Read this article and find out which one is a must-read for your children for Thanksgiving.
Clifford’s Thanksgiving Visit
Clifford has to stay home with his neighbors, as Emily Elizabeth’s family goes visiting her grandmother. At first, Clifford feels lonely, thinking of his own family, but then he decides to visit his mother too. He travels many miles, crosses bridges, and he even gets into the subway! Follow Clifford’s trip to the big city! At http://www.powells.com. it is $3.99. The author is Norman Bridwell. It is for children aged 4-8.
The Magic Tree House
The Magic Tree House describes how Jack and Annie return back to the eve of the first Thanksgiving. There they meet the pilgrims(移民) as well as Squanto, a native American who helped them. The story offers an age-appropriate, in-depth picture of what life was really like for early settlers, as well as their adventures and excitements. It is for ages 4-8. The book costs
$2.50 at http://www.powells.com. The author is Sal Murdocca.
Franklin’s Thanksgiving
Franklin thinks that there will be an over-abundance of food for Thanksgiving dinner. So he invites his teacher and friends for Thanksgiving dinner. It costs $2.50 at www.Powells.com. The book is for children aged 4-8. The author is Paulette Bourgeois.
The First Thanksgiving
The First Thanksgiving is for ages 4-8 and it tells about the story of the pilgrims’ learning languages. It is beautifully illustrated with plenty of beautiful watercolors(水彩画). The author is James Waiting and the price of the book is $2.50. You can find it on http://www.powells.com.Clifford travels to the big city probably because ________.
| A．he is eager to visit his grandmother | B．he is not happy at home |
| C．he misses his neighbors very much | D．he likes traveling very much |
If you are interested in the pilgrims’ life you can read ________.
| A．Clifford’s Thanksgiving Visit | B．The Magic Tree House |
| C．Franklin’s Thanksgiving | D．The First Thanksgiving |
Kids can understand The First Thanksgiving better with the help of ________.
| A．teachers | B．other readers | C．pictures | D．computers |
Speakers of different languages not only describe the world differently but think about it differently too, according to a new study.
Researchers used a cartoon cat Sylvester to study how language was reflected (反映) in the gestures people made. Dr. Sotaro Kita of the University of Bristol’s Department of Experimental Psychology (心理学), showed the cartoon to a group of native English, Japanese and Turkish speakers and then watched their gestures as they described the actions they had seen. He found speakers of the three different languages used different gestures to describe the same event, which appeared to reflect the way the structure of their languages expressed that event. For example, when describing a scene where the cat swings on a rope, the English speakers used gestures showing an arc trajectory (弧形轨迹) and the Japanese and Turkish speakers tended to use straight gestures showing the motion but not the arc.
Dr. Kita suggests this is because Japanese and Turkish have no proper verb to express the English meaning “to swing”. While English speakers use the arc gesture as their language can readily express the change of location and the arc-shaped trajectory, Japanese and Turkish speakers cannot as easily express the idea of movement with an arc trajectory so they use the straight gesture.
Dr. Kita said, “My research suggests that speakers of different languages cause different spatial (空间的) images of the same event in a way that matches the expressive possibilities of their own languages. In other words, language influences (影响) spatial thinking at the moment of speaking.”
68. Researchers watched the gestures the people made because they wanted to know _____.
| A．how language was reflected |
| B．whether they could express the same idea |
| C．whether they could describe what they had seen |
| D．how the structure of language changed |
69. After watching the gestures of speakers of the three different languages, Dr. Kita concluded that _____.
| A．Japanese and Turkish people couldn’t express the meaning of “swing” |
| B．English was obviously better than Japanese and Turkish |
| C．no word in Japanese and Turkish could express some ideas of English |
| D．every language had its own special way to describe things |
70.What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．Differences between languages. |
| B．Differences between gestures. |
| C．How people use different gestures to express the same event. |
| D．That language influences the way people think. |
Think back to this time last year. What was on your mind?
Most likely, you were thinking about finals or the holidays, although in this city I’ve noticed that thinking about the holiday is a fancy way of saying how much stuff will I get.
Now reflect on your thoughts for this holiday season. Most people are still thinking about the holidays, but I say that with a grain of salt. Everybody with a functioning brain and the ability to communicate knows that this holioday season comes with a pretty large price tag: the debt of all the hardships, both domestic and foreign, that we’ve faced over the past 12months.
