Child labor — the employment of children in industry, often against their will — has been a problem for many years. Over a hundred years ago, Charles Dickens shocked many of his readers when he described the conditions under which young children worked in British factories. The conditions Dickens described continue almost unchanged today in many parts of the world. The only difference is that today employment of children is confined(limited)to small industries and family businesses, such as hotels, restaurants and particularly farms, rather than to large factories.
Girls suffer more from child labor practices than boys. Many of them are forced to start work when they are only ten years old. Although the work they are given to do is often light, it is often harmful to the health. Recently, children as young as six years were found to be working in Asian factories, and the children were working from eight to fourteen hours a day in overcrowded and unhealthy working conditions. Sometimes a whole family group is employed, with the payment going to a parent or older relative. The children not only receive nothing or very little for their long hours of work, but also they are prevented from attending school. Therefore, when they become older they are unable to do any other kind of work.
The solution to the problem of child labor is clearly better laws to protect young children, greater supervision(监督)of industry and heavier fines for those who break the laws. Only in this way can young boys and girls be allowed to enjoy the most valuable time of their lives—childhood.Which’s the main idea of the first paragraph?
A.Children are often willing to work in large factories. |
B.Most children are working in British factories. |
C.The poor working conditions of child labor in Dickens’ novel. |
D.The working conditions for children are similar to those a hundred years ago. |
Girls’ work is ____.
A.not harmful to the health though it is heavy |
B.not harmful to the health because it is light |
C.harmful to the health though it is light. |
D.harmful to the health because it is heavy |
Young children go to work ____.
A.because they are forced to | B.in order to be skillful in a certain kind of work |
C.in order to be paid well | D.in order to earn money for education |
To solve the problem of child labor, the writer suggests the following BUT ____.
A.looking over factories more closely |
B.raising their payment and improving the system of education |
C.improving laws of protecting children’s interests |
D.punishing lawbreakers with severer fines |
News Review
APEC Blue People in Beijing got the saying after the APEC meeting in Beijing. It refers to(指) the clear blue sky during the meeting. To get such a blue sky, many factories in Beijing and nearby cities stopped work, and the number of cars on the road was cut.
A Warning Ticket A 24-year-old woman in Nanjing was given a warning ticket for eating food on the subway. Eating is not allowed on Nanjing subway. Up to now, 2,698 people have been punished(惩罚) because of their eating, smoking or selling goods on the subway.
A Teacher-free Exam Recently, students at Ningbo Huamao Foreign Language School in Zhejiang took their mid-term exam –a teacher-free exam. After handing out the exam papers, the teachers left the classroom, leaving the students to take the exam without being watched. They only came back to collect the papers at the end.
A Tomato Fight Do you want a tomato shower? Come to the “tomato fight” in Spain! Once every year, people in the town of Bunol throw tomatoes at each other. Don’t worry. It’s not a real fight. People do this only for fun.APEC Blue refers to _____ in Beijing during the APEC meeting.
A.the factories | B.the clear blue sky |
C.the people | D.the cars on the road |
A 24-year-old woman in Nanjing was given a warning ticket for _____ on the subway.
A.drinking | B.smoking |
C.eating food | D.selling goods |
In a teacher-free exam, students take their exam _____.
A. at the end of the term
C. outside the classroom
C. without giving answers
D. without being watchedIn the town of Bunol, Spain, people throw tomatoes at each other _____.
A.to have fun | B.to enjoy dinner |
C.to take a shower | D.to start a fight |
Have you ever returned a book late to the library before? If so, you may pay a small fine(罚款). How much would you have to pay if the book is returned 65 years late?
A high school in Washington, Us had to deal with such a problem recently. A copy of Gone with the Wind was finally returned to its library 65 years late.
However, the school said that it would not ask Wayne to pay the fine, though that would be about $475.
The book was borrowed out of the library of the high school in 1949, and disappeared until it was found in Maine, Us by Wayne. Wayne found the book in his father’s basement(地下室) and then offered to send it back to the school.
“I feel very sorry about that,” Wayne said.
“We’re very pleased to have the book back. Wayne did the right thing,” Lori Wyborney, headmaster of the school said.The book was borrowed out of the library of the high school _____.
A.in 1949 | B.in 1965 |
C.in 1975 | D.in 2014 |
Gone with the Wind is the name of _____.
A.a library | B.a school |
C.a book | D.a magazine |
____ offered to send the book back to the school.
A.Wayne’s father | B.Wayne |
C.Lori’s headmaster | D.Lori |
Have you noticed your life becoming a little easier? Now, when you go to a certain shopping mall, you can enjoy its free Wi-Fi there. When you want to take a taxi, you can book one with your phone. In fact, all these can be seen as the basic parts of a smart city.
The idea of a smart city was brought up by US company IBM in 2010. Generally, a smart city is a city that uses digital technologies such as the Internet to improve city planning, save money and resources, and make our life convenient. How smart can a city be? Here are great examples that we can learn from.
