King’sCollegeSummerSchoolKing’-优题课

The bar-tailed godwit(斑尾鹬) has just broken its own record for the world’s longest non-stop flight, including humans in planes, according to a report made by Lund University Press. The bird can fly non-stop for eight days, while the most impressive man-made airplane can only remain in the sky for 82 hours without a stop.
The bar-tailed godwit’s journey, from Alaska to New Zealand, covers over 6,835 miles. It completes this trip twice a year, in autumn going to New Zealand, and in spring back to Alaska. The tireless bird ends the trip without stopping once for food or rest. All other birds can only finish trips that are twice as short as what the bar-tailed godwit travels.
One reason for the bar-tailed godwit’s success is that it has made the best use of its fuel, which is only 0.41 percent of its body weight over each hour of any given long flight. Hedenstrom, a professor from Lund University, says, “This figure is extremely low compared with other birds.” The bird also has a special body shape that helps it fly easily. It stores body fat and protein to manage its trips. It also travels fast, compared to other birds and animals.
Many questions remain about this bird record holder that never gets lost in the air. Researchers wonder whether it has an inside compass(指南针) that helps it to know the direction. Please watch how beautiful bar-tailed godwits look as they come in for a landing, along with other birds.
For the flight from Alaska to New Zealand, the bar-tailed godwit _____.

A．doesn’t need to stop to eat	B．is afraid of hot weather
C．seems very tired at last	D．should fly less than 7000 metres

The main reason why the bar-tailed godwit can break the record is that it ______.

A．eats little food every hour	B．has a special body shape
C．stores much water in its body	D．has very light body weight

The last paragraph tells us that ________.

A．researchers have understood the bird very well

B．the bird has a very good sense of direction

C．there are still many who doubt the bird’s ability

D．the bird has an inner compass

What is the text mainly about?

A．A bird that breaks the record for the longest non-stop flight.

B．Birds and airplanes that can fly over a long distance.

C．Reasons for the bar-tailed godwit’s long-distance flight.

D．An introduction to long-distance flights of birds and humans.

Let’s say you took violin lessons all through elementary school, but you haven’t got the instrument out of its case for years. Were all those lessons a waste of your parents’ money because you didn’t become a violinist?
Even though it has been a long time since you played the violin, a new study shows that as little as one year of music training can have a positive impact (影响) on your brain that will last the rest of your life.
In an experiment, researchers compared children who had taken music lessons to those who hadn’t. Laurel Trainor, who studies music and the mind, discovered that the musically-trained children had better brain responses in certain sound recognition exams. Trainor’s findings show the possibility that musical education can actually improve the brain’s hearing cortex(大脑皮层). “The study’s results show that music training affects attention and memory, and helps children develop learning skills. In this way music training might lead to better learning across a number of fields,” Trainor said in a statement. The effects of music education are even more obvious on children with difficulty in reading and writing and other language-related disabilities.
So, whether you can play a good piece of music or not, it’s likely that your years of music lessons have prepared your brain for all the speeches, emails, and adult conversations that are part of your life today. We should help make sure that children today have the same opportunities for music, and help out by volunteering with or donating instruments to your school’s music education department.
Compared with children who haven’t taken music lessons, musically-trained children _______.

A．sing better	B．do better in exams
C．recognize sounds better	D．response more quickly

According to the study, we know musical education can _____.

A．change the structure of the brain

B．improve children’s learning skills

C．help children focus their attention

D．provide more memorizing methods

What can we learn from the text?

A．Adults should also take some music lessons.

B．The author has taken violin lessons when he was young.

C．Even a day’s music training can affect the human brain.

D．Music training can also help children with certain disabilities.

He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t old. And he wasn’t losing. He had a very good final season and won his last game in 2008. And then he walked away.
Lloyd Carr was 62. That’s a few years earlier than retirement(退休) age in America and many years earlier than some college football coaches say goodbye. How was Carr, who coached University of Michigan, able to leave so easily?
“ It can be intoxicating,” Carr admits. “The Saturday afternoons and the crowds. And when you win, there’s nothing like it.”
But the job needs hard work. The pressure to win. The endless training. The hours are so long that sleeping at the office is a normal thing. I reported Carr’s career at Michigan from 1995 to 2007. I saw him run onto the field before 100,000 cheering fans, saw him enjoy a share of a national championship with a 12-0 season.
And when I visited him recently in retirement, the difference was noticeable. He seems much calmer, relaxed, more at peace. He says, “As much fun as it is, there’s a period when you have other things to deal with.”
Carr knew he wanted to travel, see the world, read more, do other work. He is now connected with a children’s hospital, does some speaking, plays golf, and enjoys relaxing with his wife, Laurie, and their many grandchildren.
Several of today’s big-name coaches are all about Carr’s retirement age. Nick Saban turns 59 this month. Jim Tressel is 57. Frank Beamer is already 63. None of them seems to be slowing down.
So when, I ask Carr, is the right moment to leave such a great job?
He thinks. Finally, he says, “When you love it and can still walk away from it. That’s the right moment.”
Lloyd Carr stopped working as a coach because he _______.