Let’s face it: some of us will get everything we want over the holidays. But there are others whose parents have lost their jobs or who have lost jobs themselves because of the current economic situation. As much as we try to ignore it, there is still economic unrest in the blue and gold suburb.
In this situation, we have three options. One: We ignore the situation, like we seem to do for every bad thing that happens around us, because by God, it’s the American Way! Two: We recognize that our economy is shot, feel bad about it and spend our time wishing for the good old days. Three: We recognize that our economy is shot, but instead of moping, reflect on every good thing that we have going for us. Now, which option sounds best to you?
I spent a week this summer working in and around New York City with the city’s homeless population. Or so I thought. Although a lot of the people I served were in fact homeless, a significant number of them had a job or a home or both. The truth of the importance of this situation is that they and thousands of others across the country can’t afford even the most basic things of life, even while working two jobs. Yet no one that I met complained about their hardships. Instead, they took whatever I happened to give them(which was, more often than enough, not enough) and were genuinely grateful for what they had.
Wrap your heads around that statement for a second. These people worked their butts off to stay alive with minimal results, yet were overjoyed by a flimsy(脆弱的) paper plate with donated green beans on it. Although I am ashamed to admit it( both as a girthy figure and an affluent citizen), I have taken for granted most of my meals, let alone green beans, and I know for a fact that I am not alone.
64. According to the passage when people think about holidays they care much for ____.
| A．where to spend their holidays | B．how to spend their holidays |
| C．what they can get for their holidays | D．who they should go to visit |
65. When the author wrote the article, the economic situation in his country ____.
| A．began to go bad. | B．began to improve | C．was still serious | D．was favorable for middle class. |
66. The author wrote the article mainly to advise people____.
| A．to be thankful in time of hardship. | B．to spend their holidays in a wise way |
| C．to think little about their holidays | D．to help the country to sail through the crisis |
67. It can be inferred from the passage that the writer is most probably ______.
| A．a homeless child | B．an old professor | C．a famous scientist | D．a young student |
Holiday
The Bay Hotel
It is a quiet, comfortable hotel overlooking the bay in an uncommerciallised Cornish fishing village on England’s most southerly point. If pop music is no longer your strong point, and you are considering a relaxing holiday where the scenery is break taking and sound of the sea is live music to your ears, come and stay with us. For adults only. Sssh! Don’t tell everyone! 01326 280464
Willapark Manor Hotel.
Peaceful situation in 14 acres of separated gardens and woodlands, overlooking picturesque bay. Close to coastal path and beach. Excellent cuisine. Our excellent service bring our guests back year after year. Children and pets welcome. 01840 770782
The Country Garden Hotel.
Delightful hotel set in lovely gardens; calm Island of Wight near Tennyson Downs, Great food! Garden, sea view and ground floor rooms. Please call for brochure(服务指南) and sample menu. Adults only and pets welcome. 0800 980 1943.
Boscastle.
Romantic 17th Century farmers’s cottage in countryside with splendid coastal views. Well equipped. Sleeps 5. Regret no pets/ smoking. Garden with furniture. Brochure: 01633 450417 Godshill. 4 stars self---served units. Nonsmoking. Cosy. No pets. Brochure: 01983 840371
The Blakeney Hotel. Special seasonal midweek price for aged citizen.
Overlooking harbor traditional privately owned friendly hotel with 60 bedrooms, lift, heated indoor pool, spa bath and saunas. Relax, walk, sail, play golf, explore the Norfolk villages, countryside and coast. Special seasonal midweek price for aged citizen. 01263 7407 97
S W France.
Rural setting near Corders. Two beautifully repainted old houses, sleep 4/5 and 5. Gardens,woodland, pool, views, excellent walks. Available all year round. Outstanding 01962 776967
60. If you want to take your children and pets with you on holiday, you can choose _____.
| A．Boscastle. | B．The Bay Hotel. | C．Willapark Manor Hotel. | D．S W France. |
61. All of the following hotels are close to the sea Except ______.
| A．The Country Garden Hotel | B．The Blakeney Hotel. | C．Willapark Manor Hotel. | D．S W France |
62. We learn from the text that ____.
| A．If you are a smoker, you can stay at Boscatle. |
| B．If you want to play golf, you can call S W France. |
| C．Maybe the price is low for aged citizens during special seasonal midweek. |
| D．Adults with pets can call 01326 280464 |
63. What is the aim of putting this advertisement?
| A．To give a description of the hotels. |
| B．To encourage more people to know about hotels. |
| C．To tell people some special things in the hotels. |
| D．To introduce the hotels and attract more visitors to stay there. |
Dear Florence,
We arrived in India last week, and the voyage was the worst experience of my entire life. I’m lucky to be alive!
