China's long-awaited rules on school bus safety finally came into force on Tuesday, including a list of ways aimed at reducing the risk of accident.
Among the biggest changes is that buses carrying students will be given priority(优先权) in traffic, while companies and drivers will need licenses to offer school transport services.
Officials have spent more than four months making the rules, during which time the country has been shocked by several big crashes because of overcrowded school buses.
The latest accident happened on Monday in Yangchun, Guangdong province, in which three kindergarten pupils were killed and 14 others injured.
Rules and funding
In the new rules, a school bus is considered as a vehicle with more than seven seats that is transporting children receiving the State's nine-year compulsory education (ages 6 to 15) to or from school. This can also be for preschoolers(学龄前儿童) if a parent is unable to take them to or from kindergarten（幼儿园）.
School buses must also operate in routes marked in the map by governments to ensure safety.
Punishment
Companies and bus drivers who fail to meet the rules face the punishment.
Drivers against the rules will be fined 200 yuan ($32) and vehicles will be taken away from its owner if they have been used as an unlicensed school bus.New safety rules for school buses can ________.
| A．make the students have a school bus |
| B．make fewer accident |
| C．make the school bus bigger |
| D．punish the parents |
The accident happened usually because ________.
| A．there were more students than there should be in the bus |
| B．the road is not wide enough |
| C．there were not any rule at first |
| D．companies and drivers faced no punishment |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．When a truck and a school bus meet, the school bus can go first. |
| B．The students (ages 3—5) mustn’t take school bus according to the rules. |
| C．Those who break the rules will be fined two hundred yuan. |
| D．The school bus has at least 7 seats. |
The passage mainly talks about ________.
| A．the accident in Guangdong |
| B．the school bus safety rules |
| C．how to punish the drivers |
| D．what a school bus is like |
A school bus must go _______.
| A．different ways every day |
| B．after other buses |
| C．with all the students |
| D．the same way all the days |
Do you always understand the instructions on a bottle of medicine? Here’s one for John. John is twelve years old. He had a bad cold and coughed(咳嗽) day and night. He went to see a doctor and was given some cough medicine. Please read the following instructions and if you can understand them.
| Cough Medicine: The medicine is for a person with a cough. Shake it well before use. Take it three times each day before meals or before sleep. Dose (药量): Age: over 14 2 teaspoonfuls 8~13 1 teaspoonful 4~7 1/2 teaspoonful Dot fit for children below the age of three or old persons with heart trouble. Put it in a cold place. Use it before December 1st, 2004. |
John should take ____________ a day.
| A．2 teaspoonfuls | B．3 teaspoonfuls | C．4 teaspoonfuls | D．1 teaspoonful |
John should ___________ before he takes it.
| A．shake the medicine well | B．eat nothing |
| C．do some exercises | D．drink a cup of tea |
When people are ____________ years old, they cannot take this medicine.
| A．eighty | B．thirty | C．two | D．twelve |
Dear Mom,
I'm sorry that I can't go back home for Mother's Day next week. On that day, I'll have to go to an important meeting for my boss, who helps me a lot with my work and life here. But I'll find time to see you at home soon.
Mom, thank you for everything you've done for Tim and me. After Dad died ten years ago, you had to work in a supermarket in the daytime and in a restaurant at night. But you always gave us two your love and care. You don't have to work now, but I still remember your coming home and feeling tired many evenings.
Tim is going to finish his studies next month. He said he would move back from school and look for a job near home. I'm glad you won't live by yourself any more. Let's plan to take a trip in the near future. It's been years since the three of us took a trip together.
Happy Mother's Day. I love you!
Best wishes
JohnWhat can we learn about John's mother?
| A．She lives by herself now. |
| B．She still works day and night. |
| C．She will make a plan to save money. |
| D．She used to be too busy to care for her children. |
What do we know from the letter?
| A．John has two brothers. |
| B．John is unhappy with his boss. |
| C．John has to work on Mother's Day. |
| D．Tim will leave home for his job soon. |
Which is said in the letter?
| A．John's father died at work. |
| B．Tim will look for a teaching job. |
| C．John bought a gift for his mother. |
| D．John hopes to take a trip with his family. |
Have you ever stayed in a hotel? Most Chinese hotel often provide guests with things like disposable(一次性的)toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and slippers. Many guests like the idea because they don’t have to bring their own. But ,if you travel to Beijing, remember to bring your own things. Starting from June, some hotels in Beijing will no longer provide guests with these disposables. They want to ask people to use fewer disposable things.
Many disposable things are made of plastic. People throw them away after only using them once. It is a waste of natural resources(资源)and is very bad for the environment. Do you know that one Chinese person makes as much as as 400kg of waste a year? Most of that waste comes from disposable things. In Beijing, people throw away about 19,000 tons of plastic bags and 1,320 tons of plastic lunch bowls every year! Plastic can take between 100 and 400 years to bread down. So wherever you travel, bring your own things and use them again and again.
