Imagine a classroom missing the one thing that’s long been considered a necessary part to reading and writing?Paper,No notebooks,no test paper.Nor are there any pencils or pens,which always seem to run out of ink at the critical moment.
A“paperless classroom”is what more and more schools are trying to achieve.Students don't do any handwriting in this class. Instead, they use palm (手掌) size, or specially-designed computers. The teacher downloads texts from Internet libraries and sends them to every student's personal computer.
Having computers also means that students can use the Web. They can look up information on any subject they're studying from math to social science.
High school teacher Judy Herrell in Florida, US, described how her class used the Web to learn about the war in Afghanistan (阿富汗) over one year ago.
"We could touch every side of the country through different sites? from the forest to refugee camps (难民营)," she said. "Using a book that's three or four years old is impossible."
And exams can go online too. At a high school in Tennessee, US, students take tests on their own computers. The teacher records the grades on the network for everyone to see and then copies them to his own electronic grade book.
A paperless classroom is a big step towards reducing the waste of paper. High school teacher Stephanie Sorrell in Kentucky, US, said she used to give about 900 pieces of paper each week to each student.
"Think about the money and trees we could save with the computers," she said.
But, with all this technology, there's always the risk that the machines will break down. So, in case of a power failure or technical problems, paper textbooks are still widely available for these hi-tech students.What does the part of the last sentence in the first paragraph, “run out of ink at the critical moment”, mean?
| A．Pens may not write well at the critical moment. |
| B．Pens get lost easily, so you may not find them at the critical moment. |
| C．Pens may have little or no ink at the critical moment. |
| D．Pens use ink, while pencils don't. |
In a paperless classroom, what is a must?
| A．Pens. | B．Computers. | C．Information. | D．Texts. |
The high school teacher, Judy Herrell, used the example of her class to show that _______.
| A．the Web could take them everywhere |
| B．the Web taught them a lot |
| C．the Web is a good tool for information |
| D．the Web better than the textbooks, can give the latest and comprehensive (全面的) information |
The paperless classrooms will benefit _____ the most.
| A．students | B．teachers | C．trees | D．computers |
What does the phrase in the last paragraph, “break down”, mean?
| A．Break into pieces. | B．Stop working |
| C．Fall down. | D．Lose control. |
In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I’d hitch a ride (搭便车).
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured （使…放心）me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.”
I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because .
| A．her work delayed her trip to Sydney |
| B．she was going home for her holidays |
| C．the town was far away from Sydney |
| D．she missed the only train back home |
Which of the following did Gordon do according to Paragraph 2?
| A．He helped the girl find a ride. |
| B．He gave the girl a ride back home. |
| C．He bought sandwiches for the girl. |
| D．He watched the girl for three hours. |
The reason why the author offered a lift to the elderly man was that .
| A．she realized he was Gordon |
| B．she had known him for decades |
| C．she was going to the nearby town |
| D．she wanted to repay the favour she once got |
What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
| A．Giving sometimes produces nice results. |
| B．Those who give rides will be rapid. |
| C．Good manners bring about happiness. |
| D．People should offer free rides to others. |
“Teenager” is the new term being used in the UK to describe kids at either 8—12 or 10—13 years old.
More and more companies are beginning to create products and services for teenagers. The Disney Company sells music and film to teenagers and their parents. You can get everything from lunchboxes and mobile phone covers, to monthly fan magazines and clothing. It’s all about sales, which suggests that teenagers must have more money, freedom and influence upon their parents than they’ve ever had before.
Most kids in the UK today get more pocket money than kids did ten years ago. Parents have more money to give their kids than before, since parents are having fewer children. In addition, the divorce（离婚） rate in the UK is continually rising and parents spend less time with their children than they used to, so many parents try to please their children by buying them presents. It’s a bad habit for both parents and kids to get into, but parents are under pressure from commercial marketing and the pleas（请求） of their children.
UK kids today are very media and computer-literate. A lot of kids have a TV, if not a computer, in their bedrooms. They have easy access to much more information about life and the world. They may have experienced a lot in life as well, since 24% of UK kids live in single-parent families, so people now say that “kids are getting older younger”. With such maturity (成熟)at such a young age, it’s no wonder teenagers are able to influence their parents and have more freedom than previous generations.
UK teenagers never used to be worried about spending money on clothes. That’s changed. Now, they are much more fashion(时尚) conscious and concerned about their image(形象). Many of them outgrow the bright colors and fashions of kids years ago and go for something darker and more rebellious(叛逆).
Surely none of the above is a good thing. The UK government is certainly concerned, and for that reason has strict laws preventing companies from marketing their products and services at children.Why are more products and services created for teenagers?
| A．Because companies are creating better products and services. |
| B．Because children education is becoming more important. |
| C．Because it is better to study music from an early age. |
| D．.Because children have more money to buy them. |
Kids today can get more money partly because ________.
| A．parents always accompany(陪) their kids |
| B．more parents divorce nowadays |
| C．parents have more expectation(期望) of kids |
| D．kids know how to make money |
Teenagers have more freedom due to the following facts EXCEPT that ________.
| A．they become mature at a younger age |
| B．they know more information than kids before |
| C．they have a lot of experience in life |
| D．parents can no longer influence them |
Which is true about kids in the past?
| A．They used to have more money to spend. |
| B．They couldn’t influence their parents. |
| C．They preferred to wear brighter clothes. |
| D．They looked older than their age. |
What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce a new phenomenon(现象). |
| B．To teach a new word “teenager”. |
| C．To warn parents to care about their kids. |
| D．To blame（责怪）today’s young people |
Though Chinese is older than English, English is spoken by many people around the world every day. English speakers are always making new words and we should be able to know where most words come from.
