Sometimes children do not do what their parents tell them to do.
When this happens, a parent tries to help the child to do the right thing. When this does not work, the parent usually punishes the child.
There are many things that a parent can do. One thing that people have done is to spank (打屁股) the child. When a parent spanks a child, they will use their hand or a hard object to strike them on their bottom. This is meant to show the child that they have done something wrong.
One parent remembers being spanked when he was a child. His parents used a wooden spoon. When he spanked his own children with his hand, he saw that he put a red mark on his child’s leg. He never did that again.
One problem with spanking is that it teaches the child to hit someone when they do not like what the other person is doing. Another problem with spanking is that the parent is usually angry and can hit the child too hard. Sometimes parents will use spanking for everything and not try other ways to get the child to do the right thing.
Many parents are not sure of what to do instead of spanking. Some people think that their religion tells them that spanking is okay. Some think that the law lets them do it. The courts (法院) say that parents have the right to teach their children how to behave.
Other things should be tried before a parent decides to spank a child. Telling the child exactly what is wanted from them can be one thing. Giving a child
more than one choice is another thing that can be tried. Getting down to the child’s level and taking a more child-friendly approach (方法) can help as well.According to the passage, when children do something wrong, one thing that parents usually do to punish them is to ________.
| A.strike them on the bottom |
| B.try to help them do the right thing |
| C.teach them what to do |
| D.take them to court |
Which of the following is NOT the problem caused by spanking?
| A.It teaches the child to hit others when they offend(使人不快) him or her. |
| B.The parent may get angry and hit the child too hard. |
| C.Sometimes parents may use spanking for everything. |
| D.It makes parents try other ways to make the child do right. |
Which of the following can best describe the writer’s attitude towards spanking?
| A.favorable | B.indifferent (不关心) | C.interested | D.unfavorable |
From this passage, we can conclude that ________.
| A.Good children always do the right thing. |
| B.Parents should try their best to avoid spanking their children. |
| C.Parents have no choice but to spank their children when they do something wrong. |
| D.Children can have more than one choice to avoid being spanked. |
Mr Smith is an English man. He teaches English well. His English classes are very interesting. He likes us and we like him, too. Mr Smith has two children-Tom and Mary. Tom is seven and his sister, Mary, is four. Tom goes to school but Mary doesn't. Mr Smith likes wearing a T-shirt and jeans(牛仔裤). Football is his favorite sport. After school we often have a baseball match. Sometimes Mr Smith watches and joins us. He plays baseball just for fun. Mr Smith is ______.
| A.a Chinese teacher | B.an English driver |
| C.a Japanese teacher | D.an English teacher |
How many sons does Mr Smith have?
| A.Only one. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Not many. |
Mary doesn't go to school because ______.
| A.she looks beautiful | B.she is seven |
| C.she is only four | D.she doesn't like school |
______ is Mr Smith's favorite sport.
| A.Baseball | B.Football | C.Running | D.Volleyball |
The story (故事) is about ______.
| A.Mr Smith's son | B.Mr Smith | C.Tom and Mary | D.a basketball |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced trends in fruit and vegetable consumption(食用) among adults. Since 2000, the CDC has made efforts with goals of getting 75% of Americans to eat two or more servings of fruit a day and 50% of Americans to eat three or more servings of vegetables a day. Unfortunately, Americans aren’t meeting these modest targets.
Although a diet high in fruit and vegetables can reduce the risk of many diseases, Americans just aren’t getting enough. In fact, since 2000, the amount of vegetables Americans are eating has stayed the same and the amount of fruit Americans are eating has gone down. The CDC also finds that only about a third of adults are eating their expected servings of fruit, and just over a quarter of adults are eating their expected servings of vegetables.
So why aren’t Americans getting their expected servings of fruit and vegetables? It turns out that Americans might be spoiled when it comes to their produce. A national survey conducted by Fruit2day reveals that nearly half of Americans leave fruit in their fridges until it rots with people in Boston among the worst and those in New York and Los Angeles among the best. Sadly, most Americans admit to leaving fruit in the fridge for more than a week.
There are many reasons why Americans don’t eat their fruit or vegetables, including the inconvenience of having to wash or peel it. Fruit2day offers consumers a surprising and convenient way to enjoy the goodness of fruit.
“With no added sugar, natural juices and two full servings of fruit, our Fruit2day line has really captured the imaginations of health-conscious consumers who are actively looking to get more fruit in their diets,” said Hanno Holm, president and chief executive officer of Hero-White Wave. “Fruit2day makes getting more fruit in one’s diet easier for any daily snack routine.”For 4 million American adults, how many of them are eating two or more servings of fruit a day?
| A.About 1.3 million. | B.About 2 million. | C.About 3 million. | D.About 1 million. |
We can learn from the first two paragraphs that __________ .
| A.Americans have been eating fewer vegetables since 2000. |
| B.most Americans eat less fruit to reduce the risk of diseases. |
| C.most Americans prefer fruit to vegetables. |
| D.over 25% of adults are eating three or more daily servings of vegetables. |
In which city are people most likely to leave fruit in their fridge?
| A.In Boston. | B.In New York. | C.In Los Angeles. | D.Not mentioned. |
With the help of Fruit2day, Americans can __________ .
| A.easily get rid of their bad eating habits |
| B.conveniently have more fruit in their diets |
| C.add sugar and natural juices to their diets |
| D.find another excuse for not eating healthily |
Americans don’t eat their fruit or vegetables because __________ .
| A.they are relatively forgetful |
| B.they are too busy with their work |
| C.they don’t think it convenient to eat them |
| D.they prefer daily snacks with added sugar |
To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains, but actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against the rain, Its first use was as a shade against the sun!
Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese in the 11th century BC.
We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honor. In the Far East in ancient times, the umbrella was allowed to be used only by those in high office.
In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. And the umbrella was in commonly used in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans.
During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practically disappeared. Then it appeared again in Italy in the late sixteenth century. And again it was considered as a symbol of power. By 1680, the umbrella appeared in France and later in England.
By the eighteenth century, the umbrella was used against rain throughout most of Europe.
Umbrellas have not changed much in style during all this time, though they have become much lighter in weight. It wasn’t until the twentieth century that women’s umbrellas began to be made , in a whole variety of colors.According to this passage, the umbrella was probably first invented in ancient_______.
| A.China | B.Egypt | C.Greece | D.Rome |
Which of the following statements is not true about the umbrella?
| A.No one exactly knows who the inventor of the umbrella was |
| B.The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun. |
| C.The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century |
| D.In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshade. |
A strange feature of the umbrella’s use is that it was used as__________.
| A.protection against rain | B.a symbol of honor and power |
| C.a shade against the sun | D.women’s decoration |
In Europe, the umbrella was first used against the rain_______________.
| A.during the Middle Ages | B.in Rome | C.by the 18th | D.in Greece |
This passage talks mainly about_______________.
| A.when and how the umbrella was invented |
| B.why the umbrella was so popular in Europe |
| C.the development of the umbrella |
| D.The history and use of the umbrella |
Before Alaska became part of the U.S., it had been owned by Russia. Trading posts and small settlements were scattered along the coast. The rest of land was left unexplored. The Russians were mainly interested in the wealth of furs from the vast herds of seals they found there.
By the mid-1800’s, most of the seal herds had been wiped out, and Russia no longer wanted to keep Alaska. William Seward, Secretary of State for President Johnson, believed the United States should buy Alaska from Russia. President Johnson wasn’t so sure it was a wise way to spend U.S. money, but he agreed to let Seward discuss it with the Russians. Acting quickly, Seward made a deal. On March 30, 1867, he signed an agreement for the U.S. to pay seven million dollars for the land.
Many people thought it was a foolish waste of America’s money. They called the deal “Seward’s folly”. Then gold was discovered in Alaska and public opinion changed quickly.
Seward did not live to see the true value of Alaska. He died in 1872, five years after making the purchase (购买). Each year, Alaska’s natural resources have brought in many times the $7,000,000 paid for it. Natural gas, coal, oil, lumber, seafood and other minerals, besides the gold first found, have made it a valuable addition to the United States. In 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States. The Russians wanted to sell Alaska because ______.
| A.they thought it wasn’t a good place |
| B.they thought it didn’t belong to Russia |
| C.they couldn’t find enough seals there |
| D.they wanted to earn more money from the U.S. |
When Seward signed the agreement, many people thought ______.
| A.he wasted U.S. money | B.it had its true value |
| C.it was a successful deal | D.he was clever |
Which of the following things was found first in Alaska?
| A.Gas. | B.Coal. | C.Oil. | D.Gold. |
Before 1959, the United States had ______.
| A.37 states | B.48 states | C.49 states | D.50 states |
The best title for this passage would probably be ______.
| A.Alaska, a beautiful place | B.Alaska with natural resources |
| C.Alaska, home to seals | D.Alaska, the 49th state of the U.S. |
The Peppered Moth, a kind of insect(昆虫), is found in England. It is light brown in colour and likes to settle(栖息) on trees which are also light brown. This makes the moth difficult to be seen and birds are less likely to notice and eat it.
But with the development of industry(工业) , smoke from factories began to reach the trees where the moth settled. It made the trees blacker. Then something very strange took place: in industrial areas, the Peppered Moth began to change colour. It became darker as well. Though the change took several years, some scientists soon notice that newly-born moths were a little darker than usual.
A scientist with the name Kettlewell decided to make a careful study of this phenomenon(现象). He marked some of the light moths and some of the darker ones, and set them free in the woods near Bermingham, an industrial city. Later, he recaptured(重新捕获) as many as the marked moths as possible. The results were as follows.
| light moths |
darker moths |
|
| Moths set free |
201 |
601 |
| moths recaptured |
34(16%) |
206(34%) |
Kettlewell's research (研究) was done in the early 1950s. Soon afterwards Britain introduced new laws to reduce smoke and factory pollution.
Can you imagine what would happen to the Peppered Moth as the air became cleaner again?The Peppered Moth began to change its colour in industrial areas because .
| A.it itself liked to |
| B.it could be like the colour of its living-place |
| C.it had to keep the balance of nature |
| D.it was usually dark brown |
From the results of Kettlewell's research, we can see that .
| A.many more of the light moths were killed or eaten |
| B.more than one-fifth of the light moths was not killed |
| C.three times as many dark moths were kept safe as light ones |
| D.more dark moths were killed in industrial areas |
As the air became cleaner, .
| A.the number of the light moths became larger |
| B.the total number of the light moths remained unchanged |
| C.there were more of the darker moths and fewer of the light ones |
| D.the darker moths changed into the light ones suddenly |