Three Boys and a Dad
Brad closed the door slowly as Sue left home to visit her mother. Expecting a whole day to relax, he was thinking whether to read the newspaper or watch his favourite TV talk show on his first day off in months. “This will be like a walk in the park,” he’d told his wife. “I’ll look after the kids, and you can go visit your mom.”
Things started well, but just after eight o’clock, his three little “good kids”—Mike, Randy, and Alex—came down the stairs in their night clothes and shouted “breakfast, daddy.” When food had not appeared within thirty seconds, Randy began using his spoon on Alex’s head as if it were a drum. Alex started to shout loudly in time to the beat(节拍). Mike chanted “Where’s my toast, where’s my toast,” in the background. Brad realized his newspaper would have to wait for a few seconds.
Life became worse after breakfast. Mike wore Randy’s underwear on his head. Randy locked himself in the bathroom, while Alex shouted again because he was going to wet his pants. Nobody could find clean socks, although they were before their very eyes. Someone named “Not Me” had spilled a whole glass of orange juice into the basket of clean clothes. Brad knew the talk show had already started.
By ten o’clock, things were out of control. Alex was wondering why the fish in the jar refused his bread and butter. Mike was trying to show off his talent by decorating the kitchen wall with his colour pencils. Randy, thankfully, appeared to be reading quietly in the family room, but closer examination showed that he was eating apple jam straight from the bottle with his hands. Brad realized that the talk show was over and reading would be impossible.
At exactly11:17, Brad called the daycare centre(日托所). “I suddenly have to go into work and my wife’s away. Can I bring the boys over in a few minutes? ” The answer was obviously “yes” because Brad was smiling.When his wife left home, Brad expected to __________.
| A．go out for a walk in the park |
| B．watch TV talk show with his children |
| C．enjoy his first day off work |
| D．read the newspaper to his children |
Which of the following did Randy do?
| A．Drew on the wall. | B．Ate apple jam. | C．Fed the fish. | D．Read in a room. |
Who is “Not Me”(underlined in Para.3)?
| A．One of the family’s neighbor | B．The father |
| C．One of the three kids | D．The text doesn’t mention |
Why did Brad ask the daycare centre for help?
| A．Because he wanted to clean up his house |
| B．Because he suddenly had to go to his office. |
| C．Because he found it hard to manage his boys. |
| D．Because he had to take his wife back home. |
This text is developed _________.
| A．by space | B．by comparison | C．by process | D．by time |
In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened (变平的) wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots (点). During the following years, farmers in England found the strange circles in their fields more and more often.
The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain—usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but is never broken; it continues to grow, and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning, so the circles probably form at night. They appear only in the months from May to September.
At first, people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke, or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax, people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmers had found. They could not do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks, and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.
Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles to communicate（交流）with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.
Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles—the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash (坠毁). Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations: crop circles often appear in formations, like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.In the summer of 1978, an English farmer discovered in his field that ________.
| A．some of his wheat had been damaged |
| B．his grain was growing up in circles |
| C．his grain was moved into several circles |
| D．some of his wheat had fallen onto the ground |
According to the text, the underlined part “a hoax” (line 1, para. 3 ) probably means ________.
| A．an action made to fool people |
| B．a special way to plant crops |
| C．a research on the force of winds |
| D．an experiment for the protection of crops |
Which of the following may prove that the crop circles are not made by man？
| A．The farmers couldn’t step out of the field. |
| B．The farmers couldn’t make the circles round. |
| C．The farmers couldn’t leave without footprints. |
| D．The farmers couldn’t keep the wheat straight up. |
A new study has found evidence of aggressive(富于攻击性的)behaviors in children who drink four or more servings of soft drinks every day. Information for the study came from the mothers of 3, 000 5-year-olds.
Researchers asked the women to keep a record of how many servings of soft drinks their children drank over a two-month period. The women were also asked to complete a checklist of their children’s behaviors.
The researchers found that 43 percent of the boys and girls drank at least one daily serving of soda, 4 percent of the youngsters had four or more servings of soda to drink every day.
Shakira Suglia is with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. She worked on the study with researchers from the University of Vermont and Harvard University School of Public Health. She says they found that children who drank the most soda were more than two times as likely as those who drank no soda to show signs of aggression.
“For the children who consumed four or more servings of soft drinks per day, we see an association between aggressive behaviors, attention problems and withdrawn behaviors. ”
The aggressive behaviors included destroying possessions belonging to others, taking part in fights and physically attacking people.
