The US government has started a website, Admongo, to help children think critically about the advertising aimed at them. It claims to provide visitors with an “education” through games and other entertainment.
A cartoon man dressed in old time pilot clothing greets visitors to Admongo. "Call me Haiz", he says upon arrival in a rocket ship that opens up with a crazy world inside it. Spacey dance music plays in the background as Haiz tells visitors that they need to learn about advertising.
Its inventors say eight to twelve years old is the age kids develop their critical thinking abilities. Kids of that age are also a big market for advertisers.
The idea behind Admongo is to teach children three things: To identify the advertiser. To know what the advertiser is really saying. And to know what the advertisement is trying to get the child to do.
Children learn these things through a video game. They create their own game character. They can choose different skin colors, hair styles, eye and mouth shapes. Then they begin a trip through ad-land, where there are ads on buses and billboards. The players have to find all the marketing in the neighborhood before they can move on to the next level.
The Admongo game takes players inside a home, to the advertising studio and everywhere else ads can be found. It is a complete exploration of the world of marketing.
One such area is food marketing. The Federal Trade Commission(FTC) says it is a big business. The FTC estimates that food, drink and fast-food restaurants spent more than one and a half billion dollars on advertising to young people in 2010.
The FTC says children are important for three reasons. They buy products. They influence parents and caregivers to buy. And they are the future adult buyers of the products.
A recent study says most advertising aimed at children is for foods of the lowest nutritional value. First Lady Michelle Obama has said she would like to see advertisers marketing healthy foods for children.
.The best title of the text may be .
| A．The guide of Admongo |
| B．An education website for children |
| C．A popular online video game |
| D．An advertising website |
. The government started the website to .
| A．attract the biggest market of buyers. |
| B．sell the products of its company. |
| C．help children know about advertising. |
| D．advertise the video game for children. |
. Players in the website game can .
| A．choose hair styles for their character. |
| B．travel to a supermarket. |
| C．eat in a fast-food restaurant. |
| D．play video games during the trip. |
. Children are important for advertising because they are .
| A．important for the society | B．the most potential buyers |
| C．easily influenced by ads | D．easily affected by poor products |
According to Michelle Obama, lots of food advertised for children are ________.
| A．healthy | B．of high nutrition | C．yummy | D．of low quality |
Su Hua is studying at Cambridge, UK. She has bought a bicycle and is worried about security. Her friend, Kate, found this article and sent it to her.
Introduction
A lot of crime is against bicycles. About 150,000 bicycles are stolen every year and most are never found. You can prevent this happening by following a few careful steps.
Basic Security
Do not leave your bicycle in out-of-the-way places. Always lock your bicycle when you leave. Secure it to lampposts or trees. Take off smaller parts and take them with you, for example lights and saddles(车座).
Locks
Get a good lock. There are many different types in the shop. Buy one that has been tested against attack. Ask for a recommendation from a bike shop.
Marking
Security marking your bike can act as a deterrent(威慑) to a thief. It can also help the police find your bicycle. It should be clearly written and include your postcode and your house or flat number. This will provide a simple way to identify your bicycle.
Registration
There are a number of companies who will mark your bicycle for you. They will then put your registration number and personal details on their computer database. Then if your bicycle is found it will be easy to contact you.
Finally
Keep a record of the bicycle yourself: its make, model and registration number. You can even take a photograph of it, this will prove the bicycle belongs to you.Which part of the article gives you information on how to lock up your bicycle when you leave it?
| A．Locks | B．Marking | C．Registration | D．Basic Security |
The article advises you to keep a record of your bicycle ____________.
| A．in the bike shop and your computer |
| B．in a police station and security company |
| C．in a security company and your university |
| D．by yourself and in a security company |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．More than 150,000 bicycles are stolen every year. |
| B．Leave your bicycle in out-of-the-way places. |
| C．Taking a photograph of your bike will help prove the bicycle belongs to you. |
| D．Always lock your bicycle even if you don’t leave. |
The main purpose of this article is _____________.
| A．to tell you what to do if your bicycle is stolen |
| B．to suggest ways of keeping your bicycle safe |
| C．to give you advice on where to buy a good lock |
| D．to say why you shouldn’t keep your bicycle in a quiet place |
A couple had a son eleven years after they married. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eye. When the boy was around four years old, one day the father was very tired after work so he asked his wife to pick up their son. The mother, who was very busy in the kitchen, totally forgot about it.
Later the boy lost his way on the street. When the son was found missing, the mother hurried to look for him, but she didn’t find him. The mother felt very sad and didn’t know how to face her husband.
When the father went to the police station after hearing that the son was missing, he looked at his wife and said just four words. What do you think the four words were? The husband just said "I love you, darling."
The son was missing. If she had picked him up earlier, this would not have happened. There is no point in blaming (责备) anyone. His wife had also lost her only child. What his wife needed at that moment was comfort and understanding from her husband. That is what the husband gave his wife. Several weeks later, with the help of the police, the couple finally found their lost son. The family’s relationship became stronger over that time.
