Your children’s teacher will be providing extra time for test preparation. This school year’s test will be held on January 8 and 9. The test preparation time is open to all students, and we strongly encourage your children to attend.
This year we are changing the time for our test preparation: it will be on Thursday mornings from 8:10 to 8:50. This helps children who ride the bus and cannot stay for the after-school period. It also helps avoid conflicts with after-school activities.
Danielle and Marina will be working with the recent new test takers 6 days on the following Thursdays: 15th, Nov; 29th, Nov; 6th, Dec; 13th, Dec.; 20th, Dec. and 3rd, Jan.
Besides the test preparation lectures on these dates, teachers are already putting test preparation into their usual courses. We are finding that we can help our students to be both skillful and whole-hearted readers and test takers — after all, we all know that the best test preparation is good reading and writing training.
What can you do at home? Again, the best and most effective test preparation for the ELA test is reading and more reading. The research is quite clear — students who do well in the tests are those who are good readers. Reading not only builds reading ability, it also helps build confidence — important for successful test taking! But do discourage your children from spending too much time on books that are too hard or even a bit too hard. Children best develop comprehension skills when they are reading books just right for them (too easy doesn’t hurt here either).
Finally, on Friday, December 7, we will have a morning lecture on the ELA. Please pay attention!The text is mainly about ________.
| A．how teachers will provide more time for test preparation |
| B．the reason why time for test preparation will be changed |
| C．how teachers have put test preparation into their usual courses |
| D．test preparation information that parents should know about |
The time for test preparation has been changed to _________.
| A．make it more convenient for the students to attend |
| B．help the new test-takers have more time to read |
| C．avoid disagreement in time between different years of students |
| D．avoid conflicts between preparation time and the usual courses |
From the passage, we know that ________.
| A．Danielle will help students prepare for different tests |
| B．the school year test will be on a Tuesday |
| C．all the children must take part in the test preparation |
| D．the students can learn how to write well in the test preparation |
Parents should _____ at home.
| A．prepare good meals for their children |
| B．read more books with their children |
| C．ask their children not to spend too much time on reading |
| D．encourage their children to read more books fit for them |
Why did the school encourage all the students to take part in the test preparation?
| A．Test preparation is what they always do. |
| B．The students will learn what will be included in the final exam. |
| C．Test preparation helps students to be more interested in reading and confident. |
| D．The test is a long way off and there are better things to do. |
It was in 1865 that two Frenchmen were looking into the future. Edouard de Laboulaye, who studied history, admired the United States greatly. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was a famous artist. De Laboulaye was thinking about 1876, when the country he respected so much would celebrate its 100th birthday. What gift would be good enough for the people of France to give? Right away, Bartholdi thought of a giant statue.
Bartholdi kept thinking about a statue for several years. Then, in 1871, he visited the United States and saw the perfect place for a huge statue. It was Bedloe’s Island in New York.
The project — the Statue of Liberty — got started almost immediately, and Bartholdi went home to France to begin work. However, the statue was not finished in time for the 100th birthday. The United States Congress approved (批准) the use of Bedloe’s Island on February 22, 1877. During the 100th celebration in 1876, the arm of the statue that would hold the torch was shown in Philadelphia. In 1879 the huge head was put on display in France. For the face of the statue, Bartholdi used his mother as a model.
The statue was finally completed in 1884. The work had been difficult enough, but then some really hard work began. The statue had to be taken apart and packed into boxes. It was not until May 1885 that the statue — in pieces — left France for its new home.
The statue arrived in June. However, the Americans fell behind on their part of the project. They hadn’t raised enough money for building the base of the statue. People wondered if the country really needed or wanted such a gift. Finally, though, the money was raised and the base was completed. The last piece of the statue was put in place on October 28, 1886.What’s the right order of the following events?
a. The arm of the statue that would hold the torch was shown in Philadelphia.
b. The United States Congress approved the use of Bedloe’s Island.
c. The huge head of the statue was put on display in France.
d. Bartholdi visited the United States.
| A．d a b c | B．d b a c |
| C．b a c d | D．b d a c |
When did the work on the statue begin?
