| School is over and it’s time for the family to get your children moving and have fun. Choose a suitable one from the following family activities. |
| Gymnastics Gymnastics helps to improve flexibility, strength, and teaches self-discipline. Although Olympic-level gymnastics take years of practice to master, more simple moves are easy to learn in a day and can be practiced at home. Suitable for: 4+ Cost: £6 an hour Contact: British Gymnastics; 084 512 97129; www.british-gymnastics.org |
| Surfing What is required to learn the art of surfing is to combine balance, coordination and patience, which means that it’s not easy to learning that, but the excitement of jumping to your feet on the board for the first time and riding a wave into the shore is an excellent experience. Suitable for: 8+ Cost: £30 an hour Contact: www.nationalsurfingcentre.com, 016 378 50737 |
| Sailing Sailing is beneficial for developing confidence and provides a pure mental and physical challenge from the beginning. It can be done alone, and picking up the basics is not difficult. Suitable for: 8+ Cost: Free Contact: Royal Yachting Association; 084 534 50400; www.rya.org.uk |
| Diving This is a great way to make swimming even more fun. High board diving needs muscle control. Lessons begin at the poolside, where you will learn some basic skills before moving on to the boards, Try a saltwater pool, on warmer days, and enjoy the fresh air, high boards and water games. Suitable for: 13+ Cost: The first lesson, which lasts one hour, is usually free if you decide to carry on. £10/£20 an hour. Contact: Find your local swimming pool at www. britishswimming.org; 015 096 18700 |
If you have a child of seven, you would like to choose ______ for him/her.
| A．Diving | B．Sailing | C．Surfing | D．Gymnastics |
Taking a 10-hour course in diving needs at least .
| A．£200 | B．£100 | C．£90 | D．£30 |
In order to build up your children’s confidence, you can call .
| A．015 096 18700 |
| B．084 534 50400 |
| C．016 378 50737 |
| D．084 512 97129 |
According to the passage, we know that .
| A．it is very difficult to learn basic sailing skills. |
| B．it is impossible to practice gymnastics at home |
| C．self-discipline is needed to do high board diving |
| D．surfing needs qualities of patience and balance |
On the first day of college our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn’t already know.
I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being. She said, “Hi, handsome! My name is Rose. I’m eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?” I laughed and enthusiastically responded, “Of course you can!” and she gave me a giant squeeze.
“Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?” I asked. She jokingly replied, “I’m here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel.”
“No seriously,” I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. “I always dreamed of having a college education and now I’m getting one!” she told me.
After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We instantly became friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk non-stop.
I was always mesmerized(催眠) listening to this “time machine” as she shared her wisdom and experience with me. Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon(偶像) and she easily made friends wherever she went.
At the year end, Rose finished the degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral to pay their respects to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it’s never too late to be all you can possible be.Why did Rose go to college at her age?
| A．She wanted to marry a rich husband. |
| B．It was her dream to receive college education. |
| C．She wanted to change her present situation. |
| D．She wanted to get a Bachelor Degree. |
Which of the following can best describe Rose?
| A．Serious, helpful and hard-working. |
| B．Outgoing, humorous and determined. |
| C．Brave, warm-hearted and optimistic. |
| D．Rich, sensitive and graceful. |
It can be inferred from the passage that.
| A．Rose didn’t have any relatives when she died |
| B．Rose had lived a very hard life |
| C．the author was unwilling to understand Rose |
| D．the author learned a lot from his old friend Rose |
By writing the passage the author intends to.
| A．encourage old people to receive a good education |
| B．describe the author’s college life |
| C．introduce an admirable old college student |
| D．teach young people to value their school life |
Recently a Beijing father sent in a question at an Internet forum(论坛) asking what “PK” meant. “My family has been watching the ‘Super Girl’ singing competition TV program. My little daughter asked me what ‘PK’ meant, but I had no idea,” explained the puzzled father.
