It is normal for parents to question their children's hairstyle or the clothes they wear. But today teenagers and their parents argue over something else: money.
Children are spending lots of it. Parents used to say to their children, "You're wearing that?" Now they say, "You paid how much for that?"
Children in the US today spend five times more money than their parents did when they were young.
So what are all these children buying? The list is long: ipods trainers(训练鞋), cellphones and jeans are typical items that children "have to" buy. And they will do anything to get them. They ask their parents over and over until they buy them.
But parents also need to take the blame for spending so much money. They want their children to have the best stuff. They end up competing with other parents over what their children have.
So no wonder children find it hard to learn the importance of saving money rather than spending it all the time.
And it's hard to save when companies use advertising and clever slogans to encourage young people to buy their products. They even encourage children to keep asking their parents for something until they get it.
Today, you don't even need to have money in order to buy something. Banks give out credit cards and loans all the time so people are saving less and less. We are used to there being lots of money around. And if you don't have much you can always borrow some.
But this hasn't always been the case. When our grandparents were young there was very little money and everyone had to save hard for things they bought. They only bought things they needed, not things they just wanted.
The older generation made the wise expression, "Money doesn’t grow on trees." This is as true now as it was 50 years ago. They give money a great deal of value. And we all have a lot to learn from them.The text mainly tells us ________.
| A．divisions between teenagers and their parents |
| B．children's high consumption (消费) of products |
| C．what is popular among children at the moment |
| D．how to spend money wisely |
Parents are to blame for children's spending a lot of money because ________.
| A．they encourage children to care about the latest fashion |
| B．their consumption habits set a bad example for children |
| C．they always give children too much pocket money |
| D．they do nothing to help children establish healthy consumption habits |
Nowadays people find it hard to save money because of all of the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.
| A．banks provide credit cards and loans |
| B．advertisements draw people’s attention to new products |
| C．people have more money than in the past and saving is out of date |
| D．people's living standard has improved and they can buy what they want |
The saying "Money doesn't grow on trees." in the last paragraph is intended to tell us that ________.
| A．the older generation understood how to teach children to save |
| B．in the past, people attached more importance to saving money |
| C．money has a great deal of value |
| D．money is not easily earned and people should be careful spending it |
As a public school superintendent(督导), I believe the best way to prepare students for colleges and careers is to focus on providing instructional programs and opportunities that help them become good thinkers. To do this, teachers and actually everyone else in a community, should play a role as a “cognitive coach” to students, helping develop good thinkers among our youth.
The best way for you to become a cognitive coach is to seek out and engage school children and adolescents in meaningful conversations. The objective here is to get kids talking about what they think, how they feel, and what they believe whenever and wherever you may find them. It may be in a classroom. It may be at the grocery store. It may be at a basketball game. It doesn’t matter where as long as you engage students in a topical conversation and, hopefully, even a debate. Mainly, you want to encourage students to voice their opinion about things. Get them to take a position on “this thing, or that thing,” and ask them to support their position with evidence. Curiously enough, the simple process of engaging students in real life conversations and debates will serve to strengthen what they have learned in the classroom, and help them create their own knowledge about a subject or a topic.
Learning indicates that a student has been exposed to material, understands the material, and can recall the information. Knowledge, on the other hand, goes beyond recall and includes information processing, application to other situations, consideration of meaning, and contrasting with other concepts. Naturally, the topic of conversation you engage in with one of your learners will differ from student to student, and in the level of complexity based on child’s age and developmental level. Even a kindergartener has an opinion about things that are going on in his or her life. Engaging in conversation with any members of your learning community in ways that get at what they have learned and what they know will help them develop higher order reasoning skills.
A student’s synthetic thinking(综合思维) process occurs when a respected adult asks a question, particularly a question that requires reflection. I think all adults in a community have a responsibility to help children with this process, with the goal of producing independent thinkers.According to writer, what most helps develop students’ thinking?
| A．Enlarging one’s knowledge. |
| B．Learning from respected adults. |
| C．Attending instructional programs. |
| D．Making evidence-based arguments. |
Which is the best question raised by a cognitive coach?
| A．What have you learnt recently? |
| B．Will you pay by the credit card? |
| C．Where are you going this weekend? |
| D．How do you like this basketball team? |
The writer mentions a kindergartener in Paragraph 3 in order to _____.
| A．emphasize the importance of being a good thinker |
| B．suggest that education should start at an early age |
| C．prove that even children have their own ways of thinking |
| D．explain the necessity of choosing proper conversation topics |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To state an education idea. |
| B．To assess a teaching strategy. |
| C．To introduce a learning method. |
| D．To compare different education methods. |
When Barbra Streisand discovered in 2003 that a photograph of her California beach house was among 12,000 photos on theInternetas part of a collection by photographer Kenneth Adelman, she did what any famous person would do:hit him with a $50 million lawsuit. But in trying to hold back the images, she caused a different outcome. Her legal actions led to almost half a million people visiting the website, viewing and copying the photos within a month.
