As we all know, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of the Independence. He wrote it in two weeks, and after a few changes, it was accepted by the Congress. As a result, he became famous.
Born in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson, a brilliant student at school and almost talented lawyer later, was much interested in politics.
Jefferson was elected Governor of Virginia in 1779, and he was sent to France as the representative of the American government in 1784. Sixteen years later, at the age of 57, he was elected president after Washington and Adams.
Far from a handsome man, he was tall with long arms and big hands. Jefferson, who was an amusing talker in conversation but a poor speaker, was generally good-natured.
Jefferson was regarded as a defender of freedom on America. As a president, he protected the right of free speech. Interestingly enough, in his eight years as President, Jefferson never vetoed a bill which Congress had passed. He did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson died on July the fourth, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American Independence.
From the passage we can infer that America won its independence in ___.
A.1786 | B.1776 | C.1842 | D.1800 |
How old was Thomas Jefferson when he became Governor of Virginia?
A.He was 26. | B.He was in his forties. |
C.He was 36. | D.We don’t know. |
Which of the following statements is true?
A.Jefferson was not only very talented but also very handsome. |
B.Jefferson was not an easy person to get along with. |
C.Jefferson was an amusing talker, but not good at speaking in public. |
D.Not being politically-minded, Jefferson never vetoed a bill passed by the Congress. |
Jefferson’s greatest contribution in American history should be that ___.
A.he did a lot in organizing the new University of Virginia |
B.he was strongly against the slavery |
C.he was for the right of free speech |
D.he wrote the Declaration of Independence |
Compared with the previous week, air quality in Shanghai became worse last week , according to the latest report from the Shanghai Environment Monitoring Centre.
The average air pollution index (API) for sulphur dioxide (SO2) remain almost unchanged from the previous week, but the APIs for nitrogen oxide (NOx) and total suspended (悬浮) particles (TSP) rose by 35 and 27 percent.
The overall quality still belonged to class 2 category.Nitrogen oxide, caused mainly by vehicle exhaust and burning of cooking gas, was still the major pollutant of the week.
The Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre operates six automatic air monitors in the city’s Putuo, Yangpu, Luwan, Hongkou, Jing’an and Xuhui districts.Judging from the chart, on which day was the air quality the worst?
A.October 13. | B.October 14. | C.October 17. | D.October 18. |
Which of the following can be used to describe the air quality of the week?
A.Good. | B.Seriously polluted. |
C.Excellent. | D.Slightly polluted. |
Six automatic air monitors are operated in the city except ________.
A.Putuo District |
B.Xuhui District |
C.Chang’an District |
D.Hongkou District |
In shanghai, nitrogen oxide mainly comes from ________.
A.the burning natural gas |
B.the burning cooking gas |
C.the burning coal |
D.dust raised by vehicles |
This passage is obviously taken from ________.
A.a magazine about air pollution |
B.a scientific report from TV |
C.the weather column in a newspaper |
D.the traveling guide to Shanghai |
Human Capital - How what you know shapes your life
Version: Print (Paperback) Publication date: 20 Feb 2007
Language: English ISBN: 9789264029088 Price: €15£19 1$10
This book explores the influence of education and learning on our societies and lives and examines what countries are doing to provide education and training to support people throughout their lives.
Economic Policy Reforms -- Going/or Growth, 2007 Edition
Version: Print (Paperback) Publication date: 15 Feb 2007
Language: English ISBN: 9789264030473 Price: €60| £75 |$41
Based on a broad set of indicators of structural policies and performance, Going for Growth 2007 takes stock of the recent progress made in implementing policy reforms and identifies, for each OECD country, five policy priorities to lift growth.
Climate Change in the European Alps -- Adapting Winter Tourism and Natural Hazards Management
Version: Print (Paperback) Publication date: 22 Jan 2007
Language: English ISBN: 9789264031685 Price: €24 £32$ 17
The first systematic cross-country analysis of snow-reliability of Alpine ski areas under climate change for five countries in the region: France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Germany.
OECD in Figures 2006--2007--Statistics on the Member Countries -- OECD Observer
-- Volume 2006 Supplement 1
Version: Print (Paperback) Publication date: 05 Jan 2007
Language: English ISBN: 9789264022638 Price.; €15 |£20 |$10
A handy pocket reference containing key data covering the entire range of OECD
work including the economy, employment, health, education, migration, the environment, science and technolog y, public finances, agriculture, trade, and development aid.