To a lot of Chinese young people who have been playing games online, it is impossible not to know this term. In such Internet games, “PK” is short for “Player Kill”, in which two players fight until one ends the life of the other.
In the case of the “Super Girl” singing competition, “PK” was used to refer to the stage where two singers have to compete with each other for only one chance to go up in competition ranking.
Like this father, Chinese teachers at high schools have also been finding their students’ compositions using Internet jargons(行话) which are difficult to understand. A high school teacher from Tianjin asked her students to write compositions with simple language, but they came up with a lot of Internet jargons that she didn’t understand.
“My ‘GG’ came back this summer from college. He told me I’ve grown up to be a ‘PLMM’. I loved to ‘FB’ with him together; he always took me to the ‘KPM’,” went one composition.
“GG” means Ge Ge(Chinese pinyin for brother). “PLMM” refers to Piao Liang Mei Mei(beautiful girl). “FB” means Fu Bai(corruption). “KPM” is short for KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.
Some specialists welcome Internet jargons as a new development in language.
If you do not even know what a Kong Long(dinosaur, referring to an ugly looking female) or a Qing Wa(frog, referring to an ugly looking male) is, you will possibly be regarded as a Cai Niao!By writing the article, the writer tries to.
| A．explain some Internet language |
| B．suggest common Internet language |
| C．laugh at the Beijing father |
| D．draw our attention to Internet language |
What does the writer think about the term “PK”?
| A．Fathers can’t possibly know it. |
| B．The daughter should understand it. |
| C．Online game players may know it. |
| D．“Super Girl” shouldn’t have used it. |
The examples of the Beijing father and the Tianjin teacher are used to show that Internet jargons.
| A．are used not only online |
| B．can be understood very well |
| C．are welcomed by all the people |
| D．cause trouble to our mother tongue |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A puzzled father | B．Do you speak Internet-ish? |
| C．Keep away from Internet-ish | D．Kong Long or Qing Wa? |
It’s such a happy-looking library, painted yellow, decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof. About the size of a microwave oven, it’s pedestrian-friendly, too, waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach country Estates, along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It’s a library built with love.
A year ago, shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available, she announced to her family of four, “That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin, now a 10th-grader, didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles (像)a mailbox. But Janey insisted, and husband Peter unwillingly got to work. The 51-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses, and made a door of glass.
After adding the library’s final touches (装点), the family hung a signboard on the front, instructing users to “take a book, return a book,” and making the Henriksen library, now one of several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2,500 in the world, the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked（贮存） it with 20 or so books they’d already read, a mix of science fiction, reference titles, novels and kids’ favorites. “I told them, keep in mind that you might not see it again,” said Janey, a stay-at-home mom.
Since then, the collection keeps replenishing (补充) itself, thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers. The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project’s best payoff, says Peter, are the thank-you notes left behind. “We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.” (317 words) The library was built __________.
| A．by a ship supply company | B．on the basis of toy horses |
| C．like a mailbox | D．with glass |
What can we infer about the signboard?
| A．It was made by a user of the library. |
| B．It marked a final touch to the library. |
| C．It aimed at making the library last long. |
| D．It indicated the library was a family property. |
The passage tells us that the users __________.
| A．donate (捐)books to the library |
| B．get paid to collect books for the library |
| C．receive thank-you notes for using the library |
| D．visit the library over 5 times on average daily |
Last night’s meteor(流星) shower left many people in the community dissatisfied and demanding answers. According to Gabe Rothsclild, Emerald Valley’s mayor, people gathered in the suburbs of the city, carrying heavy telescopes, expecting to watch the brightly burning meteors passing through the sky. What they found instead was a sky so brightened by the city’s lights that it darkened the light of the meteors passing overhead.
“My family was so frustrated,” admitted town resident Duane Cosby, “We wanted to make this an unforgettable family outing, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. ”
Astronomers—scientists who study stars and planets—-have been complaining about this problem for decades. They say that light pollution prevents them from seeing objects in the sky that they could see quite easily in the past. They call on people and the government to take measures to fight against it.