Ever since then, the effect of letting public know something you are trying to keep secret has been called the“Streisand effect”. The problem for anyone trying to suppress information is that the Internet is the world’s biggest and most efficient copying machine. Put a document on to a connected machine and it will spread. So when you want to be famous, you can’t, but if you find yourself in the spotlight and want to erase yourself, you cannot.
There is no shortage of examples of the Streisand effect. Nine-year-old Martha Payne created a simple blog, posting the meals her school served. She took a photo of what was barely a filling meal by anyone’s standards. With the photo, she filled a comment, “Now Dad understands why I am hungry when I get home.” The thing did not go too far, until the local authority banned little Martha from doing that again. Martha posted a supposedly final post called “Goodbye”, explaining everything. Once the media found this out, things went from bad to worse for the authority. Now the blog has more than 9.5 million page views. Martha has even expanded her blog by including pictures of school meals taken by other kids from all over the world, like Germany and Japan.
We can find similar examples throughout history, to be frank. Man has experienced the Streisand effect ever since the birth of mass communication. Why does it exist? Every time you are told not to see what’s in the secret shiny box wrapped in gift paper, you’re going to do everything in your power todo exactly that! Just realizing that knowing something about someone is harmful to their status, we will want to know that piece of information. This is exactly the human nature. This is what lawyers and authorities should be familiar with. Unfortunately, a few of them fail to grasp it.The underlined word “suppress” in Paragraph 2 probably means________.
| A．give away | B．look into |
| C．cover up | D．search for |
What speeded up the spread of Martha’s story?
| A．Parents’ complaints. |
| B．The authority’s order. |
| C．The photos of other kids. |
| D．Supporting from the school. |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The root of Streisand effect. |
| B．The influence of Streisand effect. |
| C．People’s reaction to Streisand effect. |
| D．Historical examples of Streisand effect. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Streisand effect benefits most famous people. |
| B．It’s not a good idea to argue against authorities. |
| C．The ban on something may have opposite effect. |
| D．Turning to the law is a perfect way to get one out of trouble. |
The girl was hanging by her hands from the railings of a balcony(阳台的栏杆). The balcony was on the twelfth floor of the high-rise block next to his. His flat was on the ninth floor and he had to look up to see her. It was half-past six in the morning. He had been awakened by the sound of an aircraft flying dangerously low overhead, and had got out of bed to look. His sleepy eyes, moved from the blue sky which was empty of cloud, empty of anything but the bright disappearing arrow of the aircraft, and then rested on the hanging figure.
He really thought he must be dreaming, for this sunrise time was the hour for dreams. Then, when he knew he wasn’t, he decided it must be a scene in a film. There were cameramen down there, a whole film unit, and all the correct safety precautions had been taken. Probably the girl wasn’t even a real girl, but a dummy(假人). He opened the window and looked down. The car park, paved courts, grass spaces between the blocks, all were deserted. On the balcony rail one of the dummy’s hands moved, desperately. He had to believe then what was obviously happening. The girl was trying to kill herself. She had lost her courage and now was trying to stay alive. All these thoughts and conclusions of his occupied about thirty seconds. Then he acted. He picked up the phone and dialed the emergency number for the police.
The arrival of the police cars and the rescue of the girl became the focus of talk for the people of the two blocks. Someone found out that it was he who had called the police and he became an unwilling hero. He was a modest, quiet young man, and was in relief when the talk began to die away. Again he was able to enter and leave his flat without being pointed at as a kind of St George and sometimes even congratulated.
About a fortnight after that morning, he was getting ready to go to the theatre, just putting on his overcoat, when the doorbell rang. He didn’t recognize the girl who stood outside. He had never seen her face. She said, “I’m Lydia Simpson. You saved my life. I’ve come to thank you.”What did the man do first after he got up?
| A．He looked down from the window. |
| B．He went to see the noisy aircraft. |
| C．He called the police to save the girl. |
| D．He hurried to check who was outside. |
The moment the man saw the girl hanging there, he felt it was _________.
| A．scaring | B．desperate |
| C．unbelievable | D．dangerous |
We can learn from the passage that __________.
| A．the man disliked to be talked about |
| B．the girl was unwilling to be rescued |
| C．the police arrived quickly on the scene |
| D．the girl was actually an actress in a film |
Come out and let us teach you how to skydive today! We are located in Xenia, Ohio and is within a reasonable driving distance of major cities in Ohio. Situated on a private airport, Skydive Greene County offers world-class training. We didn’t start skydiving but we are Ohio’s oldest skydiving school which opened in 1961!
