My mother is a diligent and kind woman. She is very busy from morning till night. As a teacher, she works hard. ______ Both my brother and I love her dearly as she loves us.
My mother has been teaching math at a middle school in my hometown. She goes to work early in the morning and does not return home until late in the afternoon. ______ She treats them with patience and teaches them well. For her excellent quality and very good teaching results, she has been elected as a model teacher several times.
______ Every day, when she comes back home from work, she sets about doing housework, sweeping the living room and bedrooms or cleaning the furniture, and putting everything in good order. She seems to be busy all the time. As she has been very busy working every day, she looks older than her age. But she looks as cheerful and happy as ever. Mother never buys expensive dresses for herself, but she often buys some inexpensive but high quality clothes for us. ___
___ She just eats a plain meal outside when she is too busy to cook herself. She lives a busy yet simple life, without any complaints.
Often she says to us, “work while you work, and play while you play. That is the way to be happy and gay. If you do not work, you will become lazy and be of no use to society”. What a piece of good advice this is! ____ This advice of hers will always serve as a guide to my behavior. My mother is great indeed, and I always feel proud of her.
A.She enjoys listening to classic music. |
B.As a mother, she takes good care of us and gives us every comfort. |
C.She loves her students and cares for them. |
D.She never goes to expensive restaurants to enjoy meals. |
E. My mother is hard-working and never wastes money.
F. I never forget it and always bear it in my mind.
G. Can you tell us something about your mother?
Some plants get so hungry they eat flies, and small frogs. What’s more amazing is that these plants occur naturally (in special environments) in every state. In fact, they’re found on every continent except Antarctica.
You’ve probably seen a Venus’ flytrap. It’s often sold in museum gift stores, department stores, and even supermarkets. A small plant, it grows 6 to 8 inches tall in a container. At the end of its stalks(茎)are leaves that act like traps. Inside each trap is a lining of tiny hairs. When an insect lands on them, the traps suddenly shut. Over the course of a week or so, the plant feeds on its catch.
The Venus’ flytrap is just one of more than 500 species of meat-eating plants, says Barry Meyers-Rice, the editor of the International Carnivorous Plant Society’s Newsletter. He states despite any science-fiction stories you might have read, no meat-eating plant does any danger to humans.
Dr. Meyers-Rice says a plant is meat-eating, only if it does all four of the following: “attract, kill, digest, and absorb” some form of insects. Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants—well, most of the time.
All green plants make sugar to produce food. What makes meat-eating plants different is their special leaves, which need insects for one reason: nitrogen(氮). Nitrogen is a nutrient(营养物质) that they can’t obtain any other way. Why?
Almost all green plants on our planet get nitrogen from the soil. Meat-eating plants can’t. They live in places where nutrients are hard or almost impossible to get from the soil because of its acidity .So they’ve come to rely on getting nitrogen from insects and small animals. In fact, nutrient-rich soil is poisonous to meat-eating plants. Never fertilize(施肥) them! But don’t worry, either, if they never seem to catch any insects. They can survive, but they’ll grow very slowly.According to the passage, Venus flytrap.
A.is a small plant which grows in a container |
B.is a kind of plant which gets hungry easily |
C.can trap and feed on some form of insects |
D.grows 6-8 inches tall |
From the passage, we can infer that .
A.meat-eating plants are found nowhere else except Antarctica |
B.All green plants get nitrogen from the soil |
C.meat-eating plants endanger humans in science-fiction stories |
D.The nutrient-poor soil is beneficial to meat-eating plants |
Meat-eating plants grow very slowly, .
A.so you’d better fertilize them |
B.probably because the supply of nitrogen is cut off |
C.simply because they can’t absorb nitrogen from the soil |
D.and then they will die slowly |
Which of the following is true?
A.Meat-eating plants look and act like other green plants. |
B.It’ hard to get nutrients in the soil when acidity is high. |
C.Venus flytrap eats flies to get nutrient from them. |
D.Green plants make sugar at night. |
Christmas in the United States is traditionally a time of gift-giving and family gatherings. But small towns across the country have their own traditions.
Middleburg,a small town in the state of Virginia,is known for its horses. For more than 50 years, Middleburg has organized a yearly Christmas parade(游行). Men and women ride horses through the woods and fields.They follow hunting dogs as they search for a wild fox.But first,these hunters ride in the yearly parade, wearing their bright red hunting clothes and hats.
John Hale, a citizen of Middleburg says many city people visit his town. “We have a lot of people from an urban area that come to visit,but it involves a lot of the old traditions.” The nighttime hay ride is one such tradition.Small groups gather under the moonlight on an open wagon filled with hay. The passengers sing as farm horses pull the wagon slowly across the fields.
There are some newer traditions, too. Trey Matheu works at the nearby Salamander Resort. He says a visit to Middleburg is a chance to slow down for a day. He says Middleburg can be a calming, peaceful place without tension.
“Middleburg is an opportunity to take a step back, to take a deep breath, and understand that even though life is moving on at a very fast pace, there’s really an opportunity where you’re allowed to step off for a little bit.”
Parade organizers say more than 13,000 people attend even in below-freezing weather. But if you ask,you will hear many different reasons why people come to watch the parade:
“I come here because I’m from a small town. I like how everybody comes together.”“I live right down that street; right there. And that’s my dog.”