In 2009, Dubuque became the first smart city in the US. The city used smart water meters to take the place of traditional water meters. They can detect(探测〉water waste and leakage(泄漏)and send data to let the house owner know. The same system is used for other city resources like electricity and natural gas. This way, people know how they use their resources and are glad to help reduce waste.
Santander in Spain also gives us a look at the future. If people point a phone toward a nearby bus stop, the phone immediately shows all bus lines that serve the stop as well as their arrival times. The government organized a research team and provided an App(应用程序〉that collects data on almost everything: light, temperature, and the movements of cars and people. Opening the App near a supermarket provides immediate information on specialAccording to the passage, which of the following is RIGHT?
A.Digital technologies are used in smart cities. |
B.An English company first raised the idea of a smart city. |
C.A smart city is mainly made up of free Wi-Fi and phones. |
D.A smart city is still an idea and hasn’t come into being. |
The underlined word “convenient” is the closest in meaning to _____.
A.useful | B.normal |
C.suitable | D.easy |
Compared to traditional water meters, smart water meters do better in .
A.cleaning water | B.supplying water |
C.saving water | D.producing water |
The example of Santander shows the use of smart systems in aspects(方面)EXCEPT _____.
A.business | B.health care |
C.traffic controlling | D.public transportation |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Digital technologies help improve city planning. |
B.Smart cities will make our future life better and smarter. |
C.Smart cities are very common in both Dubuque and Santander. |
D.Spain and the US take the leading position in building smart cities. |
Canada Day
Since 1982, July 1st has been officially known as Canada Day. Canadians of all ages take part in this festival across the country.
Canada Day is the year’s biggest national party. In many towns and cities, the government organizes a lot of events, often outdoors. These include parades(游行), concerts, festivals, firework displays and ceremonies for new Canadian citizens(公民).The celebrations often have a patriotic mood. Canada’s national flag, a symbol for Canada Day, can be seen everywhere and a lot of people paint their faces red and white, which are Canada’s national colors. The celebrations in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, are especially grand and exciting.
In the province of Quebec, many home rentals(租赁)start on July 1st and last for exactly one year, and many people in Quebec spend Canada Day moving from one house to another. So in Quebec, Canada Day is also known as Moving Day.
Many organizations, businesses and stores are closed this day. Only some bookstores, hospitals and gas stations may be open. Post offices are closed, too. As Canada Day falls in the Canadian summer holiday period, all schools are closed as well. In some areas, special services are provided for large events. The concerts, parades and festivals may cause some traffic jams.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.Canada Day falls on the first day of June. |
B.Canada Day was celebrated before 1982. |
C.Canada Day is celebrated throughout Canada. |
D.Canadians except new citizens celebrate Canada Day. |
The underlined word “patriotic” means _____ in Chinese.
A.温馨的 | B.爱国的 |
C.肃穆的 | D.紧张的 |
Canada Day is known as Moving Day in Quebec because on this day _____.
A.people think it lucky to move to new houses |
B.people look for houses from one place to another |
C.people like moving from house to house to visit friends |
D.people move home when new home rentals go into effect |
From Paragraph 4, we know that on Canada Day _____.
A.no student goes to school |
B.traffic jams happen everywhere |
C.all Canadians stop working |
D.few businesses and stores are closed |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about Canada Day?
A.Background | B.Symbol. |
C.Public life. | D.Events and activities. |
Teenager Jake Deham was skiing(滑雪) with his family in the USA when he fell over and lost one of his skis. His family didn’t know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of the mountain, there was no sign of Jake.
Jake couldn’t find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn’t work out the right way to go.
It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm(镇定). At home, Jake watched a lot of programmes about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programmes and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn’t blow into it. Outside his hole, the temperature fell to a dangerous-15℃ that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.
But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programmes always said,“ If you are lost, you should find someone else’ s tracks(足迹) through the snow and follow them.” “I wanted to live my life.” remembers Jake.“So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those.” He walked and walked and finally he saw lights. Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of worker who came to save him. He was safe!
His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn’t even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.
So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life!Jake’s parents didn’t know that he was missing until .
A.they reached the foot of the mountain |
B.they began to ski down the mountain |
C.a team of workers found Jake |
D.Jake lost on of his skis |
What was the most important decision Jake made for his safety?
A. To go skiing with his family in the USA.
B. To search for the ski that he had lost in the snow.
C. To take off his other ski and walk down the mountain.
D. To build a hole in the snow to keep himself warm.How did Jake get down the mountain the next morning?
A.He followed his parents. |
B.He followed the workers. |
C.He followed some ski tracks. |
D.He followed some light. |
What was the correct order in which these events happened?
a. Jake made a hole in the snow.
b. Jake lost one of his skis.
c. Jake finally saw lights.
d. He followed some lights.
A.d-b-a-c | B.a-b-c-d |
C.b-a-d-c | D.c-b-a-d |
Facing the difficulties, Jake Denham was .
A.polite and hardworking | B.calm and clever |
C.outgoing and helpful | D.warm and friendly |