Sydney—Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have banned（禁止）students from carrying mobile phones 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 want them.
Mary Bluett, an official, said mobile phone use is a distraction（分心）to students during 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 to ban mobile phones. 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 understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones ____________.
| A．because they are students | B．when they are at school |
| C．because they are young | D．when they are free |
We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from ____________.
| A．the makers and sellers | B．some other strangers |
| C．their parents and friends | D．some mobile phone users |
Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t during school hours.
| A．get in touch with their children | B．leave their mobile phones |
| C．help the teachers with their work | D．use their mobile phones |
The underlined word “they” in the fifth paragraph refers to ____________.
| A．many teachers | B．some messages |
| C．mobile phones | D．some students |
The topic mainly talked about in the text is ____________.
| A．why the students should not use mobile phones in some Australian schools |
| B．when the students of some Australian schools can use their mobile phones |
| C．whether the Australian students can have mobile phones at school |
| D．how some parents feel when their children should not carry mobile phones |
Two brothers, Herbert and James, lived with their mother and a cat named Edgar. James was particularly devoted to the cat, and when he had to leave town for several days, he left Herbert careful instructions about the pet’s care. At the end of his first day away, James telephoned his brother, “How is Edgar?”
“Edgar is dead.” Herbert answered. There was a pause. Then James said, “Herbert, you’re insensitive (漠然的). You know how close I was to Edgar. You should have broken the news to me slowly. When I asked about Edgar tonight, you should have said, ‘Edgar’s on the roof , but I have called the fire department to get him down.’ And tomorrow when I called, you could have said the firemen were having trouble getting Edgar down, but you were hopeful they would succeed. Then when I called the third time, you could have told me that the firemen have done their best, but unfortunately Edgar had fallen off the roof and was at the veterinarian’s (兽医站). Then when I called the last time, you could have said that although everything possible had been done for Edgar, he had died. That’s the way a sensitive man would have told me about Edgar. And, oh, before I forget,” James added, “how is mother?”
“Oh,” Herbert said, pausing for a moment, “She’s on the roof.” James telephoned his brother at the end of his first day away because he wanted to know _____.
| A．what he was doing |
| B．whether he was good |
| C．whether the cat was good |
| D．where his mother was |
Why did James say his brother was insensitive?
| A．Because he told him the news directly. |
| B．Because he killed their pet. |
| C．Because his mother was on the roof. |
| D．Because he missed the truth about the cat. |
From the last paragraph of the passage, we can know that the mother was probably _____.
| A．on the roof | B．ill or even dead |
| C．repairing the house | D．playing games |
The day after news broke of a possible revolution in physics ——particles （粒子） moving faster than light ?a scientist leading the European experiment that made the discovery calmly explained it to a standing-room- only crowd at CERN．
The physicist, Dario Auterio, did not try to explain what the results might mean for the laws of physics, let alone the broader world．After an hour of technical talk, he simply said, "Therefore, we present to you today this difference, this unusualness．"
But what unusualness it may be．From 2009 through 2011, the massive OPERA detector （探测器）buried in a mountain in Gran Sasso, Italy, recorded subatomic particles called neutrinos （ 中微子） arriving faster than light can move in an empty space．The neutrinos generated at CERN are hardly detectably early．If confirmed, the finding would throw more than a century of physics into disorder．
"If it's correct, it's phenomenal．" said Rob Plunkett, a scientist at Fermilab, the Department of Energy physics laboratory in Illinois．"We'd be looking at a whole new set of rules" for how the universe works．Those rules would bend, or possibly break, Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in 1905．Basical at the time, the theory tied together space and time, matter and energy, and set a hard limit for the speed of light, later measured to be about 186, 000 miles per second．
No experiment in 106 years had broken that speed limit．Physicists expect strict study to follow, which OPERA and CERN scientists welcomed．
Fermilab operates a similar experiment, called MINOS, that shoots neutrinos from Illinois to an underground detector in Minnesota．In 2007, MINOS discovered a just detectable amount of faster than-light neutrinos, but the permissible difference of error was too big to "mention" , Plunkett said．
Fermilab scientists will reanalyze their data, which will take six to eight months．In 2013, the MINOS detector, now offline, will restart after an upgrade．It could then offer confirmation of the results．Why are the European scientists not sure about the results of the experiment?
| A．Because they are so unexpected． |
| B．Because the scientists do not believe them． |
| C．Because the scientists are careful and calm． |
| D．Because they are against the present law of physics． |
The underlined word " phenomenal" in the fourth paragraph has the closest meaning to.
| A．amazing | B．attractive | C．embarrassing | D．sensitive |
The best title for the passage may be _____．
| A．Are the laws of physics in disorder? |
| B．Particles faster than light; Revolution or mistake? |
| C．Faster than light measurement: right or wrong? |
| D．Is Einstein's theory still right today? |
What may be discussed in the paragraphs to follow?
