When the lazy days of summer arrive and the schedule is filled with swimming，camp，and family vacations，it can be a challenge to find time for learning. But kids’ reading skills don’t have to grow cold once school’s out. Here are some ways to make reading a natural part of their summer fun：
Explore your library. Visit your local library to borrow books and magazines that your kids haven’t seen before. Many libraries have summer reading programs, book clubs, and reading contests(比赛) for even the youngest borrowers. With a new library card，a child will feel extra grownup by borrowing books.
Read on the road. Going on a long car trip？Make sure there are some books at the back seat. When you stop driving，read the books aloud. Get some audio books in libraries and listen to them together during driving time.
Make your own books. Pick one of your family’s favorite parts of summer—whether it’s baseball，ice cream, or the pool—and have your child draw pictures of it or cut out pictures from magazines. Stick(粘贴) the pictures onto paper to make a booklet(小册子)and write text for it. When you’re done，read the book together. Reread it whenever you like!
Keep in touch. Kids don’t have to go away to write about summer vacation. Even if your family stays home，they can send postcards to tell friends and relatives about their adventures(冒险经历). Ask a relative to be your child’s pen pal and encourage them to write each week.
Keep up the reading habits. Even if everything else changes during the summer，keep up the reading habits around your house. Read with your kids every day—whether it’s just before bedtime or under a shady tree on a lazy afternoon. And don’t forget to take a book to the beach！Just brush the sand off the pages — it’s no sweat! The purpose of the passage is to________.
| A．encourage parents to read |
| B．give advice on raising kids |
| C．raise a good summer reader |
| D．suggest places for vacations |
If you drive on a long trip in summer，you can________.
| A．visit the local library and join book clubs |
| B．borrow some audio books to listen to |
| C．keep in touch with friends by sending postcards |
| D．read your own picture books with your son |
By saying “Just brush the sand off the pages—it’s no sweat”，the author means________.
| A．taking away the sand on the book is very difficult |
| B．a special book is needed when you’re reading on the beach |
| C．one can remove the sand on the book with a brush easily |
| D．there’s no trouble reading even on the beach |
Who are the possible readers of the passage?
| A．Parents. | B．Students. | C．Teachers. | D．Editors. |
Which statement(阐述) is true according to the text?
| A．During summer vocation, kids’ reading skills must grow cold. |
| B．Kids have to go away to write about summer vacation. |
| C．With a library card，a child will feel extra grownup by borrowing books. |
| D．Because everything else changes during the summer，it is hard to keep up the reading habits. |
Movies coming soon
The Croods
Length of time:1 hour 32 minutes
Style: Family, Action
Release date(上映日期): November 22, 2014
Directors: Kirk De Micco, Chris Sanders
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds
Summary
A prehistoric family are forced to flee their cave after it’s destroyed by a disaster that threatens to change their lives forever in this animated(动画制作的) film featuring the voices of Nicolas Cage and Emma Stone.As a protective caveman father leads his family out of harm’s way, the clan(家族) crosses paths with a clever teen named Guy (voice of Ryan Reynolds), who offers to help them reach a distant land where they will be safe from a terrible disaster that will soon change the entire world.
Admission
Length of time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Style: Comedy
Release date: November 22, 2014
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd, Nat Wolff
Summary
Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in director Paul Weitz’s comedy about an honest Princeton admissions officer.The officer meets a teenager who may be her long-lost son while recruiting(招收) students from an alternative high school.Years ago, Portia Nathan(Fey) quietly gave her newborn son up for adoption.Now she’s got a great career recruiting students for Princeton university.Then, one day, she receives an unexpected call from her close college classmate John Pressman(Rudd), who runs an alternative high school that is home to some very gifted students.One such student is Jeremiah(Nat Wolff), who John believes could be the son that Portia gave up for adoption back in her youth.Meanwhile, as Portia puts her career in danger by changing Jeremiah’s transcript(成绩单), an unexpected love story begins to happen.Who is a film director?
| A．Paul Weitz. | B．Emma Stone. |
| C．Paul Rudd. | D．Nicolas Cage. |
In the movie The Croods, the escaping family is led by____________.
| A．Ryan Reynolds | B．a smart teen |
| C．the father | D．the mother |
It can be inferred that John Pressman____________.
| A．is played by Nat Wolff |
| B．has adopted Portia’s child. |
| C．changes Jeremiah’s transcript |
| D．knows about Portia’s experience |
In which section of a newspaper can we most probably read the text?
| A．New movies. | B．Movie reviews. |
| C．Adventure movies. | D．Movie Stars. |
Cursive(草书) writing is about to become extinct.Do we raise the red flag? To teach or not to teach cursive writing is a question that several state education departments are meeting with.
