People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child-care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A while one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are more valuable than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting cards stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays. Which is not a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
| A．Parents bring up the children. |
| B．Parents give love and care to children. |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons. |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up. |
. What do you know from the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
| A．It only has two kinds of colors. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. |
| C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May. |
On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, ________.
| A．people usually have family parties. | B．everyone goes to visit the cemetery. |
| C．children always go to parent’s home. | D．hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts. |
What do you think florists do?
| A．They sell flowers. |
| B．They make bread or pastry. |
| C．They offer enough room for having family parties. |
| D．They sell special clothes for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. |
As one comes to some crossroads, he or she sees a sign which says that drivers have to stop when they come to the main road ahead. At other crossroads, drivers have to go slow, but they do not actually have to stop unless, of course, there is something coming along the main road; and at still others, they do not have either to stop or to go slow, because they are themselves on the main road.
Mr. Williams, who was always a very careful driver, was driving home from work one evening when he came to a crossroad. It had a “SLOW” sign. He slowed down when he came to the main road, looked both ways to see that nothing was coming, and then drove across without stopping completely.
At once he heard a police whistle (口哨声), so he pulled into the side of the road and stopped. A policeman walked over to him with a notebook and a pen in his hand and said, “You didn’t stop at that crossing.”
“But the sign there doesn't say ‘STOP’.” answered Mr. Williams, “It just says ‘SLOW’, and I did go slow.”
The policeman looked around him, and a look of surprise came over his face. Then he put his notebook and pen away, scratched (抓) his head and said, “Well，I'm in the wrong street！”Mr. Williams was driving ____ one evening.
| A．to a party |
| B．to his office |
| C．home after work |
| D．to work from home |
When he was stopped by a policeman, he ____.
| A．was driving at a high speed |
| B．was driving onto the main road |
| C．was going to stop his car |
| D．was driving slowly |
Mr. Williams continued driving at the crossing because____.
| A．he didn't see any sign there. |
| B．he paid no attention to the traffic rules |
| C．he didn't have to stop |
| D．he was eager to get home |
Looking round Mr. Williams, the policeman was surprised because____.
| A．he met a mad man |
| B．he realized that he himself was mistaken |
| C．Mr. Williams dared to speak to him like that |
| D．Mr. Williams would not apologize to him |
In modern society there is a great deal of argument about competition. Some value it highly, believing that it is responsible for social progress and prosperity; others say that competition is bad; that it sets one person against another; that it leads to unfriendly relationship between people.
I have taught many children who held the belief that their self-worth relied on how well they performed at tennis and other skills. For them, playing well and winning are often life-and-death affairs. In their single-minded pursuit of success, the development of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However, while some seem to be lost in the desire to succeed, others take an opposite attitude. In a culture which values only the winner and pays no attention to the ordinary players, they strongly blame competition. Among the most vocal are youngsters who have suffered under competitive pressures from their parents or society. Teaching these young people, I often observe in them a desire to fail. They seem to seek failure by not trying to win or achieve success. By not trying, they always have an excuse: “I may have lost, but it doesn’t matter because I really didn’t try.” What is not usually admitted by themselves is the belief that if they had really tried and lost, that would mean a lot. Such a loss would be a measure of their worth. Clearly, this belief is the same as that of the true competitors who try to prove themselves. Both are based on the mistaken belief that one’s self-respect relies on how well one performs in comparison with others. Both are afraid of not being valued. Only as this basic and often troublesome fear begins to dissolve can we discover a new meaning in competition.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Competition helps to set up self-respect. |
| B．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| C．Competition is harmful to personal quality development. |
| D．Failures are necessary experiences in competition |
Why do some people favor competition according to the passage?
| A．It pushes society forward. |
| B．It builds up a sense of duty. |
| C．It improves personal abilities. |
| D．It encourages individual efforts. |
What is the similar belief of the true competitors and those with a desire to fail ?
| A．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others. |
| B．One’s success in competition needs great efforts. |
| C．One’s achievement is determined by his particular skills. |
| D．One’s success is based on how hard he has tried. |
Which point of view may the author agree to?
| A．Every effort should be paid back. |
| B．Competition should be encouraged. |
| C．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
| D．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall
At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city
Monday 7th of January until Sunday, 13th of January 2008
Feast until you’re full ! Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets. Order from the following:
·Succulent chicken rice ·Spicy satay beef
·Delicious noodle dishes ·Plump park chops
·Seafood specialties ·Crunchy vegetables
·Sweet tropical fruit
Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven
Win Prizes and Gifts !
·Spend $ 20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box.
·Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner.
·Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls.
·Win a holiday to Western Australia. A free raffle ticket is given with every receipt. Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided.
Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January.
Join in the Fun !
Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you:
·May Lee ·Jackie Chen
·Kim Yap ·Kamal
Autograph sessions will follow each performance ! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out.The prices at Munchies are__________.
| A．lower than usual |
| B．bargain prices for the opening |
| C．lower for two people |
| D．lower if you spend $ 21.00 |
Everyone who eats at Munchies will receive a _________.
| A．free raffle ticket |
| B．lucky draw coupon |
| C．free meal |
| D．balloon and whistle |
I will find out who has won the trip to Western Australia when I _________.
| A．watch Channel 3 television |
| B．come down to Munchies at noon |
| C．read The Straits Times on the 15th of January |
| D．attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall |
When a child is told he is "uncool", it can be very painful. He may say he doesn't care, and even act in ways that are opposite of cool on purpose. But ultimately, these are simply ways to handle sadness by pretending it's not there.
Helping a child feel better in school had to be careful. If you say, "Why are you worried about what other children think about you? It doesn't matter!" children know that it does matter. Instead, an active way may be best. You could say, "I'm going to do a couple of things for you to help you feel better in school."
If a boy is having trouble making friends, the teacher can help him. The teacher can arrange things so that he has chances to use his abilities to contribute to class projects. This is how the other children learn how to value his good qualities and to like him. A teacher can also raise a child's popularity in the group by showing that he values that child. It even helps to put him in a seat next to a very popular child, or let him be a partner with that child in activities, etc.
There are things that parents can do at home, too. Be friendly when your child brings others home to play. Encourage him to invite friends to meals and then serve the dishes they consider "super". When you plan trips, picnics, movies, and other shows, invite another child with whom your child wants to be friends.
What you can do is to give him a chance to join a group that may be shutting him out. Then, if he has good qualities, he can start to build real friendship of his own.A child who has been informed of being "uncool" may _____.
| A．care nothing about it |
| B．develop a sense of anger |
| C．do something uncool purposely |
| D．pretend to get hurt very much |
A teacher can help an unpopular child by _____.
| A．seeing the child as the teacher's favourite |
| B．asking the child to do something for partners |
| C．forcing other children to make friends with the child |
| D．offering the child chances to show his good qualities |
How can parents help their child fit in better?
| A．By cooking delicious food for him. |
| B．By being kind to his schoolmates. |
| C．By forcing him to invite friends home. |
| D．By taking him to have picnics in the park. |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Children don't care about others' comments on them. |
| B．It's only a teacher's work to make children popular. |
| C．Parents should take their children out for picnic and shows more often. |
| D．Inviting children's friends to family activities is good for them to make friends. |
D
As thousands of communities in the USA — especially in the South — became booming gateways for immigrant families from Central and South America during the 1990s and the early years of the new century, public schools struggled with the unfamiliar task of serving the large numbers of English learners arriving in their classrooms.
Education programs needed to be built from scratch. “We had no teaching resources suitable for English learners here before. We had to develop them all ourselves,” a Texas principal said. Throughout the country, districts had to train their own teachers to teach English to non-native speakers or recruit (招聘)teachers from elsewhere. School staff members had to figure out how to communicate with parents who spoke no English.
But even as immigration has slowed or stopped in many places, and instructional programs for English-learners have matured, serving immigrant families and their children remains a work in progress in many public schools, especially those in communities that are skeptical, or sometimes unwelcoming, to the newcomers. One of the biggest challenges educators face, is communicating effectively with parents who don’t speak English — an issue that, in part, has contributed to recent complaints of discrimination by Latino students in some cities.
“The parents’ role is very important for the success of these students, but it's also one of the most difficult things we’ve had to tackle(处理),” said Jim D. Rollins, the president of the Springdale school district, where the 19,000-student school system has gone from having no English-learners 15 years ago to more than 7,500 now. “You have to make it a priority and work on it, work on it, and work on it.”
Aside from the practical challenges, such as finding bilingual (会说两种语言的) staff members, guiding districts through such dramatic changes requires school leaders to bridge difficult political and cultural divides. For school leaders in the South, especially in the last few years, this difficult job has been made harder still by the negative attitudes of some locals towards immigrants.According to the passage, what is the problem that public schools are facing?
| A．Handling more cases from the immigrant Mexican communities. |
| B．Offering services to immigrant families in the southern states. |
| C．Offering enough communicative lessons to immigrant parents. |
| D．Providing education for non-native English learners. |
The underlined part “built from scratch” (in Paragraph 2) probably means “________”.
| A．completely new |
| B．painful to make |
| C．based on past experience |
| D．constructed gradually |
What do we know about the immigrant parents?
| A．Many of them cannot speak English. |
| B．Most of them think education is not important. |
| C．Some of them feel skeptical about the local community. |
| D．Few of them have attended American schools. |