| A．Different opinions about the experiment． |
| B．How Albert Einstein's theory developed． |
| C．The new rules for how the universe works． |
| D．How Fermilab scientists will reanalyze their data． |
For thousands of years, the most important two buildings in any British village have been the church and the pub．Traditionally, the church and the pub are at the heart of any village or town, where the people gather together to socialize and exchange news．
As a result, British pubs are often old and well preserved．Many of them have become historic sites．The most famous example is the pub in the city of Nottingham called " Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem" , which dates back to the year 1189 AD and is probably the oldest pub in England．
However, British pubs are not just for kings and queens; they welcome people from all classes and parts of society．On a cold night, the pub's landlord or landlady can always find a warm place for you by the fire．There is always honest and hearty food and plenty of drinks available at an affordable price．
That's how things used to be．Things are beginning to change．It is said that the credit crunch （信贷紧缩） is causing 39 British pubs in a week to go out of business．People do not have enough spare money to spend on beer．Recently, the UK government banned smoking in all pubs, and that may also have affected the number of customers going to pubs．
This decline is happening despite the fact that in 2005 the UK government started to allow pubs to stay open after 11 p．m．．Previously, with 11 p．m．as closing time, customers would have to drink quite quickly, meaning they sometimes got more drunk than they would if allowed to drink slowly．The British habit of drinking a lot very quickly is known as "binge drinking" , and it causes long-term health problems for people and problems with violent crime for communities．
In order to save their businesses, pubs are trying to change with the market．British pubs now offer something for everyone．A lot of pubs used to be "Working Men's Clubs" , meaning that women could not usually enter．Today, however, women can freely enter 99% of pubs without experiencing any problems．Perhaps things are changing for the better after all．British people have the habit of gathering in the pubs to _____．
| A．have the hearty food |
| B．enjoy the historic sites |
| C．make themselves known |
| D．communicate with each other |
The British pubs are allowed to stay open after 11p．m．to ______．
| A．urge customers to drink quickly |
| B．affect the number of customers |
| C．help reduce social problems |
| D．give pub owners better income |
We can learn from the last paragraph that the author _____．
| A．is against the admission of too many women to the pubs |
| B．holds an optimistic attitude towards the future of the British pubs |
| C．thinks that women in the pubs will cause less social problems |
| D．holds the view that British pubs should offer everything you need |
The passage mainly tells us ______．
| A．the long history of British pubs |
| B．the present situation of British pubs |
| C．the reason why British people go to pubs |
| D．the disadvantages of running pubs in Britain |
The World’s Most Impressive subways
Which of the following gives the passengers the best visual enjoyment?
| A．The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines． | B．The Moscow Metro． |
| C．The London Metro． | D．The Hong Kong MTR． |
According to the passage, the only subway that can bring more financial gains is ______．
| A．the Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines | B．the Moscow Metro |
| C．the London Metro | D．the Hong Kong MTR |
We can learn from the passage that Shanghai Metro ______．
| A．is the busiest system in the world |
| B．carries the most people each day |
| C．may be larger than the Chicago Subway in the future |
| D．has become the world's largest subway since it opened |
The purpose of the passage is to _____．
| A．give us a brief introduction to some subway systems |
| B．introduce the working system of some railways station |
| C．tell the general background of world-wide transportation |
| D．show the historical development of underground system |
Quit while you're ahead
I am one of those people who are terrible at saying no．I take on too many projects at once, and spend too much of my time doing things I'd rather not be doing．I get work done, but it's not always the best I can do, or the best way I could spend my time．
That's why my newest goal, both as a professional and a person, is to be a quitter．
Being a quitter isn't being someone who gives up, who doesn't see important things through to the end．I aspire （渴望） to be the opposite of that．The quitter I want to be is someone who gets out when there's no value in what he's doing, or when that value comes at the expense of something more important．
A friend of mine once told me, "I knew I was an adult when I could stop reading a book, even after getting 500 pages into it．" Strange though it sounds, we all tend to do this．We get involved in something, realize we don't want to be a part of it, but keep on going．We say "Well, I've already invested so much time in this, I might as well stick it out．"
I propose the opposite: quit as often as possible, regardless of project status or time invested．If you're reading a book, and don't like it, stop reading．Cut your losses, realize that the smartest thing to do is to stop before your losses grow even more, and quit．Instead of reading an entire book you hate, read half of a bad one and half of a good one．Isn't that a better use of your time?
Step back for a second．Let's learn how to say "no" at the beginning, or in the middle, and free up more of our time to do the things we'd like to be doing, and the things actually worth doing． Saying no is hard, and admitting a mistaken yes is even harder．If we do both, we'll start to make sure that we're spending our time creating value, rather than increasing our losses．Let's be quitters together．The author wants to be a quitter, because he _____．
| A．hopes to improve his personality |
| B．wishes to have more time for relaxation |
| C．expects to make more efficient use of his time |
| D．has found it hard to do several things at one time |
In what circumstances does the author suggest quitting is a good idea?
| A．When you feel tired and need a rest． |
| B．When you know a task cannot be finished． |
| C．When you meet with difficulties along the way in your life． |
| D．When you realize what you are doing is not worth the time． |
If you stop reading a book you hate, the author might think that ______．
| A．you are wise to cut your losses |
| B．it's a pity that you have wasted so much time |
| C．you should finish a book that you have started |
| D．you should regret choosing the wrong book |
The message the author tries to convey is to ______．
| A．learn to say no |
| B．live your life to the fullest |
| C．create more value |
| D．stop doing many things at once |