Motherhood is a career to respect
A WOMAN renewing her driver’s license at the CountyClerk’s office was asked to state her occupation. She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
“What I mean is,” explained the recorder, “do you have a job, or are you just a...”
“Of course I have a job,” said Emily. “I’m a mother.”
“We don’t list ‘mother’ as an occupation... ‘housewife’ covers it,” said the recorder.
One day I found myself in the same situation. The Clerk was obviously a career woman, confident and possessed of a high sounding title. “What is your occupation?” she asked.
The words simply popped out. “I’m a Research Associate (研究员) in the field of Child Development and Human Relations.”
The clerk paused, ballpoint pen frozen in midair.
I repeated the title slowly, then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement (声明) was written in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
“Might I ask,” said the clerk with interest, “just what you do in your field?”
Coolly, without any trace of panic in my voice, I heard myself reply, “I have a continuing program of research (what mother doesn’t), in the laboratory and in the field (normally I would have said indoors and out). Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities (any mother care to disagree?), and I often work 14 hours a day (24 is more like it). But the job is more challenging than most careers and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money.”
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk’s voice as she completed the form, stood up, and showed me out.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up (激励) by my glamorous new career, I was greeted by my lab assistants – ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model (a 6-month-old baby), in the child-development program, testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt proud! I had gone on the official records as someone more distinguished and indispensable (不可缺少的) to mankind than “just another mother.”
Motherhood... What a glorious career! Especially when there’s a title on the door. How did the female clerk feel at first when the writer told her occupation?
| A.Cold-hearted. | B.Open-minded. |
| C.Puzzled. | D.Interested. |
How many children does the writer have?
| A.3 | B.4 | C.7 | D.13 |
Why did the woman clerk show more respect to the writer?
| A.Because she thought the writer did admirable work. |
| B.Because the writer cared little about rewards. |
| C.Because the writer did something that she had little knowledge of. |
| D.Because she admired the writer's research work. |
What is the point of the article?
| A.To show that how you describe your job affects your feelings toward it. |
| B.To show that the writer had a grander job than Emily. |
| C.To argue that motherhood is a worthy career. |
| D.To show that being a mother is hard and boring work. |
Sina Weibo, one of the country’s most popular micro-blogging sites, has launched a paid service. For a 10 yuan ($ l.57) monthly fee, users get a membership on their Sina Weibo accounts.
According to Xu Yuanyuan, a member of the marketing team at Sina, the move is to guarantee a more convenient and safer environment for users. But despite the company’s efforts to increase income, it seems that most of its 300 million users still prefer the free version.
The premium membership (高级会员) plans ,announced by the company on Monday, brought about negative comments from its users .
“The current service is good enough for me”, said a Beijing-based micro-blogger. “I don’t really need those value-added services and it might be a waste of money. I might consider paying for it if some more features are added.”
Dong Xu, an analyst with consulting firm Analysys International, said that Sina shouldn’t expect a great increase in income brought by the new services. The free services are enough for most users, Dong said. “The company has been making attempts at different profit models since last year. A potential source of income could be gaming. Games and advertisements are so far the two biggest sources of income.” she said.
Other micro-blogging service providers have not yet followed suit. Fang Gang, vice-president of rival Sohu, said via e-mail on Tuesday that Sohu’s micro-blogging service will never charge users. “It’s good news for us. Users can come to our website if they have to pay for services (at Sina).” Fang said.
Most of Sina Weibo’s users______.
| A.aren’t satisfied with its free version |
| B.show no interest in its paid services |
| C.are looking forward to new services |
| D.think highly of its new paid version |
What’s Dong Xu’s attitude towards Sina Weibo’s new services increasing income?
| A.Negative. | B.Confident . |
| C.Indifferent. | D.Positive . |
Why did Fang Gang consider Sina Weibo’s charging its users good news?
| A.Because Sina will make more money. |
| B.Because Sina will lose the whole Weibo market. |
| C.Because Sohu will attract more users. |
| D.Because Sohu will offer free services. |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A.Most of Weibo websites will charge their users. |
| B.Sina Weibo’s new move will be a great success. |
| C.Sina Weibo’s users will enjoy more services. |
| D.A large number of Weibo users like playing games. |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A.Sina Weibo Faces Great Challenges |
| B.Sina Weibo Launches Paid Services |
| C.Sina Weibo Expects Income Increase |
| D.Sina Weibo Becomes More Convenient |
As more people use smart phones to pay bills and store personal information, strict password security has become more important than ever. A new study shows that free - form gestures – sweeping fingers in shapes across the screen of a smart phone—can be used to unlock phones. These gestures are less likely to be observed and reproduced by others than traditional typed passwords.
