Surprisingly, no one knows how many children receive education in English hospitals, still less the content or quality of that education. Proper records are just not kept. We know that more than 850,000 children go through hospital each year, and that every child of school age has a legal right to continue to receive education while in hospital. We also know there is only one hospital teacher to every 1,000 children in hospital.
Little wonder the latest survey concludes that the extent and type of hospital teaching available differ a great deal across the country. It is found that half the hospitals in England which admit children have no teacher. A further quarter have only a part-time teacher. The special children’s hospitals in major cities do best; general hospitals in the country and holiday areas are worst off. From this survey, one can estimate that fewer than one in five children have some contact with a hospital teacher—and that contact may be as little as two hours a day. Most children interviewed were surprised to find a teacher in hospital at all. They had not been prepared for it by parents or their own school. If there was a teacher they were much more likely to read books and do math or number work; without a teacher they would only play games.
Reasons for hospital teaching range from preventing a child falling behind and maintaining the habit of school to keeping a child occupied, and the latter is often all the teacher can do. The position and influence of many teachers was summed up when parents referred to them as “the library lady” or just “the helper”. Children tend to rely on concerned school friends to keep in touch with school work. Several parents spoke of requests for work being ignored or refused by the school. Once back at school children rarely get extra teaching, and are told to catch up as best as they can.
Many short-stay child-patients catch up quickly. But schools do very little to ease the anxiety about falling behind expressed by many of the children interviewed.Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Every child in hospital receives some teaching. |
| B．Not enough is known about hospital teaching. |
| C．Hospital teaching is of poor quality. |
| D．The special children's hospitals are worst off. |
It can be inferred from the latest survey that________.
| A．hospital teaching across the country is similar |
| B．each hospital has at least one part-time teacher |
| C．all hospitals surveyed offer education to children |
| D．only one-fourth of the hospitals have a full-time teacher |
Hospital teachers are found________.
| A．not welcomed by the children and their parents | B．necessary |
| C．not welcomed by the hospitals | D．capable |
In order to catch up with their school work, children in hospital usually turn to________.
| A．hospital teachers | B．schoolmates | C．parents | D．school teachers |
We can conclude from the passage that the author is________.
| A．unfavorable towards children receiving education in hospitals |
| B．in favor of the present state of teaching in hospitals |
| C．unsatisfied with the present state of hospital teaching |
| D．satisfied with the results of the latest survey |
The TV shows a baby’s pram (婴儿车) rolling off a train platform as the mother makes a mad rush to save her son, but she is too late and it falls onto the rails in front of an incoming train. This heart-stopping scene happened yesterday at Ashburton station in Melbourne, Australia. But the story has a happy ending: the six-month-old baby survived with just a cut on his forehead, although the pram was dragged about 35 metres by the braking train. The nurse Jon Wright said the boy just “needed a feed and a sleep” and didn’t need to stay in hospital.
“Luckily, he was strapped (绑) into his pram at the time, which probably saved his life. I think the child is extremely lucky, ” Wright told the Herald Sun newspaper after the baby was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Fortunately the train was already slowing down to stop at the station so it stopped quickly when the driver put on the brakes as soon as he saw the pram fall in front of him. Rail firm Connex is to look into how the pram rolled off the platform. The accident came one day after Connex started a child safety awareness activity warning parents to keep babies strapped into their prams at all times while on platforms.
The accident happened at the same time as the “balloon boy ”story in the US, in which a six-year-old Colorado boy was reported to be trapped in a flyaway balloon. However, he was later found hiding in the family’s garage. Many people believe that it had all been a publicity stunt by the parents. No such doubts surround the baby on the train platform.In the accident, the baby .
| A．almost fell onto the rails |
| B．needed to stay in hospital |
| C．was badly injured by the train |
| D．was pulled a long distance in the pram by the train |
The child was not killed most probably because.
| A．the mother strapped him into his pram |
| B．the platform is not very high |
| C．he was well fed and asleep |
| D．the mother rushed to save him |
Why could the train stop quickly?
| A．Because it had just begun to move. |
| B．Because it was moving slowly at that time. |
| C．Because the mother took measures quickly. |
| D．Because the driver saw the pram fall. |
The underlined word “stunt” in the last paragraph probably means .
| A．something silly | B．something funny |
| C．something done to attract attention | D．something done to avoid bad luck |
The Red Panda isn’t much bigger than an average size house cat. At first you may think it’s a bear because of its name. They’re actually a member of the raccoon(浣熊) family which you can tell if you look at their appearance. The Red Panda has a long bushy tail that is useful in two ways. It helps them stay balanced when they are high up in the trees and it keeps them warm in cold weather. Their fur is thick and reddish brown, which may be why they’re known as the fire fox.
