Can storms in Africa cause asthma(哮喘) in the Caribbean(加勒比)? Islanders point to the desert insects that land on beaches after a 5,000-kilometer flight across the Atlantic. If they can use winds to get from one continent to another, so can clouds of dust that carry disease.
Scientists think that as Africa becomes drier, dust from expanding deserts is being blown away into Caribbean islands. A study in Barbados shows that asthma has increased 17 times since Africa’s drought(干旱) began in 1973.
Other forms of life are suffering, too. Among them are the Caribbean’s famous coral reefs( 珊瑚礁), which began dying in large numbers in the 1900s. Eugene Shinn of the U.S. Geiological Sudrvey(USGS) in Florida went to the virgin Islands to study the reefs. The tests he and his colleagues carried out showed that the coral was dying of disease caused by Africa microbes(微生物) from across the ocean.
William Sprigg of the University of Arizona is studying the problem as part of a major UN project. He says that dust is causing problems in the U.S., too.
“We are just beginning to collect the evidence of airborne(空气传播的) dust influences on human health,” he told The Washington Post. Which of the following can be the best title for this passage?
| A．Dangerous Dust | B．Dangerous Disease |
| C．Changing Weather | D．Developing Technology |
Where does the dust talked about in this passage come from?
| A．America. | B．Africa. | C．The Atlantic. | D．The Pacific. |
The increase of asthma in the Caribean is probably related to _____ according to scientists.
| A．desert insects | B．strong winds | C．airborne dust | D．dry weather |
Which of the following is NOT true about the Caribbean coral reefs?
| A．They are in Florida. |
| B．They used to be very beautiful. |
| C．They began dying in the past decades. |
| D．The African microbes have bad effect on them. |
Which of the following is TRUE about William Sprigg?
| A．He is a member of UN. |
| B．He thinks African dust also affects the US. |
| C．He has collected enough evidence about dust influences. |
| D．He is a reporter from The Washington Post. |
A new reading tool was put on the market this week for the two-to five-year-old set. It is sold for at least $389, an expensive purchase for a kid – and that doesn’t even include a $99 annual subscription (订阅) fee for games, e-books, and age-appropriate software.
That might be fine for parents willing and able to pay thousands for private nursery schools, but will the tool actually help kids learn language and reading skills more effectively than traditional books?
Probably not, said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center for Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston. “There is a sensory components (感官因素) to books that isn’t there with e-books,” he explained. “You can smell it, turn the pages, and taste it, as young kids are likely to do.”
That might help little ones become more familiar with the books, helping them learn from them, but far more important is whether a person is actually sitting with them while they’re looking at the pages.
Researchers have shown time and again that kids learn better when they’re having interaction (互动) with real people, rather than electronic voices reading to them from a computer or speaking to them from the TV.
A Georgetown University study found that kids who learned to put on gloves from watching a video took six times as long to learn the process as those who watched it shown by an adult standing in front of them.
“I’m a big believer in teaching kids to live in the digital society and use what the rest of the family uses, but they do need to be supervised,” said Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-based children’s doctor and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We don’t recommend that young kids use any type of technology for very long since they have the attention span (注意力持续时间) of a butterfly.”According to the text, the new tool .
| A．is mainly used to entertain kids |
| B．can be accepted by most families |
| C．is designed for preschool kids |
| D．can download games for free |
Why is Dr. Michael Rich against the new tool?
| A．Because it doesn’t really involve many of the senses. |
| B．Because it does great harm to kids’ eyesight. |
| C．Because kids can’t communicate with it. |
| D．Because traditional books are cheaper. |
The study mentioned in Paragraph 6 aims to .
| A．show the disadvantage of kids’ watching videos |
| B．prove the importance of interaction with people |
| C．ask parents to teach their kids to learn |
| D．prove using e-books saves much time |
The underlined word “supervised” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “”.
| A．punished | B．watched | C．encouraged | D．understood |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To introduce a new electronic device. |
| B．To teach kids how to live in a digital world. |
| C．To show parents how to help kids gain knowledge. |
| D．To throw new light on kids’ use of electronic tools. |
The other day, I received a most unexpected message in response to one of my essays: I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished. I shared your opinion …
It was signed Margaret Leibfried, who was my English teacher — a teacher who appeared at a vital (关键) point in my life and helped me believe that I could become a writer.
