One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decline in park use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment（蚕食）?” asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment to their lives. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters（培养）leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest, Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes be is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite（仪式）of passage.
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that strengthen love, respect and need for the landscapes. As parents, we should devote some of our energy to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause. According to the author, what causes kids’ getting lost in a “sea of technology”?
| A．The wild places of the world |
| B．The kids themselves |
| C．The outdoor activities |
| D．TV and computer games |
The underlined words “that place” in paragraph 2 can most probably refer to _______.
| A．a hill | B．a library | C．a bar | D．a classroom |
According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is _______.
| A．the fault on the part of their parents |
| B．the natural experience in their growing up |
| C．the result of their own carelessness in play |
| D．the effect of stress from computer |
What’s the author’s opinion on children’s experiencing the nature world?
| A．It leads to children’s escape from school. |
| B．It’s helpful only in a limited way. |
| C．It helps develop children from all sides. |
| D．It increases the chance of getting injured. |
If you want to go out for lunch on Sunday, you can call up the number.
| A．2785161 or 2706030 | B．2706030 or 3562367 |
| C．7364431 or 2785161 | D．3562367 or 2785161 |
You do not have to pay on Mondays if you go to.
| A．Skyline Hotel |
| B．Lansdowne Park Shopping Center |
| C．New York Museum |
| D．Garden Restaurant |
If you want to enjoy yourself on Sunday morning, you can go to.
| A．5300 No. 3 Road | B．Vanier Park, 1100 Chestnut St |
| C．9020 Bridgeport Road | D．3031 No. 3 Road |
Howard Dill is a giant among giant pumpkin(南瓜) growers. He grew world champion pumpkins for four years running，from 1979 to 1982, and missed winning the fifth year by only 5 pounds. Today, his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds are sold worldwide to more than 50 seed companies. The pumpkins grown from his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds commonly weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. “I don’t have any training in genetics(遗传学); it was all trial and error,” Dill says. He got his love of pumpkins from his father and has enjoyed growing them for years.
Dill still grows giant pumpkins, but not for competition. In the fall, visitors come to enjoy the pumpkins on his 90-acre farm in Nova Scotia, Canada. He plants ten acres of pumpkins for Halloween and two acres of giant pumpkins. One of giant pumpkins was recently baked into 442 pumpkin pies and sold at $5 each for charity.
It you want to try growing a giant pumpkin, Dill recommends starting with a soil test and then adding fertilizer(农药) as needed. Plant the giant pumpkin seed. A giant pumpkin can gain 15 to 20 pounds a day, so careful watering—every day or two—is necessary. You should wait about 130 days until the pumpkin matures and then you can harvest it.
Dill’s favorite pumpkin set the Guinness Book record in 1981. It weighted 493.5 pounds. “I’ve grown them larger since, but that one meant a lot,” he remembers. “I never would have imagined ten
years ago that there would be a 1,000-pounder, but there are many of them now,” says Dill. The 2006 world record holder is Larry Checkon of Pennsylvania. He grew a 1,469 pounder. Dill says, “These world champions are grown from my seeds, so I feel like a winner right along with them.”What can we learn about the world champion pumpkin of 1983?
| A．It weighed over 1,000 pounds. |
| B．It was missing after the competition. |
| C．It was 5 pounds heavier than that of 1982. |
| D．It was 5 pounds heavier than Dill’s biggest one that year. |
One of Dill’s giant pumpkins earned.
| A．$2210 | B．$442 | C．$1000 | D．$1469 |
In the third paragraph Dill mainly tells about.
| A．how to do a soil test |
| B．how to plant the giant pumpkin seed |
| C．when to water the pumpkin |
| D．how to grow a giant pumpkin |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Gardening Giant: Howard Dill |
| B．World Champion Pumpkin |
| C．Dill Atlantic Giant Seeds |
| D．How to Grow Giant Pumpkins |
Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country.
The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid-2012.
As a result, the student visa(签证) application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit(押金) required to study in Australia has been reduced. Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased.
Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be given a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement.
“This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas,” says Wang Lan, an expert from Education International Cooperation Group(EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas.
However, in the past few years, many of Wang's student clients(客户) could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were difficult. The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says.
A 22-year-old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago.
“According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550,000 yuan($86,850). Now we only need to prepare 410,000 yuan. This is a relief for my parents,” Li says.
She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans.
“I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China,” she says.
Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Language requirement for overseas students have been eased in Australia. |
| B．Australia is a most attractive place for students in China. |
| C．Australia widens window of opportunity for international students. |
| D．More students will work in Australia after their graduation. |
After the new regulations are passed, .
| A．more students will come to Australia to work |
| B．more Chinese students will choose to live in Australia |
| C．the opportunities to work in Australia decrease for overseas students |
| D．more Chinese students will choose to further their education in Australia |
How much can Li’s parents save according to the new regulations?
| A．550,000 yuan. | B．140,000 yuan. | C．410,000 yuan. | D．86,850 yuan. |
Why do many students want to work in Australia after their graduation?
| A．The working experience abroad will strengthen their competitiveness. |
| B．They can earn more money in Australia. |
| C．Their working experience can make them stay in Australia forever. |
| D．They have to do so according to the new regulations. |
Lynn was a young French Canadian girl who grew up in the farming community. At the age of l6, her father thought that she had enough schooling and forced her to drop out of school to contribute to the family income. In l922, with limited education and skills, the future didn’t look bright for Lynn. Her father demanded that Lynn find a job as soon as possible, but she didn’t have the confidence to ask for a job.
One day, Lynn gathered her courage and knocked on her very first door. She was met by Margaret Costello, the office manager. In her broken English, Lynn told her she was interested in the secretarial position. Margaret decided to give her a chance.
Margaret sat her down at a typewriter and said, “Lynn, let’s see how good you really are.” She directed Lynn to type a single letter, and then left. Lynn looked at the clock and saw that it was 11:40 a.m. Everyone would be leaving for lunch at noon. She thought she should at least attempt the letter.
On her first try, she got through one line but made four mistakes. She pulled the paper out and threw it away. The clock now read 11:45. “At noon,” she said to herself, “I’ll move out with the crowd, and they will never see me again.”
On her second attempt, things didn’t get any better. Again she started over and finally completed the letter, full of mistakes, though. She looked at the clock: 11:55—five minutes to freedom.
Just then, Margaret walked in. She came directly over to Lynn, and put one hand on the desk and the other on the girl’s shoulder. She read the letter and paused. Then she said, “Lynn, you’re doing good work!”
Lynn was surprised. She looked at the letter, then up at Margaret. With those simple words of encouragement, her desire to escape disappeared and her confidence began to grow. She thought, “Well, if she thinks it’s good, then it must be good. I think I’ll stay!”
Lynn did stay at Carhartt Overall Company…for 51 years, through two world wars and 11 presidents—all because someone had the insight to give a shy and uncertain young girl the gift of self-confidence when she knocked on the door.Why did Lynn leave school at an early age?
| A．To learn English well. |
| B．To earn money for her family. |
| C．To get self-confidence. |
| D．To become a typist. |
When Lynn applied for the job, she.
| A．could speak good English |
| B．didn’t know much about typing |
| C．knew Margaret very well |
| D．never wrote any letter |
How many attempts did Lynn make to type the letter?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
Who does the underlined word “someone” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Lynn’s father. | B．Lynn herself. | C．A president. | D．Margaret. |
What can we learn from Lynn's story?
| A．Encouragement makes a difference. |
| B．Honesty is the best policy. |
| C．Virtue(美德) leads to success. |
| D．Time waits for no man. |
Mayor Boris Johnson Monday outlined plans to make London “the cleanest” by the 2012 Olympics and called for commitments from other world cities at a climate change conference. Leaders of the world's 40 largest cities are meeting in Seoul this week for a summit on combating global warming ---- the third to be held since 2005.
"What we should do in Seoul is agree that we will stop the endless addiction of mankind to the internal combustion engine (内燃机)," said Johnson. He told a press conference the world's cities consume 75 percent of its energy and produce 80 percent of the emissions which cause climate change. "The problem of our planet is an urban problem," Johnson said.
He said the British capital wants to use the Olympics "to drive the greening and the improvement of our city" and noted that London is committed to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2025.
Johnson said the key measure was addressing the problems relating to domestic and commercial buildings, which accounted for 70 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in London. This involved retrofitting (翻新) ---- installing lagging (绝缘层材料) ---- in large numbers of public buildings.
Johnson proclaimed himself a "passionate cyclist" and said he would push ahead with cycle super-highways around London.
London's air quality problem, he said, was caused by vehicle emissions from 8,300 antiquated (陈旧的) diesel (柴油) buses, which could be replaced by low-carbon vehicles. There were also 32,000 taxis running on diesel fuel, which could be replaced by electric vehicles.
Johnson said there would be a substantial (实质上的) program in the next few years to produce a "cleaner, greener" bus for his city. "The age of the diesel-emitting bus has got to be over in London."Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to this passage?
| A．The used buses running on diesel will be replaced by electric vehicles. |
| B．London’s air quality will be improved in the near future. |
| C．London promises to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2025. |
| D．Plans have been made to solve the problem of carbon dioxide emissions. |
What does the underlined word mean in the first paragraph?
| A．discussing | B．resisting | C．agreeing | D．supporting |
The topic of the meeting in Seoul might be __________.
| A．climate change | B．London Olympics in 2012 |
| C．global warming | D．green environment |
If the passage was continually written, the following might be __________.
| A．measures to replace the old and used vehicles |
| B．measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in London |
| C．measures to solve housing and commercial items |
| D．measures to end the age of the diesel bus |