Cheektowage Central Middle School can be a lot of fun. It has game nights and student dances, after-school activities, and sports teams. However, students at the school must earn the right to join in the fun. If they don’t do their homework, participate in class, and behave at all times, they’re banned(禁止) from participating in after-school activities.
Students and parents say the threat of being excluded(排除在外) appears to be working. Kenny T. of Reno, Nev., says it taught him that actions have consequences: “I learned that I need to be balanced in both my work and athletics to be rewarded for working hard.” Parent Sondra LaMacchia told The New York Times that her 14-year-old daughter is learning responsibility at Cheektowaga Central. The teen used to perform poorly in her studies, but then she was banned from a school dance. The message got through loud and clear. “It’s nobody’s fault but hers,” LaMacchia said.
Although exclusion may help teach responsibility, some psychologists say it can also be threatening, especially for students who often cause, or may cause, trouble in school. They might become more aggressive and antisocial, which is exactly what schools like Cheektowaga Central want to prevent.
Should schools exclude students from activities to get them to behave? I believe teens need school activities and that inclusion can be the answer. For some troubled students, activities can be their motivation to stay in school. “Activities such as sports may be the only thing keeping certain students in school,” says Duace Wood, a teacher at Mohonasen High School in Rotterdam, N.Y. Getting involved in after-class activities keeps troublesome students in class. Even if they don’t do as well as their classmates, they are still learning. The more time they spend at school, the less time they have to even think about starting trouble. Teams also provide support and role models, and they help build the confidence that students need to succeed. If students who don’t behave are banned from activities, they might give up on school altogether.Paragraph 2 is developed by _______.
| A．analyzing causes | B．giving examples |
| C．examining differences | D．following the time order |
Parent Sondra LaMacchia supports the policy of exclusion because _______.
| A．it provides role models |
| B．her daughter is aggressive |
| C．her daughter hates taking exercise |
| D． it helps teach responsibility |
In Paragraph 3 and 4, the author mainly talks about________.
| A．students who are good at sports |
| B．students who often cause trouble |
| C．teens who do well in their studies |
| D．teens who always behave themselves |
What is the author’s attitude towards the school’s policy of exclusion?
| A． Negative | B．Sympathetic | C．Satisfied | D．Supportive |
Shopping is not as simple as you may think! There are all sorts of tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf.
Colouring, for example, varies according to what the producers are trying to sell. Health foods are packaged in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours. Ice cream packets are often blue and expensive goods, like chocolates, are gold or silver.
When some kind of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that the colours turned the customers off because they made the product look weak and ineffective. Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package—blue because we think of it as safe, and white as calm.
The size of a product can attract a shopper. But quite often a bottle doesn’t contain as much as it appears to.
It is believed that the better-known companies spend, on average, 70 percent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!
The most successful producers know that it’s not enough to have a good product. The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to promote (推销) their goods, came to the conclusion: “Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it.”Which of the following may trick a shopper into buying a product according to the text?
| A．The cost of its package. | B．The price of the product. |
| C．The colour of its package. | D．The brand name of the product. |
The underlined part “the colours turned the customers off” (in Para.3) means that the colours _________.
| A．attracted the customers strongly |
| B．caused the customers to lose interest |
| C．tricked the customers into shopping |
| D．had weak effects on the customers |
Which of the following is the key to the success in product sales?
| A．The way to promote goods. |
| B．The discovery of a genius. |
| C．The team to produce a good product |
| D．The brand name used by successful producers. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this text?
| A．Choice of Good Products |
| B．Disadvantages of Products |
| C．Effect of Packaging on Shopping |
| D．Brand Names and Shopping Tricks |
What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in bio-technology(生物技术). With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart diseases, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memory.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官). The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on---in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic conditional human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by _______.
| A．diseases and aging | B．accidents and war |
| C．accidents and aging | D．heart diseases and war |
In the author's opinion, today's most important advance in technology lies in _____.
| A．medicine | B．the internet |
| C．brain cells | D．human organs |
Humans may live longer in the future because ______.
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．human life will not last more than 120 years in the future |
| B．human have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| C．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells. |
Many animals recognize their food because they see it. So do humans. When you see an apple or a piece of chocolate you know that these are things you can eat. You can also use other senses when you choose your food. You may like it because it smells good or because it tastes good. You may dislike some types of food because they do not look, smell or taste very nice. Different animals use different senses to find and choose their food. A few animals depend on only one of their senses, while most animals use more than one sense.
Although there are many different types of food, some animals spend their lives eating only one type. The giant panda（大熊猫）eats only one particular type of bamboo（竹子）. Other animals eat only one type of food even when given the choice. A kind of white butterfly（蝴蝶）will stay on the leaves of a cabbage, even though there are plenty of other vegetables in the garden. However, most animals have a more varied diet（多样化饮食）. The bear eats fruits and fish. The fox eats small animals, birds and fruits. The diet of these animals will be different depending on the season.