Thirty years ago, I entered high school as an introvert (性格内向的人) made all the more shy because I was the school’s only nonwhite student. I always felt in danger of being swept away by a sea of tall white athletes. I spent a lot of time alone, reading and writing stories, hoping to escape being teased.
Ms. Leibfried taught American literature and composition grammar, which involved the usual memorizing vocabulary, but also, thrillingly, reading novels.
Thrilling to me, that is. Many of my classmates expressed dislike for novels because they were “not real.” For once, I didn’t care what they thought. Ms. Leibfried seemed to notice my interest in both reading and writing, and she took the time to make me feel less shy; she even offered me reading suggestions, like one of her favorite novels, “The Bell Jar.”
That year’s big project was a book report, to be read aloud to the class. However, Ms. Leibfried suggested I do something “a little different.” Instead of a report, I chose a passage from “The Bell Jar” that I considered as the best to recite.
The morning of the presentations, I remember my hands sweating so badly as I walked to the front of the class that I kept my hands crossed, so I wouldn’t wipe them on my blouse.
When I finished, to my surprise, the class applauded. “Marie has picked out a particularly sensitive piece of writing and delivered it beautifully,” Ms. Leibfried said, smiling. I felt, maybe for the first time, confident.What was the author’s high school life like before she met Ms. Leibfried?
| A．Lonely. | B．Exciting. | C．Wild. | D．Busy |
In Paragraph 5, the author mainly tells us .
| A．how she cared what her classmates thought |
| B．when she became interested in “The Bell Jar” |
| C．why many of her classmates disliked novels |
| D．how Ms. Leibfried helped and encouraged her |
Why did Ms. Leibfried ask the author to recite a passage in front of the class?
| A．To test whether she had a good memory. |
| B．To make her earn the respect of her classmates. |
| C．To help deepen her understanding of “The Bell Jar.” |
| D．To guide her to build a good relationship with others. |
How did the author feel when she made the presentation?
| A．Comfortable. | B．sad. | C．Nervous. | D．Confident. |
What was the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To express her thanks to her teacher. |
| B．To discuss the issue of racial prejudice (偏见). |
| C．To introduce one of her favorite books. |
| D．To suggest the ways to gain confidence. |
Perhaps every older generation since ancient times has complained about young people, and today is no different. Isn’t it obvious that kids these days are self-absorbed social network addicts?
However, this summer, my impression of today’s kids has been restored by the story of Rachel Beckwith. She could teach my generation a great deal about maturity (成熟) and unselfishness — even though she’s just 9 years old, or was when she died on July 23.
At age 5, Rachel had her long hair cut off and sent to Locks of Love, which uses hair donations to make artificial hair for children who have lost their own hair because of cancer or other diseases. After that, Rachel announced that she would grow her hair long again and donate it again. And that’s what she did.
Then when she was 8 years old, her church began raising money to build wells in Africa through an organization called “charity: water”. Rachel was astonished when she learned that other children had no clean water, so she skipped her ninth birthday party. Rachel set up a birthday page on the charity: water website with a target of $300. Instead of presents, she asked her friends to donate $9 each to charity: water. Finally Rachel raised only $220 — which had left her just a bit disappointed.
Then, on July 20, a serious traffic accident left Rachel critically injured. Church members and friends, seeking some way of showing support, began donating on Rachel’s birthday page — charitywater.org/Rachel — and donations reached her $300 goal, and kept rising.
When it was clear that Rachel would never regain consciousness, the family decided to remove the life-support machine. Her parents donated her hair for the final time to Locks of Love, and her organs to other children.
Word spread about Rachel’s last fund-raiser (募捐行动). Contributions poured in, often they donated $9. The total donations soon topped $100,000, then $300,000.
This is a story not just of one girl, but of a young generation of outstanding problem-solvers working creatively. Which of the following is TRUE of Rachel?
| A．She died at the age of 8. | B．She was a cancer patient. |
| C．She was a warm-hearted girl. | D．She founded Locks of Love. |
The underlined word “skipped” in Paragraph 4 probably means “”.
| A．put off | B．gave up | C．expected | D．planned |
According to the text, Rachel set up the birthday page to .
| A．make more new friends |
| B．call on people to donate hair |
| C．ask her friends to send her gifts |
| D．raise money to help African children |
How does the author feel about the young generation now?
| A．Worried | B．Critical. | C．Appreciative. | D．Doubtful |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Rachel’s last fund-raiser |
| B．Rachel and her birthday page |
| C．Kids are addicted to social networks. |
| D．What’s wrong with the young generation? |
In the United States, engineering is a profession(职业) that has been historically under the control of men. Even today, it’s still true that few women become civil or chemical or mechanical engineers, but that’s something on www.EngineerGirl.org encouraging girls to change the present situation. Young women who visit the web site can find out about a great job choice they might not have considered.
