the meaning of the underlined word "laissez-faire" in the second paragraph?

A．Let it be．	B．Go for it．
C．Get it right．	D．Take it easy．

If his child did something wrong, Steve Biddulph would ______．

A．give him a good beating

B．lock him up in a dark room

C．ask him to stand in a corner for hours

D．help him find out the problem and solution

By mentioning the underlined part in the last paragraph, Mr．Rosemond ．

A．blames parents for ignoring children's rights

B．reminds parents to communicate more with children

C．encourages parents to involve children more in family affairs

D．explains how previous generations of parents raised children

What does the passage mainly talk about?

A．The causes of discipline problems．

B．The best way to discipline children．

C．Different opinions on ways of parenting．

D．Differences between parents of different times

The Netherlands on Monday introduced its first-ever " intelligent bicycle , fitted with electronic devices to help bring clown the high accident rate among elderly cyclists in the bicycle-mad country．

Developed for the government by the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research （TNO） , the intelligent bicycle, runs on electricity．A commercial-available bicycle is expected to be on the market in the next two years and should sell for between 1, 700 to 3, 200 euros per bicycle．
The devices on the bike are linked through an onboard computer with a vibrating （震动的） warning system fitted in the bicycle's saddle and handlebars to warn cyclists of the coming danger.
The saddle vibrates when other cyclists approach from behind, while, the handlebars do the same when barriers appear ahead．
" Accidents often happen when cyclists look behind them or get a fright when they are passed at high speed," said Maurice Kwakkernaat, one of TNO's research scientists involved in the project．"The onboard system technology has already been at work in the car industry," he said．
'' More and more elderly people are using a bicycle, not only for short distances, but also for longer distances," Dutch Environment and Infrastructure Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen told AFP．"This type of bicycle is truly needed in the Netherlands because it will help us bring down the number of elderly people who are injured every year and allow them to continue to enjoy cycling," she said．
In the Netherlands, bicycles outnumber the population of 17 million by at least one million and there are some 25,000 km of bicycle path in the country．Those statistics are set to grow as more and more people take to two-wheeled transport, leading to an increased risk of injury．
Last year, 184 cyclists died in the country, of which 124, or 67% , were older than 65, according to the Central Statistics Office．The year before, 200 cyclists died, the majority of victims also being elderly．
The current model weighs 25 kilograms but researchers are working on making the onboard systems smaller．
The intelligent bicycle is aimed to ______．

A．protect the environment

B．help reduce traffic pressure

C．popularize the use of bicycles

D．improve safety for elderly cyclists

Which part of the intelligent bicycle will vibrate when other cyclists approach it from behind?

A．The saddle．

B．The wheels．

C．The handlebars．

D．The onboard computer．

We can learn from the passage that ______．

A．the elderly ride bicycles wherever they go

B．the elderly are planning to give up cycling

C．the number of elderly cyclists is decreasing

D．the accident rate among elderly cyclists is high

Which is the best title for the passage?

A．A Test Bicycle

B．Elderly Cyclists

C．A Smart Bicycle

D．A Bicycle-mad Country

All you have is what you bring with you
I've always felt a need to be prepared for whatever situation I've found myself in．
My mother once took me to a store when I was seven years old．She and I got to the checkout counter, and she realized she had forgotten a couple of things on her shopping list．She left me with the cart and ran off to get what she needed．
"I'll be right back．" she said．
She was gone just a few minutes, but in that time, I had loaded all the things on the belt and everything was rung up．I was left staring at the cashier, who was staling at me．"Do you have money for me, son?" she said．"I'll need to be paid．" -
I didn't realize she was just trying to amuse herself．So I stood there, ashamed and embarrassed．
By the time my mom returned, I was angry．"You left me here with no money! This lady asked me for the money, and I had nothing to give her I"
Now that I'm an adult, you'll never catch me with less than $200 in my wallet．I want to be prepared in case I need it．
I've always admired people who are over-prepared．In college, I had a classmate named Norman．One day he was giving a presentation on an overhead projector and in the middle of his talk, the light bulb （灯泡） on the projector blew out．We would have to wait ten minutes until someone found a new' projector．
"It's Okay．" he announced．"There's nothing to worry about．"
We watched him walk over to his bag and pull something out．He had brought along a spare bulb for the Overhead projector．Who could even think of that?
I often told my students, " When you go into the wilderness, the only thing you can depend on is what you take with you．" And essentially, the wilderness is anywhere but your home or office．So take money．Pack a light bulb．Be prepared．
Why did the cashier ask a seven-year-old boy to pay for the purchases'?

A．The boy was shopping by himself．

B．The boy's mother asked her to do so．

C．The cashier was playing a joke on him．

D．The boy's mother was away for something else．

Why was the boy angry with his mother?

A．His mother left him alone．

B．He lost face in front of the cashier．

C．His mother forgot to buy something．

D．He had just quarreled with the cashier．

Why did Norman bring a spare bulb with him?

A．He was always well-prepared．

B．His presentation was about bulbs．

C．He knew the classroom equipment was of poor quality．

D．He predicted the bulb on the projector would blow out．

What do the two stories tell us?

A．Accidents happen almost every day．

B．Money is the key that opens all doors.

C．In fair weather, prepare for a rainy day．

D．Chances favor those who are well-prepared．

Things Your Pilot Won't Tell You
You may not be getting the airline you paid for．
You may go to an airline website and buy a ticket, and get onto an airplane that has a similar name painted on it, but half the time, you're really on a regional （地方的） airline．The regionals aren't held to the same safety standards as the majors: their pilots aren't required to have as much training and experience, and the public doesn't know that．
—Captain at a major airline
If you're a nervous flier, book a morning flight．
The heating of the ground later causes bumpier （颠簸的） air, and it's much more likely to thunderstorm in the afternoon．
—Jerry Johnson , pilot, Los Angeles
The smoothest place to sit is often over or near the wing．
The bumpiest place to sit is in the back．If you're in the middle, you don't move as much．
—Patrick Smith, pilot, and author of Cockpit Confidential
Sit in the front if you want fresher air．
The general flow of air in any airplane is from front to back．So if you're really concerned about breathing the freshest possible air or not getting too hot, sit as close to the front as you can．Planes are generally warmest in the back．
—Tech pilot at a regional airline, Texas
You never know where the safest seat is．
There is no safest place to sit．In one accident, the people in the back are dead; in the next, it's the people up front．
—John Nance, aviation safety analyst and retired airline captain, Seattle
I've been struck by lightning twice．
Most pilots have．Airplanes are built to take it．You hear a big boom and see a big flash and that's it．You're not going to fall out of the sky．
—Charlotte, pilot for a regional earner,．North Carolina
People don't understand why they can't use their cell phones．
Well, what can happen is 12 people will decide to call someone just before landing, and I can get a false reading on my instruments saying that we are higher than we ideally are．
—Jim Tilmon, retired American Airlines pilot, Phoenix
Jerry Johnson advises nervous fliers to ______．

A．sit in the back

B．fly in the morning

C．fly with major airlines

D．avoid flying in bad weather

The best seats for those who need fresh air are ______．

A．in the front	B．in the middle
C．in the back	D．near the wing

Passengers' use of cellphones before landing is likely to ______．

A．increase the risk of being struck by lightning

B．make it difficult for pilots to control the plane

C．cause the instruments of the plane to break down

D．affect pilots' judgment about the height of the plane