With the popularity of Harry Potter novels, the number of children applying to boarding schools has risen, many of them hoping to find their own version of Hogwarts. However, others have interpreted this trend as a reaction to longer working hours and the break up of more marriages. The boarding schools of fiction are presented as one long midnight feast with pillow fights making firm friendships. However, some people say the reality is children having more homesickness and a lack of individual attention. Modern boarding schools have done much to get rid of the image of the mass dormitories with 40 or more beds in one room, some going as far as providing private rooms with bathrooms. Similarly, they make great announcements for their academic advantage, particularly in light of the increase in exams, homework and university entrance requirements facing children wishing to succeed in the modern world.
Alongside these more conventional schools, two types of boarding schools have also become more popular recently. Sports academies and stage schools seek to cater for children with particular interests and talents, while so-called troubled-teens have been able to turn to a range of religious or wilderness schools to solve their problematic behavior.
Boarding schools allow children a safe space in which to accomplish greater control and independence over their daily lives. Teachers and staff can look after and support but they are unlikely to be over-protective. This can be a great preparation for university or for working away from home in later life as it provides an intermediate step between childhood and full independence.
However, parents are a child’s most natural support and best role models to learn from. If they are separated from them for long periods of time, this may damage their relationship and leave the child feeling anxious or alone. Schools are unlikely to be able to copy the detailed knowledge of each individual child that a parent has and therefore cannot be as effective in supporting the child.
To sum up, boarding schools have both their advantages and disadvantages, so it is up to you to decide whether to send your children to boarding schools or not.What do we know from the passage?
| A．More and more children go and visit Hogwarts on their own. |
| B．Pillow fights in boarding schools make firm friendships in reality. |
| C．More children want to go to boarding schools because of Harry Potter novels. |
| D．There aren’t special schools for the particularly talented children. |
What kind of schools may be the most suitable for the so-called troubled-teens?
| A．sports academies | B．Wilderness schools |
| C．Conventional schools | D．Stage schools |
We learn from Paragraph 4 that __________.
| A．teachers of boarding schools are the best examples for children to learn from |
| B．children can be more independent if they are separated from their parents |
| C．parents know their children better than teachers of boarding schools |
| D．schools are much more effective than parents in supporting children |
What is the author’s opinion of boarding schools?
| A．Neutral （中立的） | B．Negative | C．Positive | D．Critical |
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 (依赖)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(追求)of success, the development, of many other human qualities is sadly forgotten.
However，while some seem to be lost in die desire to succeed，others take an opposite attitude.In a culture which values only die 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(缓解) can we discover a new meaning in competition.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．Opinions about competition are different among people. |
| B．Competition helps to set up self-respect. |
| 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 builds up a sense of duty. |
| B．It pushes society forward. |
| 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 success in competition needs great efforts. |
| B．One’s worth lies in his performance compared with others. |
| 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 paid back. |
| C．Fear of failure should be removed in competition. |
| D．Winning should be a life-and-death matter. |
H.T.B. Arts Center
FILM Tickets £2.50 / £ 1.50. Performances at 8 pm unless started otherwise.
WILD AT HEART 127mins.
Wen 6-Fri8 February
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Laura Dern, Willam Dafoe. A first-class film. Cage and his girlfriend Dean are on the run through the dangerous Deep South. They are hiding from gunmen who have
been hired to kill Cage by Dean's mother. Victims, yes—but they also have fun. It's wild at heart, strange on top. Funny, frightening and brilliant.
DICK TRACY 113mins
Mon 11-Sat16 February 6pm
Tickets on sale 5-6 pm
Director: Warren Beatty
Starring: Warren Beatty , Madonna The famous detective tries to stop Big Boy and the Blank from taking over the city. A colorful and exciting film. Some parts are frightening, so think twice about taking children.
BATMAN 126mins
Mon11-Sat16 February 8.30pm
Tickets on sale 7.30-8.30pm
PIZZA PLUS offer 6-7pm
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson. A few essential questions must be asked...Is Batman a mad hero? Why does Bruce Wayne spend millions dressing up as a bat? Has Nicholson's Joker stolen the whole movie? Great action and excellent acting, especially by Nicholson.We know from Wild at Heart that _________.
| A．Cage was not accepted by his future mother-in-law. |
| B．Wild at Heart is funny rather than frightening |
| C．A famous detective happened to help Cage and Dean. |
| D．Cage and Dean are playing the hide-and-seek game with Dean’s mother. |
According to the text, we can learn that _________.
| A．Batman has the longest running time |
| B．One can buy tickets in advance for all the films |
| C．While watching Batman one can enjoy pizza at 7:30 pm. |
| D．You’d better not take your children with you to see Dick Tracy |
Where can we most probably read this text?
| A．In an ad page. |
| B．In a movie review. |
| C．In a short story. |
| D．In an introduction of an art center. |
I ran into a local store today to pick up a few things. With an important meeting to attend, I was in a hurry , so I didn’t take a cart (手推车) on my way inside. As I walked between the shelves in the store, I passed by a young couple and their baby. I continued going through the store, picked up a few items I needed and ended up standing behind this couple in the checkout line.
While waiting, I noticed that the young father was holding his money tightly and nervously. The young mother was carrying a baby in her arms and asked the cashier (收银员) for a job application.
When the total was rung up, they had to pick items out of their cart because they didn’t have enough money. But all their items were basic necessities(必需品) that they needed most. It just broke my heart to watch the couple try to think about what they could do without. However, they were able to whittle down their items and paid the bill with the money that they had.
