Mobile phones have become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have prevented students from carrying mobile phone during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students will want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction(伤心的事) to students d
uring school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams.
She said some schools had tried not to let students use mobile phones at school. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children.
Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school offices. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school. They were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understood why parents would want their children to have mobile phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.Middle schools are prevented from carrying mobile phones .
| A．because they often talk with their friends | B．when they are free from homework |
| C．when they are at school | D．because they cheat in exams |
Some children get mobile phones .
| A．by telling lies to their parents | B．by making trouble in class |
| C．from their parents and friends | D．from some mobile phone users |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．No school in Australia has done anything about the mobile phone use among students. |
| B．Teachers don’t allow the students to leave their mobile phones at school offices. |
| C．Some students had their mobile phones stolen at school. |
| D．Parents give their children mobile phones for no good reason. |
It is implied（暗含） in the passage that .
| A．students shouldn’t have mobile phones at school except for some special reasons |
| B．it is impossible to stop students from using mobile phone at school |
| C．some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t use their phones at school |
D．parents should teach their children how to use mobile phones during school hours |
China news, Beijing, July 29 --- Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan. | B．10000 yuan. | C．7000 yuan. | D．Not mentioned. |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The population who need houses in China is larger than in the United States. |
| D．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it. |
| B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market. |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States. |
| D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. |
You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mother’s 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 Mother’s Day. But there’s more to the story.
The earliest Mother’s 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 were given the day off to spend with their families. A mothering cake was even served with the family meal.
In the US, Mother’s 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 stared 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 Mother’s Day and celebrating Mother’s 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 a year.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The reason why people celebrate Mother’s Day. | B．The ways people honor mothers. |
| C．The history of Mother’s Day. | D．The great contribution of mothers. |
Where was the earliest Mother’s Day celebrated?
| A．In ancient Greece. | B．In the US. | C．In England. | D．In Italy. |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．Rhea is the mother of a king in ancient Greece |
| B．not all the countries celebrate Mother’s Day in May |
| C．only mothers were given a day off on Mothering Sunday |
| D．it was in 1872 that Mother’s Day really came into being |
The last paragraph tells us that _____.
| A．all the people should celebrate Mother’s Day |
| B．only mothers are honored on Mother’s Day |
| C．understanding mothers’ work is more important than just celebrating Mother’s Day |
| D．people should celebrate Mother’s Day every day |
What is most likely to affect your success at school or at a job? The ability to read. And that goes for your kids too. The declining literacy(读写能力的下降) of our society has been a main concern of educators for a while now, and yet things are not getting better.
In most cases, how well we learn to read will depend largely on our exposure（接触） to language as children. If we hear people around us talking about all kinds of subjects as children, we naturally pick up the words and phrases they use. If we pick up a lot of words, we will learn to read better.
Much of the traditional advice to struggling readers, theses days, seems to include developing “cognitive strategies”（认知策略）. In this way, readers are asked to centre more, to think, to be interested and ask questions, to analyze, to predict, to reason, and to check their understanding, or worse still to answer questions of what they have read. In other words they are asked to become self-conscious（有自我意识的） readers. I do not agree with this approach.
Here are my several strategies for reading improvement.
Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will understand better. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.
Read material that is at your level or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a dictionary is dull, and the results of the dictionary search are quickly forgotten.
_____ If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.
Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can still enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way.
Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or report or other material for school, you may need to underline, take notes and read some parts over again. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the skills you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.In Paragraph 2, the author tells us the importance of _____.
| A．hearing people around as children | B．talking ability as children |
| C．contacting different people | D．learning different languages |
Which sentence is best to be filled in the blank in the passage?
| A．Listen as much as possible. | B．Try to use your imagination. |
| C．Great works need to be read out loud. | D．Listen first if you have trouble reading. |
It can be learned from the last paragraph that _____.
| A．you should find pleasure from reading a textbook |
| B．the habit of reading for pleasure is important |
| C．reading for school is helpful for reading for pleasure |
| D．reading for school requires different skills from reading for pleasure |
What is the purpose of the author in writing the passage?
| A．To tell us some ways to improve reading ability. |
| B．To show that poor literacy has been a big problem. |
| C．To teach us how to look for fun in reading. |
| D．To tell us some ways to pick up new words and phrases. |
A healthy amount of sunshine may be the secret to staying young. British scientists have discovered.