Sometimes, however, no one may really knows where a word comes from. Did you ever think about why hamburgers are called hamburgers, especially when they are not made with ham? About a hundred years ago, some men went to America from Europe. They came from a big city in Germany called Hamburg.
They did not speak good English, but they ate good food. When some American saw them eating round pieces of beef, they asked the Germans what it was. The Germans did not understand the question and answered, “We came from Hamburg.” One of these Americans owned a restaurant, and had an idea. He cooked some round pieces of the beef like what the man from Hamburg ate and sold in many countries around the world.
Whether this story is true or not, it certainly is interesting. Knowing why a word has a certain meaning is interesting, too. The reason may be found in any large English dictionary.Hamburg is _______ .
| A．a kind of food | B．a city in Germany |
| C．the name of a village | D．a round piece of beef. |
According to the story, _______.
| A．few Americans like hamburgers |
| B．hamburgers are made with ham |
| C．hamburgers are made with beef |
| D．hamburgers were sold all over the world about a century ago |
According to the writer, which of the following can be found in any large English dictionary?
| A．Where all the new words come from. |
| B．Where those Germans came from. |
| C．The reason why English is spoken around the world. |
| D．The reason why a word has a certain meaning. |
According to the story, the word “hamburgers” comes from _______.
| A．China because it has a long history |
| B．England because Germans don’t speak good English |
| C．English speakers because they always make new words. |
| D．The round pieces of beef those people from Hamburg brought to America. |
From the passage, we can infer that hamburgers was first sold to the world by _______.
| A．Germans | B．Americans |
| C．Chinese | D．we don’t know |
Where can you find a nice place to relax on holiday for both you and your children? Well, I suggest you try the beautiful and green Isle of Wight (IOW). The Isle of Wight is one of the main tourist attractions. Here is some information on a few of the attractions on the IOW.
Dinosaur Isle
It is located in Sandown, a seaside town on the southeast coast. It's a large, lovely museum, both fun and educational. Here you can see a large fossil collection of all kinds of dinosaurs, as well as a gift shop. You can walk into the past and then the future, learning about the history and the development of the civilization of dinosaurs(恐龙）that lived 120 million years ago.
Robin Hill Country Park
The park is in the beautiful countryside, and is suitable for children's parties and games. It has five new gardens, and offers great opportunities to see and take pictures of the rare red squirrels.
The West of the Wight
Here we have the Marine Aquarium, the Archaeology Exhibition and the Model Railway. They offer another opportunity to combine entertainment(娱乐) with learning. This is a great place to see ancient boats crossing the narrow strait between the island and the mainland.
The Wight Bus Museum
This museum is run completely by unpaid volunteers. It has a bus collection stored in what was once a warehouse (仓库) . Most of the buses in the museum date back to around the 1910's.
With all of these choices, what are you waiting for? IOW Tourism welcomes you!Where can you visit the dinosaur museum?
| A．In a seaside town. |
| B．In the west of the isle. |
| C．In the beautiful countryside. |
| D．On the northeast coast. |
Where can you learn something as well as have a good time?
| A．Dinosaur Isle and Robin Hill Country Park. |
| B．The Wight Bus Museum and Robin Hill Country Park. |
| C．Dinosaur Isle and the West of the Wight. |
| D．The Wight Bus Museum and the West of the Wight. |
It can be learned from the passage that ____.
| A．on Dinosaur Isle we can learn about all kinds of animals |
| B．those running the Wight Bus Museum work for free |
| C．there are five new gardens on Dinosaur Isle |
| D．the Wight Bus Museum can be visited free of charge |
The purpose of this passage is to ____.
| A．advise readers how to relax on holidays |
| B．show the development of tourism on the IOW |
| C．attract readers to come to the IOW |
| D．tell readers what is worth visiting |
You can read this article in a ______.
| A．film advertisement | B．science journal |
| C．book review | D．travel magazine |
I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career.
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job, looking after two little girls. It wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification(资格证书) if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course.
I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.What is the author’s present job?
| A．Working part-time in a college. |
| B．Taking care of children for a family. |
| C．Helping children with their schoolwork. |
| D．Looking after children at a kindergarten. |
When staying with the two girls’ family, the author ________.
| A．was paid for extra work |
| B．often worked long hours |
| C．got much help from her boss |
| D．took a day off every other week |
Why did the author leave her first job?
| A．She found a full-time job. |
| B．She was fed up with children. |
| C．She decided to attend a part-time course. |
| D．She needed a rest after working extra hours. |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “fed up”?
| A．Troublesome. | B．Loving. |
| C．Excited. | D．Great. |
What has the author learned from her own experiences?
| A．Less successful students can still have a career. |
| B．Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student. |
| D．One must choose the job she likes. |