Laptop computers are popular all over the world. People use them on trains and airplanes, in airports and hotels. These laptops connect people to their workplace. In the United States today, laptops also connect students to their classrooms.
Westlake College in Virginia will start a laptop computer program that allows students to do schoolwork anywhere they want. Within five years, each of the 1,500 students at the college will receive a laptop. The laptops are part of a ＄10 million computer program at Westlake, a 110-year-old college. The students with laptops will also be able to use the Internet. In addition, they will be able to use e-mails to “speak” with their teachers, classmates, and families. However, the most important part of the laptop program is that students will be able to use computers without going to computer labs. They can work with it at home, in a fast-food restaurant or under the trees—anywhere at all!
Because of the many changes in computer technology, laptops used in higher education, such as colleges and universities, are workable. As laptops become more powerful, they become more similar to desktop computers. In addition, the laptops can connect students to not only the Internet, but also libraries and other resources. State higher-education officials are studyinghow laptops can help students. State officials are also testing laptop programs at other universities, too.
At Westlake College, more than 80 percent of the staff use computers. The laptops will allow all teachers to use computers in their lessons. As one Westlake teacher said, “Here we are in the middle of Virginia and we’re giving students a window on the world. They can see everything and do everything.”The main purpose of the laptop program is to give each student a laptop to ________.
| A．connect them to the Internet | B．use for their schoolwork |
| C．work at home | D．connect them to libraries |
The underlined word “speak” in the 2nd paragraph is in quotation marks(引号) because ________.
| A．they don’t really talk | B．they use the computer language |
| C．laptops have speakers | D．laptops can be used to speak with others |
Which of the following is True about Westlake College?
| A．All teachers use computers. | B．1, 500 students have laptops. |
| C．Students there can do everything. | D．It is an old college in America. |
The underlined “a window on the world” in the last paragraph means that students can ________.
| A．attend lectures on information technology | B．travel around the world |
| C．get information from around the world | D．have free laptops |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．The program is successful. | B．The program is not workable. |
| C．The program is too expensive. | D．The program isn’t accepted by teachers. |
The Great Fire of London started in the very early hours of 2 September 1666. In four days it destroyed more than three-quarters of the old city, where most of the houses were wooden and close together. One hundred thousand people became homeless, but only a few lost their lives.
The fire started on Sunday morning in the house of the King's baker in Pudding Lane. The baker, with his wife and family, was able to get out through a window in the roof. A strong wind blew the fire from the bakery into a small hotel next door. Then it spread quickly into Thames Street. That was the beginning.
By eight o'clock three hundred houses were on fire. On Monday nearly a kilometer of the city was burning along the River Thames. Tuesday was the worst day. The fire destroyed many well-known buildings, old St Paul's and the Guildhall among them.
Samuel Pepys, the famous writer, wrote about the fire. People threw their things into the river. Many poor people stayed in their houses until the last moment. Birds fell out of the air because of the heat.
The fire stopped only when the King finally ordered people to destroy hundreds of buildings in the path of the fire. With nothing left to burn, the fire became weak and finally died out.
After the fire, Christopher Wren, the architect, wanted a city with wider streets and fine new houses of stone. In fact, the streets are still narrow; but he did build more than fifty churches, among them was new St Paul's.
The fire caused great pain and loss, but after it London was a better place: a city for the future and not just of the past.It seems that the writer of the text was most sorry for the fact that ______.
| A．many famous buildings were destroyed |
| B．the birds in the sky were killed by the fire |
| C．some people lost their lives |
| D．the King's bakery was burned down |
Why did the writer cite (引用)Samuel Pepys’ words?
| A．Because Pepys was among those putting out the fire. |
| B．Because Pepys also wrote about the fire. |
| C．To give the reader a clearer picture of the fire. |
| D．To show that poor people suffered most. |
How was the fire put out according to the text?
| A．Houses standing in the direction of the fire were pulled down. |
| B．All the wooden houses in the city were destroyed. |
| C．People managed to get enough water from the river. |
| D．The king and his soldiers came to help. |
Which of the following were reasons for the rapid spread (扩散)of the big fire?
(a) There was a strong wind.
(b) The streets were very narrow.
(c) Many houses were made of wood.
(d) There was not enough water in the city.
(e) People did not discover the fire earlier.
| A．(a) and (b) |
| B．(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) |
| C．(a), (b), (c) and (d) |
| D．(a), (b) and (c) |
Two students started quarreling at school. One student shouted dirty words at the other, and a fight began. What can be done to stop fights like this at school? In some schools, the disputants sit down with peer mediators(同龄调解者). Peer mediators are students with special training in this kind of problems.
Peer mediators help the disputants to talk in a friendly way. Here are some of the ways they use:
1) Put what you think clearly but don’t say anything to hurt the other. Begin with “I feel…” instead of “You always…”
2) Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Don’t stop the other person’s words.
3) Keep looking at the other person’s eyes when he or she talks.
4) Try to see the other person’s side of the problem.
5) Never put anyone down. Saying things like “You are foolish” makes the talk difficult.
6) Try to find a result that makes both people happy.
Peer mediators never decide the result or the winner. They don’t decide who is right and who is wrong. Instead, they help the two students to find their own “win-win” result.The underlined word “disputants” refers to the students ________.
| A．who make peace | B．who give in |
| C．who are lazy | D．who quarrel |
When there is a fight at school ________.
| A．the peer mediators decide who the winner is |
| B．the peer mediators and the disputants talk together |
| C．the students who quarrel decide who the winner is |
| D．the two students sit down and listen to the peer mediators |
Peer mediators’ work is ________.
| A．to give lessons to disputants |
| B．to find out who starts a quarrel |
| C．to give students some special training |
| D．to help find a way to make both sides happy |
Which of the following ways is not used by Peer mediators in finding a “win-win” result?
| A．Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. |
| B．Try to see the other person’s side of the problem. |
| C．Never say things like “You are foolish” |
| D．Never keep looking at the other person’s eyes when he or she talks |
In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes(性别) are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.
Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally(通常) see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.
What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve(神经) tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation(创造) and the expression for emotions(情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.Which of the following is best to outline(概括) the article?
| A．Research on the brain. |
| B．Differences between men and women |
| C．People’s different brains. |
| D．Who Are Better, Boys or Girls |
________men and women think differently.
| A．Sex makes. |
| B．The different brains make |
| C．The different experiences make. |
| D．The influences of society make. |
According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at __ in your school.
| A．mathematics | B．physics | C．English | D．Chemistry |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The right side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls. |
| B．The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys. |
| C．Men are better than women in all things. |
| D．The area in girls’ brain used for language skills develops better. |
After my dad died on Aug.30, 2001, my mother made sure we marked each anniversary. At first, my brothers and sister and I would travel hours to get home, but eventually we got to the point where just one or two of us would make it back to go to Mass with her and spend the day together.
The great love of her life, the man who broke up with her right before her college graduation, only to return two years later claiming he'd traveled the world and hadn't found anyone to compare with her, remained a daily presence in her life.She spoke about him so often and kept his memory so alive that people were sometimes surprised to learn that he was gone. She took over the garden where he'd planted and made it on her own.
When the 10th anniversary of his death approached，my mom began talking about it and planning for it weeks in advance. The date on her kitchen calendar was circled and marked R．I.P. (Rest in Peace). Of course she wanted all of us there and settled the date for our coming back.
On Monday—the day before the anniversary—she went to Mass and walked downtown for lunch with friends, and later told my sister on the phone that she felt Dad still so close that as she was walking back home, she heard someone yell and thought, “Oh, there's Dick.”
That evening she went out to water flowers, just as my father, 10 years before, had gone out to the garden to pick vegetables before he died. A neighbor heard the tin watering can strike the ground as she fell and hit her head. My mother died within hours, on Aug. 30, 2011, the 10th anniversary. She needed to mark that anniversary, she_wanted_us_all_home and my dad had waited long enough.The author and her brothers and sister would________each year during the first
few years since 2001.
| A．go home to see their father |
| B．go home to see their mother |
| C．spend the special day with their mother |
| D．serve their mother on Aug.30 |
From the second paragraph we know that the author's father________.
| A．traveled around the world and left her mother |
| B．left her mother first but returned two years later |
| C．had a quarrel with her mother before her mother's graduation |
| D．was not the right man her mother wanted at that time |
We can infer from the passage that the author's mother________.
| A．knew her last day was coming on Aug.30 |
| B．kept everything of her husband's |
| C．missed her husband though he had passed away |
| D．remained a daily presence in her husband's life |
What does the writer imply in the underlined part of the last sentence?
| A．Mother wanted us to stay at home. |
| B．Mother missed us very much. |
| C．Mother expected us to get back. |
| D．That day was Mother's last day. |
Two things I really believe in—saving money and saving the planet，and it's even better when I can do something that accomplishes both at the same time.
Rainwater harvesting is just such a thing.In the near future，rainwater harvesting will be as common as twelveyearold girls carrying cell phones.
Many countries already rely heavily on rainwater.Bermuda，for example，every building on the small island collects the rainwater from its roof and stores it for later use.However，America_is_just_slightly_behind_the_curve.
There are many ways you can begin harvesting rainwater and most of them are easy and inexpensive.Use rain barrels to collect the water that would run off of your roof.You'd be surprised how fast a fiftygallon barrel will fill with free，usable water.New building construction offers some good ways to gather rainwater，and the cost of installation is usually offset by reduced usage very quickly.Roof drains can be piped into underground tanks，where a pump can draw it up as needed.
The rainwater can even be treated to make it drinkable...but wait—there's more！If that rainwater were not collected，but allowed to run over your lawn，into the street and eventually to a stormwater treatment facility，it would pick up all sorts of pollutants on its journey—fertilizers and pesticides from the grass，motor oil，antifreeze and such from the roads，and who knows what else.
Depending on where you live，the stormwater may be piped to a treatment plant or it may run in natural channels to allow nature to remove the pollutants.Either way，the treatment of stormwater is costly.If you reduce the amount of stormwater runoff from your home or office，you reduce the need for treatment.
Water is rapidly becoming one of our most precious resources and it is not as abundant as you may think.In the year 2000，the United States used approximately 326 billion gallons of fresh water per day.What does the underlined sentence “America is just slightly behind the curve” mean?
| A．Americans don't show interest in harvesting rainwater. |
| B．There is no need for Americans to harvest rainwater. |
| C．Harvesting rainwater in America is not that common. |
| D．Americans can't collect rainwater from the roof correctly. |
According to the passage，harvesting rainwater can ________.
| A．benefit you economically and ecologically |
| B．benefit your health and the surroundings around |
| C．promote the development of economy and peace |
| D．make us live a better life in the near future |
What is the fourth paragraph mainly concerned with?
| A．How to take advantage of the rainwater. |
| B．How to fix the equipment under the ground. |
| C．How to reduce the cost of new equipment. |
| D．How to harvest rainwater effectively. |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．it is not easy to make rainwater drinkable |
| B．the author calls on people to harvest rainwater |
| C．the stormwater cannot be made drinkable |
| D．people can treat the stormwater very easily |