Most lives saved from sinking ferryCao Min couldn’t believe she was experiencing exactly what she had seen years ago in the film “Titanic”.
Cao and her two children from Anhui Province were traveling on board the “Liaoludu 7”on February 22.They were among the first people on the ship who were rescued by lifeboats. Cao’s one-year-old son was the youngest passenger on board.
The “Liaoludu 7”was traveling in the Bohai Straits(渤海海峡)from Lushun in Liaoning Province to the port city of Longkou in Shandong Province. It suddenly lost its power at 2:30 pm and tilted(倾斜)on its side. With 81 people on board, the ferry(渡船)began to sink.
“I was so scared that my legs couldn’t move forward. They kept shaking even when I was asked to jump onto a “ lifeboat.” Cao recalled.
Upon receiving the urgent appeal, China Marine Search and Rescue Center(中国海上搜救中心)immediately informed the State Council(国务院).The center sent eight lifeboats to the sinking ship and asked for help form the Ministry of Agriculture, the Navy and nearby fishing boats.
After more than four hours of fighting against strong winds and freezing ocean water, the passengers were recovered. All but four survived. These four died after spending too long in the freezing waters, according to a spokesperson for the Beijing-based center.
(From 21st Century, Mar.3, 2003)How many people survived the disaster?
| A．4 | B．81 | C．85 | D．77 |
Who do you think were the first people rescued?
| A．Women and children | B．Women | C．Children | D．Men |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．The accident happened from Longkou in Shandong Province to Lushun in Liaoning Province. |
| B．The fighting of the people on board against the strong winds and freezing ocean water lasted several hours. |
| C．Cao and her children fortunately were saved. |
| D．But for the State Council, the passengers and the crew would have lost their lives. |
Have you ever been sad because of failure? Please remember, for quite often achieving what you set out do is not the most important thing.
A boy decided to dig a deep hole behind his house. As he was working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch. “What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “I want to dig a hole all the way through the earth!” the boy answered excitedly. The older boys began to laugh, telling him that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a while, the boy picked up a jar. He showed it to the visitors. It was full of all kinds of stones and insects. Then he said calmly and confidently, “Maybe I can’t finish digging all the way through the earth, but look at what I’ve found during this period!”
The boy’s goal was far too difficult, but it did cause him to go on. And that is what a goal is for－to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to cause us to keep working!
Not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end up with a success. Not every dream will come true. But when you fall short of your aim, maybe you can say, “Yes, but look at what I’ve found along the way! There are so many wonderful things having come into my life because I tried to do something!” It is in the digging that life is lived. It is the unexpected joy on the journey that really makes sense.The older boys laughed at the boy because he was thought to be______.
| A．brave | B．impolite |
| C．foolish | D．warm-hearted |
Why did the boy show the jar to the older boys?
| A．To drive them away. |
| B．To show what he had found in digging. |
| C．To show how beautiful the jar was. |
| D．To attract them to join him in the work. |
What can be learnt from the fourth paragraph of the text?
| A．No dream can come true. |
| B．All work will end successfully. |
| C．Goals shouldn’t be set too high. |
| D．Goals will make us work harder. |
The best title for the text should be______.
| A．A Boy Dug a Hole |
| B．Joy in the Journey |
| C．No Pain, No Gains |
| D．Failure Is the Mother of Success |
I was never very neat, while my roommate Kate was extremely organized. Each of her objects had its place, but mine always hid somewhere. She even labeled(贴标签) everything. I always looked for everything. Over time, Kate got neater and I got messier. She would push my dirty clothing over, and I would lay my books on her tidy desk. We both got tired of each other.
War broke out one evening. Kate came into the room. Soon, I heard her screaming, “Take your shoes away! Why under my bed!” Deafened, I saw my shoes flying at me. I jumped to my feet and started yelling. She yelled back louder.
The room was filled with anger. We could not have stayed together for a single minute without a phone call. Kate answered it. From her end of the conversation, I could tell right away her grandma was seriously ill. When she hung up, she quickly crawled(爬) under her covers, weeping. Obviously, that was something she should not go through alone. All of a sudden, a warm feeling of sympathy rose up in my heart,
Slowly, I collected the pencils, took back the books, made my bed, cleaned the socks and swept the floor, even on her side. I got so into my work that I even didn’t noticed Kate had sat up. She was watching, her tears dried and her expression one of disbelief. Then, she reached out her hands to grasp mine. I looked up into her eyes. She smiled at me. “Thanks.”
Kate and I stayed roommates for the rest of the year. We didn’t always agree, but we learned the key to living together: giving in, cleaning up and holding on.What made Kate angry one evening?
| A．She couldn’t find her books. |
| B．She heard the author shouting loud. |
| C．She got the news that her grandma was ill. |
| D．She saw the author’s shoes beneath her bed. |
The author tidied up the room most probably because______.
| A．she was scared by Kate’s anger |
| B．she hated herself for being so messy |
| C．she wanted to show her care |
| D．she was asked by Kate to do so |
How is Paragraph 1 mainly developed?
| A．By analyzing causes. | B．By showing differences. |
| C．By describing a process. | D．By following time order. |
What might be the best title for the story?
| A．My Friend Kate | B．Hard Work Pays Off |
| C．How to Be Organized | D．Learning to Be Roommates |
Good news! Job offered.