| A．As soon as Bartholdi thought of it. |
| B．After the United States Congress agreed to it. |
| C．After Bartholdi saw Bedloe’s Island. |
| D．Not until the US had raised enough money. |
What happened after the Statue of Liberty was completed?
| A．It was put together for shipping. |
| B．It was taken apart and packed for shipping. |
| C．It was cleaned up for shipping. |
| D．It was put in place on its base in France. |
How many years did it take for the Statue of Liberty to be put in place on its base after it was completed?
| A．nineteen. | B．fifteen. |
| C．one. | D．two. |
My son was a second-grader. He went to school by bus every day. He was the first student on in the morning, as we were farthest from school, and the last student off in the evening. I was a teacher myself and it was a comfort to realize the school staff (职员) were all working as hard as I was to provide a safe learning environment.
One day I came home from work and waited for my son to get home for a long time. Then I called the school. “Perhaps he’s just a bit late,” said the secretary. “I will call the driver to see if those children are home.” A few minutes later, I answered the phone to hear that the other students were home. Then I called his friends’ parents, to see if perhaps he had gotten off at their stop to play. The answers were all “No.”
By that time, it was dark and I was scared. My home was in the mountain areas, and it was said that a wolf had come up somewhere. My husband wasn’t at home, so I forced myself to calm down and decided to go out to look for him. I was about to go out when the telephone rang; it was from the driver. “He’s okay,” I heard. “He was asleep on the seats in the back, under a couple of jackets. Since it’s dark, can he spend the night with my family?”
I was relieved and agreed. Since my son had a great adventure, the school started giving a copy of the list to the driver, so he could check off the children’s names when they got off the bus. I think highly of the school for taking the cautionary (警戒的) step ahead; it is a sign of their concern for students, parents, and staff.From Paragraph 1 we learn that ________.
| A．the author’s son went home by bus every after-noon |
| B．the author’s son came to school earlier than other students |
| C．the author’s home was farther than that of any other student |
| D．the author was a teacher in her son’s primary school |
At first the secretary thought ________.
| A．the author’s son was still at school |
| B．the school bus would arrive in a while |
| C．the author’s son was at his friend’s home |
| D．there might be something wrong with the school bus |
The author’s son probably spent the night _________.
| A．in the bus | B．at his own home |
| C．at the driver’s home | D．in the secretary’s office |
The author wrote the text to ________.
| A．praise the school for its quick action |
| B．thank the bus driver for his kindness |
| C．complain about the secretary of the school |
| D．show her concern for kids safety |
In recent years, there has been a steady attack on salt from the doctors: salt is bad for you—regardless of your health. Politicians also got aboard. “There is a direct relationship,” US Congressman Neal Smith said, “between the amount of sodium(钠) a person consumes and heart disease, circulatory(循环的) disorders, stroke and even early death.”
Frightening, if true! But many doctors and medical researchers are now beginning to feel the salt scare has gone too far. “All these remarks and cry about salt is unnecessary,” Dr. Dustan insists. “For most of us it probably does not make much difference how much salt we eat.” Dustan’s most recent short-term study of 150 people showed that those with normal blood pressure experienced no change at all when placed on an extremely low-salt diet, or later when salt was reintroduced. Of the hypertensive(高血压的) patients, however, half of those on the low-salt diet did experience a drop in blood pressure, which returned to previous level when salt was reintroduced.
“An adequate to somewhat excessive(过度的) salt intake has probably saved many more lives than it has cost in the general population,” said Dr. John H Laragh. “So an opinion that the whole population should avoid salt makes no sense.”
Medical experts agree that everyone should practice reasonable “moderation”(节制) in salt consumption. For the average person, a moderate amount might run from four to ten grams a day, or roughly 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons. One to two grams of salt would come from the natural sodium in food. The rest would be added in processing, preparation or at the table.
