For Chinese students the end of their senior year is filled with studying and stress as they prepare for the college entrance exams in June. But for American high school seniors the experience couldn't be more different. The end of senior year is a celebration of their time in high school and involves parties, games and fun.
Senioritis(高年级倦怠症) is a commonly used expression. It means seniors have a disease which makes them unable to do work. This starts in April when seniors find out whether they have been accepted to university.
Unwilling to do school work, seniors have plenty of other activities to focus on.Many schools have a "Senior Show", in which only seniors are allowed to perform. Some seniors sing or dance but many of them perform skits (滑稽短剧), where they make fun of their favorite teachers or their friends. For example, a group of boys may dress up and imitate（模仿） a group of their girl friends. It is all very light-hearted.The "Senior Show" is usually a part of Senior Week, which is a week specifically dedicated (专用的) to seniors. During this week, seniors usually get academic or athletic awards they have won over their high school careers. The seniors also vote for one of their male and female classmates who they believe is the best-looking or funniest or most involved, etc. These are then published in the yearbook.
The yearbook is an important part of high school for seniors. It is usually dedicated to them and has all their pictures and some words from them in it. Then seniors go around and get it signed by their friends so they can always remember their time together.
Of course during all of this time, seniors are preparing for the Senior Prom（正式舞会）, which is an important moment in American culture. It is the most important dance in a young American's life.
The end of senior year is a truly special and wonderful time for American students. It's something they will remember for the rest of their lives.Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined sentence in paragraph 1?
| A．For American high school seniors, things are quite different. |
| B．It doesn't make difference at the end of the senior year. |
| C．For American high school seniors, it is the best time of the year. |
| D．It is the period filled with stress and workload. |
Why are seniorities unable to do work?
| A．Because they have a "disease". |
| B．Because they are busy for the university. |
| C．Because it is illegal for them to work. |
| D．There's too much for them to learn in high school. |
What activities that seniors would like to do according to the passage?
| A．School work. | B．Voting for the film star. |
| C．Singing or dance contests. | D．Senior Show and Senior Prom. |
Which is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．All students are allowed to perform in the Senior Show. |
| B．The yearbook is a reminder for the seniors. |
| C．Seniors elect the Prom Queen at the end of the Senior Prom. |
| D．Senior Prom is the most important dance for the seniors . |
What will most probably be talked about in the next paragraph of the passage?
| A．Activities on the sports field. |
| B．The graduation ceremony where they receive their high school diploma. |
| C．Their favorite film stars. |
| D．The health of seniors. |
English words don’t stay the same. People need new words for new ideas and new inventions. Some new words come into use, and some old words are used in a new way.
English can change by borrowing words from other languages. The word “tomato” was borrowed from Mexico, and “tea” came from China, and so on. Now a great many new space and science words are being borrowed from other countries, too. New words can be created in other ways. For example, some can be created by adding two words together. “Weekend” and “cookbook” are made up of two parts. Sometimes new words are shorter forms of older words. The word “photo” was made from “photograph” by cutting off the end of the longer word. “Plane” was made by cutting off the front part of “airplane”. The names of people and products can become new words. Our “sandwich” was named after a man named Sandwich and “sello(透明胶带)” was a name given by the company that first made the product.New English words are needed because.
| A．people use old words in a new way |
| B．people need a new way to speak |
| C．the world is changing in a different way |
| D．new ideas and new inventions come about quickly |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．New science words are shorter than the old ones. |
| B．The best way to make a new word is adding words together. |
| C．Some new English words are borrowed from other languages. |
| D．Most new English words are the name of a person or a product. |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．New words come into use while older words disappear. |
| B．New words can only be formed by adding two words together. |
| C．The word “tea” was borrowed from China. |
| D．The word “photo” was named after its inventor. |
The main idea of the passage is that .
| A．the English language is always changing |
| B．there are new ideas in English today |
| C．people name new products and inventions |
| D．the change of languages goes on in the world |
This passage may most probably be taken from .
| A．a story book |
| B．a science magazine |
| C．a business report |
| D．a TV advertisement |
Hu Li's heart sank due to the color of the air. Driving 140 kilometers from Tianjin City to Beijing last week, she held her breath as the air became a charcoal grey haze(炭灰色的阴霾).The 39yearold businesswoman has lived in Beijing for a decade, and this past month, she said, brought the worst air pollution she has ever seen. It gave her husband a cough and left her sevenyearold daughter housebound(足不出户).“My husband as well as I is working here, so we have no choice,” she said. “But if we had a choice, we'd like to escape from Beijing.”
The extended heavy pollution over the last month, which caused punishment in return for a day last week－called the “airpocalypse” by internet users－ has largely changed the way that Chinese think about the country's air. On one day, pollution levels were 30 times higher than levels considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO). Flights were cancelled. Roads were closed. One hospital in east Beijing reported they had treated more than 900 children for breathing issues. Bloomberg found that for most of January, Beijing's air was worse than that of an airport smoking area.
The smog's (烟雾) most threatening aspect is its high concentration(浓度) of PM 2.5 － particulate matter that is small enough to breathe deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing breathing infections, lung cancer and possibly damaging children's development. The WHO has estimated that outdoor air pollution accounts for two million deaths per year, 65% of them in Asia.Which conclusion can we draw from the first paragraph?
| A．Hu Li is living in Beijing. |
| B．Hu Li traveled to Tianjin for business. |
| C．The haze is harmful to people. |
| D．The pollution is the worst in Beijing's history. |
The haze affected people mainly in________.
| A．the way they traveled |
| B．the opinion about national air |
| C．the way they lived their life |
| D．the life style of internet |
From the passage we know high concentration of PM 2.5________.
| A．can lead to choke |
| B．can cause heart cancer |
| C．will damage children's development |
| D．will damage people's organ |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Hu Li's attitudes to Beijing's haze |
| B．The damages of Beijing's haze |
| C．WHO suggests improving Beijing's air |
| D．What caused air pollution in Beijing |
When you put down your pens at the end of the college entrance exam, 12 hard years of study will have come to an end. Forget your studies for a while. It's time to enjoy yourselves!