Humans have a very varied diet. We often eat food because we like it and not because it is good for us. In countries such as France and Britain, people eat foods with too much sugar. This makes them overweight, which is bad for their health. Eating too much red meat and animal products, such as butter, can also be bad for the health. Choosing the right food, therefore, has become an area of study in modem life.We can infer from the text that humans and animals _________.
| A．depend on one sense in choosing food |
| B． are not satisfied with their food |
| C．choose food in similar ways |
| D．eat entirely different food |
Which of the following eats only one type of food?
| A．The white butterfly. | B．The small bird. |
| C．The bear. | D．The fox. |
Certain animals change their choice of food when ___________.
| A．the season changes |
| B．the food color changes |
| C．they move to different places |
| D．they are attracted by different smells |
We can learn from the last paragraph that __________.
| A．food is chosen for a good reason |
| B．French and British food is good |
| C．some people have few choices of food |
| D．some people care little about healthy diet |
New technology links the world as never before. Our planet has shrunk. It’s now a “global village” where countries are only seconds away by fax or phone or satellite link. And, of course, our ability to benefit from this high-tech communications equipment is greatly increased by foreign language skills.
Deeply involved with this new technology is a kind of modern businesspeople who have a growing respect for the economic value of doing business abroad. In modern markets, success overseas often helps support domestic business efforts.
Overseas assignments (指派) are becoming increasingly important to advancement within executive (行政) ranks. The executive stationed in another country no longer need fear being “out of sight and out of mind.” He or she can be sure that the overseas effort is central to the company’s plan for success, and that promotions often follow or accompany an assignment abroad. If an employee can succeed in a difficult assignment overseas, superiors will have greater confidence in his or her ability to manage back in the United States where cross-cultural considerations and foreign language issues are becoming more and more common.
Thanks to a variety of relatively inexpensive communications devices (装置) with business applications, even small businesses in the United States are able to get into international markets.
English is still the international language of business. But there is an ever-growing need for people who can speak another language. A second language isn’t generally required to get a job in business, but having language skills gives a candidate the edge when other qualifications appear to be equal.
The employee posted abroad who speaks the country’s language has an opportunity to fast-forward certain negotiations, and can have the cultural insight (洞察力) to know when it is better to move more slowly. The employee at the home office who can communicate well with foreign customers over the telephone or by fax machine is an obvious asset (有价值的人或物) to the firm. With the increased use of high-tech communications equipment, businesspeople ________.
| A．are eager to work overseas |
| B．have to get familiar with modern technology |
| C．are gaining more economic benefits from domestic operations |
| D．are attaching more importance to their overseas business |
In this passage, “out of sight and out of mind” (Line 3, Para. 3) probably means ________.
| A．leaving all care and worry behind |
| B．being unable to think properly for lack of insight |
| C．being totally out of touch with business at home |
| D．missing opportunities for promotion when abroad |
According to the passage, what is an important consideration of international corporations in employing people today?
| A．Ability to speak the customer’s language. |
| B．Connections with businesses overseas. |
| C．Technical know-how. |
| D．Business experience. |
The advantage of employees having foreign language skills is that they can ________.
| A．fast-forward their proposals to headquarters |
| B．better control the whole negotiation process |
| C．easily make friends with businesspeople abroad |
| D．easily find new approaches to meet market needs |
Dear Michelle,
My Dad hates my Mom. He tells me that she is a liar and that I should not trust her. Of course, they are divorced but they have “joint custody” (共同监护). What a joke! I am 15, my brother is nine, and we have a life of hell, frankly.
We live one week on and one week off. This was the brilliant idea of both of my parents, which was fair to them but ruining my life. I cannot get away from his voice and his putting my mom down. Sometimes I think about running away.
A Hopeless Ant
Dear Hopeless Ant,
First, thank you for trusting me with your problem. If all you said is correct, then there are several things that you can and should do to help yourself, your brother, and oddly enough, your parents.
You need a family counselor. Such a person could listen to each family member alone and then meet together to talk about the situation.
If refused, you need to talk to a counselor in your school. You need to be heard, and you need an adult who will listen. A school counselor can organize a meeting with your parents.
Perhaps you need to write to your mother. Writing things down allows people to go over it more than one time.
I cannot imagine that she will stand passively by and do nothing at all to help once she reads how you feel. Your father needs a letter as well. He may not realize the destructive effect that it has on his children.
Lastly, have a plan in mind when all else fails that is not self-destructive. Life passes very quickly, sweetheart, and you will grow up and have your own life.
Until then, you need to keep yourself safe. Never doubt that it will get better. Write back and let me know how everything is going.
MichelleThe Hopeless Ant wrote the letter to ________.
| A．express dissatisfaction with his parents |
| B．ask for advice seriously |
| C．make his father punished |
| D．just make a joke |
The Hopeless Ant hated his father because ________.
| A．his father always told a lie |
| B．his father wasn’t friendly to his mother |
| C．his father divorced his mother |
| D．the Hopeless Ant couldn’t stay with his parents |
According to the text, which of the following is the Hopeless Ant in need of at present?
| A．Keep himself/herself away from danger |
| B．Have a talk with his/her parents. |
| C．Have his/her own family plan |
| D．Write letters to families. |
In which part of a magazine will the text probably appear?
| A．Entertainment | B．Advertisement | C．Life | D．Education |