Perhaps the most wonderful building put up in the 19th century was the Crystal Palace（水晶宫）which was built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was different from all the other buildings in the world, for it was made of iron and glass. It was one of the biggest buildings of all the time and a lot of people from many countries came to see it. Plenty of goods were sent to the exhibition from all parts of the world. There was also a great deal of machinery on show. Though in those days, traveling was not as easy as it is today, steamboats carried thousands of visitors across the Channel from Europe. On arriving in England, they were taken to the Crystal Palace by train. There were six million visitors in all, and the money from the exhibition was used to build museums and colleges. Later, the Crystal Palace was moved to the South London. It remained one of the most famous buildings in the world until it was burnt down in 1936.The Crystal Palace was built up_________.
| A．in the 1950s | B．in the 1990s | C．shortly be fore 1851 |
D．after 1851 |
People from many countries came to the Crystal Palace mainly to______.
| A．buy goods | B．visit an exhibition |
| C．travel | D．enjoy the Crystal Palace itself |
What happened to the Crystal Palace in 1936?
| A．It caught a terrible fire. |
| B．It disappeared suddenly. |
| C．It was moved away to the south of London |
| D．It was rebuilt. |
The writer__________.
| A．thought the Crystal Palace very useful |
| B．thought highly of the Crystal Palace. |
| C．wanted the Crystal Palace to be rebuilt |
| D．was one of the visitors who had visited the Crystal Palace. |
The Crystal Palace was famous to all because__________.
| A．it was the biggest building in the world then. |
| B．it was made of iron and glass. |
| C．so many visitors had been there. |
| D．it was burnt down at last. |
Ginny Ruffner is one of the best-known glass artists in the United States. Her one-of-a-kind pieces are colorful, detailed and often humorous. Over the years, she became famous for a method called lamp working, also known as flame working. It involves using a torch to melt and shape the glass instead of blowing on it.
Ginny Ruffner almost died in a three-car accident in 1991. No one thought the Seattle-based artist would ever walk or talk again. An award-winning(优等的) film documentary explores that period of her life. "It's scary when you can't talk, you can't do... all your life." said Ruffner.
Ms. Ruffner was in a coma(昏迷) for five weeks and a wheelchair for five years. But she overcame her injuries. And although she still has difficulty walking and talking, she has willed herself back to work. Now, she has a team that helps bring her dream to life.
Her team recently finished an eight point five meter-high flowerpot made of steel and aluminum. It is now in downtown Seattle. Ms. Ruffner was recently honored in Washington, DC. The Renwick Gallery presented a special showing of the film, "A Not So Still Life, the Ginny Ruffner Story."
Ms. Ruffner says “it has been a long battle, but the hardest part has not been the physical problems. I hate being taken for granted, being ignored. The way I talk, people assume that I'm either really old, or kind of retarded(智力迟钝的), and that is so frustrating."
But she is firm. She says "Fortunately I've done a lot of stuff in my life, so I know that the best thing is to be open to the mystery, who knows what great things will happen. I'm sure they're many more to come."
Ginny Ruffner's art can be seen in more than forty museums around the world. Her work and her life continue to motivate people of all ages.Within five years after a car accident, Ginny Ruffner _____.
| A．was unconscious of everything |
| B．had trouble walking and talking |
| C．got over injuries completely |
| D．went back to her work |
From this passage we can learn _____.
| A．Ginny Ruffner finished an eight point five meter-high flowerpot made of steel and aluminum himself |
| B．The Renwick Gallery made him a the film documentary , "A Not So Still Life, the Ginny Ruffner Story." |
| C．Ginny Ruffner's art is shown in more than forty museums in the United States |
| D．Ginny Ruffner’s story has encouraged people to do what they want to |
What was the most difficult to accept for Ginny Ruffner?
| A．The physical disabilities |
| B．Being considered old andstupidity |
| C．Being looked down upon |
| D．Being mistaken as a useless man |
The best title of this passage is _____.
| A． A New Exhibit of Bright Life |
| B．The Life of a Glass Artist |
| C． A New product of a glass artist |
| D．The Introduction of a Great Glass Artist |
From this passage we can know Ginny Ruffner is _____.
| A．determined and optimistic |
| B．ambitious and stubborn |
| C．hopeful and energetic |
| D．devoted and active |
It is that time of the year when the warm, late Summer days meet the cold, early Autumn nights. The skies on days like these are bright and clear. The air is cool, fresh, and full of the smell of wild flowers. The leaves on the trees are dark green but with splashes of red appearing here and there. It is a really beautiful time of the year. Every where and in everything you can see change.
