Recently a group of children in America poured some gasoline on a sleeping man and set him on fire. When caught, the children said they had done what they’d seen on TV.
The incidents make people angry who believe that American children are harmed by watching too much TV. They claim children can’t tell between the fiction of TV and reality, and TV distracts them from learning and makes them violent.
To estimate the impact of TV on young people, “Life” magazine hires a company to interview hundreds of school children in Nora Springs, Iowa and in Dallas, Texas. Although the two cities are very different, the company finds children in each city watch the same TV shows.
Many Iowa children, who watch an average of three hours of TV a day, recognizing that life on TV is rosier than what they experience. Their favourite shows are situation comedies about American families in trouble. Many boys like violent shows about police detectives or heroes, girls particularly soap operas-stories about families and friends.
On the whole, children find real violence on news programs hard to take. “If you see a bus crash on the news, it’s frightening,” one fifth grader says. By and large, the Iowa children agree that the best thing about TV is it makes you laugh.
Children in Dallas are savvier about programs of drug use on TV. “They don’t really show them doing it right. On TV they are not real.” A fifth grader says.
“Life” agrees with a 1988 study by the U. S Department of education that finds children are none the worse for watching TV. The study finds TV doesn’t have lasting effect on children. On the contrary, kids show good judgment about what they watch. “There are very few good shows on TV anymore,” a 10-year-old boy says.
While the debate about TV is so heated, the “Life” survey gives hope that American kids aren’t wasting three or four hours a day (what is worse, by the time young people enter college today, they will have devoted more time to watching television than they will spend in college). However, a child watching TV isn’t reading a good book or joining in healthful sports.The main idea of the passage is .
| A．children who watch more TV are smarter than those who watch only one hour a day |
| B．children learn about drugs from watching TV |
| C．watching too much TV can cause children to go out and kill people |
| D．children learn from TV and can tell reality from what they see on it |
Children who see real violence on TV news programs .
| A．change the channel to watch other programs | B．live in Iowa or Texas |
| C．are sometimes upset and scared | D．think TV gives a very positive image of friendship |
Children who enter college today .
| A．usually cause the satisfaction of the society |
| B．think life on TV is happier than their life at home |
| C．have spent more time watching TV than they will spend in college |
| D．watch most the same TV shows as children in Dallas |
The “Life” survey of children’s TV habits .
| A．concludes that watching up to seven hours a day of TV is good for children |
| B．agrees with the U.S. Department of Education study that finds few negative effects from watching TV |
| C．concludes that there aren’t any good shows on TV any more |
| D．concludes that children shouldn’t pour gasoline on sleeping man |
Ever since news of widespread food recalls caused by a carcinogenic dye broke, there has been confusion（混淆） over possible links to the country of the same name, but Sudan officials say there is no connection whatever．
Sudan 1 is a red industrial dye（颜料） that has been found in some chilli powder, but was banned in food products across the European Union (EU) in July 2003．
Since the ban was put in place, EU officials have been trying to remove some food products from the shelves．So far 580 products have been recalled．
Last week Sudan’s Embassy in the United Kingdom asked the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for clarification(澄清) of the origin of the dye’s name．
Omaima Mahmoud Al Sharief, a press official at Sudan’s Embassy in China, explained the purpose of the inquiry was to clear up any misunderstanding over links between the country and the poisonous dye．
"We want to keep an eye on every detail and avoid any misunderstanding there," she said．"Our embassy to Britain asked them how the dye got that name and whether the dye had something to do with our country．But they told us there was no relationship．"
The FSA, an independent food security watchdog in Britain, received a letter from the Sudanese embassy last week．
"They asked us why the dye is named Sudan, however, we also do not know how it got the name," she said．"People found the dye in 1883 and gave it the name．Nobody knows the reason, and we cannot give any explanation before we find out．"
Sudan dyes, which include Sudan 1 to 4, are red dyesused for colouring oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes．They are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer．What does the underlined word “carcinogenic” mean in paragraph one?
