Mr. Patrick was new to the school and to us. Even though he was a great teacher, he seemed rather like a character out of a horror movie. He didn’t look that bad, but somehow, he looked extremely scary to me.
Some kids began to believe that he was a murderer or a ghost; some believed he was mad and a few believed that he might have suffered a lot in his life. I was one of those ‘few’.
One day I gathered up my courage and headed towards the school garden. He was, as usual, sitting on a bench alone. I breathed heavily a few times and then walked towards him.
“How are you?” I asked with my voice crackling.
He managed to say, “Fine.”
“Well, good to know,” I tried to be happy.
“Hmmm…” was all I heard.
“What’s up with you?” then seeing a puzzled look on his face, I tried to be more formal and respectful. “I mean, why aren’t you like all other people in the school? Why are you always so quiet and sad? Why…”
“No dear, some things are better left unsaid,” he said gloomily.
“Oh no sir, nothing is better left unsaid. If you want to share your feelings with me and reduce the pain of your heart, you are free to do so. I promise I will never ever tell anyone.”
“With you? You are just a little girl; what will you understand?”
I was somehow offended but still I managed to persuade him, “So what, Sir? You see, if you tell me your problem, you will have a light heart and you will have the feeling that someone somewhere cares about you.”
“Oh okay, that was a very nice belief indeed; let’s take a walk and I will let you know everything.”
Soon after our little talk, there was a visible change on his face. Later that day in the class, there was a smile on his face.From the text, we can know about Mr. Patrick that he .
| A.once acted a character in a horror movie |
| B.scared his students with his looks |
| C.often punished the students for bad marks |
| D.did better in teaching than others in the school |
Mr. Patrick was thought by the author to .
| A.be a murderer or a ghost | B.be mad |
| C.have suffered a lot | D.have a special personality |
While walking towards Mr. Patrick in the school garden, the author felt .
| A.excited | B.nervous | C.worried | D.happy |
The United Nations says forty million people or so around the world went hungry in 2008, mainly because of higher food prices. Early estimates(估计) from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) show that 963 million people did not get enough to eat.
World food prices have dropped since early 2008. Prices of major crops have decreased by more than half from their height earlier last year. But they remain high compared to earlier years.
But FAO official Hafez Ghanem says lower prices have failed to end the food crisis (危机) in many poor countries. “For millions in developing countries,” he says, “getting enough food every day to live an active and healthy life is a distant dream.”
The FAO says food shortage is a threat to people's health. Today, two-thirds of the world's undernourished people live in just a few countries. These are India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia and so on.
A report on food insecurity warns that the current economic crisis could send even more people into hunger and poverty.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the percentage of the people who continually go hungry fell from 34% in 1997 to 30% in 2008. But the FAO says Ghana is the only country that has reached two sets of hunger reduction targets. These were set by the 1996 World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals. The main reason is the growth in agricultural production in Ghana.
The FAO says some countries in Southeast Asia like Thailand and Vietnam have made progress in hunger reduction goals. But South Asia and Central Asia haven't, and North Korea is still in hot water.What FAO official Hafez Ghanem says implies(暗示)__________
| A.it's easy but takes long to provide people with enough food |
| B.enough food can make people more active and healthier |
| C.there is difficulty solving the food shortage in a short time |
| D.people in developing countries will never get enough food |
Ghana has reached the targets of hunger reduction mainly because of ________.
| A.the still high food prices |
| B.the donation of developed countries |
| C.the two targets of hunger reduction |
| D.the growth in agricultural production |
The underlined word "undernourished" in Para. 4 probably means ________.
| A.hungry and unhappy |
| B.unhealthy for lack of food |
| C.not fat because of poverty |
| D.undeveloped and poor |
Which country has not made progress in hunger reduction?
| A.North Korea | B.Thailand | C.Vietnam | D.Ghana |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A.The food production of the world |
| B.The hunger reduction target of the FAO |
| C.The food shortage around the world |
| D.The solution to the global food shortage |
Most people go to a doctor in their own town or suburb (郊区). But people in the Australian outback can’t get to a doctor quickly. The nearest doctor is sometimes hundreds of kilometers away so they have to call him on a two-way radio. This special doctor is called the “flying doctor”. He visits sick people by plane.
When someone is very sick, the doctor has to fly to the person’s home. His plane lands on a flat piece of ground near the person’s house. Sometimes the doctor has to take the patient to hospital. Flying doctors take about 8,600 people to hospital each year.
However, most of the time the person isn’t very sick, and the doctor doesn’t have to visit. He can give advice on the radio from the office at the flying doctor center. He can tell the patient to use some medicine from a special medicine chest (箱子). There is one of these chests in every home in the outback. Each bottle, tube (管子) and packet (包) in the chest has a number. The doctor often says something like this,” take two tablets (药片) from bottle 5 every four hours.” Some people in the Australian outback can’t get to a doctor quickly. Because_________
| A.there are few doctors there |
| B.the nearest doctor is sometimes very far away from them |
| C.there is always heavy traffic on the road |
| D.they don’t want to see a doctor |
The word “outback” in the passage probably means__________.