There is yet a population besides professional and amateur star observers that suffers even more from light pollution. This population consists of birds, bats frogs, snakes, etc. For example, outdoor lighting severely affects migrating(迁徙的)birds. According to the International Dark-Sky Association. “100 million birds a year throughout North America die in crashes with lighted buildings and towers. ”
Countless more animals casualties(伤亡）result from the use of artificial lighting. Clearly, people enjoy the benefits of lighting their evenings, but some scientists think it can be harmful for humans, too. They worry that exposure to light while sleeping can increase person’s chances of getting cancer.
Emerald Valley is only one community that is becoming aware of the negative effects of light pollution. For years, Flagstaff,Arizona,has enforced lighting regulations in its city in order to assist astronomers at the Lowell Observatory. Similar efforts have been made worldwide, and a movement is underway to remind us to turn off lights when we are not using them, so that other creatures can share the night. What is the author concerned about according to Paragraph 4?
| A．Birds may take other migration paths |
| B．Animals’ living habits may change suddenly |
| C．Varieties of animals will become sharply reduced |
| D．Animals’ survival is threatened by outdoor lighting |
Lighting regulations in Flagstaff, Arizona are put into effect to
| A．Lessen the chance of getting cancer |
| B．create an ideal observation condition |
| C．ensure citizens a good sleep at night |
| D．enable all creatures to live in harmony |
What message does the author most want to give us?
| A．Saving wildlife is saving ourselves |
| B．Great efforts should be made to save energy |
| C．Human activities should be environmentally friendly |
| D．New equipment should be introduced for space study |
Jimmy is an automotive mechanic, but he lost his job a few months ago. He has a good heart, but always feared applying for a new job.
One day, he gathered up all his strength and decided to attend a job interview. His appointment was at 10 am and it was already 8:30. While waiting for a bus to the office where he was supposed to be interviewed, he saw an elderly man wildly kicking the tyre of his car. Obviously there was something wrong with the car. Jimmy immediately went up to lend him a hand. When Jimmy finished working on the car, the old man asked him how much he should pay for the service. Jimmy said there was no need to pay him; he just helped someone in need, and he had to rush for an interview. Then the old man said, “Well, I could take you to the office for your interview. It’s the least I could do. Please. I insist.” Jimmy agreed.
Upon arrival, Jimmy found a long line of applicants waiting to be interviewed. Jimmy still had some grease(油垢) on him after the car repair, but he did not have much time to wash it off or have a change of shirt. One by one, the applicants left the interviewer’s office with disappointed look on their faces. Finally his name was called. The interviewer was sitting on a large chair facing the office window. Rocking the chair back and forth, he asked, “Do you really need to be interviewed?” Jimmy’s heart sank. “With the way I look now, how could I possibly pass this interview?” he thought to himself.
Then the interviewer turned the chair and to Jimmy’s surprise, it was the old man he helped earlier in the morning. It turned out he was the General Manager of the company.
“Sorry I had to keep you waiting, but I was pretty sure I made the right decision to have you as part of our workforce before you even stepped into the office. I just know you’d be a trustworthy worker. Congratulations!” Jimmy sat down and they shared a cup of well-deserved coffee as he landed himself a new job. Why did Jimmy apply for a new job?
| A．He was out of work |
| B．He was bored with his job |
| C．He wanted a higher position |
| D．He hoped to find a better boss |
What did Jimmy see on the way to the interview?
| A．A friend’s car had a flat tire |
| B．a wild man was pushing a car |
| C．a terrible accident happened |
| D．an old man’s car broke down |
How did Jimmy feel on hearing the interviewer’s question?
| A．He was sorry for the other applicants |
| B．There was no hope for him to get the job |
| C．He regretted helping the old man |
| D．The interviewer was very rude |
A. What can we learn from Jimmy’s experience？
A. Where there is a will, there’s a way
B. A friend in need is a friend indeed
C. Good is rewarded with good.
D. Two heads are better than one