Too cold for recess? School policies vary as much as temps
When is it too cold for schoolchildren to go outsi
de for recess（课间休息）? The answer varies widely based on where a school is located and what the kids are used to.
Consider: One northern Minnesota school says it has to be 15 below zero before kids are kept inside. But in areas along the East Coast, temperatures below 35 to 40 degrees could keep kids inside. Canceling recess because of the cold is no small issue considering that much of the USA is trembling through what may be its coldest winter in a generation, according to AccuWeather.
There is no national temperature standard for when to keep kids inside during the winter months, the U.S. Department of Education says. Decisions are made at the local level, either by principals or school districts.
Consequently, policies are all over the map:
• In International Falls, Minn., the self-described "Icebox of the Nation," where the average high temperature in January is 13 degrees, Falls Elementary School Principal Jerry Hilfer says, "if it's 15 below (or warmer), they go out, no matter what." "At 20 below, it gets iffy," he adds.
• In Wicomico County, Md., principals typically keep children indoors when temperatures drop below freezing, or if it's raining or snowing, says Susan Jones, the school system's director of elementary education.
"That's the bottom line," says Curtis Twilley, principal of Pemberton Elementary School in Salisbury, Md. Twilley says students get little exercise when recess stays indoors. At Pemberton Elementary, the students will typically play board games or computer games in a classroom because the school's gym is occupied with other classes, he says.
• For schools in Marquette, Mich., which averages about 12 feet of snow per season, school officials acknowledge students are probably a little more prepared than those in some more mild climates.Which of the following is not true according to the passage_________.
| A．No national temperature standard is made for when to keep kids inside during the winter months |
| B．Susan Jones insists students get little exercise when recess stays indoors. |
| C．In Wicomico County, children are kept indoors when temperatures dip below freezing. |
| D．Mich has about 12 feet of snow per season on average. |
Which place calls itself Box of Ice?
| A．Wicomico County | B．Marquette | C．Salisbury | D．Minn |
Considering_______, canceling recess In USA because of the cold is a big issue.
| A．different schools have different principles. | B．much of the USA has very cold winter. |
| C．physical activity can boost student performance. | D．decisions are made at the local level, |
The underlined word iffy means _______.
| A．uncertain | B．surprising | C． serious | D．worse |
What will be talked about next?
| A．More school policies | B．The reasons why school policies vary. |
| C．Measures to improve the situation. | D．Necessities to improve the situation. |
（2014届江苏省淮州中学高三3月份模拟英语试卷）
The United Nations climate talks in Doha, Qatar, continued into their second week, Wednesday, as delegates from nearly 200 countries struggle to craft a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol, the global agreement on climate change that expires at the end of this month.
The negotiations are deadlocked （陷入僵局）over demands by poorer nations for financial help in coping with climate change.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on delegates at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to speed up their work on an agreement to address a warming planet.
“Let us be under no illusion（幻想）, this is a crisis, a threat to us all, our economies, our security and the well-being of our children and those who will come after," he said. "No one is immune to climate change, rich or poor.”
Delegates from nearly 200 countries --- rich and poor --- are in Doha to extend the Kyoto Protocol, the 1997 global climate change agreement that expires （到期）at the end of this month, and to begin to forge a new agreement to replace it.
Two issues block the way forward. Developing countries are demanding that industrialized nations fulfill their pledges(保证)under Kyoto to reduce their climate-changing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and to put new, larger emission curbs on the table.
The developing nations, led by China, are also insisting that rich nations provide more aid to poorer countries to help them cope with the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and more violent storms.
In Doha Wednesday, Tim Gore, a climate change policy advisor for Oxfam International, a confederation of groups working on social justice issues, applauded efforts by England, Germany and Sweden to increase their climate aid and expects other nations to follow.
