In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an intemational festival of music,dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947,in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform,and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon,groups of studentsfirstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”,once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre,music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yet as early as 1959,with only 19 theatre groups performing,some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.Point was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at he beginning?
| A．To bring Europe together again. |
| B．To honor heroes of World War 11. |
| C．To introduce young theatre groups. |
| D．To attract great artists from Europe. |
Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
| A．They owned a public house there. |
| B．They came to take up a challenge. |
| C．They thought they were also famous. |
| D．They wanted to take part in the festival. |
Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?
| A．they owned a public house there |
| B．University students. |
| C．人rusts from around the world. |
| D．Performers of music and dance. |
We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival.
| A．has become a non-official event |
| B．has gone beyond an art festival |
| C．gives shows all year round |
| D．keeps growing rapidly |
During the rosy years of elementary school（小学）， I enjoyed sharing my dolls and jokes， which allowed me to keep my high social status． I was the queen of the playground． Then came my tweens and teens， and mean girls and cool kids． They rose in the ranks not by being friendly but by smoking cigarettes， breaking rules and playing jokes on others， among whom I soon found myself．
Popularity is a well﹣explored subject in social psychology． Mitch Prinstein， a professor of clinical psychology sorts the popular into two categories： the likable and the status seekers． The likables' plays﹣well﹣with﹣others qualities strengthen schoolyard friendships， jump﹣start interpersonal skills and， when tapped early， are employed ever after in life and work． Then there's the kind of popularity that appears in adolescence： status born of power and even dishonorable behavior．
Enviable as the cool kids may have seemed， Dr． Prinstein's studies show unpleasant consequences． Those who were highest in status in high school， as well as those least liked in elementary school， are "most likely to engage（从事）in dangerous and risky behavior．"
In one study， Dr． Prinstein examined the two types of popularity in 235 adolescents， scoring the least liked， the most liked and the highest in status based on student surveys（调查研究）． "We found that the least well﹣liked teens had become more aggressive over time toward their classmates． But so had those who were high in status． It clearly showed that while likability can lead to healthy adjustment， high status has just the opposite effect on us．"
Dr． Prinstein has also found that the qualities that made the neighbors want you on a play date﹣sharing， kindness， openness ﹣ carry over to later years and make you better able to relate and connect with others．
In analyzing his and other research，Dr． Prinstein came to another conclusion： Not only is likability related to positive life outcomes， but it is also responsible for those outcomes， too． "Being liked creates opportunities for learning and for new kinds of life experiences that help somebody gain an advantage， " he said．
（1）What sort of girl was the author in her early years of elementary school？
A． Unkind．
B． Lonely．
C． Generous．
D． Cool．
（2）What is the second paragraph mainly about？
A． The classification of the popular．
B． The characteristics of adolescents．
C． The importance of interpersonal skills．
D． The causes of dishonorable behavior．
（3）What did Dr． Prinstein's study find about the most liked kids？
A． They appeared to be aggressive．
B． They tended to be more adaptable．
C． They enjoyed the highest status．
D． They performed well academically．
（4）What is the best title for the text？
A． Be Nice﹣You Won't Finish Last
B． The Higher the Status， the Better
C． Be the Best﹣You Can Make It
D． More Self﹣Control， Less Aggressiveness
As data and identity theft becomes more and more common， the market is growing for biometric（生物测量）technologies﹣like fingerprint scans﹣to keep others out of private e﹣spaces． At present， these technologies are still expensive， though．
Researchers from Georgia Tech say that they have come up with a low﹣cost device（装置）that gets around this problem： a smart keyboard． This smart keyboard precisely measures the cadence（节奏）with which one types and the pressure fingers apply to each key． The keyboard could offer a strong layer of security by analyzing things like the force of a user's typing and the time between key presses． These patterns are unique to each person． Thus， the keyboard can determine people's identities， and by extension， whether they should be given access to the computer it's connected to﹣regardless of whether someone gets the password right．