“All that it takes to steal a password is a quick eye,” said one of the researchers of the study. “With all the personal information we have on our phones today, improving their security is becoming increasingly necessary.” In developing a secure solution to this problem, the researchers studied the practicality of using free - form gestures. With the ability to create any shape in any size and location on the screen, the gestures were popular as passwords. Since users create them without following a template, the researchers predicted these gestures would allow for greater complexity.
The researchers carried out a create - test - retest experiment where 63 people were asked to create a gesture, recall it, and recall it again 10 days later. The gestures were captured on a recognizer system designed by the team. Using this data, they tested the complexity and accuracy of each gesture using information theory. The result of their analysis is that people are favorable to use free - form gestures as passwords.
To put their analysis into practice, the researchers then had seven students in computer science and engineering, each with considerable experience with touchscreens(触摸屏), attempt to steal a free - form gesture password by observing a phone user secretly. None of them were able to copy the gestures with enough accuracy. The gestures appear to be extremely powerful against attacks.
Though the testing is in its early stage and widespread adaptation of this technology is not yet clear, the research team plans to continue to analyze the security and management of free – form passwords in the future. They believe this is the first study to explore free - form gestures as passwords. They will soon publish their findings.What can we learn about free - form gestures?
| A.They are improving mobile security in a way. |
| B.Users will have to make use of simple gestures. |
| C.They will never be copied by others. |
| D.Users must move their fingers in fixed shapes. |
The experiment in paragraph 4 is to test _________ of free - form gestures.
| A.template | B.application |
| C.accuracy | D.security |
According to the text, the researchers think that ________.
| A.it is easy to steal any password with a quick eye |
| B.better ways of setting passwords should be developed |
| C.people had better not use smart phones to pay bills |
| D.personal information should not be stored in a phone |
The main purpose of the text is to ________.
| A.advise people to use free - form gestures |
| B.discuss whether smart phones are safe |
| C.talk about the practicality of passwords |
| D.introduce the study of a new password |
2014 saw that the Ebola virus reappeared in Guinea and soon spread into neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone, killing over 7,800 people by the new year of 2015. It leads to viral hemorrhagic fever, which is characterized by high fever and internal bleeding etc.
Ebola is named after the Ebola River, where it was first discovered in 1976. There are five different types of the Ebola virus, each named after where they first happened: Sudan, Ivory Coast, Reston, Bundibugyo, and Zaire. The deadliest of the five, Zaire, was responsible for the 2012 out- break, and is believed to be attacking Guinea.
Ebola is naturally found in fruit bats, which pass on the virus to other animals by biting or sucking on their blood. Humans who are suffering from the Ebola infection might have touched the bodily fluids of the infected animals. Once infected, a human becomes a carrier of the deadly virus.
Unfortunately, there are no disease - specific treatments for Ebola. Health - care workers only supply the infected people with physiological saline(生理盐水)to keep them in good condition. Ebola can kill 90% of those infected, especially in underdeveloped societies like those in Africa. Since there have been many cases of nurses catching the disease from patients, they are forced to wear strict protective clothes, and in some cases, not even allowed to get close to the infected. The fact that there is no cure for the Ebola virus is what makes the outbreak a challenging one to control.
What’s worse, since we live in an interconnected world, where the situation in one country can affect us all, the influences of Ebola are huge: damaging trade relations, affecting foreign visitors, and weakening entire countries. It is feared that the disease may spread throughout west African countries. For every country, a strong health system can decrease the risk of health attack and lessen the impact of Ebola.What is the function of the first paragraph in the whole passage?
| A.To arouse the reader’s concern. |
| B.To summarize the whole passage. |
| C.To give a detailed description of Ebola. |
| D.To introduce the theme of the whole passage. |
What can we infer about the Ebola virus?
| A.It has caused a panic in many countries. |
| B.It is the most dangerous virus in the world. |
| C.A strong health system is important to fight against Ebola. |
| D.Anyone who was infected Ebola will die. |
Paragraph 3 mainly tells us _________.