Tandem Skydiving
Tandem skydiving is required if this is your first time skydiving. After filling out paperwork and watching a short video, you will be ready to make your skydive. Somewhere around 11,500 feet you will be secured to your tandem instructor. The door will open and you exit the plane.
Your freefall with your instructor will last for approximately 40-50 seconds. We can almost guarantee this will be the most exciting minute of your life as you reach the speed of around 120 mph, falling for about two miles back to the earth!
Don’t forget to have a video taken of your skydive to show all those that didn’t think you would jump from an airplane!
Static Line Courses
Once you have made your tandem skydiving, you can move on to our Static Line Program. The Static Line Jump is the traditional way to learn to skydive. We have classes throughout the year. Every student will be led through the entire day by a licensed instructor. Never does the student feel unattended.
Once training is over, students will make their first jump on that very same day! If the weather does not cooperate, you can come back the next day, or we will re-schedule a time to make your skydive.
Price
$165.00 Tandem skydiving only
$175.00 Static Line Course only
Invite one of our professional videographers on your skydive:
$125.00 DVD with photos
Booking
To book your tandem skydive or skydiving course, call us at (937) 372-0700. We just ask for a call if you cannot keep your scheduled appointment. And you must be at least 18 years old to make a skydive at SGC.
Come to learn with the best and make a skydive today! For further information, please call us at (937) 372-0700 or visit ourwebsite www. greenecounty.com!Skydive Greene County ________.
| A．offers training in major cities in Ohio |
| B．is the oldest skydiving school in the USA |
| C．guarantees every skydiver a freefall experience |
| D．requires all the students to receive one-day training |
Skydivers doing tandem skydiving will have to________.
| A．practise before skydiving |
| B．jump with a professional coach |
| C．have a video taken while skydiving |
| D．show others how to skydive from a plane |
What will a student probably do after training in Static Line Course?
A. Make a tandem skydiving.
B. Receive a skydive license.
C. Pay 165 dollars to SGC.
D. Try the freefall at once.To book a skydive in SGC, one must________.
| A．telephone SGC |
| B．fill in some forms |
| C．visit SGC’s website |
| D．keep the appointment |
In the United States, friends can be close, constant, intense, generous, and real, yet fade away in a short time if circumstances（环境）change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship where it left out and are delighted.
In the States, you can feel free to visit people’s homes, share their holidays, enjoy their children and their lies without fear that you taking on a lasting obligation（负担）. Do not hesitate to accept hospitality（款待）because you can’t give it in return. No one will expect you to do so for they know you are far from home. Americans will enjoy welcoming you and be pleased if you accept their hospitality easily.
Once you arrive there, the welcome will be full, warm and real. Most visitors find themselves readily invited into many homes there. In some countries it is considered inhospitable to entertain (招待) at home, offering what is felt as only home-cooked food, not " doing something for your guest". It is felt that restaurant entertaining shows more respect and welcome. Or for other different reasons, such as crowded space, language difficulties, or family custom, outsiders are not invited into homes.
In the United States both methods are used, but it is often considered more friendly to invite a person to one’s home than to go to a public place, except in purely business relationships. So, if your host or hostess brings you home, do not feel that you are being shown inferior（次的）treatment.
Don’t feel neglected( 被轻视的) if you do not find flowers awaiting you in your hotel room either. Flowers are very expensive there, hotel delivery is uncertain, arrival times are delayed, changed, or canceled so flowers are not customarily sent as a welcoming touch. Please do not feel unwanted! Outward signs vary in different lands, the inward welcome is what matters, and this will be real.In the United States, you will find friendships if circumstances change.
| A．disappear gradually | B．pass away |
| C．die suddenly | D．last forever |
Americans their foreign friends to make a return for their hospitality.
| A．ask | B．wish |
| C．don’t expect | D．never allow |
In some other counties, giving a dinner party at home is consideredthan in a restaurant.
| A．less hospitable | B．less hot |
| C．more natural | D．more popular |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true? .
| A．Flowers are signs of outward welcome |
| B．Flowers are expensive in some places |
| C．Flowers are available at all time |
| D．Flowers are not necessarily sent to guests |
.Which of the following is the best title for this passage? .
| A．American Hospitality | B．American Welcome |
| C．American Invitation | D．American Friendships |