It also doesn't require a new type of technology that people aren't already familiar with． Everybody uses a keyboard and everybody types differently．
In a study describing the technology， the researchers had 100 volunteers type the word "touch"four times using the smart keyboard． Data collected from the device could be used to recognize different participants based on how they typed， with very low error rates． The researchers say that the keyboard should be pretty straightforward to commercialize and is mostly made of inexpensive， plastic﹣like parts． The team hopes to make it to market in the near future．
（1）Why do the researchers develop the smart keyboard？
A． To reduce pressure on keys．
B． To improve accuracy in typing．
C． To replace the password system．
D． To cut the cost of e﹣space protection．
（2）What makes the invention of the smart keyboard possible？
A． Computers are much easier to operate．
B． Fingerprint scanning techniques develop fast．
C． Typing patterns vary from person to person．
D． Data security measures are guaranteed．
（3）What do the researchers expect of the smart keyboard？
A．It'll be environment﹣friendly．
B．It'll reach consumers soon．
C．It'll be made of plastics．
D．It'll help speed up typing．
（4）Where is this text most likely from？
A．A diary．
B．A guidebook．
C．A novel．
D．A magazine．
For Canaan Elementary's second grade in Patchogue， N．Y．，today is speech day ，and right now it's Chris Palaez's turn． The 8﹣year﹣old is the joker of the class． With shining dark eyes， he seems like the kind of kid who would enjoy public speaking．
But he's nervous．"I'm here to tell you today why you should …should…"Chris trips on the"﹣ld，"a pronunciation difficulty for many non﹣native English speakers． His teacher ，Thomas Whaley ，is next to him， whispering support．"…Vote for …me …"Except for some stumbles， Chris is doing amazingly well． When he brings his speech to a nice conclusion ，Whaley invites the rest of the class to praise him．
A son of immigrants， Chris started learning English a little over three years ago． Whaley recalls（回想起）how at the beginning of the year，when called upon to read，Chris would excuse himself to go to the bathroom．
Learning English as a second language can be a painful experience． What you need is a great teacher who lets you make mistakes． "It takes a lot for any student，" Whaley explains，"especially for a student who is learning English as their new language，to feel confident enough to say，'I don't know，but I want to know．'"
Whaley got the idea of this second﹣grade presidential campaign project when he asked the children one day to raise their hands if they thought they could never be a president． The answer broke his heart． Whaley says the project is about more than just learning to read and speak in public． He wants these kids to learn to boast（夸耀）about themselves．
"Boasting about yourself，and your best qualities，" Whaley says，"is very difficult for a child who came into the classroom not feeling confident．"
（1）What made Chris nervous？
A． Telling a story．
B． Making a speech．
C． Taking a test．
D． Answering a question．
（2）What does the underlined word "stumbles" in paragraph 2 refer to？
A． Improper pauses．
B． Bad manners．
C． Spelling mistakes．
D． Silly jokes．
（3）We can infer that the purpose of Whaley's project is to ．
A． help students see their own strengths
B． assess students' public speaking skills
C． prepare students for their future jobs
D． inspire students' love for politics
（4）Which of the following best describes Whaley as a teacher？ C
A． Humorous．
B． Ambitious．
C． Caring．
D． Demanding．
Need a Job This Summer？
The provincial government and its partners offer many programs to help students find summer jobs． The deadlines and what you need to apply depend on the program．
Not a student？ Go to the government website to learn about programs and online tools available to help people under 30 build skills， find a job or start businesses all year round．
Jobs for Youth
If you are a teenager living in certain parts of the province， you could be eligible（符合条件）for this program， Which provides eight weeks of paid employment along with training．
Who is eligible： Youth 15﹣18 years old in select communities（社区）．
Summer Company
Summer Company provides students with hands﹣on business training and awards of up to ＄3，000 to start and run their own summer businesses．
Who is eligible： Students aged 15﹣29， returning to school in the fall．
Stewardship Youth Ranger Program
You could apply to be a Stewardship Youth Ranger and work on local natural resource management projects for eight weeks this summer．
Who is eligible： Students aged 16 or 17 at time of hire， but not turning 18 before December 31 this year．
Summer Employment Opportunities（机会）
Through the Summer Employment Opportunities program， students are hired each year in a variety of summer positions across the Provincial Public Service， its related agencies and community groups．
Who is eligible： Students aged 15 or older． Some positions require students to be 15 to 24 or up to 29 for persons with a disability．