| A.What the Ebola virus is |
| B.How the Ebola virus spreads |
| C.How the Ebola virus is treated |
| D.How the Ebola virus affects the life |
Which of the following is true?
| A.There are no effective drugs to treat Ebola by far. |
| B.Ebola is now very common in Guinea. |
| C.Those with a fever must be infected by Ebola. |
| D.Females are easier to be infected by Ebola. |
Summer Hours
June 15 - September 15
Saturday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Regular Hours
January 1 - June 14 and September 16 - December 31
Saturday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00 am - 9:00 pm
Individual Ticket Prices
| Venues |
Adult(12+) |
Senior(60+) |
Child(3 - 11) |
Group(at least 3 persons) |
| Exhibit |
Halls |
Exhibit |
Halls |
Exhibit |
Exhibits:
◆ A Bird’s World
This exhibit includes a sample of every bird found in New England. It provides a lot of information about bird behavior, and New England birdwatchers will also find a useful bird “dictionary”. With this, you can learn how to understand the bird language you hear being chirped just outside your window at home.
◆Butterfly Garden
This garden offers a wonderful chance to get close to all kinds of living butterflies from New England and across the world. You can also look inside the “Emergence Box” to see hanging chrysalids(蝶蛹)change into adult butterflies. If you’re lucky, you might see a new butterfly crawl out of its casing.
◆Discovery Center
Designed for children under 8 and their parents, the Discovery Center offers lots of fun, hands - on activities that are designed to help them discover through playing. A perfect area for early learners, this educational environment emphasizes the use of real objects for exploring natural history, physical science, and technology topics.
◆Take a Closer kook
Explore the world around you using sight, hearing, touch and smell. Test yourself to see what you can discover when you pay attention to your senses, and learn how technology extends them.If you visit the exhibits on a Wednesday in August, you can stay there until ________.
| A.3 pm | B.8 pm | C.9 pm | D.5 pm |
A child at 5 and its parents will have to pay ________.
| A.$60.00 | B.$80.00 |
| C.$20.00 | D.$68.00 |
People, who are interested in the human body, can visit ________.
| A.Take a Closer Look | B.Butterfly Garden |
| C.Discovery Center | D.A Bird’s World |
The passage is an advertisement of _________.
| A.a sight - seeing park | B.a science park |
| C.a training center | D.an art center |
With her pretty face and soulful voice, Zhang Bichen was instantly thought a possible champion when she first set foot on the stage of the TV show The Voice of China.
On Oct 7, 2014, the 25 - year - old girl won the fierce competition and received the title of the “Voice of the Year”. Zhang’s dream of being a singer star came true at last. What impressed people was not only Zhang’s singing skills, but her willingness to make an effort. “I gained the opportunity to sing on The Voice of China,” she said.
In fact, being a singer has always been her dream. She wanted to apply to a college for singing, but her parents insisted that she should have a stable job after graduation because she did very well at academic studies. So Zhang gave in to her parents and learned French at university. However, in the first year of her college, she was discovered by a South Korean company when she entered a singing competition. To pursue her dream, Zhang signed a contract with the company, started her career in South Korea, and became a member of a band.
“My company had rules that did not allow us to use cell phones. During the first few months after I arrived in South Korea, a totally unfamiliar country, I felt terribly homesick. But I could only phone my parents in the restroom when nobody noticed.” said Zhang. “When I did not have much income, I had to eat instant noodles every day for months.”
It was her positive attitude and outgoing character that helped her through. “When I feel down, I tell myself it is not winning or losing that matters. The most important things are standing on the stage and singing for people.” she said.On October 7, 2014, Zhang Bichen ________.
| A.won the championship of The Voice of China |
| B.signed a contract with a big company |
| C.first sot foot on the Chinese stage |
| D.was successful in her study |
The reason why Zhang learned French at university is that _______.
| A.she is good at French |
| B.French is popular in the world |
| C.it is easy for her to find a stable job |
| D.she can realize her dream |
What is the main idea of the last two paragraphs?.
| A.The company in South Korea has strict rules. |
| B.Zhang’s road to success isn’t easy. |
| C.Zhang always lives a simple life in South Korea. |
| D.Zhang has an outgoing character. |