Doctor Suglia says it’s not clear why young children who drink a lot of soda have behavior problems.
“We can’t prove that this is a direct cause and effect relationship, having said that, there are a lot of ingredients in soda, a lot of ingredients that have not been examined in relation to behaviors. ”
Earlier studies of young adults have found the highest sugar levels in those who carry weapons and show signs of negative social behaviors.
What’s the main idea of the second paragraph?
| A．The aim of the research. |
| B．The members of the research. |
| C．The method of the research. |
| D．The organizer of the research. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the study?
| A．Researchers had face-to-face talks with some children. |
| B．Mothers played an important part in the study. |
| C．Half of the children drank one daily serving of soda. |
| D．The result of the study is unknown. |
What does the underlined word mean?
| A．Bought. | B．Drank. | C．Fought. | D．Studied. |
What can we learn from Doctor Suglia?
| A．The relation between aggressive behaviors and soft drinks is not clear. |
| B．Children who drink a lot of soda must have behavior problems. |
| C．There are a lot of ingredients examined in relation to behaviors. |
| D．Children shouldn’t drink soda. |
Harbour Cruises LTD.
Dining, Sightseeing and Special Events
Get on board to experience Vancouver from a different perspective (视角). Join Harbour Cruises Ltd. For Vancouver's only guided tour of the inner harbour, the always popular dinner cruise(乘船巡游), or a luncheon cruise through a quiet coastal mountain bay(海湾). Special event cruises are available throughout the year including during the yearly fireworks competition and December's Christmas Carol Ships. Harbour Cruises Ltd. is located next to world-famous Stanley Park. Dates of Operation: April - October and December Seasonal Hours: 8 : 00 am - 7 : 00 pm, 7 days a week Directions: Drive west on Georgia and turn right at the lights at Denman Street. Take the # 135 Stanley Park bus or walk west along Georgia for 15 minutes towards Stanley Park from downtown.
Information: 604.688.7246
Reservations(预订): 1. 800. 663. 1500
Website: www. boatcruises. corn
Email: tours@boatcruises . corn
# 1, North Foot of Den-man Street, Vancouver, BC V6G 2w9
The Lookout at Harbour Centre Tower
Not sure where to start? The Lookout，which is high atop Harbor Center Tower，is your best first choice in Vancouver．Majestic cruise ships，mountains sprinkled with fresh snow and a west coast sunset are but a few highlights of this grand 3600 view．Drink your cappuccino，join a free guided tour，learn something new about Vancouver and enjoy the view！
Dates of Operation：Open 365 days/year
Seasonal Hours：Winter 9：00 am - 9：00 pm
Summer 8：30 am - 10：30 pm
Directions：Located downtown at the SeaBus and SkyTrain station．
Just steps away from the Cruise Ship Terminal and historic Gastown．
Infonnation and Reservations：604．689．0421
Website: www. vancouverlookout.com
Email: info@vancouverlookout.com
555 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N4
Burnaby Village Museum And Carousel
Step back in time to 1925. The museum features a village, a farmhouse and the historic CW Parker Carousel. Costumed townspeople welcome you to exhibits that include a schoolhouse, a blacksmith, a Chinese medicine store and an ice - cream parlour.
Seasonal Hours: May 4 - Sept 2 (11: 00 am - 4:30 pm )
Christmas Hours: Nov 23 - Dec 13 & Dec31 - Jan 4(12:00 - 5:30 pm) and Dec 14 - 30 (12:00 - 8:00 pm) Closed Dec 24& 25
Directions: Take exit 33 from Hwy 1 to Canada Way. Follow the signs along the sidewalk to Deer Lake Park. 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver.
Information: 604. 293. 6501
Telephone: 604. 293. 6500
Website: www. city. burnaby.cb.ca.
6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, BC V5G 3T6If you want to visit one of the places from 8:30 am to 10:30 am on Christmas Day, you can get further information on ___________.
| A．Website: www.vancouverlookout.com |
| B．Email: info@vancouverlookout.com |
| C．Website: www.city.burnaby.cb.ca |
| D．Website: www.boatcruises.com |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．A guide is necessary for people to visit Harbour Center Tower. |
| B．There is fresh snow at Harbor Center Tower for people to enjoy. |
| C．Harbour Cruises LTD is closer to downtown than Burnaby Village Museum. |
| D．The ice - cream parlour provides you local delicious food at lunch time on Christmas Day. |
The main purpose of the advertisements is to attract tourists to Vancouver
| A．for the view of mountains | B．for a ship sightseeing |
| C．for a cultural visit | D．for great fun |
On the wall in my mother’s bedroom there was a photo, which showed a soldier with a gun. Below the photo was the word “Speaking”.