“Na is not your enemy,” says Comek’s Dr. Laragh. “Salt is the No.1 natural component of all human tissue, and the idea that you do not need it is wrong. Unless your doctor has proven that you have a salt-related health problem, there is no reason to give it up.”Why is salt attacked by doctors and politicians?
| A．It’s unnecessary. |
| B．It does no good to human health. |
| C．It is hated by most people. |
| D．It will always lead to heart disease and circulatory disorders. |
From Dr. Dustan’s study in Paragraph 2 we can infer that _____.
| A．a low-salt diet may be good to some patients |
| B．the amount of salt intake has nothing to do with one’s blood pressure |
| C．the reduction of salt intake can completely cure a hypertensive patient |
| D．an extremely low-salt diet makes no difference to anyone |
In the 3rd paragraph, Dr. Laragh implied that _____.
| A．people should not be afraid of taking much excessive salt |
| B．doctors should not advise people to avoid salt |
| C．an adequate to somewhat excessive salt intake is suggested to ill people |
| D．excessive salt intake has killed some patients in the general population |
What is the experts’ advice for average people on salt consumption?
| A．They should increase salt intake through sodium pills. |
| B．They should avoid salt as often as possible. |
| C．They should consume 1/2 to 1/3 teaspoons of salt a day. |
| D．They needn’t care about how much salt they consume. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The salt scare is not reasonable. |
| B．The cause of hypertension is disclosed. |
| C．The moderate use of salt is recommended. |
| D．Salt consumption is to be avoided. |
I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.
I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows（誓约）mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.
So here’s what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion（提升）, the bigger paycheck, the larger house.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure（空闲）, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.
I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.The best title of this passage probably is _______.
| A．Love your friends | B．Live a real life |
| C．Don’t waste time | D．Be a good mother and wife |
How did the author form her view of life?
| A．By working and social experience. |
| B．Learning from her friends. |
| C．Through an unfortunate experience. |
| D．Because of her children and husband. |
The underlined sentence “It is so easy to exist instead of to live” in the fifth paragraph probably has the same meaning as ______.
| A．it is so easy to keep alive but not to live a real life. |
| B．it is very hard to live a real life |
| C．it is so easy to make a living. |
| D．it is more difficult to exist than to live a happy life. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards work?
| A．Try our best to serve others. |
| B．To earn enough money to make life better. |
| C．Try our best to get higher position and pay. |
| D．Don’t let it affect your real life. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
| A．the author is a success in personal life. |
| B．the author didn’t try her best to work well. |
| C．the author spent all her time caring for her children. |
| D．the author doesn’t travel much |
Florence Nightingale（南丁格尔） was born in a rich family. When she was young she took lessons in music and drawing, and read great books. She also traveled a great deal with her mother and father.
As a child she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure. She enjoyed helping them.
At last mind was made up. “I’m going to be a nurse,” she decided.
“Nursing isn’t the right work for a lady,” her father told her.
“Then I will make it so ”, she smiled. And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France.
When she returned to England, Florence started a nursing home . During the Crimean War in 1854 she went with a group of thirty eight nurses to the front hospitals. What they saw there was terrible. Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen — and smelled. The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital, either. But the brave nurse went to work.
Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes, beds, medicine and food for the men. Her only pay was in smiles from the lips of dying soldiers. But they were more than enough for this kind woman.
After she returned to England, she was honored for her services by Queen Victoria. But Florence said that her work had just begun. She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London. She also wrote a book on public health, which was printed in several countries.
Florence Nightingale died at the age of ninety, still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse. Indeed, it is because of her that we honor nurses today.When she was a child, Florence ________.
| A．loved to travel very much |
| B．knew what her duty in life was |
| C．loved to help the sick people |
| D．want to learn music and drawing in the future |
What made Florence make up her mind to become a nurse？
| A．Her father’s support. |
| B．Her desire to help the sick. |
| C．Her education in Germany and France. |
| D．Her knowledge from reading great books. |
During the Crimean War in 1854, Florence served in the front hospital where ____.
| A．she earned a little money |
| B．work was very difficult |
| C．few soldiers died because of her work |
| D．she didn’t have enough food or clothes |
Why was Florence honored by Queen Victoria？
| A．She built the Nightingale Home for Nurses. |
| B．She wrote a book on public health. |
| C．She worked as a nurse all her life. |
| D．She did a great deal of work during the Crimean War. |
The passage can best be described as ____.
| A．the life story of a famous woman |
| B．a description of the nursing work |
| C．an example of successful education |
| D．the history of nursing in England |