“Those announcements are truly welcome. And they shine a spotlight on those that have remained silent: the U.S., Canada, Japan, even Australia," Gore said. "But we need to be very clear as well that those types of announcements made in press conferences can be no substitute for clear commitments in the text that poor countries have come here to negotiate.”What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．China plays an important role in The United Nations climate talks in Doha, Qatar. |
| B．The United Nations climate talks in Doha, Qatar, continued into their second week, Wednesday. |
| C．Developing countries want rich nations to pay for climate change. |
| D．Ban Ki-moon called on delegates at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change to speed up their work on an agreement to address a warming planet. |
What did United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Climate change will do harm to all the countries in the world. |
| B．There is no hope to deal with the problem. |
| C．Illusion（幻想）is a crisis, a threat to us all. |
| D．Ban Ki-moon called on delegates to cope with a warming planet. |
What does the underlined word in Paragraph Five forge mean?
| A．put aside | B．deal with | C．call off | D．work out |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．Climate change includes rising sea levels and more violent storms. |
| B．All the industrialized nations will carry out their promises under Kyoto to reduce their climate-changing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and to put new, larger emission curbs on the table. |
| C．Tim Gore thought highly of the efforts by England, Germany and Sweden to increase their climate aid and expects other nations to follow. |
| D．The U.S., Canada, Japan, even Australia didn’t make announcements to be responsible for the climate changes. |
（届重庆市南开中学高三二诊模拟英语试卷）
Coffee is a powerful beverage．On a personal level，it helps keep US awake and active．On a much broader level，it has helped shape our history and continues to shape our culture．
Coffee didn’t take off until the l400s when people figured out they could roast its seeds．By the l500s，the drink had spread to coffeehouses across the Arab world．Within another l50 years，it took Europe by storm．
“It actually had a major impact on the rise of business，” historian Mark Pendergrast says．Coffeehouses became a spot not just to enjoy a cup but to exchange ideas．The insurer Lloyd’s of London was founded hundreds of years ago in one of London’s 2,000 coffeehouses．Literature，newspapers and even the works of great composers like Bach and Beethoven were also spawned(涌现)in coffeehouses．
It is often said that after the Boston Tea Party of l773，when American colonists attacked British tea ships and threw boxes of tea into the harbor，Americans universally switched over to drinking coffee．In a letter John Adams wrote to his wife，Abigail，the Founding Father claims his love of tea but says he will have to learn to embrace coffee instead，because drinking tea had become a symbol of not loving the country．
For all the upsides coffee has brought the modern world，it also led to its fair share of downsides，too．Europeans carried coffee with them as they colonized various parts of the world，and this frequently meant they enslaved people in order to grow it．In Brazil — where slavery was legal until l888 — coffee plantations would use slash-and-burn agriculture，tearing down rain forests and planting coffee trees．Once the soil had been exhausted，growers would move on to another place．
And yet，coffee，as Pendergrast says，”had a very good impact in many ways on our civilization，even though it was，for a long time，grown by slaves．”Why did people enjoy going to coffeehouses?
| A．Because it was a fashion to drink coffee． |
| B．Because coffeehouses provided a better flavor． |
| C．Because they could stay awake and active there． |
| D．Because they could exchange ideas there． |
What can we learn from the fourth paragraph?
| A．American colonists made great profits by trading in coffee． |
| B．Tea was regarded as a symbol of loving one’s country． |
| C．Coffee became very popular after the incident in Boston． |
| D．John Adams was the Founding Father of the Tea Party． |
In the fifth paragraph．the writer points out that __________ .
| A．Coffee plantation was closely connected with slavery |
| B．coffee plantation led to outdated agriculture in Brazil |
| C．slavery in Brazil had been against the law until l888 |
| D．slavery was responsible for the damage to rainforests |
What is mainly talked about in this passage?
| A．Some interesting stories about coffee culture． |
| B．Important Roles that coffee played in history． |
| C．How coffee became the most popular beverage． |
| D．How coffee affected America’s independence． |
（2014届山西太原市高三年级模拟考试（一）英语试卷）
Some people have travelled to Canada while others may have just heard of it . As is known to all, the Canadian red and white maple leaf flag is officially called The National Flag of Canada. The Canadian flag shows a stylized red maple leaf with 11 points on a white background, with red borders down each side. The Canadian flag is twice as long as its width. The white square containing the red maple leaf is the same width as the flag. Canada is a very large country, too. It is the second largest country in the world.By contrast, it has a very small population. There are only about 29 millinon people there. Most Canadians are of British or French origin, and French is an official language as well English. About 45 % of the people are of British origin, that is, they or their parents or grandparents, etc, come from Britain. Nearly 30 % are of French origin. Most of the French-Canadians live in the province of quebec. Over the years people have come to live in Canada from many countries in the world. They are mostly from European countries and also from China, as well as other Asian countries.
