SPECIALEVENTSTHISWEEKENDCaptai-优题课

In a time of low academic (学术的) achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. However, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.
In the recent comparison of Japanese and American preschool education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. 62 percent of the more individually oriented (强调个性发展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An emphasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.
Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential (潜力) development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.
Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.
5. We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________.
A. Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents
B. Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements
C. Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction
D. Japan’s higher education is better than theirs
6. Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach
importance to ________.
A. problem solvingw。B. group experience
C. parental guidancew。 D. individually oriented development
7. In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on ________.
A. preparing children academically B. developing children’s artistic interests
C. tapping children’s potentialw。 D. shaping children’s character
8. Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?
A. They can do better in their future studies.
B. They can gain more group experience there.
C. They can be individually oriented when they grow up.
D. They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education.

The impression you make at the beginning of an interview is very important. Employers often decide to hire someone in the first three minutes of the interview. They judge you by your appearance, attitude (态度) and manners.
A friendly smile when you walk into the room is important. A smile shows a confident (自信的) and positive attitude.
When you introduce yourself, make eyes contact with the interviewer. Some interviewers offer a handshake. Others don’t.
Try to be as natural as possible. But pay attention to your body language. The way you sit, walk, gesture, use your voice and show feeling on your face are all parts of your body language. It makes the interviewer know how you feel about yourself and the situation you are in. Are you feeling positive about yourself? Your abilities? Your interest in the job?
Speak clearly and loudly enough. Show interest and enthusiasm in your voice. When you speak, look at the interviewer. Also don’t say negative things about yourself, or former employers.
Listen to questions carefully. If you don’t understand a question, ask the interviewer to repeat or explain.
"I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch that."
"I’m not sure exactly what you mean."
Almost everyone is nervous in a job interview. Interviewers know that. They don’t expect you to be totally calm and relaxed. But they expect you to try to control your nervousness. They expect you to show confidence in your ability to do the job.
At the end of the interview, thank the interviewer for her or him. It’s a good idea to send a short thank-you letter right after the interview, or deliver it by hand.
Phone the company if you have not heard anything after one week. Ask if they have make a decision about the job.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A. you should always put on a smile when meeting the employer
B. you should stand still with respect before the employer
C. the first impression is very important in an interview
D. employers understand and like employees’ nervousness
2. Why should we pay attention to our body language?
A. Because it can help us win the employer’s positive impression.
B. Because it can help us feel about the employer.
C. Because it is needed by our employer.
D. Because we need it to improve our feeling.
3. The main purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to give you some advice on the art of finding a job
B. to tell from wrong about job interviews
C. to explain why we should do something about an interview
D. to suggest not being shy in an interview
4. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A. A Friendly Smilew。 B. Making a Good Impression
C. Don’t Be Nervousw。D. Sending a Thank-You Letter

Global warming threatens to hold back human progress, and make unachievable all UN targets to reduce poverty, according to some of the world’s leading international and development groups.
In a report published today, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, WWF and 15 other groups say rich governments must immediately address climate change to avoid even “unbearable levels” of worldwide poverty.
“Food production, water supplies, public health and people’s living environment are already being damaged,” the report says. “The world must meet its promise to achieve poverty reduction and also deal with climate change.”
The report, which draws on UN predictions of the effects of climate change in poor countries over the next 50 years, says poor countries will experience more flooding, declining food production, more disease and the worsening or disappearing of entire ecosystems(生态系统)on which many of the world’s poorest people depend.
“Climate change needs to be addressed now. The poor will bear the burden of it. The frontline experience of many of us working in international development indicates that communities are having to fight against more extreme weather conditions.”
Climate change will play havoc(浩劫)with agriculture and water supplies and will increase diseases. “By 2025 the proportion of the world’s population living in countries of great water stress will almost double, to 6 billion people. Tropical and sub-tropical areas will be hardest hit — those countries already suffering from food shortage”.
Poor countries mostly do not need high-tech solutions, but would most benefit from education, research and being shown how to farm better. The report says unchecked global warming, more than wars or political confusion, will displace millions of people and destabilize (不安定) many countries.
9. ________ should play a leading role in resisting the more extreme weather conditions according to the report.
A. International groups B. Poor countries
C. Rich countries D. Tropical and sub-tropical countries
10. Which of the following is not the effect of global warming according to the report?
A. More natural disasters and starvation. B. Increasing the world’s population.
C. Making millions of people move to other places.
D. Shaking the foundation of a country.
11. Which of the following is not true according to the text?
A. Poverty and climate change are closely linked.
B. More and more people will suffer from the water stress and food shortage.
C. What the poor countries need badly is high technology.
D. International communities have to take steps to resist the bad climate.
12. What is the best title of the passage?
A. International Development Brings in Climate Change
B. Global Warming Is a Bigger Threat to Poor
C. International Groups Work Together to Reduce Poverty
D. Worldwide Poverty Shall Be Avoided