A. the part of a country far away from cities
B. downtown
B. forest
D. market-placeThe doctor there usually goes to visit his patient__________.
| A.by sea | B.by air |
| C.on foot | D.in a car |
If the person isn’t very sick, the doctor only _________.
| A.tells him to have a rest |
| B.tells him what food to eat |
| C.gives him some advice |
| D.gives him some medicine |
From the passage we know that_________.
| A.people in Australia are seldom ill |
| B.every family in the outback has a special medicine chest |
| C.a “flying doctor” is a man who flies people to hospital |
| D.there are very few hospitals in Australia |
October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at so-called extremely moments. These include after using the toilet,after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public Private Partnership for handwashing with soap. The goal,they say,is to create a culture of handwashing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing disease-causing germs (细菌).They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas,including under the fingernails. Then,wash well under running water. Finally,dry your hands with a clean cloth.
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell,which increases the chances that people will wash again.
It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea (痢疾),which is the second leading cause of child deaths,killing more than one and a half million children a year,by almost half.Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?
a. Washing hands well under running water.
b. Covering hands with soap.
c. Drying hands.
d. Rubbing hands with soap.
e. Wetting hands.
| A.a-c-b-e-d | B.e-d-a-b-c |
| C.a-c-b-d-e | D.e-b-d-a-c |
Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?
| A.It gives people a longer handwashing time. |
| B.It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands. |
| C.It attracts people to do more handwashing. |
| D.It gets all people into the habit of washing hands. |
According to the last paragraph,diarrhea is a disease that______.
| A.kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year |
| B.causes the greatest number of child deaths |
| C.can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap |
| D.can’t be cured without washing hands |
Music is often thought of as “easy” or “play time”, but it's not that at all. Music plays a very important part in our education. Students who learn music learn a lot of music history at school. This includes “modes (调式)”,which were used in churches during the development of music. They are still used today. Students learn about the historical events that were taking place when the music they play was written. They learn what the music was used for. So much of our culture is in music and has been for centuries. Music also helps with science. Students use science to help them discover what sounds good together and what doesn't. Students also need science to understand something called the “overtone series”, which is about how music is produced by vibration (颤动) and why. Students learn a lot about languages. Many songs are written in other languages, including ancient ones. Students must learn to translate these works to understand what they are singing about. Some songs are famous poems or short works set to music. Students learn a huge amount of coordination (协调) through music, so parts of the body can work better together. Students must use fine motor skills in order to play an instrument. Singers and players must learn breath control and be in good shape to play.
Students learn about art. Some famous pieces were written about important works of art, and students learn about the artists and styles as they're playing the music. Music education also brings higher thinking to our children. It allows them to think about complex patterns (How can I make my part sound better?How do this music and these different parts fit together?). Students have to know absolutely what every other musician does at all times. In that way, it develops teamwork. As one can see, music is very important to education besides bringing us fun.Learning music is helpful to the following subjects EXCEPT ________.
| A.science | B.language | C.politics | D.history |
Students who learn music have to translate songs ________.
| A.because they are learning the language |
| B.because they must understand what they are singing about |
| C.because the songs are ancient ones |
| D.because they are famous poems |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A.Modes are still used in modern music. |
| B.Different kinds of music show different cultures. |
| C.It's easier for athletes to learn to play an instrument. |
| D.A good musician should know the importance of teamwork. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A.The importance of music. |
| B.The importance of music education. |
| C.Ways to learn music well. |
| D.Skills music students should have. |
The Spring Festival is the biggest festival for Chinese people all around the world. The celebration usually lasts for 15 days. There is a lot to do.
On the eve of the Spring Festival, family members get together and have big meals. Their favourite dish on this day is dumplings.
Days before the Spring Festival, families will clean their homes. People think cleaning sweeps away bad luck. It makes the house ready for good luck.
The colour red is everywhere during the Spring Festival. People think red is a happy colour and will bring them a bright future. People wear red, too. They decorate (装饰) their homes with pieces of red paper. Kids get a lot of "hong bao". It is a red paper bag with money in it. Usually, older people give younger ones“hong bao”. They think it brings good luck.
The Spring Festival is the time to make everybody happy. So don't say any bad words or do anything that will bring unhappiness to other people.
For instance, you'd better not say any bad words like "death". Don't break anything. People think that it means your luck is running out.
Also, don't borrow or lend money on these days. If you have borrowed money, return it before the Spring Festival. What do most people do on the eve of the Spring Festival?
| A.Family members gather for a big meal. |
| B.Friends eat dumplings together. |
| C.They borrow money from friends. |
| D.They give each other “hong bao”. |
Which of the following things is not supposed to happen during the Spring Festival?
| A.Returning money before the Spring Festival. |
| B.Saying words that have to do with death. |
| C.Wearing red clothes. |
| D.Decorating houses with red paper. |
The underlined phrase "running out" probably means "____".
| A.跑出去 | B.打碎 | C.耗尽 | D.离开 |
We can tell from the story that the Spring Festival is ____.
| A.a time of harvest and fun |
| B.celebrated for one whole month |
| C.only celebrated in China |
| D.a time for families to get together |