Vitamin D is produced naturally by the skin in response to(对…的反应) sunlight and may help to slow the ageing process and protect against heart disease, according to the study.
Researchers from King’s College London studied 2,160 women aged between 18 and 79, looking at their telomeres--- a biological marker of ageing found in DNA. As people get older, their telomeres get shorter and they become more susceptible(易受伤害的) to certain illnesses.
But the study found women with high levels of vitamin D had comparatively longer telomeres--- a sign of being biologically younger and healthier.
The study suggests vitamin D may help to slow down the ageing process of DNA, and therefore the ageing process as a whole.
Lead researcher Dr Brent Richards said, “These results are exciting because they show for the first time that people who have higher levels of vitamin D may age more slowly than people with lower levels of vitamin D.” This could help to explain how vitamin D has a protective effect on many ageing related diseases, such as heart disease and cancer.”
Professor Tim Spector, a co-author of the report, added, “Although it might sound absurd
(荒唐的), it’s possible that the same sunshine which may increase our risk of skin cancer may also have a healthy effect on the general ageing process.”
Vitamin D made by the action of sunlight on the skin accounts for 90 percent of the body’s supply, but lower levels can also be got through food such as fish, eggs and breakfast cereals(粥).
Other studies have suggested the vitamin plays a key role in protecting against cancer and heart disease. A certain amount of sunshine helps people stay young because _____.
| A．people feel happy and energetic in the sun |
| B．sunshine protects people against heart disease |
| C．vitamin D makes one’s skin look young and healthy |
| D．vitamin D may help to slow the ageing process |
From Brent Richards, we know that _____.
| A．sunlight causes skin cancer to people with high level of vitamin D |
| B．the study generally has a healthy effect on the general ageing process |
| C．vitamin D can only be got from fish, eggs and breakfast cereals |
| D．the higher levels of vitamin D people have, the more slowly people may age |
What can we infer from the passage?
A. Telomeres are important signs of ageing of the DNA.
B. Sunlight can be dangerous as it causes skin cancer.
C. Sunlight does a great deal of good to our health.
D. Vitamin D can also be gained from food. What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Secret of Staying Young |
| B．Vitamin D Helps Slow Ageing |
| C．Sunlight and Vitamin D |
| D．Sunlight and Health |
MONTREAL (Reuters) – Crossing the US-Canada border to go to church on a Sunday cost an American ＄10,000 for breaking Washington’s strict new security rules.
The expensive trip to church was a surprise for Richard Albert, who lives on the Canadian border. Albert often crosses the border like the other half-dozen people of Township 15. The nearby Quebec village of St. Pamphile is where they shop, eat and go to church. There are many such situations in these areas along the largely unguarded 5,530-mile border between Canada and the US, which in some cases actually runs down the middle of streets or through buildings.
As a result, Albert says he did not expect any problems three weeks ago when he returned home to the US after attending church in Canada as usual. The US customs station in this area is closed on Sundays, so he just drove around the locked gate, as he had done every weekend since the gate appeared last May, following a tightening of border security. Two days later, Albert was told to go to the customs office, where an officer told him he had been caught on camera crossing the border illegally.
Ottawa has given out special passes to some 300 Americans in that area so they can enter the country when Canadian customs stations are closed, but the US stopped a similar program last May. That forces the people to a 200-mile detour along hilly roads to get home through another border checkpoint.
Albert has requested that the customs office change their decisions on the fine, but he has not attended a Sunday church since. “I feel like I’m living in a prison,” he said.We learn from the text that Richard Albert is .
| A．an American working in a Canadian church |
| B．a Canadian living in a Quebec village |
| C．a Canadian working in a customs station |
| D．an American living in Township 15 |
Albert was fined because he .
| A．broke the American security rules |
| B．failed to obey traffic rules |
| C．worked in St. Pamphile without a pass |
| D．damaged the gate of the customs office |
According to paragraph 4, how can Americans in that area get home?
| A．They have to drive through the town. |
| B．They have to race across the fields. |
| C．They have to drive to the mountain area. |
| D．They have to drive in a roundabout (绕道的) way. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．A Cross-country Trip. | B．An Expensive Church Visit. |
| C．An Unguarded Border. | D．A Special Border Pass. |