Middleburg looks its best at Christmastime. That may be why so many people return each year.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Middleburg Christmas parade |
B.A small town known for horses |
C.Christmas traditions in Middleburg |
D.Newer traditions at Christmastime |
At Christmas, people in Middleburg usually ___________.
A.visit friends and families |
B.feed farm horses with hay |
C.hunt for dogs in the woods |
D.ride in the yearly parade |
According to Trey Matheu, why do people visit Middleburg?
A.To relax themselves. |
B.To enjoy the fresh air. |
C.To escape competition. |
D.To challenge themselves. |
What do we know about the small town Middleburg?
A.It makes a large profit from tourism. |
B.It attracts many people each year. |
C.It is a good place for family gatherings. |
D.It doesn’t respect Christmas traditions. |
A time capsule buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs 30 years ago has been discovered after its location was long forgotten.
In 1983, the young tech innovator was attending a conference in Aspen when he and the group decided to bury as a trick during a design convention. The tube that was filled with an eclectic collection of goods- ranging from the then-new apple mouse to a six-pack of beer for the people who discovered the time capsule- was meant to be dug up 20 years later. There was a problem with that plan, however, as everyone involved forgot where it was buried.
The final discovery happened at the hands of the crew from the National Geographic Channel’s reality show called Diggers. The discovery was well documented and is surely going to be featured on an upcoming episode, and even the experts had problems finding this particular treasure. CNET reports that in spite of their preparations and clear idea of where the 13-foot-long tube was, it still took them two hours to dig it up using heavy machinery.
To anyone removed from the tech industry, the accomplishment in finding the tube appears to be the biggest accomplishment. To others, the most interesting object would likely be the Lisa Mouse placed in the tube by the hands of a then-28-year-old Jobs. The Lisa Mouse, which Jobs named after his daughter, was one of the first commercial computer mice soled publicly, making it a rarity at the time.
The Aspen Historical Society is going to help the show creators make a list of the tube’s contents-but no word yet whether or not the Diggers cracked open one of the six bottles of Boddington’s Ale that was left inside for the people who found the tube.Why didn’t people dig up the tube as planned?
A.Because it was difficult to dig it up. |
B.Because the tube was too heavy. |
C.Because everyone involved forgot where it was buried. |
D.Because Steve Jobs died. |
What is the meaning of the word "eclectic" in paragraph 2?
A.electronic | B.original |
C.various | D.extreme |
Who discovered the time capsule?
A.Steve Jobs | B.the crew from Diggers |
C.Lisa | D.the experts |
What is the best title of this passage?
A.A time capsule was buried by Apple founder Steve Jobs. |
B.A time capsule has been discovered after its location was long forgotten. |
C.the accomplishment in finding a tube. |
D.the origin of Lisa Mouse. |
While considering the importance of education in the life of children, according to a recent survey on the net, most of the parents want to send their children to the best of the schools. There is no doubt that many schools must be located near to your neighborhood area that provides good education to your children.
However, you need to do a little research about the lessons of various schools so that you can be sure that your children are also following path as you have been since your childhood. Besides public and private schools, there are Christian schools that teach knowledge about Christianity along with the school lessons. A parent can compare between all the schools and their decision will depend entirely on their beliefs, thinking and neighborhood area.
The main focus of Christian schools is religion and you can send your children to such schools if you want to focus on religion in your child’s life. Every person has his own priority(优先考虑) and no one can force anyone with their own personal beliefs. If you feel that your child is not able to gain the right principles in other schools, then you can consider Christian schools for the right education of your children. There are Christian elementary schools that focus on reading, writing and arithmetic so as to strengthen the primary skills in children.
These schools take students from pre-school to high school to make them prepare for handling all types of situations in the future. So, use Internet to search a good school that help your child to have a better and brighter future.Parents who choose schools for their children mainly depend on the following factors EXCEPT_____.
A.schools’ decision | B.their thinking |
C.neighborhood area | D.their beliefs |
Christian schools differ from public and private schools in that _____.
A.they offer free school lessons |
B.they offer different school lessons |
C.their main focus is religion |
D.they offer a brighter future |
We can know Christian elementary schools _____.
A.focus on religion only in students’ life |
B.value the basic skills of children |
C.allow students to have their own beliefs |
D.are fit for all children |
The article is most likely to be taken from _____.
A.a newspaper | B.a magazine |
C.the Internet | D.a textbook |
So long as teachers fail to distinguish(区别) between teaching and learning, they will continue to try to do for children what only children can do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that “reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible."
Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also public activity: It can be seen and observed.
Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public scrutiny(审查).
If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable, what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest(探索) for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. "Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children."
When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfill them correctly, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated(消除). Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading. The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that____.
A.it is one of the most difficult school courses |
B.students spend endless hours in reading |
C.reading tasks are assigned with little guidance |
D.too much time is spent in teaching of reading |
The teaching of reading will be successful if ____.
A.teachers can improve conditions at school for the students |
B.teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading |
C.teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading |
D.teachers can make their teaching activities observably |
According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when ____.
A.children become highly motivated |
B.teacher and learner roles are interchangeable |
C.teaching helps children in the search for knowledge |
D.reading enriches children’s experience |
The main idea of the passage is that ____.
A.teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read |
B.teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible |
C.reading ability is something acquired rather than taught |
D.reading is more complicated than generally believed |