A．was too old	B．was injured seriously
C．had other things to experience	D．followed others’ examples

The underlined word “intoxicating” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.

A．exciting

B．disappointing

C．surprising

D．puzzling

It can be inferred from the text that Lloyd Carr ________.

A．was always free after retirement

B．was a failure as a football coach

C．missed the time when he coached

D．enjoyed his retirement life very much

The author is most probably ________.

A．a football player	B．Lloyd Carr’s assistant
C．a retired coach	D．a sports reporter

In June 2008,Benita Grist was driving in her hometown of Mississauga as a passenger in the car ahead threw a paper cup out of the window.When Grist horned to express her displeasure, the passenger responded by throwing out a bag.
Instead of annoyed, she decided to do something about it.She organized a one woman litterawareness campaign.She started small,chatting with her neighbors about litter—and asking them to be more conscious of any tendencies they might have to litter.Soon,she noticed local families, kids and all—picking up litter around their homes.”I thought,that’s all it took—for me to open my mouth?” she says.”So I decided to knock on more doors.”
And she didn’t stop there.She approached people on the street,in malls,even in the waiting room before getting an X ray. Grist often started her appeal with something such as,”I hope you don’t think I’m crazy,but...” Yet she was buoyed by the positive response—so much so that in August 2008, she began to contact officials in various levels of government, companies and other institutions in an effort to reach a wider audience.
Through a local Mac’s Convenience Store,Grist managed to contact the company that produces content displayed on their in store monitors.That led to a public service announcement about litter that ran in almost 600 Mac’s stores in Ontario from November 2008 to June 2009. Grist continues to explore every opportunity she has to get the message out.Her grassroots campaign may be different,but she has begun to open people’s eyes about the problem of litter.And thanks to her efforts,in Mississauga,at least,they have begun to do just that.
How did Benita Grist start her campaign?

A．She chatted with her neighbors.	B．She quarreled with a stranger.
C．She went door to door,talking.	D．She talked to patients in hospital.

The underlined word “buoyed” in Paragraph 4 probably means “-------”.

A．inspired

B．discouraged

C．confused

D．disturbed

What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Introduction to a one woman litter awareness campaign.

B．How Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign.

C．Why Benita Started the one woman litter awareness campaign.

D．Benita and the one woman litter awareness campaign.

During the week days,they are luckily busy office people; but on weekends,they are just a brood of(一窝)stay home animals.A recent survey shows that office workers in China prefer quiet and easy ways to spend their weekends.
In the survey,conducted by job seeking and offering website Zhaopin.com,32.8 percent of the 6000 respondents choose to stay home at weekends and have a good rest,the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Twenty percent use their days off to do housework. And only 19.3 percent are willing to have fun during the break time from work.Their first choice of fun is shopping. Other choices,though practiced by few,include meeting friends,accompanying the children,trips to the suburbs,and lessons for more skills. When they go shopping,54.5 percent of the white collars actually shop in supermarkets,while 27.9 percent attend other stores,especially when discounts are offered. These activities don’t seem to cost much,as 60 percent spend average less than 200 yuan(US$26)during weekends,and 30 percent no more than 500 yuan.
When asked whom they would spend the weekends with,about 40 percent mention their partners,and 30 percent prefer a weekend all by themselves.Less than 20 percent hang out with friends. Only 5.8 percent would kill the time with their colleagues.This is because we tend to avoid too many personal contacts with our coworkers when we don’t have to work with them,according to some experts.
How many of the office workers who are the respondents do the housework at weekends?

A．1968.

B．1158.

C．1200.

D．1674.

Why will less than ten percent of office workers kill the time with their colleagues at weekends?

A．Because they can’t spare time to play with them.

B．Because they tend to avoid too many personal contacts with them when they don’t have to.

C．Because they have many things to deal with at weekends.

D．Because some experts suggest they should not keep in touch with their colleagues.

Which of the following is TRUE according to the survey?

A．There is the same percentage about people preferring a weekend all by themselves and people spending no more than 500 yuan during weekends.

B．Most office workers can’t afford things in supermarkets,so they prefer to attend other stores,especially when discounts are offered.

C．More than one fifth of office workers like to hang out with friends.

D．All the office workers prefer to relax themselves and no one is willing to learn more skills.

What is the best title of the passage?

A．How to spend the weekends

B．Several ways of spending their weekends for office people

C．How to go shopping on the weekends for office people

D．Office people prefer easy weekends

Application (申请) date ·Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2008. ·Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2008. ·Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2008.	Courses ·English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours ·American History: 16 hours ·American Culture: 16 hours
Steps ·A letter of self-introduction ·A letter of recommendation(推荐) ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information.	Cost ·Daily lessons: $200 ·Sports and activities: $100 ·Travels: $200 ·Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city.
Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King’ s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com