Receptionist Administration
Full Time
A receptionist is required from 1st June 2015 at Dartford Science & Technology College. The position is only from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Thursday and 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Friday, with an hour’s break for lunch every day. The successful applicant must have a good telephone manner, good interpersonal skills and IT skills.
Science Technician
Term time plus 10 days, 37 hours per week
We are looking for a technician to provide a technical support service for science teaching staff. Applications are to be received no later than midnight on 10th June 2015.
Health & Social Care Teacher
Our client, an 11-18 mixed comprehensive school in Ealing, West London, is currently seeking a teacher for Health & Social Care. The position will be a full-time post until July 2015. We require an energetic teacher to develop the learning potential of students. We are seeking someone with excellent subject knowledge who can combine academic strictness and achievement with enjoyment of teaching Health & Social Care.
If you are keen to work, click the button below.The receptionist to be employed will work ______.
| A．20 hours a week | B．37 hours a week |
| C．39.5 hours a week | D．34.5 hours a week |
______is needed in a school in Ealing, West London.
| A．A full-time science teacher |
| B．A teacher with the ability to get along with people |
| C．A teacher with excellent knowledge about Health & Social Care |
| D．A technician who can provide a technical support service |
The text is most likely to appear ______.
| A．on the Internet | B．in a novel |
| C．in a magazine | D．in a newspaper |
An interesting study posted on Facebook recently shows how men and women develop new interests as they mature(成熟).
While women tend to take exercise seriously from the age of 34, men will wait until their 45th birthdays before working hard to get in shape.
The average woman spends more time talking about sports, politics, career and money as she gets older.
Women’s interest in books reaches its peak(顶峰) at the age of 22, while that of men does so when they are in their 50s.
Men start to change their focus from the workplace to other things after age 30, while women do not do so until eight years later. Both, however, care most about fashion at age 16.
The research used anonymous(匿名的) data donated by thousands of Facebook users, recording the statuses, ‘likes’ and ‘interests’ they had posted on their profiles.
It found the average woman talks about television most at 44, while men peak much younger, at age 31.
Men are also most likely to see a film in a cinema at age 31, while women go out to see films most when they are only 19.
Men are most interested in travel at 29, women at 27, while women talk most about food and drink at 35, and men at 38.
And if you are middle aged, a safe topic for any audience is the weather, which is a key interest for many as they approach 60.
Stephen Wolfram, the British scientist who carried out the research, says, “It’s almost shocking how much this tells us about the changes of people’s typical interests.
“People talk less about video games as they get older, and more about politics.”When do women love books best?
| A．At the age of 22. | B．At the age of 50. |
| C．At the age of 30. | D．At the age of 15. |
Men tend to ______ once they are 30.
| A．gain more and more weight |
| B．be less interested in their jobs |
| C．do more exercise |
| D．pay more attention to their appearance |
What are men and women both interested in when they are 16?
| A．Getting in shape. |
| B．Going to the cinema. |
| C．Popular style of clothing. |
| D．Food and drink. |
What does Stephen Wolfram think about the result of the research?
| A．People’s interests are different from each other. |
| B．People’s interests change greatly with age. |
| C．It is normal for people to change their interests. |
| D．It is not good for people to change their interests. |
Love to sink into your chairs and relax when you get to school? Then you will not be happy to hear that schools all over the world are seriously considering exchanging traditional desks for ones with no seats at all — Yes, that means you will be encouraged to stand through those already too long math and science lessons! Why would anyone even think of putting kids to such cruelty? Experts say it improves their health and helps fight obesity. While that may seem a little far-fetched (牵强的), the officials at the few schools around the world seem to agree.
Among them are educators from the College Station Independent School District in Texas, who recently completed a week-long experiment involving 480 students across three elementary schools. The 374 kids that agreed to participate in the study were provided with a device that helped record step count and calorie consumption over the entire period.
All 25 teachers involved in the study reported that students appeared to be more alert and concentrate better, when allowed to stand. The one thing that did surprise the researchers was that younger kids were more willing to stay standing than kids in higher grades. They believe this may have something to do with the fact that after years of being asked to “sit still”, older kids have a harder time adjusting to this unexpected freedom.
American schools are not the only ones reporting success with stand-up desks. Four Catholic schools in Perth, Australia, which have been testing them since October 2013, have seen similar results. In May 2014, Grove House Primary School in Bradford, West Yorkshire, became Europe’s first test one, with a seven-week trial that involved the use of desks made by Ergotron in their fifth-grade classrooms. While official results are not out yet, early reactions from both teachers and students, have been extremely encouraging.
The findings of these studies and others done previously, all seem to mean that allowing kids to move around in classrooms is a win-win for students and teachers — it helps kids get healthier and provides educators with a more engaged audience.According to the teachers, older students may not like stand-up desks because ____________.
| A．they are cleverer than younger students |
| B．they are easily tired of standing long |
| C．they have formed the habit of sitting |
| D．they do badly in class while standing |
What is most likely to be the result of the seven-week trial?
| A．The standing desks can’t be used at all. |
| B．It is good for students to use stand-up desks. |
| C．More tests should be done in other schools. |
| D．The students are different in personality. |
Why do the teachers like the standing desks?
| A．Because the educators can draw the students’ attention. |
| B．Because the teachers can keep the students healthy. |
| C．Because the students can have a walk in the classroom.. |
| D．Because the standing desks can keep the students concentrated. |