The Red Panda can be found in forested mountains. They’re originally from the forested mountain in the Himalayas in India, Nepal and Southern China. Bamboo is the most important part of their diet. They only eat the young leaves and shoots (嫩芽) of a bamboo plant. Red Pandas have a very low metabolic(新陈代谢的) rate in order to deal with their low energy diet and cool environmental temperatures.
They’re very shy and gentle and don’t hang around the wild too much during the day. If they feel endangered, they’ll stand on their back legs and make a hissing(嘶嘶) sound. Red Pandas are good climbers and spend most of their time living mainly in trees. Their claws are very strong and help them hold onto the branches. They sleep in an unusual way by curling up tightly and wrapping their tails around their heads while sitting on a branch. Sometimes they’ll sleep with their head beneath their chest and behind their back feet. This is the same position as an American raccoon sleeps.You can tell that the Red Panda is a member of the raccoon family from ____.
| A．its name | B．its appearance | C．its diet | D．its living place |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The Red Panda can only be found in India, Nepal and Southern China. |
| B．The Red Panda’s tail can help it stay balanced when it is high up in the trees. |
| C．The Red Panda eats the whole of the bamboo. |
| D．The Red Panda has high metabolic rate when the temperature is low. |
What will Red Pandas do when they are in trouble?
| A．They will hang around the wild during the day. |
| B．They will climb into the trees. |
| C．They will wrap their tails around their heads. |
| D．They will stand on their back legs and make a hissing sound. |
The Red Panda holds onto the branches with its ____.
| A．tail | B．fur | C．back legs | D．claws |
Against the assumption that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where burnt trees allow more snow to mirror more sunlight into space.
This finding suggests that taking steps to prevent northern forest fires to limit the release of greenhouse gases may warm the climate in northern regions. Usually large fires destroyed forests in these areas over the past decade. Scientists predict that with climate warming, fires may occur more frequently over next several centuries as a result of a longer fire season. Sunlight taken in by the earth tends to cause warming, while heat mirrored back into space tends to cause cooling.
This is the first study to analyze all aspects of how northern fires influence climate. Earlier studies by other scientists have suggested that fire in northern regions speed up climate warming because greenhouse gases from burning trees and plants are released into the atmosphere and thus trap heat.
Scientists found that right after the fire, large amounts of greenhouse gases entered the atmosphere and caused warming. Ozone（臭氧）levels increased, and ash from the fire fell on far-off sea ice, darkening the surface and causing more radiation from the sun to be taken in. The following spring, however, the land within the area of the fire was brighter than before the fire, because fewer trees covered the ground. Snow on the ground mirrored more sunlight back into space, leading to cooling.
“We need to find out all possible ways to reduce the growth of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.” Scientists tracked the change in amount of radiation entering and leaving the climate system as a result of the fire, and found a measurement closely related to the global air temperature. Typically, fire in northern regions occurs in the same area every 80 to 150 years. Scientists, however, found that when fire occurs more frequently, more radiation is lost from the earth and cooling results. Specifically, they determined when fire returns 20 years earlier than predicated, 0.5 watts per square meter of area burned are soaked up by the earth from greenhouse gases, but 0.9 watts per square meter will be sent back into space. The net effect is cooling. Watts are used to measure the rate at which energy is gained or lost from the earth.According to the new findings, taking steps to prevent northern forest fires may _______.
| A．result in a warming climate |
| B．cause the forest fires to occur more frequently |
| C．lead to a longer fire season |
| D．protect the forests and the environment there |
Earlier studies about northern forest fires ________.
A．analyze  all aspects of how northern fires influence climate |
| B．indicate that forest fires will pollute the atmosphere |
| C．suggest that people should take measures to protect environment |
| D．suggest that the fires will speed up climate warming |
The underlined phrase “soaked up” in the last paragraph most probably means ________.
| A．released | B．absorbed | C．created | D．disturbed |
From the text we can draw a conclusion that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia may ______.
| A．warm the climate as the assumption goes |
| B．allow more snow to reflect more sunlight into space and thus cool the climate |
| C．destroy large areas of forests and pollute the far-off sea ice |
| D．help to gain more energy rather than release more energy . |
Do you want to live another 100 years or more? Some experts say that scientific advances will one day enable humans to last tens of years beyond what is now seen as the natural limit of the human life span.
“ I think we are knocking at the door of immortality (永生),” said Michael Zey, a Montclair State University business professor and author of two books on the future. “ I think by 2075 we will see it and that’s a conservative estimate.”