（1）What is special about Summer Company？
A． It requires no training before employment．
B． It provides awards for running new businesses．
C． It allows one to work in the natural environment．
D． It offers more summer job opportunities．
（2）What is the age range required by Stewardship Youth Ranger Program？
A．15﹣18．
B．15﹣24．
C．15﹣29．
D．16﹣17．
（3）Which program favors the disabled？
A． Jobs for Youth．
B． Summer Company．
C． Stewardship Youth Ranger Program．
D． Summer Employment Opportunities．
Two things changed my life：my mother and a white plastic bike basket．I have thought long and hard about it and it's true．I would be a different person if my mom hadn't turned a silly bicycle accessory into a life lesson I carry with me today．
My mother and father were united in their way of raising children，but it mostly fell to my mother to actually carry it out．Looking back，I honestly don't know how she did it．Managing the family budget must have been a very hard task．，but she made it look effortless．If we complained about not having what another kid did，we'd hear something like，"I don't care what so﹣and﹣so got for his birthday，you are not getting a TV in your room a car for your birthday a lsvish sweet 16party．"We had to earn our allowance（零用钱） by doing chores around the house．I can stil l remember how long it took to polish the legs of our coffee table．My brothers can no doubt remember hours spent cleaning the house．Like the two little girls growing up at the White House，we made our own beds （no one left the house unitil that was done）and picked up after ourselves．We had to keep track of our belongings，and if something was lost，it was not replaced．
It was summer and，one day，my mother drove me to the bike shop to get a tire fixed﹣﹣﹣and there it was in the window，White，shiny，plastic and decorated with flowers，the basket winked at me and I knew﹣﹣﹣﹣I knew﹣﹣﹣I had to have it．
"It's beautiful，"my mother said when I pointed it out to her，"What a neat basket．"
I tried to hold off at first，I played it cool for a short while．But then Iguess I couldn't atand it any longer："Mon，please can I please，please get it？I'll do extra chores for as long as you say，I'll do anything，but I need that basket，I love that basket．Please，Mom．Please？"
I was desperate．
"You know，"she said，gently rubbing my back while we both stared at what I believes was the coolest thing ever，"If you save up you could buy this yourself．"
"By the time I make enough it'll bu gone!"
"Maybe Roger here could hold it for you，"she smiled at Roger，the bike guy．
"He can't hold it for that long，Mom．Someone else will buy it．Please，Mom，Please？"
"There might be another way，"she said．
And so our paying plan unfolded．My mother bought the beautiful basket and put it safely in some hiding place I could't find．Each week I eagerly counted my growing saving increased by extra work here and there （washing the car，helping my mother make dinner，delivering or collevting things on my bike that already looked nakedwithout the basket in front）．And then，weeks later，I counted，re﹣counted and jumped for joy．Oh，happy day!I made it!I finally had the exact amount we'd agreed upon…．
Days later the unthinkable happened．A neighborhood girl I'd played with millions of times appeared with the exact same basket fixted to her shiny，new bike that already had all the bells and whistles．I rode hard and fast home to tell my mother about this disaster．This horrible turn of events．
And then came the lesson．I've taken with me through my life："Honey，Your basket is extra﹣special，"Mom said，gently wiping away my hot tears．"Your basket is special because you paid for it yourself．"
55．What can we learn from the first two paragraphs？
| A． |
The children enjoyed doing housework． |
| B． |
The author came from s well﹣off family |
| C． |
The mother raised her children in an unusual way |
| D． |
The children were fond of the US president's daughters． |
56．When the author saw the basket in the window，she ．
| A． |
fell in love with it |
| B． |
stared at her mother |
| C． |
recognized it at once |
| D． |
went up to the bike guy |
57．Why did the author say many"please"to her mother？
| A． |
She longed to do extra work． |
| B． |
She was eager to have the basket． |
| C． |
She felt tired after standing too long． |
| D． |
She wanted to be polite to her mother． |
58．By using"naked"（Paragraph 12），the author seems to stress that the basket was
| A． |
something she could afford |
| B． |
something important to her |
| C． |
something impossible to get |
| D． |
something she could do without |
59．To the author，it seemed to be a horrible turn of events that
| A． |
something spoiled her paying plan |
| B． |
the basket cost more than she had saved |
| C． |
a neighborhood girl had bought a new bike |
| D． |
someone else had got a basket of the same kind |
60．What is the life lesson the author learned from her mother？
| A． |
Save money for a rainy day |
| B． |
Good advice is beyond all price． |
| C． |
Earn your bread with your sweat |
| D． |
God helps those who help themselves． |