| A．Causing cancer． | B．Having side effect． |
| C．Containing poison． | D．Poisonous． |
How did the Sudan 1 get its name?
| A．The dye is often produced in Sudan． |
| B．The dye has something to do with the country named Sudan． |
| C．Nobody is sure of the origin of the name． |
| D．Many foods produced in Sudan contain the dye． |
We can infer from the passage that．
| A．the Sudan government is paying much attention to the food safety |
| B．Sudan 1 is often used to be added to the food |
| C．people didn’t realize the danger of Sudan1 until 2003 |
| D．many food shops will be closed down |
Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Keep away from Sudan1 |
| B．No Sudan 1 dye links to the country |
| C．How Sudan1 dye got its name? |
| D．Pay attention to the food safety |
A powerful earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan at two forty-six p.m. local time on March eleventh.2011. Japan's Meteorological Agency released its first tsunami（海啸） warnings just three minutes later. The country has one of the best earthquake early warning systems in the world.
There are more than four thousand Seismic Intensity Meters in place throughout Japan to measure earthquake activity. These meters provide information within two minutes of an earthquake happening. Information about the strength and the center of the earthquake can be learned within three minutes.
There are also concrete(混凝土) sea walls around much of the Japanese coastline. But these measures proved no match for the powerful earthquake and tsunami.
Costas Synolakis ，a tsunami expert at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles said，"Japan is one of those most well-prepared countries on earth in terms of tsunami warning. They had a warning. I think what went wrong is that they had not expected the size of this event."
He says there are two reasons for this. Japan has not had any event anywhere near as big as this one in the last one hundred fifty years. And scientists had not expected such a large earthquake happening off the coast of Japan.
The nine point zero magnitude earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded worldwide. It was also the worst earthquake ever to hit Japan. The tsunami waves that followed were reported to have reached as high as thirteen meters in some areas.
Costas Synolakis says Japan's concrete sea walls were not built to handle such high waves.
Experts say early warning systems will continue to be limited by these facts until earthquakes and tsunamis can be predictedWhere can this passage probably be adapted from?
| A．A magazine on science | B．A fairy Tale |
| C．A scientific fantasy book | D．A newspaper |
Which of the following statements NOT true ?
| A．A terrible earthquake hit the northeastern coast of Japan |
| B．It was also the worst earthquake in Japan |
| C．The 9.0 earthquake was the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan |
| D．Japan's concrete sea walls was unable to handle such high waves. |
According to Costas Synolakis, why did Japan suffer such a loss?
| A．The country has never experienced any event as big as this one over the past 150 years |
| B．Japan has the best earthquake early warning systems in the world. |
| C．There are not concrete sea walls around all of the Japanese coastline |
| D．The government didn’t announce its first tsunami warnings three minutes earlier. |
Long before the white man came to the America, the land belonged to the American Indian nations, The nation of the Cherokees lived in what is now the southeastern part of the United States.
After the white man came, the Cherokees copied many of their ways. One Cherokee named Sequoyah saw how important reading and writing was to the white man. He decided to invent a way to write down the spoken Cherokee language. He began by making word pictures. For each word he drew a picture. But that proved impossible; there were just too many words. Then he took the 85 sounds that made up the language. Using his own imagination and an English spelling book, Sequoyah invented a sign for each sound. His alphabet proved amazingly easy to learn. Before long, many Cherokees knew how to read and write in their own language. By 1828, they were even printing their own newspaper.
In 1830, the US congress passed a law. It allowed the government to remove Indians from their lands. The Cherokees refused to go. They had lived on their lands for centuries. It belonged to them. Why should they go to a strange land far beyond the Mississippi River?