Back at home and school, you can also do something to make our world a better place. Try to do these things in your daily life: use cloth shopping bags, not plastic ones. After using a plastic bag, wash it out and let it dry. Then you can use it over and over again. Do not use paper cups. At your school canteen(食堂). use your own bowl and chopsticks instead of(代替) disposable ones. Which of the following may still be provided(被提供) in Beijing hotels after June?
| A．toothbrushes | B．tea cups | C．shampoo | D．paper slippers. |
Why do many hotels provide guests with some disposable things?
| A．To let their guests take fewer things while travelling. |
| B．To hope their guests use fewer disposable things. |
| C．To wish their guests to save money. |
| D．To want their guests to use more disposable things. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Many disposable things are made of plastic. |
| B．Throwing disposable things away is a waste of natural resources. |
| C．Plastic is very bad for the environment. |
| D．Plastic breaks down easily. |
What can we do to make our world a better place at home and school?
| A．Using shopping bags made of plastic. |
| B．Using paper cups instead of plastic ones. |
| C．Using disposable plates, bowls and chopsticks. |
| D．Using everything over and over again. |
We can tell from the story that____________________________.
| A．People don’t like disposable things at all. |
| B．We can’t use paper or plastic bowls at school. |
| C．We should use fewer plastic things and protect our environment. |
| D．Hotels won’t provide disposable things to save money. |
0ur village carpenter(木匠)，John Hill, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size to fill the space between the two window. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill( 账单) for his job.
My wife said to me quietly, “That’s his ninth cup of tea today. ”But she said in a loud voice, “It’s a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it?” “I’ll decide about that when I see the bill,” I said. John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:
One dining table 10th November, 2011
Cost of wood $ 17:00
Paint $1. 50
Work, 8 hours($1 an hour) $8. 00
Total $36. 50
When I was looking at the bill, John said,” It’s been a fine day, hasn’t it? Quite sunny. ”
“Yes,” I said. “I’m glad it’s only the 10th of November. ”
“Me, too,” said John, “you wait—it will be a lot colder by the end of the month. ”
“Yes, colder—and more expensive! Dining table will be $20 more expensive on November 30th, won’t they, John?”
John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes? I gave his bill back to him.
“If it’s not too much trouble, John,” I said,“Please add(加) it up again, You can forget the date-------”
I paid him $26. 50 and he was happy to get it. Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill?
| A． Because he didn’t want the writer to check the bill carefully. |
| B． Because he wanted to show that he was really polite. |
| C．Because it’s a good way to communicate with each other. |
| D．Because he wanted to confirm what the weather was like. |
How much would John ask for if he made a dining table on the last day of December according to his bill?
| A．$ 26. 50 | B．$36. 50 | C．$56. 50 | D．$57. 50 |
When John got the money, he was happy because__________________________.
| A． he felt lucky to get the money for his work |
| B． he got paid a lot more than usual for his work |
| C． he got as much money as he had expected |
| D． he didn’t have to add up the costs any more |
Which word can best describe John?
| A． Clever | B． Silly | C． Dishonest | D． Humorous(幽默的) |
What can we learn about John from the passage?
| A． He made a mistake carelessly in the bill |
| B． He tried to get more money for his work. |
| C． He had written the bill before the writer got home |
| D． He had talked about the bill with the writer’s wife. |
One day three Frenchmen who did not know English very well were talking about the English language.
The first Frenchman said, ‘I heard someone shout ‘look out’ ,I put my head out of a window and a basin of water fell on me. It seems that ‘look out’ may mean ‘don’t look out!’
The second one followed, ‘ I was once on a ship and heard the captain（船长） shout, ‘All hands on the deck(甲板)’ I put my hands on the deck and someone trod(踩)on them.’
The third one told his friends his experience too, ‘One early morning I called on my English friend and the maid(女佣) said, ‘He is not up yet, come back in half an hour.’ When I went again for him, she said, ‘He’s not down yet.’I said, ‘If he’s not up and he is not down, where is he then? What a strange language it is!’What is the possible meaning of “look out” in this passage?
| A．Put your head out and look outside | B．Be careful |
| C．Come out and have a look | D．Both A and B |
When the captain shouted. “All hands on deck”, he really meant to tell____________.
| A．Everyone on the ship to put his hands on the deck |
| B．All the sailors(水手)to put their hands on the deck |
| C．All the sailors to come up to deal with (处理)some trouble |
| D．Everyone on ship to gather (集合)on the deck |
What did the maid mean when she said, “He’s not up yet”?
| A．He has not risen to his feet yet. |
| B．He’s not back yet. |
| C．He has not got up yet. |
| D．He was ill in bed. |
Where was the third Frenchman’s English friend then?
| A．He was at a party. |
| B．He was at work. |
| C．He was in his bedroom. |
| D．He was in the bathroom. |
What do you think was the three Frenchmen’s real trouble?
| A．English is too difficult to understand. |
| B．They didn’t use the language so often. |
| C．They knew nothing about the English idioms.(成语\习惯用语) |
| D．They were not sure about the English grammar. |