He was once referred to as the Picasso of poetry. Beloved by Chileans of all classes, he is one of the most widely read and respected poets in history. And this year is the 100th birthday of Pablo Neruda (1904-1973).
Born with the name Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto, he was a tall, shy and lonely boy. He loved to read and started to write poetry when he was ten. The American poet Walt Whitman, whose framed picture Neruda later kept on his table, became a major influence on his work.
However, his father did not like the idea of having a poet for a son and tried to discourage him from writing. To cover up the publication of his first poem, he took the pen name Pablo Neruda.
In 1924 Neruda gained fame with his most widely read work “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair’’. Yet his rich experience as a diplomat and exile made him go beyond the theme of love. His work also reflected the political struggle of the left and development of South America. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971.
Neruda loved the sea which he saw as creative, destructive and forever moving. He found inspiration in the power and freedom of the waves and the seabirds on the coast. “I need the sea because it teaches me,” he wrote. “I move in the university of the waves.” He loved how the sea forever renewed itself, a renewal echoed in his work.
5. The underlined word “Picasso” can probably be replaced by “________”.
A. most important person B. famous person from Picasso
C. freedom fighter in Picasso D. poem fan
6. Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basolto took the pen name Pablo Neruda because ________.
A. literary greats usually used the pen name
B. his father encouraged him to use the name
C. he wanted to prevent his father knowing the publication
D. he was greatly influenced by other poets
7. Which of the following is not the theme of his works?
A. Love. B. Political struggle. C. Social reform. D. Development of South America.
8. The last paragraph mainly tells us ________.
A. the sea gave Neruda vast writing inspiration B. the beautiful scenery along the Chile coast
C. Neruda’s poems were widely read overseas D. Neruda loved to write his poems near the sea

NASA’s Mars detector (探测器), Opportunity, succeeded in finding signs that water once existed on the planet. Opportunity landed on Mars in January. Scientists now believe that the planet could once have supported life.
This discovery was chosen by Science, one of the world’s leading magazines, as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 last Friday.
“This little, wheeled, one-armed box went around another planet and has done something no human has ever managed,” according to Science. “It has discovered another place in the universe where life could once have existed.”
“Although we still can’t say that life could have existed in this environment, it is now certain that there was water on Mars,” said Steve Squyres, one of the scientists working on the Mars mission. The evidence comes from pictures and chemical readings taken by Opportunity. It includes marks on rocks like those caused by flowing water on Earth and salty chemicals like those found in dried-out sea-beds. Scientists said the new evidence proved beyond doubt that water has been existed on Mars. But it is still unknown whether the water on Mars was like an ocean or just ice.
While Opportunity has not found any signs of life, the presence of water means life is possible. “In everything we know about life on Earth, there is no example without liquid water,” Squyres said. “So water is important for the search for life on Mars.”
Researchers agree that a future mission (任务) should bring back physical samples (样品). But some scientists worry about the risk that this could introduce dangerous foreign creatures to Earth. “The problem here is how to get the samples back,” Squyres replied. “I think it is our responsibility to limit any risk.”
1. ________ prove that water existed on Mars.
A. The physical samples with salty chemicals B. The marks on rocks and salty chemicals
C. Scientific achievements of 2004 D. Creatures from Mars
2. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. It is now certain that there was water on Mars.
B. The water on Mars was like an ocean.
C. Evidence of life on Mars has been found.
D. Search for life on Mars is a great risk to humans.
3. How did scientists draw the conclusion that there was water on Mars?
A. The world’s leading magazine has announced the fact.
B. Scientists have taken many pictures and chemical readings on the Mars.
C. Astronauts have got some rocks from Mars.
D. Scientists have made a study of the pictures and readings sent back by Mars detector.
4. It can be inferred that, if the creatures from Mars came to Earth, ________.
A. they would be kind to humans B. they would be cruel to humans
C. they would be a great danger to Earth
D. it would be hard to say whether it would be a good news or bad news

A．is in the afternoon	B．is outside
C．is at the gate	D．might be cold