There are many ways to celebrate this special month of graduation. You can have photos taken with your classmates and teachers, or dine out together and exchange gifts.
High school students in Western countries such as the United States and Canada usually have a prom to mark their graduation. It’s to mark the time kids turn into young men and women. After the prom, teenagers either go to college or find a job. It means they are no longer as dependent on their parents as they were before.
At the prom, boys usually dress in dinner jackets and bow ties, though many different types of formal clothes are worn. Traditionally, girls give boys matching boutonnieres (a small collection of flowers they pin to their jackets). Girls traditionally wear formal dresses, or dress to shock or be noticed, in shiny or brightly colored materials.
Common prom activities include dining, dancing, the crowning (加冠) of a prom king and queen, and just talking to friends. In some cases, high school students collect funds for their class prom through the four years of their high school.
High schools in or near large cities may rent ballrooms at expensive hotels or, to be unusual, on a pleasure cruise boat.
But often costs are cut by simply using the school gym. Students make a lot of effort to decorate the gym to make the event special. The music played at the prom will be the most popular kinds, like rock and hip-hop.
The students elect the Prom Queen. She is partnered with a Prom King who is elected similarly. These are great honors that the pair take very seriously. The two dance with each other to celebrate their election.
Sometimes teachers and parents also go to the prom. But others like to go with friends, to whom they are soon going to be saying goodbye.
If you like the idea of a prom, why don't you and your classmates organize one for your graduation?Which of the following is an economical way to hold the prom?
| A．Renting a ballroom. |
| B．Holding it in the school gym. |
| C．Taking a cruise boat. |
| D．Wearing formal dresses. |
Which of the following clearly indicates that prom is very important to students?
| A．They take pictures at the prom. |
| B．They wear formal clothes or special clothes. |
| C．Music is played at the prom. |
| D．Teachers and parents attend it. |
Why do some students attend the prom with their friends?
| A．They will part with their friends in a short time. |
| B．They don’t like to be accompanied by their parents. |
| C．They don’t want to depend on their parents. |
| D．They want to be elected by their friends as the Prom King or Queen. |
What is the writer’s purpose to write this passage?
| A．To tell an interesting experience of high school students. |
| B．To tell how the western students spend the last days of high school. |
| C．To introduce serval ways of western students’ killing time. |
| D．To tell how western high school students usually celebrate graduation. |
Free Fun Guides
What is new about this year’s Museum Day?
| A．People will get free tickets online. |
| B．Two museums offer free admission. |
| C．People can visit a museum for free. |
| D．People can visit museums online. |
How is National Public Lands Day different from the other three events?
| A．It comes on Sept. 25. |
| B．Visitors may choose what to visit. |
| C．Admission is free for people. |
| D．Visitors may do some volunteer work. |
How can kids get a free book?
| A．By reading eighty books at any Barnes & Noble. |
| B．By downloading and printing out a passport. |
| C．By signing up a summer reading program and choosing one of the books they have read. |
| D．By signing up for a winter reading program. |
Which of the following shows the similarity between Museum Day and Free Night of Theater?
| A．They take place once a year. |
| B．They last for the same length of time. |
| C．The tickets can be used in any U.S. city. |
| D．The same number of free tickets is given away. |
I have always known my kids use digital communications equipment a lot. But my cellphone bill last month really grabbed my attention. My son had come up to nearly 2,000 incoming text messages, and had sent nearly as many. Of course, he was out of school for the summer and communicating more with friends from a distance. Nevertheless, he found time to keep a summer job and complete a college course in between all that typing with thumb.
I was even more surprised to learn that my son is normal. "Teenagers with cellphones each send and receive 2,272 text messages a month on average, " Nielsen Mobile said.
Some experts regret that all that keyboard jabber(键盘闲聊) is making our kids stupid, unable to read non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, gestures, posture and other silent signals of mood and attitude. Unlike phones, text messaging doesn't even allow transmission of tone of voice or pauses, says Mark Bauerlein, author called The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future.
Beyond that, though, I'm not sure I see as much harm as critics of this trend. I' ve posted before on how I initially tried to control my kids' texting. But over time, I have seen my son suffer no apparent ill effects, and he gains a big benefit, continuing contact with others.
I don't think texting make kids stupid. It may make them annoying, when they try to text and talk to you at the same time. And it may make them distracted, when buzzing text message interrupt efforts to noodle out a math problem or finish reading for school.
But I don't see texting harming teens' ability to communicate. My son is as accustomed to nonverbal cues as any older members of our family. I have found him more engaged and easier to communicate with from a great distance. because he is constantly available by means of text message and responds with faithfulness and speed.What is Mark Bauerlein ' s attitude to texting?
| A．It is convenient for teens to communicate with others. |
| B．It is likely to cause trouble in understanding each other. |
| C．It is convenient for teens to text and call at the same time. |
| D．It will cause damage to the development of teens' intelligence. |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．For Teens, Texting Instead of Talking |
| B．For Parents, Caring Much for Their Kids |
| C．Disadvantages of Texting |
| D．The Effect of Communication |
What does the underlined word "distracted" in the fifth paragraph mean?
| A．Confused. | B．Absent-minded. |
| C．Comfortable. | D．Bad-tempered. |