Sometimes we spend lots of time asking who is to blame. We miss many chances to give each other support and let each other feel the warmth of human relationships. Get rid of all your unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find the world is much more wonderful. What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “the apple of their eye”
| A．A person who always has a sweet smile in their opinion. |
| B．A person who is as pretty as an apple in their opinion. |
| C．A person who is loved more than anyone else in their opinion. |
| D．A person who looks like an apple in their opinion. |
Why didn’t the father pick the boy up himself?
| A．He was very lazy. |
| B．He thought the mother had picked him up. |
| C．He forgot to pick him up. |
| D．He was too tired to do it. |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．Be careful in everything you do. |
| B．Love is the most important thing. |
| C．Learn to forgive others. |
| D．Everyone can make mistakes. |
What do you think of the husband?
| A．Warm-hearted. | B．Careful. | C．Hard-working. | D．Broad-minded. |
I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree.
He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. “What are you doing?” I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.
He then answered me with a simple statement“TEACH THE CHILDREN！”
I was puzzled; what did he mean?
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR(杉木) TREE .“Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round，describing the everlasting hope of mankind，all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven.”
He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. “Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a savior(救世主) for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of his promise.”
He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. “Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of he who displaces(取代) the darkness.”
Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. “Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.”
Santa looked back and was pleased. I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said, “Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but an humble servant of the one that is, and I bow down to worship HIM, our LORD, our GOD.”Author opened the door when he was going to sleep because________.
| A．he heard something unusual |
| B．he was not sleeping at the moment |
| C．he saw the Santa at the moment |
| D．he wanted to step out of the room |
According to Santa, the star was ________.
| A．a symbol of man's thoughts turning towards heaven |
| B．the sigh of fulfillment of the Santa's promise |
| C．the symbol of the light of the world |
| D．the sound of the bell which ring mankind to the fold |
What does the underlined word “twinkle” refer to?
| A．Tears. | B．Smiles. | C．Glasses. | D．Eyes. |
More than 30 million kids buy school lunch each day. This year, many schools raised lunch prices to fight raising costs. Students pay about $2 a meal now. That is 27 cents more than last year. But they still get a good deal. The average cost for schools to produce one meal has gone up 30 cents, and is now $3.
So, how do schools neither make money nor lose money? To start, the government pays for a small part of the difference. Schools have to make up the rest. Peggy Eller, a leader of school nutrition (营养) service in Hudson, Wisconsin, said her district is cutting costs by using fewer paper products and serving smaller portion(份额). Well, portion control is one key to healthful eating!
The push for more healthful food has grown in recent years. One in five kids aged 6 to 19 is overweight. Being overweight can cause health problems. Many states passed laws that require schools to serve nutritious meals.
Since 2004, more than 90% of all U.S. Schools have removed the fat from lunches. Foods high in fat, salt and sugar have been replaced by low-fat milk, fresh fruits and vegetables. These new items on lunch menus have encouraged kids to change their eating habits. “It makes easier to try new things at home, “said Savanna Mackey, a Florida fifth-grader.
Students need healthful meals to grow strong and do well in school. “Rising prices won’t stand in the way,”says school nutritionist Jane Thornton. “We’ll just be more clever in how we do things.”In the first paragraph, the author aims to tell us.
| A．the large number of kids buying school lunch |
| B．the average price of school lunch |
| C．the school's ways to deal with school lunch |
| D．the fact of school lunch's getting more expensive |
Many school districts raised lunch prices because.
| A．there is less healthful food on the menus |
| B．the cost of food has gone up |
| C．kids often forget to bring lunch money |
| D．some school dining-halls are serving smaller portions |
According to Paragraph 4, Savanna Mackey.
| A．doesn't like the new items on the lunch menus |
| B．always enjoys foods like fresh and vegetables |
| C．becomes interested in eating healthy food at home |
| D．prefers eating at school to eating at home |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．American schools solve the problem of high food prices by themselves. |
| B．American schools are very concerned about their students’ health. |
| C．Almost all schools are forced by the government to serve healthy foods. |
| D．American childhood overweight is mainly caused by the present lunch foods. |
Early one morning, more than a hundred years ago, an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep. He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.
Though he was tired, Howe slept badly. He turned and turned. Then he had a dream. He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine. When he tried to do so, Howe ran into the same problem as before. The thread kept getting caught around the needle. The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe. They came up towards him with their spears raised. But suddenly the inventor noticed something. There was a hole in the tip of each spear. The inventor awoke from the dream, realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem. Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle, he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle. This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practiced sewing machine.
Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.
Thomas Edison, the inventor of the electric light, said his best ideas came into him in dreams. So did the great physicist Albert Einstein. Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.
To know the value of dreams, you have to understand what happens when you are asleep. Even then, a part of your mind is still working. This unconscious(无意识的), but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day. It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed. It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake. However, the unconscious part acts in a special way. It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first. This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves”.According to the passage, Elias Howe was________.
| A．the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleep |
| B．much more hard-working than other inventors |
| C．the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked |
| D．the only person at the time who knew the value of dreams |
The problem Howe was trying to solve was________.
| A．what kind of thread to use |
| B．how to design a needle which would not break |
| C．where to put the needle |
| D．how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle |
Thomas Edison is spoken of because________.
| A．he also tried to invent a sewing machine |
| B．he got some of his ideas from dreams |
| C．he was one of Howe’s best friends |
| D．he also had difficulty in falling asleep |
Dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves” because ________.
| A．strange images are used to communicate ideas |
| B．images which have no meaning are used |
| C．we can never understand the real meaning |
| D．only specially trained people can understand them |