OECD Economic Outlook -- December No, 80 -- Volume 2006 Issue 2
Version: Print (Paperback) Publication date: 26 Jan 2007
language-English ISBN: 9789264030954 Price: €80 | £97|$55
OECD's twice yearly assessment and projections for the economies of the OECD area and selected non-members.This edition also looks at the rise in household debt.Which of the following books was published most lately?
A.OECD in Figures 2006-2007. |
B.OECD Economic Outlook. |
C.Human Capital. |
D.Climate Change in the European Alps. |
We can learn from the passage that Alps is _______ .
A.an Austrian interesting place most attractive in summer seasons |
B.an European mountain belonging to three countries |
C.a stadium for skiing lovers from five European countries |
D.an European mountain famous for its winter skiing |
From the book with ISBN ____ you can get a wider range of information about OEC D.
A.9789264029088 B.9789264022638
C.9789264030954 D.9789264030473You should afford _______ Euro dollars for a book to know about the recent progress in economic policies in the OECD countries.
A.60 | B.15 | C.55 | D.80 |
All the five books are ______.
A.written in English |
B.concerned about OECD countries |
C.involved with education and economy |
D.published by the same print |
Geena David knew she wanted to be a movie star when she was very young.She was not sure what gave her the idea, but she wanted to look like a movie star.“I have a lot of pictures from my childhood of me wearing sunglasses,”she says.“I used to wear them to watch TV.”
Early movie actors started wearing sunglasses not because they looked good, but because their eyes hurt.The lights used on movie sets were extremely bright and could cause a painful problem known as “Klieg eyes”.It was named after the Klieg brothers who invented the lights.Actors wore sunglasses to give their eyes a rest.But when movie stars began wearing their sunglasses in public, they quickly became a must.
Eventually actors started wearing sunglasses in their movies as well as on the street.Audrey Hephburn wore ultra-cool Ray-Ban sunglasses in the 1961 movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s.As a result, Ray-Ban sunglasses started to appear more and more in the movies.In 1979, Ray-Ban “Wayfarers” were worn by Jake and Elwoo d in The Blue Brothers.Tom Cruise wore Ray-Ban “Aviator” sunglasses in the 1986 hit, Top Gun.Then in 1997, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones made Ray-Ban “Predator” sunglasses famous in Men in Black.
Of course sunglasses aren’t just a fashion statement.The main reason to wear sunglasses is to protect our eyes against UV radiation.UV radiation can damage our eyes, so people now choose their sunglasses carefully.But you don’t have to give up style for safety.The choice of frames and lenses available these days is huge.So you can protect your eyes and still be the coolest person on the beach.What is mainly discussed in this passage?
A.The use of sunglasses. | B.The history of sunglasses. |
C.The sunglasses wearing. | D.Why movie stars like to wear sunglasses. |
Why did Geena David like to wear sunglasses?
A.She was a movie star. |
B.She wanted to follow a movie star. |
C.Wearing sunglasses was good for her eyes. |
D.It was good to wear sunglasses when watching TV. |
Early actors’ eyes hurt because ______.
A.they wore sunglasses | B.they went out in the sun too much |
C.the lights on movie sets were too bright | D.their scripts were written in very small writing |
We may know from this passage that ______.
A.Audrey Hephburn was a famous film star |
B.Ray-Ban is the name of sunglasses maker |
C.Sunglasses made Top Gun the hit in 1986 |
D.Men in Black must be an advertisement of sunglasses |
Now people wear sunglasses ______.
A.just to protect their eyes | B.for fashion and to protect their eyes |
C.because of bright lights | D.because movie stars wear them |
AIDS’ Threat to Asia Grows
NEW DELHI----Just a few years ago, Mala was a typical middle-class Indian housewife. She cooked, cleaned and looked after her two small children.
Last year, her life took a tragic turn. Her husband died of AIDS; she was found out HIV-positive and her mother-in-law took her children away from her, saying they would get the disease. “When friends dropped for a visit, she would introduce me, saying, ‘She is my son’s widow. She has AIDS,’” said Mala. AIDS is now described as “explosive(炸药)” around the world. A study of a hospital in the port city of Durban in South Africa, where the world’s biggest and Africa’s second AIDS conference opened last Sunday, found that almost half the beds in medical wards (病房) were occupied by AIDS patients.