Before you read this text, do a simple exercise.Pick a pen and paper and start writing in cursive.Yes, that fancy handwriting that you learned in grade school.You may not have forgotten the good times you had while writing curly(弯曲的) Ms and Ns.However, the chances are that you won’t be able to write it as excellently as you used to.Some people are good at making the perfect curls, while some are bad.I am still terrible at it.
Cursive writing is hardly used by kids anymore as even adults don’t write in this style, unless they are using it for their signature.Learning it was a usual practice in school for several decades.However, in 2011, the Indiana Department of Education made it optional(可选择的) for schools to teach cursive writing to the students.In fact, there are 46 more states that have also done the same.
There are some who believe that it is high time for cursive writing to retire from school curriculum.After all, if we don’t leave the past behind, we cannot make way for new things.If you walk into any classroom, you would find children using keyboards to communicate in the written form.On the other hand, fans of cursive writing insist on its usefulness.They remind us that if we stop teaching and learning cursive writing in school, very soon most of our historical documents will become hard to us.Where do we stand on this subject? Is it the right time to erase an almost forgotten writing style and live in the keyboarding world? Or can we do both without compromising on our school curriculum? Let me know your thoughts on this matter by leaving a comment in the section below.From the second paragraph, we know that the author ___________.
| A．didn’t learn cursive writing in grade school |
| B．is poor at making the perfect curls |
| C．often writes in cursive |
| D．often does physical exercise |
In Indiana schools, children ___________.
| A．must learn cursive writing |
| B．are interested in cursive writing |
| C．can choose to learn cursive writing |
| D．learn cursive writing every day |
It can be inferred that the author __________.
| A．prefers to learn cursive writing |
| B．is a cursive writing teacher |
| C．welcomes people to show their opinions |
| D．is a very famous expert in education |
Which of the following could be the best title for the text?
| A．Is cursive writing necessary? |
| B．Is the keyboarding world good? |
| C．How to write in cursive |
| D．How to improve cursive writing |
Outdoor air pollution is an obvious danger because it’s hard to miss.Auto gases, industrial waste, city smog—everyone knows they’re a health hazard(危险) and a call for solutions is on everyone’s lips.But there’s another threat just as perilous— a hidden threat(威胁) we are usually unaware of.We’re speaking about the threat of indoor air pollution.
The dangers caused by indoor air pollution are too often underestimated(低估) and overlooked.According to a recent study, indoor air pollution can be many times higher than outdoor air pollution.A similar study by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that, in general, the air in our homes and offices is two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.
Scientific studies have found that indoor air pollution exacerbates(恶化) the symptoms of asthma(哮喘), and contributes to causing nausea(恶心), headaches and damage to the central nervous system.Evidence has even been found linking poor indoor air quality to certain cancers.Children who spend eighty percent of their time inside are particularly affected by indoor air pollution.
Cigarette smoke, chemical fertilizers(肥料), perfumes and clothing that has been dry-cleaned may contribute to indoor air pollution.Building materials—including paint and glue—are also contributors.
And homes aren’t the only indoor areas affected by this danger.Offices are affected too—sometimes more so—with their copy machines and printers, inks and processing solutions (显影液)and so on.