At the conference in San Francisco, Donald Louria, a professor at New Jersey Medical School in Newark said advances in using genes as well as nanotechnology(纳米技术) make it likely that humans will live in the future beyond what has been possible in the past. “ There is a great push so that people can live from 120 to 180 years,” he said. “ Some have suggested that there is no limit and that people could live to 200 or 300 or 500 years.”
However, many scientists who specialize in aging are doubtful about it and say the human body is just not designed to last about 120 years. Even with healthier lifestyles and less disease, they say failure of the brain and organs will finally lead all humans to death.
Scientists also differ on what kind of life the super aged might live. “ It remains to be seen if you pass 120, you know; could you be healthy enough to have good quality of life?” said Leonard Poon, director of the University of Georgia Gerontology Center. “ At present people who could get to that point are not in good health at all.”By saying “ we are knocking at the door immortality”, Michael Zey means_____.
| A．they believe that there is no limit of living |
| B．they are sure to find the truth about long living |
| C．they have got some ideas about living forever |
| D．they are able to make people live past the present life span |
Donald Louria’s attitude toward long living is that_____.
| A．people can live from 120 to 180 |
| B．it is still doubtful how long humans can live |
| C．the human body is designed to last about 120 years |
| D．it is possible for humans to live longer in the future |
70. The underlined “ it” (Para. 4) refers to_____.
| A．a great push |
| B．the idea of living beyond the present life span |
| C．the idea of living from 200 to 300 |
| D．the conservative estimate |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Living longer or not |
| B．Science, technology and long living |
| C．No limit for human life |
| D．Healthy lifestyle and long living. |
At 227 billion yuan ($33 billion) for 2008, Guangdong's cultural industries accounted for 6.4 percent of its GDP and experienced a growth rate of 13.8 percent.But Lai admits that size does not equal weight. "Our businesses are mostly small, financing difficult and brands few."
One local brand that has made it big is Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf, also translated as Happy Sheep and Gray Wolf, China's most popular cartoon series currently being aired. But Liu Manyi, general manager of Creative Power Entertaining Inc, the firm behind the hit show, is not laughing to the bank. Instead she is bitter: "Pirate discs were all over the streets before our first movie hit the screen. Their images appear on all kinds of products. All this has no proper licensing."
In case you don't know, China produces the largest amount of animated(动画的) programming in the world. But quantity is not quality. Behind every Pleasant Goat there are tens of thousands of flops. The best way for the government to promote the country's creative industries is to crack down on piracy (盗版). Hollywood often raises its voice about being victimized (受害) in China. Truth be told, Hollywood is probably the least affected since there is a quota system for China's importation of Hollywood films.
Many Chinese producers are taking baby steps and the domestic market is all they have. If their rights in the home market are not protected, they will never see the day their products find a foreign audience.
The sudden closure(关闭) of BT websites where copyrighted materials used to flow freely suggests a determination on the part of the government to take intellectual property rights seriously. This kind of websites is bad for us, so we should ban them.
Much of the news coming out of the 2009 International Cultural Industries Forum was encouraging. China's film industry is expected to get 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in box office receipts this year. A decade from now, this number may go up to 30 billion, according to some forecasts.
If the government takes serious action against online and offline pirates, China's creative industries may well have a bright future.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?
| A．Fast as the development of Guangdong's cultural industries is, they don’t have a big challenge in the world. |
| B．Guangdong's cultural industries can make a big profit although they are just the small companies. |
| C．Guangdong's cultural industries make a big contribution to its GDP because of their strong economic power. |
| D．The development of Guangdong's cultural industries cannot catch up with any other industries. |
What does Liu Manyi think about Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf?
| A．It is a failure since it is a local brand. |
| B．It is a success but cannot get the expected profit. |
| C．Its profit from the images has been shared legally. |
| D．Pirate discs make it more popular among the children. |
Hollywood films are mentioned to tell us that __________.
| A．Hollywood films make our creative industries have less space to survive |
| B．it is piracy that makes it possible for Hollywood films to get less influenced |
| C．our creative industries need enough protection to have a bright future |
| D．foreign films have taken up more market in China than the local ones |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Chinese creative industries are more advanced than foreign ones. |
| B．The domestic market is of little significance to the survival of Chinese creative industries. |
| C．BT websites stand in the way of the development of Chinese creative industries. |
| D．The growth of China's film industry is always slow and needs more support. |
In which column of a newspaper will you probably read this passage?
| A．Regional | B．Economic | C．Sports | D．Education |