However , Canada was not an empty country when the Europeans began to arrive. Canadian-Indian lived along the coast, bythe rivers and lakes and in forests. Today there are only 350,000 Canadian-Indians in the whole country, with their own language. In the far north live the Inuits. There are only 27, 000 Canadian-Inuits. Their life is hard in such a harsh climate.What is the populatin of Quebec?
| A．More than 29, 000.000 |
| B．About 30% of the total population. |
| C．Over 45% of th etotal population |
| D．Less than 30% of the French-Canadians. |
Which of the following stands for Canada?
Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．The Canadian flag I stwice as wide as its length. |
| B．Most Indians are now forced to live along the coast. |
| C．Nowadays Inuit still have difficult living conditions. |
| D．Nobody existed when the Europeans began to arrive in Canada. |
（届山西太原市高三年级模拟考试（一）英语试卷）
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance (pocket money). The purpose is to let children learn from experiences at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this,they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget (预算). Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance. The object is to show young people that a budget demands a choice between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics.
Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life. Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice. You have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowances can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance. A saving account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot, but over time it adds up. Parents give their children allowances in order to _____.
| A．show off their wealth of family |
| B．let them make more money |
| C．learn the value of money |
| D．help children manage family finance |
What is the second paragraph mainly about?
| A．The time to give allowances. |
| B．The way to spend alloweances. |
| C．the amount of allowances given to children. |
| D．Considerations taken to give allowances. |
Why are parents adivsed to offer young children allowances strictly as planned?
| A．To help children learn to make a budget. |
| B．To have children save money for larger costs. |
| C．To let children make fewer mistakes. |
| D．To give them more allowances next time. |
What does the author intend to tel lthe readers?
| A．The methods of limiting allowances. |
| B．The advice on a better family budget. |
| C．Teaching children to use allowances wisely. |
| D．Offering allowances to children properly. |
（届安徽省马鞍山市高三第一次教学质量检测英语试卷）
“iPhone 5”, the tallest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone
We don’t want to change your phone, we want to make you say, “Wow, that is a bigger change than I expected”. “iPhone 5” is a result of that desire to surprise.
It’s been completely redesigned. For the first time ever, we’ve increased the size of display (显示) by making the screen taller but not wider.
You can see more of your content without the need to scroll. We are making scrolling the thing of the past. It is more comfortable to use and reduces tiredness from scrolling when you read long documents.
Even with the larger display, it is the thinnest iPhone we ever built. To achieve the design this tall, we have to look at it and completely redesign the architecture inside. It’s 18% thinner and 79.5% taller than the previous iPhone. It makes everything you do on “iPhone5” easier. No more hidden menus, no confusing gestures. Everything is right at your fingertips.
The panorama feature (全景拍照) is simply awesome. The ultra HD (超高清) widescreen display lets you get your entire shot in a single snap (快门). You can also use its creative design for picture stabilization.
With an iPhone this tall, reception of signals has never been better. And of course, all your favorite applications are still available. In fact you will find your old favorites also benefit from the new experiencing handsome ultra HD widescreen. We found while many previous iPhone owners were using Facetime, they only used it for the faces. That’s why we are introducing Bodytime. With its ultra HD widescreen display, Bodytime lets you see a person’s entire body.
It took all of our learning and all of our thinking to realize something so simple, so clear, and yet so tall.
And I wish your pocket were tall enough to hold such a perfect invention!How is the screen of “iPhone 5” different from the previous ones?
| A．Wider. | B．Taller. | C．Easier. | D．Thinner. |
What does the underlined word “scroll” probably mean?
| A．Update the webpage. | B．Download new documents. |
| C．Refresh the content. | D．Move the content upward. |
What can we infer about “iPhone 5” from the passage?
| A．It is really necessary for you to hide menus. |
| B．The reception of signals is bad due to its length. |
| C．Bodytime is popular with previous iPhone owners. |
| D．New applications of “iPhone 5” are unbelievable. |
“iPhone 5” is introduced in a(n) ________ way in this passage.
| A．humorous | B．objective | C．scientific | D．serious |