Fortunately there are many ways to reduce indoor air pollution and improve indoor air quality in your home and office.A major first step would be the use of an air purifier(净化器).What does the underlined word “perilous” mean?
| A．Nervous. | B．Similar. | C．Obvious. | D．Dangerous. |
The author mentions some studies in Paragraph 2 to show indoor air pollution__________.
| A．is recently overestimated |
| B．is very common and serious |
| C．has drawn people’s attention |
| D．is linked to many serious diseases |
Which of the following is the usual contributor of air pollution in our homes?
| A．Smoking. | B．Printing. |
| C．Copy machines. | D．Processing solutions. |
7.What would be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．An introduction to the air purifier. |
| B．Other dangers of indoor air pollution. |
| C．Other sources of indoor air pollution. |
| D．More solutions to the problem of air pollution. |
A mother, who wished to encourage her son’s progress in playing the piano, bought tickets for a performance by the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski.When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the impressive Steinway waiting on the stage.Not long after they arrived, the mother came across a friend in the hall and they began to talk with each other.Meanwhile the boy slipped away and could be found nowhere.
At eight o’clock, the lights in the concert hall began to fail, and then the spotlights(聚光灯) came on.Only then did they notice the boy who was up on the piano bench, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”.Seeing this, his mother was shocked and embarrassed.But before she could bring her son back, the master appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard.
He whispered gently to the boy, “Don’t quit.Keep playing.” Learning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass(低音的) part.Soon his right arm reached around the other side and performed a delightful accompaniment(伴奏).Together, the old master and the young boy performed so wonderfully and harmoniously on the stage and they held the attention of the crowd with their beautiful music.
In all our lives, we receive helping hands from time to time—some we notice; some we don’t.Equally we ourselves have countless opportunities to offer helping hands—sometimes we want our assistance to be noticed, sometimes we don’t.Little of what we all achieve is without learning from others and without support from others.We are supposed to hand out what we have received.We can learn from the text that the mother___________.
| A．was pleased to see her son playing the piano on the stage |
| B．admired the master so much that she went to watch his performance |
| C．encouraged her son to play the piano on the stage |
| D．was talking with a friend when her son slipped onto the stage |
Seeing the boy playing the piano, the great master___________.
| A．felt very shocked and angry |
| B．encouraged him to continue |
| C．asked his mother to take him away |
| D．shouted at the boy |
The author wrote this text in order to__________.
| A．show how patient the great master was |
| B．tell the readers a very interesting story |
| C．report an incident in a concert hall |
| D．urge us to reach out to those in need |
Until last spring, Nia Parker and the other kids in her neighborhood went to school on Bus 59.But as fuel prices rose, the school district needed to find a way to cut its transportation costs.So the school’s busing company redrew its route map, canceling Nia’s bus.Now Nia and her neighbors travel the half mile to school via a “walking school bus”—a group of kids, supervised (监护) by an adult or two, who make the walk together.
Many parents are delighted to see their kids walking to school, partly because many did so themselves.According to a 1979 survey, nearly half of school kids walked or biked to school, compared with only 16 percent in 2011.Modern parents have been unwilling to let kids walk to school for fear of traffic, crime or simple bullying, but with organized adult supervision, those concerns have reduced.
Schools and busing companies are finding other ways to save.In rural areas where busing is a must, some schools have even chosen four-day school weeks.Busing companies instruct drivers to cancel extra stops from routes and to turn off the engine while idling(挂空挡).They are also using computer software to determine the most fuel-efficient routes, which aren’t always the shortest ones.
There could be disadvantages, however, to the busing cutbacks（削减）.If every formerly bused student begins walking to school, it’s an environmental win—but if too many of their parents decide to drive them instead, the carbon footprint can grow.Replacing buses with many more parent-driven cars can also increase safety risks.A 2011 report concluded students are 13 times safer on a school bus than in a passenger car, since buses have fewer accidents and with stand them better due to their size.And some students complain about the long morning hikes, particularly when the route contains a really big hill. In regards to walking to school, modern parents seem much concerned with the _____.
| A．safety of their kids |
| B．kids’ physical strength |
| C．time spent on the way |
| D．changes in the route |
To save money, some schools choose to _____.
| A．shorten the school week |
| B．take the shortest routes |
| C．stop using school buses |
| D．use fuel-efficient buses |
Busing cutbacks may lead to _____.
| A．fewer complaints about long morning hikes |
| B．more students taking public transportation |
| C．an increase in carbon dioxide emissions |
| D．a decrease in the safety of school buses |