Birds are starting to migrate. Children are getting ready for another school year. People are looking back on the fun days of Summer and forward to the busy days of Fall.
It is days like these that remind me that while seasons, weather, and nature's colors may change it is all beautiful and it is all joyful. And I am changing too.
My thick wavy hair is now pretty thin on top. Its dark brown color is now getting some gray sprinkled(散落)in it. The smile lines around my eyes and mouth are deeper now and stay with me even when I stop smiling. My glasses continue to get thicker with each new pair and the music I love is now referred to as "oldies". Still, I feel so happy and joyful in my life. I am grateful for my younger years because they taught me so much.
What I have learned and experienced has gotten me to where I am today. I am grateful for my present because now is where I live and now is where I love. I feel happiness in every moment that God has given me, and I take great delight in all the changes life brings. Life is a never ending journey of change and growth. Life's changes never stop but neither does life's joy. The author describes the sceneryin the first paragraph in order to ______ .
| A．tell the time of story’s taking place |
| B．tell the joy of season’s changing |
| C．show the impressive beauty of nature |
| D．set off the author’s delighted feeling |
From this passage we can learn _____.
| A．the author is not young any longer at present |
| B．the season the author describes is the meet of late autumn and early winter |
| C．the author is a person who used to love music |
| D．the author doesn’t hope life has changed so much |
The underlined part in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．present life is well worth treasuring |
| B．he is satisfied with where he lives now |
| C．present life isn’t changing |
| D．the world is filled with love everywhere |
From the passage we can see the author’s attitude to life is full of ______.
| A．excitement | B．appreciation | C．compassion | D．complaint |
The best title of this passage is ______.
| A．My life | B．My past | C．I love life | D．Life's changes |
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。
Searching for the truth
Collecting mid writing news is like researching in history: the best information comes from those who were there at the time. So if' we want to study tile history of China in the sixth century AD, we look at the writings of the people who lived then. They are called the primary sources because they tell us what it was like to live then. People at a much later date who write about the same events are called the secondary sources. For example, when we read the original writings of Jia Sixie on agriculture, we are reading a primary source; when we read about Jia Sixie in our textbook we are reading secondary source because the passage was written about him and his ideas many years after he died.
When we make news we use primary and secondary sources. We can see this most clearly in TV programmes. As we watch the news on TV, the person presenting the programme in the studio is the secondary source( because he tells us about the news) and the reporter in. Iraq or Washington is the primary source (because he is telling us about what is actually happening there). Without these reporters acting as primary sources, you would never find out what really happened in a war, earthquake, sports meeting, concert or festival. These reporters explain what is happening so we have a clearer idea of what is going on there. They often take photographers with them who act as primary source by giving pictures of events.
In a newspaper the position is different because these two roles are often combined. This means a reporter who investigates a story may be the same person who writes it. If this happens, the reporter is both the primary and the secondary source. But the photographer who works with him/her is still a primary, source.
One of the reasons that it is important to separate primary and secondary sources is that they help us to decide what is a fact and what is an opinion. A fact is something that everybody agrees has happened. An opinion is somebody's idea of what happened. So facts and opinions are often mixed in any report, whether in a newspaper or on TV.