The first part of the journey was terrible, because the ship hit bad weather almost as soon as we left Liverpool. But much, much worse was to come. Later, we were involved in a collision with another boat and we had to abandon ship!
We had been at sea for about two weeks and we were in the Mediterranean. There is now a canal between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea called the Suez Canal, which opened last year. Our boat stopped at Port Said, the Egyptian port at the entrance to the canal. I remember looking through the porthole of my cabin and wishing that I could go ashore and visit this fascinating place, but mummy had ordered that I was to stay in the cabin because I was feeling ill. “you must stay here for at least another two days.” I remember her saying. How wrong she would turn out to be! The ship left the port and headed towards the canal . I was alone in the cabin and I watched the port disappear into the distance. Suddenly there was a loud bang, followed by the most awful crunching（嘎吱的）sound, and the ship shook and turned slightly on its side.
There was an eerie silence for a moment, then people started shouting. Mummy came running into the cabin and told me that we had collided with another boat. She took my hand and we ran along the deck towards the lifeboats. There was a lot of shouting and people were running everywhere, but the crew were all acting calmly, helping people into the lifeboats and telling people not to panic.
Well, clearly we survived, as did all the passengers and crew of the ship. The other boat wasn’t so lucky. It sank and several lives were lost.
I will write about the rest of the journey soon. Please give my love to Aunt Claire and Uncle Eric.
Your loving cousin,
Jane
56．When was the letter written?
| A．Before the author went to India. | B．In the mid – 19th century. |
| C．When the author arrived in Egypt. | D．Just after the author arrived in India. |
57．Why was the journey to India such a bad experience for the author?
| A．She was sick when it started and nearly died in Egypt. |
| B．Her ship left England in bad weather and crashed into another ship near the Suez Canal. |
| C．She was seasick when her ship sank. |
| D．She was alone when her ship hit another boat and she got sick. |
58．The author’s mother didn’t allow her to go ashore and visit the port city, Said because.
| A．she was homesick at that time |
| B．she didn’t feel very well then |
| C．she could meet some danger ashore |
| D．she could see the city through the porthole on board |
59．The underlined phrase “eerie silence” in the sixth paragraph means.
| A．pleasant calm silence | B．long peaceful silence |
| C．sudden long silence | D．strange uncomfortable silence |
UK
Attention, Harry Potter fans: The sixth novel in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood, will go on sale in the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia on July 16, 2005
Italy
According to a recent study, there are now more dogs and cats in Italian homes than children. There are at least 14.5 million dogs cats in Italian homes compared with 8.7 million children under the age of 15．Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. A psychologist said that pets were loved by many young Italians who could not have or did not want to have children. In Italy, spending on pets has increased by 20 percent in the past five years.
US
The start of a new years is time when many Americans like to think about ways to make improvements for the future. But this year, instead of the usually New Year’s resolution(决心) to lose weight, quit smoking or exercise more, the US Department of Homeland Security is urging Americans to create a family emergency plan for any terror attack.
France & Iraq
The two French journalists who had been held hostage(扣为人质) in Iraq for 124 days were freed last week. Christian Chesnot, 37 and Georges Malbunot, 41, were kidnapped along with their Iraqi driver on Aug, 20 in Iraq. French Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, said that the French government had not paid ransom(赎金) for their release.From the news above we know that health is usually most being talked about in _________
| A．UK | B．Italy | C．US | D．France |
The content order of the passage is___________
| A．society, life, politics, business | B．life, society, business, politics |
| C．business, society, life, politics | D．business, politics, society, life |
Which is the suitable title for the second passage?
| A．The Lowest Birth Rates | B．More Pets Than Children |
| C．Great Change On Money Spending | D．A scientific Research Report |
The two journalists were held hostage on ___________.
| A．August 20 | B．April 18 | C．May 17 | D．April 16 |