“Who’s that soldier called Speaking?” I asked one day.
“He was Harold.” She said. “He was my only brother. When the Second World War began, Harold was eighteen. I was twelve then, and my sisters were ten and nine”.
“Harold liked to play with us, and we often quarreled. When we quarreled, we said：We’re not speaking to you. But before long we were all happy again, and then we said: I’m speaking now. Are you speaking to me?”
“When the war broke out, Harold joined the army. A month later, he came to see us. He brought the gun to show us. Then he went miles away to the war. We didn’t see him for three years, three long, empty years. We didn’t often hear from him. But one day in May there was a loud bang（砰）on the front door…”
“I ran to open it. It was Harold! He was an old Harold, a thinner Harold. He looked at me with his two green eyes and smiled. That smile was just the same as before, then he said one word: ‘speaking’”.
“I didn’t…I couldn’t…answer. I just fell into his arms and he dropped his gun. He stayed with us for a month. We played all our old games again. Then he went back to the war, and never came back again. So I wrote the word on the photo.”How old was the storyteller when Harold came back for the last time?
| A．Thirty-five | B．Eighteen. |
| C．Fifteen. | D．Twenty-one. |
Harold never came back again because________.
| A．he didn’t want to speak to his sister any more |
| B．he died in the war |
| C．his sister had not answered him when he came back |
| D．he went far away to the war |
Why did the mother hang the photo in her bedroom?
| A．She wanted to keep a memory of her childhood. |
| B．It could awake her happy memories. |
| C．It could show that her brother was a great man. |
| D．She hung it there in memory of her brother. |
Generational differences and the economy are shifting more responsibilities for children from their parents to grandparents, according to a new survey.
More than one-third of grandparents aged 50 and older contribute financially to their grandchildren’s upbringing, and 11 percent have a grandchild living with them, the poll by AARP showed.
40 percent of people who responded to the telephone survey, whose average age was 69, reported spending more than ＄500 on grandchildren over the past year beyond traditional gifts. Education costs accounted for about 50 percent, daily expenses for about 32 percent and medical and dental costs for about 18 percent.16 percent provided daycare for grandchildren.
“They are the safety nets for American families, helping to pay for practical expenses and necessities,”said Amy Goyer, AARP’s multigenerational and family issues (问题) expert.
“We see many providing daycare services, while growing numbers even have grandchildren living with them,”she said, referring to the 16 percent who watch their grandchildren while the parents are at work or at school.
Overall, nearly 90 percent of the 1,904 grandparents questioned said they play a very or somewhat important role in their grandchildren’s lives, and about 70 percent live within 50 miles of the closest one.
The poll conducted by Woelfel Research Inc. also showed that grandparents increasingly adapted to the younger generation’s life issues and preferred ways of communicating.
More than one-third connect with their grandchildren via email, Skype or text messaging, while half said they routinely discuss topics ranging from values to drug and alcohol use.
Nearly 40 percent said they had discussed dating or sex with at least one grandchild. About 60 percent said they spoke with their grandchildren at least once a week.
Most of the grandparents said they had five or more grandchildren, while one-fourth said they have grandchildren of a different race, mixed race or different ethnicity.According to Paragraph 3, what did the spending of over ＄500 last year NOT involve?
| A．Traditional gifts. |
| B．Education cost. |
| C．Daily expenses. |
| D．Medical and dental costs. |
When do the 16% of the grandparents polled take care of their grandchildren?
| A．When the parents are retired. |
| B．When the parents are working or buying gifts. |
| C．When the parents are at work or at school. |
| D．When there are three generations in the family. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?
| A．One-third of grandparents aged 50 and older assist in bringing up their grandchildren. |
| B．The grandparents surveyed offered nets to their grandchildren. |
| C．Many grandparents polled said they play an important role in their grandchildren’s lives. |
| D．A majority of the grandparents surveyed said they had five or more grandchildren. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．American grandparents are more responsible for grandchildren |
| B．Woelfel Research Inc. and AARP |
| C．Generational differences and the present economy |
| D．Grandparents and their grandchildren |