What have you learnt from the above passage?
| Primary Source |
Primary sources are the writing of' the people who lived at (1)___________ time and offer an inside view of a particular event |
| Secondary source |
Secondary sources are the writings of the people who write about the same events at a much later date with explanation and analysis (2)_________ on primary sources |
| News on TV |
The TV (3)__________ in the studio is tile secondary source while the reporter on the (4) ____________ is the primary source |
| News in a newspaper |
A newspaper reporter can be both primary and secondary source if he collects the information anti then (5) ______________ the news. But the photographer(6) ___________ with the reporter is always a primary source |
| Fact |
A fact is something that everybody agrees has happened. In other (7)____________, it is something that is (8) ________________ |
| Opinion |
An opinion is somebody's idea of what (9)________________on |
| Conclusion |
Primary and secondary sources are both important for (10)_______ the truth |
Kuss Middle School serves students in Fall River, Mass. , a former mill town that has struggled economically for decades. Students at Kuss have struggled, too, usually falling short of making the academic progress required under the No Child Left Behind law.
Then, last year, the school experimented with extending the school day. Teachers got paid at a higher hourly rate.
Students weren't thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The only surprise is that more districts haven't lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate (适应) a farm economy rather the information economy of today.
| School days The USA ranks 36th of 40 industrialized nations in average weekly instructional time. Selected countries: 1) Thailand--30.5 hours 2) Korea--30.3 hours 7) China--26.5 hours 14) France--24.6 hours 15 ) UK--24.6 hours 16) Mexico--24.2 hours 23 ) Japan--23.8 hours 26)Canada--23.6 hours 36)USA--22.2 hours 40)Brazil--19 hours |
New research suggests the time is ready for a change:
Matched against 39 other developed countries, the United States is near the bottom in the rankings of average weekly instructional time in school. Measured over 12 years, students in the top-scoring countries spend the equivalent of a full extra year in school.
US students perform poorly on math and science tests compared to their international peers, according to a US Education Department comparison released earlier this month. In math, American 15-year-old scored near the bottom among the study's 30 developed countries.
Most countries that boost the number of minutes spent on math instruction find pay offs in improved math scores, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution. Small in creases in the school day are more effective than a longer school year, the report concluded.
The most encouraging news about the benefits of extending the school day comes from Massachusetts, where an experiment with 10 schools, including Kuss, appears to be working. Those 10 schools lengthened their instructional days by 25% and boosted their state scores in math, English and science at all grades.
Perhaps the concept won't work everywhere. Certainly, it won't instantly be popular. But it's obvious that a problem exists or that adding class time seems to help.What is the main idea of the above passage?
| A．Experiments with extended school hours produce academic gains. |
| B．Kuss Middle School sets a good example for US education. |
| C．Academic progress has achieved under the No Child Left Behind law. |
| D．Information age calls for more instructional lime at all schools. |
A longer school day is suggested for the following reasons except that _________.
| A．students from many developed countries spend more time at school |
| B．American students do a bad job at science subjects |
| C．teachers are paid at a higher rate with time added |
| D．a longer school day works better than a longer school year |
Which statement is true of Kuss Middle School?
| A．Kuss Middle School lies in where a farm economy is changing to an information one. |
| B．Kuss Middle school has joined the federal "No Child Left Behind" progrann |
| C．Neither teachers nor students are happy with the longer school day. |
| D．Adding class time functions at Kuss Middle School. |
The writer has expressed ____________.
| A．a positive attitude towards adding school time |
| B．a negative attitude towards adding school time |
| C．a changing attitude towards adding school time |
| D．a right attitude towards adding school time |
Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze(注视) of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real, but photographed.
Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an-honesty box alongside a kettle ,with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.
Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. They effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.
"If nobody is watching us it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we're being watched we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us, "Dr. Bateson said.
"We thought we'd get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious(潜意识的) level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved(进化) to respond to."
The finding, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve monitor systems to prevent antisocial behavior.This passage is mainly about _______________.
| A．the policy of honesty |
| B．an honesty box to collect money |
| C．evolution on honesty |
| D．an experiment on honesty |
The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers _____________.
| A．wanted to get a comparatively more exact result |
| B．had known they wanted to do something illegally |
| C．meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues |
| D．intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price |
People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because _____________.
| A．they want to leave a good impression |
| B．they fear to be laughed at by others |
| C．they've got the nature through evolution |
| D．they take the photo for a real pair of eyes |
The underlined phrase" sheds light on" in the last paragraph means _____.
| A．causes somebody to become cheerful |
| B．makes something easier to understand |
| C．comes upon something by accident |
| D．brings something into the broad daylight |