More than 6000 children were expelled(开除) from US school last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.
The department gave a report to the expulsions(开除) as saying handguns accounted for 58 percent of the 6093 expulsions in 1996---97, against 7 percent for rifles(步枪) or shotguns and 35 percent for other types of firearms.
“The report is a clear sign that our nation's public schools are cracking down(严惩) on students who bring guns to school,” Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a statement. “We need to be tough-minded about keeping guns out of our schools and do everything to keep our children safe.”
In March1997, an 11 years old boy and 13 years old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14-year-old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Dasucah, Kentucky.
Most of the expulsions, 56 percent, were from high school, which have students from about age 13. 34 percent were from junior high schools and 9 percent were from elementary schools, the report said. The main idea of the passage is that in the US schools _______.
| A．students enjoy shooting |
| B．students are eager to be soldiers |
| C．safety is a problem |
| D．students can make guns |
From what Richard Riley said we can infer that ________.
A. the number of the expulsions is not large
B. the number of the expulsion is wrong
C there are soldiers hiding among the students
D. guns are out of control in US schools The main idea of paragraph four shows us ______.
| A．some examples of shoot in US schools. |
| B．the American's feeling. |
| C．some famous schools. |
| D．that some teachers were killed by students. |
From this passage we get to know that ________.
| A．every American cannot have guns |
| B．only soldiers and police can have guns |
| C．every American citizen can own guns |
| D．teachers have no money to buy guns |
C
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments －mostly for entertainment purposes － is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals. However, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats. Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural homes.
Zoos claim to educate people and save endangered species, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty. Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range. The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs.
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise. This results in unusually and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis. A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages. Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain.
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered．Captive breeding(圈养繁殖) of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild．Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out. In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers. Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats.How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?
| A．Dangerous. | B．Unhappy. |
| C．Natural. | D．Easy. |
In the state of zoochosis, animals _________.
| A．remain in cages |
| B．behave strangely |
| C．attack other animals |
| D．enjoy moving around |
What does the author try to argue in the passage?
| A．Zoos are not worth the public support. |
| B．Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals. |
| C．Zoos should treat animals as human beings. |
| D．Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment. |
The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _________.
| A．pointing out the faults in what zoos do |
| B．using evidence he has collected at zoos |
| C．questioning the way animals are protected |
| D．discussing the advantages of natural habitats |
B
“Have you ever been out on a boat and felt it lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves came over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh. “There is certainly a lot of energy in waves,” he said. Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity. Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. “The wind starts out by making little ripples(涟漪), but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves,” Taylor said. “Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.” When waves come toward the shore, people can set up dams to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine（涡轮机）. The turbine can then power an electrical generator to produce electricity.
“The resource is huge,” said Janet Swain of the World Watch Institute. “We will never run out of wave power.” Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal. Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface—that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world, though there are some weak points yet to overcome.
Swain said that wave power still costs too much money. She also said that its effects on sea animals are still unknown. What is more, wave power could affect fishing and boat traffic. Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out. “Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world,” Swain said. In the future when you turn on a light, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to .
| A．test the readers’ knowledge about waves |
| B．draw the readers’ attention to the topic |
| C．show Jamie Taylor’s importance |
| D．invite the readers to answer them |
The underlined phrase “picking up” is closest in meaning to .
| A．starting again | B．speeding up |
| C．improving | D．gathering |
We can make better use of wave energy if we .
| A．shorten its journey to thousands of homes |
| B．build more small power stations on the oceans |
| C．reduce the cost of turning it into electric power |
| D．quicken the steps of producing electricity |
It can be inferred that someday we might not worry about .
| A．our power supply |
| B．our boat traffic |
| C．air pollution |
| D．our supply of sea fish |
A
A shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The boy walked a long way, and finally came upon the beautiful castle where the wise man lived.
On entering the main room of the castle, the boy was quite surprised: tradesmen coming and going, people chatting in the corners, and a small orchestra playing soft music. The wise man talked with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn.
The wise man listened carefully to the boy’s explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn’t have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.
“Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something,” said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. “As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill.”
The boy began to walk up and down stairs of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the wise man.
“Well,” asked the wise man, “Did you see the Persian tapestries（挂毯）in the hall? Did you see the garden that took the master gardener ten years to create?” The boy was embarrassed, and replied that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil.
“Then go back and observe the wonders of my world,” said the wise man. The boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace. This time he observed all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. When he returned, he described in detail everything he had seen.
“But where are the drops of oil?” asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.
“Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you,” said the wise man. “The secret of happiness is to see all the wonders of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”When the boy arrived at the castle, he .
| A．received a warm welcome from the wise man |
| B．had already missed his chance to talk to the wise man |
| C．was shown around the palace by the local people |
| D．didn’t expect to see so many people around |
The wise man gave the boy two tasks in order to .
| A．show him how to observe the wonders in the world |
| B．teach him the secret of happiness |
| C．make him learn from his mistakes |
| D．let the boy enjoy his palace and garden |
We can infer from the article that “the drops of the oil on the spoon” probably refer to .
| A．the beauty of one’s nature |
| B．the fortune a person possesses |
| C．the responsibilities one has to take on |
| D．the great opportunities in life |
What would be the best title for the article?
| A．Lesson about Happiness |
| B．The Secret of Happiness |
| C．Learning about Happiness |
| D．Searching for Happiness |
Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.
“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” Ms. Sawhill said. “On average it does pay off… But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don’t graduate, that is a very bad situation.”
One comment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April’s national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn’t attended college was 7.4%, compared with 3.9% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16-24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists warns that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment.
Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one’s major: students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than those who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones.
She suggested two ways of improving the situation: increasing vocational-technical(职业技能) training programs and taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. “The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher requirement for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized(资助).”
She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be workers, such as plumbers, welders and computer programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.People usually think that _____.
| A．the cost of technical schooling is a problem |
| B．one will not succeed without a college degree |
| C．technical skills are most important for landing a job |
| D．there is an increased competition in getting into a college |
What does the underlined part “taking a page from” mean?
| A．hearing from. |
| B．changing from. |
| C．differing from. |
| D．learning from. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Public institutions charge more for education. |
| B．European universities are stricter with students. |
| C．Students with certain skills are in great demand. |
| D．Canadian students prefer to major in engineering. |
Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．Is the ‘Go to College’ message overdone? |
| B．The new requirement of Labor Market |
| C．Primary education in European countries |
| D．Is technical training more popular? |
The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles like the termite mound(白蚁堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping mall—uses less than 10% of the energy of a traditional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning plant didn’t have to be imported.
The mall is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building to circulate（流通） the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature swings （摆幅）—days as warm as 31℃commonly drop to 14℃at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its fantastically hot summers and fantastically cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove Arup&Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned buildings, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.Why was Eastgate cheaper to be built than a traditional building?
| A．It was designed in a smaller size. |
| B．No air conditioners were fixed in. |
| C．Its heating system was less advanced. |
| D．It used rather different building materials. |
What does “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?
| A．Fresh air from outside. |
| B．Heat in the building. |
| C．Hollow space. |
| D．Baseboard vent. |
Why would a building like Eastgate Not work efficiently in New York?
| A．New York has less clear skies as Harare. |
| B．Its dampness affects the circulation of air. |
| C．New York covers a larger area than Harare. |
| D．Its temperature changes seasonally rather than daily. |
The data in the last paragraph suggests Eastgate’s temperature control system_____.
| A．allows a wide range of temperatures |
| B．functions well for most of the year |
| C．can recycle up to 30% of the air |
| D．works better in hot seasons |