The army was sent to drive the Cherokees out. Soldiers surrounded their villages and marched them at gunpoint into the western territory. The sick, the old and the small children went in carts, along with their belongings. The rest of the people marched on foot or rode on horseback. It was November, yet many of them still wore their summer clothes. Cold and hungry, the Cherokees were quickly exhausted by the hardships of journey. Many dropped dead and were buried by the roadside. When the last group arrived in their new home in March 1839, more than 4000 had died. It was in deed a march of death. The Cherokee Nation used to live____________.
| A．on the American continent | B．in the southeastern part of the US |
| C．beyond the Mississippi River | D．in the western territory |
One of the ways that Sequoyah copied from the white man is the way of__________.
| A．writing down the spoken language | B．making word pictures |
| C．teaching his people reading | D．printing their own newspaper |
A law was passed in 1830 to__________.
| A．allow the Cherokees to stay where they were |
| B．send the army to help the Cherokees |
| C．force the Cherokees to move westward |
| D．forbid the Cherokees to read their newspaper |
When the Cherokees began to leave their lands, __________.
| A．they went in carts | B．they went on horseback |
| C．they marched on foot | D．all of the above |
Many Cherokees died on their way to their new home mainly because________.
| A．they were not willing to go there |
| B．the government did not provide transportation |
| C．they did not have enough food and clothes |
| D．the journey was long and boring |
Satellites are an important part of our ordinary lives．For example, the information for weather forecasts is sent by satellite．Some satellites have cameras which take photographs of the Earth to show how clouds are moving．Satellites are also used to connect our international phone calls．
Computer connections of the World Wide Web and Internet also use satellites. Many of our TV programs come to US through satellites．Airplane pilots also sometimes use a satellite to help them find their exact location．
We use satellites to send television pictures from one part of the world to another．They are usually 35，880 kilometers above the equator．Sometimes we can see a satellite in the sky and it seems to stay in the same place．This is because it is moving around the world at 11，000 kilometers an hour—exactly the same speed that the earth rotates．A satellite must orbit the Earth with its antennae(天线)facing the earth．Sometimes, it moves away from its orbit，So there are little rockets on it which are used to put the satellite back in the right position．This usually happens about every five or six days．
Space is not empty! Every week, more and more satellites are sent into space to orbit the Earth．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years．Satellites which are broken are sometimes repaired by astronauts or sometimes brought back to Earth to be repaired．Often，very old or broken satellites are left in space to orbit the Earth for a very long time．This is very serious because some satellites use nuclear power and they can crash into each other．Which of the following is NOT done by satellites according to the passage?
| A．Sending information for weather forecast． |
| B．Taking photographs of the Earth． |
| C．Sending TV pictures． |
| D．Providing food for airplane pilots． |
What’s the speed the earth rotates at?
| A．35,880 kilometers per hour． | B．335,880 kilometers per hour． |
| C．11,000 kilometers per hour． | D．110,000 kilometers per hour |
Why does the satellite move around the world at the same speed as the Earth rotates?
| A．In order to take photographs． |
| B．In order to stay in a certain position in the orbit． |
| C．In order to move away from its orbit． |
| D．In order to send television pictures． |
What does the underlined word “This” in the 3rd paragraph refer to?
| A．A satellite． | B．A little rocket． |
| C．A satellite seems to stay in the same place in the sky． | |
| D．The satellite puts the rockets in the right position． |
Which is true of satellites?
| A．A satellite usually works for about 10-12 years． |
| B．Every time a satellite gets broken，it is brought back to the Earth to be repaired． |
| C．A broken satellite is never left in space. |
| D．They often crash into each other. |
Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.
In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated .
| A．in spring | B．summer |
| C．in autumn | D．in winter |
The first to celebrate thanksgiving were .
| A．some people from England |
| B．the American Indians |
| C．Sarah Josepha Hale |
| D．Governor Bradford |
We can infer from the passage that New England must be .
A. in the U. S. A. B. in Great Britain
C. in Canada D. on some island off the Atlantic Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest. |
| B．Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations. |
| C．Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God. |
| D．There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
The passage mainly tells us .
A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.
B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated
C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday
D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places