After they left, I quietly asked the cashier to add those items to mine. The cashier rang everything up, and then got me a shopping cart. We put in their items and I hurried over to their car. “This is for you,” I told them.
The young father just looked at me with such appreciation and thanked me. I will never forget the expression in his eyes. As I was getting into my car, they drove over. The young mother said, “Miss, thank you so much.”
Tears welled up in my eyes---as they are again now, while I write this. “You are so welcome. Pay it forward some day,” I replied.The underlined phrase “whittle down” in Paragraph 3 probably means “__________”.
| A．add to | B．break down |
| C．cut down | D．pay for |
The author felt __________ to watch the couple taking some items out.
| A．sad | B．angry | C．excited | D．interested |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
| A．the young father felt so sorry to accept help |
| B．the young mother didn’t have a job then |
| C．the cashier treated the young couple impolitely |
| D．the young couple bought something unnecessary |
The author’s main purpose in sharing the story is to tell us __________.
| A．what a great plan she made |
| B．to take a cart while shopping |
| C．how to pick out basic necessities |
| D．to help those who are in need |
They wear the latest fashions with the most up-to-date accessories(配饰)．Yet these are not girls in their teens or twenties but women in their sixties and seventies．A generation which would once only wear old-fashioned clothes is now favoring the same high street looks worn by those half their age．
Professor Julia Twiggy, a social policy expert，said，“Women over 75 are now shopping for clothes more frequently than they did when they were young in the 1960s．In the 1960s buying a coat for a woman was a serious matter．It was an expensive item that they would purchase only every three or four years—now you can pick one up at the supermarket whenever you wish to．Fashion is a lot cheaper and people get tired of things more quickly．” Professor Twiggy analyzed family expending data and found that while the percentage of spending on clothes and shoes by women had stayed around the same—about 5 or 6 percent of spending，the amount of clothes bought had risen sharply．
The professor said，“Clothes are now 70 percent cheaper than they were in the 1960s because of the huge expansion of production in the Far East．In the 1960s Leeds was the heart of the British fashion industry and that was where most of the clothes came from，but now almost all of our clothes are sourced elsewhere．Everyone is buying more clothes but in general we are not spending more money on them．’’
Fashion designer Angela Barnard，who runs her own fashion business in London，said older women were much more affected by celebrity style than in previous years．She said,“When people see stars such as Judi Dench and Helen Mirren looking attractive and fashionable in their sixties，they want to follow them．Older women are much more aware of celebrities．There’s also the boom in TV programmers showing people how they can change their look，and many of my older customers do yoga to stay in shape well in their fifties．When I started my business a few years ago，my older customers tended to be very rich，but now they are what I would call ordinary women. My own mother is 6l and she wears the latest fashions in a way she would never have done ten years ago．”It can be concluded that old women tend to wear the latest fashions today mainly because___________．
| A．they get tired of themselves more quickly |
| B．TV shows teach them how to stay in shape |
| C． they feel much younger now |
| D．clothes are much cheaper than before |
What can we learn about old women in terms of fashion?
| A．They are often ignored by fashion designers． |
| B．They are now mole easily influenced by stars． |
| C．They are regarded as pioneers in the latest fashion． |
| D．They are more interested in clothes because of their old age． |
Which is the best possible title of the passage?
| A．Age Is No Barrier for Fashion Fans． |
| B．The More Fashionable，the Less Expensive． |
| C．Unexpected changes in Fashion． |
| D．Boom of the British Fashion Industry |
Most people feel lonely sometimes, but it usually only lasts between a few minutes and a few hours. This kind of loneliness is not serious. In fact, it is quite normal. For some people, though, loneliness can last for years. Now researchers say there are three different types of loneliness.
The first kind of loneliness is temporary. This is the most common type. It usually disappears quickly and does not require any special attention. The second kind, situational loneliness, is a natural result of a particular situation — for example, family problem, the death of a loved one, or moving to a new place. Although this kind of loneliness can cause physical problems, such as headaches and sleeplessness, it usually does not last for more than a year.
The third kind of loneliness is the most severe. Unlike the second type, habitual loneliness usually lasts more than two years and has no specific cause. People who experience habitual loneliness have problems socializing and becoming close to others. Unfortunately, many chronically lonely people think there is little or nothing they can do to improve their condition.
Psychologists agree that one important factor in loneliness is a person's social contacts, e.g. friends, family members, co-workers, etc. We depend on various people for different reasons. For instance, our families give us emotional support, our parents and teachers give us guidance, and our friends share similar interests and activities. However, psychologists have found that, though lonely people may have many social contacts, they sometimes feel they should have more. They question their popularity.
Psychologists are trying to find ways to help habitually lonely people for two reasons: they are unhappy and unable to socialize and there is a connection between habitual loneliness and serious illness such as heart disease. While temporary and situational loneliness can be a normal, healthy part of life, habitual loneliness can be a sad and sometimes dangerous condition.How would you treat temporary loneliness according to the passage?
| A．Talk to friends. |
| B．Just ignore it. |
| C．Go to see a doctor. |
| D．Ask your teachers for guidance. |
"It" in the last sentence of the second paragraph refers to _____.
| A．a physical problem | B．sleeplessness |
| C．temporary loneliness | D．situational loneliness |
The topic of the 4th paragraph is that____.
| A．lonely people don't have many social problems |
| B．we depend on various persons for different reasons |
| C．one problem of loneliness is a person's social contacts |
| D．lonely people don't have many friends |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to Get Rid of Loneliness |
| B．Loneliness and Diseases |
| C．Loneliness and Social Contacts |
| D．Three Types of Loneliness |