"Women are not well represented in engineering and in engineering education programs and then of course, down the road, in the engineering workforce. So only about 20 percent of engineering undergraduate degrees(本科文凭) go to women, and then only about nine percent of working engineers are women."
Mary Mattis, the National Academy of Engineering, says "we know from the research that middle-school girls are at a critical point in their lives, and that it’s a time when we need to reach them, so this website aims to increase their awareness of interesting fields in engineering. On the other hand, it wants to make them understand what a wonderful productive and exciting job you can have as an engineer.”
Engineering is a demanding course of study—there is a lot of science and math, for many girls and even boys that can be challenging. But Ms. Mattis says that the EngineerGirl website stresses that engineering can also be fun and exciting.
"It’s about designing things. It’s about changing the world for people. It’s about making a difference. And, in addition, you can make a good living; you can be independent economically by becoming an engineer. All of those things are messages that girls need to get."
While most engineers go into traditional fields such as mechanical and electrical engineering, the EngineerGirl site also emphasizes engineering jobs which are related to other fields such as bio-engineering, sports engineering and --- believe it or not—chocolate engineering.
Even if you are not a girl in the target(目标) age group, there’s a lot of interesting information on the site, including biographies(自传)of some well-known women engineers.
| Title |
Website(56)______ Girls to Learn Engineering |
| Present(57)_____ for the engineering profession in the USA |
The majority of men take up the profession throughout(58) ______, while only a small number of women work as engineers. |
| (59)_____ of the website |
▲To increase young women’s(60)_____of interesting fields in engineering. ▲To make them understand what productivity and (61)_____ the job of being engineers can bring them. |
| (62)___________ of being engineers |
▲ It can be fun and exciting. ▲ It can(63)_____ the world for people. ▲ You can make a good living. ▲ You can get economic independence by (64) _____ an engineer. |
| Other fields concerning engineering |
Various chances are talked about like bio-engineering and engineering (65) _____ to sports, and even chocolate. |
The trip to the United State opened my eyes to the fact that there are a lot of similarities as well as differences between American youth and French youth.
The first difference is in appearance. Going around in the U.S., I found that American youth do not really care about their appearance. In the morning, they choose something in their closet and wear it with another thing, often of different colors and styles, without wondering whether their choices make them look strange. The reason behind this is that they don’t care what people look like, but are just interested in their ideas. I think it’s great, but it also causes problems. Since they don’t care about their appearance, they don’t really care about their weight. Often they get fat without realizing it.
There are differences in relationships too. When the American youth fall in love, they don’t really think of the future. Also, there are differences in the rules concerning behavior that is allowed. In some respects, the French are more accepting. For example, in America it is generally unacceptable to make physical display of love. Lovers, actually, can’t kiss or hold each other everywhere they want. People think that not showing love in public places is a way to respect others. On the contrary, the French youth can do almost everything they want.
As for other types of relationships, there are also big differences. Americans act differently from French people in front of unknown people. When an American girl, for example, arrives in front of people she has never met before, she will talk with them, trying to create a kind of tie between her and this new circle of people. The French girls will just think about rather than really do this kind of thing because they are too shy and lacking in self-confidence.
To finish, I noticed that in American classes, when pupils want to say or ask something, they just do it. In general, they don’t really care how the others will judge them. In France, it’s not the same case. If somebody wants to ask something, he/she will think about it before speaking up. I appreciate the freedom in Americans’ behavior, ideas, and ways of expressing themselves.The underlined word “respects” in the third paragraph probably means____.
| A．approaches | B．aspects | C．honors | D．means |
When American youth fall in love with each other, they _________.
| A．will not hold each other |
| B．will rarely display their love in public |
| C．will always think about their future |
| D．will kiss wherever they like |
It can be inferred from the passage that French youth may think more about ______.
| A．their relationship’s future | B．their public images |
| C．their physical displays | D．their lover’s ideas |
The passage is mainly about the______ between American youth and French youth.
| A．differences | B．friendship | C．similarities | D．relationships |