South Africa has one of the world’s fastest growing HIV infections, with 1,700 people infected daily, adding to the 4.3 million, or 10 percent of its population, living with HIV. Until now, Asia has been more successful in holding the AIDS virus than Africa, where the disease has killed about 12 million people.
AIDS is now threatening to surround many of Asia’s poverty-stricken countries. Countries in Asia, such as Cambodia, and Thailand, have HIV infection speeds over 1 percent. But the low speeds hide huge numbers of infected people, because of the population base.
In India, for example, 3.7 million are infected, more than in any other country except South Africa. In China, an estimated 860,000 people (the actual number may be a little larger), mainly drug users, live with HIV/AIDS. Gordon Alexander, a senior advisor for UN AIDS in India, estimates that the number hit by AIDS in Asia will climb about eight million over the next five years from about six million.
In many Asian countries, the battle against HIV is a social and cultural one against public discussion of sexual health put a nationwide media campaign into action to limit the speed of HIV through unsafe sex. Brenton Wong, an official for Singapore’s Action for AIDS, says the actual HIV incidence in the city state of 3.9 million people is at least eight times higher than official data. “Shame and deny is still very, very common so people are afraid to get tested and many times won’t even tell their families if they test positive,” said Wong. We can conclude from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph that ______.
A.The official data always tell lies and cheat people to hide![]() |
B.3.9 million people in Singapore suffered from AIDS. |
C.Singapore has a population of 3.9 million |
D.The number of people infected with HIV is at least eight times larger than that of the AIDS patients in Singapore. |
It is judged that there are ______ people hit by AIDS in Asia or so.
A.4.3 million | B.6 million | C.8 million | D.3.7 million |
According to the passage, the main reasons that AIDS spread in Asia is through_______.
A.![]() |
B.unsafe sex | C.love | D.drugs |
Which of the following statements is not right?
A.The battle against Aids in many Asian countries is against their culture and social customs. |
B.Though the HIV infection in Asia develops with low speed, the infected number is still quite large compared to other continents. |
C.India has the second largest number of HIV infected people. |
D.Aids might affect the poverty-stricken countries more severely. |
Children are losing the ability to play properly because they are being given too many toys and games, according to new research.
The studies show that children, especially those under five, are often overwhelmed and actually play less than those with fewer toys. It may even harm their development. The studies show that giving children too many toys or toys of the wrong type can actually be doing them harm. They get overwhelmed and cannot concentrate on anything long enough to learn from it.
The conclusions have been backed up by British research looking at children with relatively fewer toys, whose parents spend more time reading, singing or playing with them. It showed such children surpass(胜过) youngsters from richer backgrounds, even those who could use computers.
Some parents notice the ill effect early. Orhan Ismail, a researcher saw a change for the worse in Cameron, his 10-month-old son, after he was given a lot of toys last Christmas.
Ismail said, “ If there are too many toys in front of him, he will just keep flitting around them and then end up going off and finding something like a slipper to play with. Now we just get out one or two toys and hide the rest in a box.”
Alexander and her husband also decided to limit the toys their 6 daughters play with. She believed many toys restrict children’s imaginations. She said, “ A Barbie can only work as a Barbie. But a cardboard box can become anything. The only limitations are in the child’s mind.”
Experts hesitate to put a figure on the number of toys children should have, but many believe two dozen is enough for children of preschool age.
In the writer’s opinion, a Barbie _____.
A.can attract more attention from children than a cardboard box |
B.can work more than a Barbie |
C.may become anything else such as a cardboard |
D.may keep children from further imaginations |
Which of the following is TRUE about toys given to children?
A.too many toys will help children develop wide interests. |
B.One or two toys at a time will help children concentrate. |
C.Only wrong types of toys do harm to children. |
D.The proper number of toys given to the children depends on their ages. |
It may NOT be a good idea to ____.
A.spend more time reading or playing with children |
B.choose right types of toys for children |
C.ask experts for the exact number of necessary toys |
D.put out one or two toys and hide the rest |