About 21,000 young people in 17 American states do not attend classes in school buildings.
Instead, they receive their elementary and high school education by working at home on computers. The center for Education Reform says the United States has 67 public “cyberschools(网络学校)” and that is about twice as many as two years ago.
The money for students to go to a cyberschool comes from the governments of the states where they live. Some educators say cyberschools receive money that should support traditional public schools. They also say it is difficult to know if students are learning well.
Other educators praise this new form of education for letting students work at their own speed. These people say cyberschools help students who were unhappy or unsuccessful in traditional schools. They say learning at home by computer ends long bus rides for children who live far from school.
Whatever the judgment of cyberschools, they are getting more and more popular. For example, a new cyberschools called Commonwealth Connections Academy will take in students this fall. It will serve children in the state of Pennsylvania from ages five through thirteen.
Children get free equipment for their online education. This includes a computer, a printer, books and technical services. Parents and students talk with teachers by telephone or by sending emails through their computers when necessary.
Students at cyberschools usually do not know one another. But 56 such students finished studies at Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School recently met for the first time. They were guests of honor at their graduation.What do we know from the text about students of a cyberschools?
| A．They have to take long bus rides to school. |
| B．They study at home rather than in classrooms. |
| C．They receive money from traditional public schools. |
| D．They do well in traditional school programs. |
What is a problem with cyberschools?
| A．Their equipment costs a lot of money. |
| B．They get little support from the state government. |
| C．It is hard to know students' progress in learning. |
| D．The students find it hard to make friends. |
Cyberschools are getting popular because__________.
| A．they are less expensive for students |
| B．their students can work at their own speed |
| C．their graduates are more successful in society |
| D．they serve students in a wider age range |
Imagine a world where air pollution is no longer a problem. Clean air is all around us. People don’t have to worry about polluting the air every time they drive their cars. They no longer need to face the problem of not having enough fuel（燃料）either.
Although scientists have been trying for many years to develop a new kind of car that does not need gasoline (汽油), they have been unsuccessful. Recently, however, car engineers have succeeded in creating a new kind of car that runs on gasoline and electricity（电）. This is the famous “hybrid car”. This car gets its name from the fact that it has a gasoline engine (引擎) and an electric motor inside. Hybrid cars do not pollute the environment as much as the cars that are commonly used today. They also cost drivers less money because they need less fuel than ordinary cars.
Hybrid cars are becoming widely popular in the United States. They are soon expected to become widely used around the world. If scientists and engineers continue to work on car development, perhaps the world with clean air that we imagined earlier just might become real in the future.
| A．cars | B．drivers |
| C．engines | D．scientists |
| A．increase air pollution | B．run only on electricity |
| C．have no engines inside | D．need less fuel than ordinary cars |
| A．like electric cars | B．drive cars easily |
| C．live in the world with clean air | D．understand how hybrid cars work |
| A．The Car of the Future | B．The Meaning of Hybrid |
| C．The Use of Hybrid Cars | D．The Invention of the Car |
Try reading the following sentences as fast as you can. “She sells seashells by the seashore. The shells she sells are surely seashells. So if she sells shells on the seashore, I’m sure she sells seashore shells.”
Not very easy, was it? What you’ve just read is called a tongue twister (绕口令). It is an exercise made up of sounds that are hard to pronounce in order to help people pronounce words faster and more correctly. Try the next example.
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?”
Tongue twisters usually do not have much meaning. They are just designed to improve people’s ability to pronounce words. Although they may be very difficult, these exercises are very important to people who are trying to speak English correctly. This is because tongue twisters help people to tell the differences between similar sounds.
So if you wish to pronounce words more smoothly（顺利地，流利地）, you’d better try picking out some tongue twisters and practising them.
| A．listening | B．writing |
| C．pronunciation | D．communication |
| A．it is very boring to read |
| B．it teaches us a lot of knowledge |
| C．we don’t know who “she” is |
| D．the sounds of “s” and “sh” are similar |
| A．Story Time | B．Study Garden |
| C．Latest News | D．Lost and Found |
Lily is from New York , the U.S.A. She is twelve. She is in Shanghai NO.3 Junior High School. She is in Class Eight, Grade One. Her phone number is 66786019. Dongdong is from Kunming. His English name is Tom. He is eleven .He is in Class Seven,Grade One. His telephone number is 24524233. They are not in the same class. They are good friends
阅读短文,选择正确的答案.Lily is from_____.
A． English B. China C. the U.S.ADongdong is in Class______.
A． Six B. Seven C. EightLily and Dongdong are good___________ .
A． students B.friends C. teachersWhere is Tom from ? He is from______________
A． The U.S.A B. Japan C. ChinaHow old is Lily ? She is ________________
A． ten B. eleven C. twelve
Hello, I’m Lucy. I am from the USA. But now I’m in China. My teacher is Miss Chen. She is from Tianjin. She is Chinese. I have a sister. Her name is Lily. She is in China , too.We are in the same school.
阅读短文,判断句子正(用 “T” )误(用 “F” )Lily and Lucy are from Canada.
They are in China now.
Miss Liu is their teacher.
Miss Chen is from Dalian.
Lily and I are students.
My name is Maria. I want to have a pen pal.
I’m a middle school student. Every evening, I’m very busy with my study. I do my homework for about two hours every day. Sometimes I listen to music. I hardly ever watch TV. English is my favorite subject and I read English for about an hour every day. I have a lot of good habits. I exercise every day. I eat a lot of vegetables. I eat fruit and drink milk every day. I never drink coffee or eat junk food. I always sleep eight hours every night. I’m very healthy. My healthy lifestyle helps me to study well and get good grades. Do you want to be my pen pal? Please tell me something about you.
Information Card
| 1. |
What Maria wants to have |
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| 2. |
The thing Maria is busy with very evening |
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| 3. |
How often Maria listens to music |
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| 4. |
Maria’s favorite subject |
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| 5. |
How many hours Maria sleeps every night |