It’s Friday evening. My daughters, 3 and 9, sigh(叹息) when I gently take the iPads away from their laps. One by one, our screens are turned off. We light the candles and sit down to have a big meal.
Most people in our lives know they will not be able to contact us by using computer or moblie phones for 24 hours. And so it has gone, every week for three years. We call it our “Technology Shabbat(科技安息日)" which lasts from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday.
I first understood the importance of disconnecting in 2008, when my father was told that he
had got brain cancer. Some days he would have ony one good hour, and I wasn’t willing to be disturbed when I was with him, so I’d turn off my mobile phone.
Soon after, encouraged by National Day of Unplugging(全国断网断电日) on March 1st, my husband and I decided to unplug for one full day every week.
During our “Technology Shabbats”, time slows. Our Saturdays now feel like mini-vacations. We drive our car or ride our bike. We, with our kids, work in the garden, play board games and cook meals. I feel more balanced. I feel like a better mother, wife and person.
Keeping a balance between the good and the bad of technology is my lasting state. The technology we’ve created makes it possible for us to share knowledge and take in carious ideas all over the world. But the technology also take something away from us. When we stay up late at night linking(连接) from website to website or sending messages or e-mailing, we click again, and again, and again until we’ve overloaded(超负荷的).
When we rush into the time full of high technology, it's necessary for us to pay attention to what we are doing online and when we should go off.
I will always remember the most important thing in my family: “Technology Shabbat".
| A．Only on Sunday. |
| B．From sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. |
| C．Only on Friday. |
| D．From sunset on Saturday to sunset on Sunday. |
| A．save energy |
| B．enjoy life together |
| C．stay away from others |
| D．follow National Day of Unplugging |
| A．They drive their car or ride bikes for mini-vacations. |
| B．They light the candles and sit down to have a big meal. |
| C．They work in the garden, play board games and cook meals. |
| D．They stay up late at night linking from website to website. |
China’s Manned Space Program
| The first stage |
The second stage |
The third stage |
Future plans |
| Time: October 15, 2003 Spaceship:ShenzhouⅤ Main events: Chinese astronaunt Yang Liwei was sent up into space. He went around the earth 14 times in his one_day flight. China became the third country to succeed in manned space flight. |
Time: October 12, 2005 Spaceship: Shenzhou Ⅵ Main events: Chinese astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng were both sent up into space.On October 17, the two Chinese space heroes safely returned to the earth. |
Time: September 25, 2008 Spaceship: Shenzhou VII Main events: Chinese astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng were all sent up into space. China became the third country to succeed in space walk. On Setember 27, the three Chinese space heroes safely returned to the earth. |
China will send up Tiangong I and Shenzhou VII, IX & X between 2010 and 2012 2. China will make a manned moon landing at a proper(适当的) time around 2017. China plans to set up a permanent (永久的) space lab, and build its engineering system in 2020. |
Before China, how many countries had already sent their spacemen into space?
A. Only one. B. Two. C. Three.Which spaceship has China succeeded in achieving first space walk?
A. Shengzhou V B. Shengzhou VI C. Shengzhou VIISo far, how many spacemen has travelled to space in China?
A. 3 B. 5 C. 6Chinese astronauts will possibly walk on the moon around .
A. 2010 B. 2017 C. 2020
In most parts of the world, many students help their school make less pollution. They join in “environment(环境) clubs”. In an environment club, people work together to make our environment clean.
Here are the things students often do.
Turn off the water! Do you know that some toilets can waste(浪费) twenty to forty tons of water an hour?
In a year, that would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets.
No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car—not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember:
Walk, jump, bike or run.
Use your legs! It’s lots of fun!
No-garbage(垃圾) lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school!
We love our environment. Let’s work together to make it clean! Environment clubs ask students .
| A．to run to school every day | B．to play sports every day |
| C．not to throw away lunch bags | D．not to forget to take cars |
From this passage we know the students usually have lunch .
| A．at school | B．in clubs | C．at home | D．in shops |
The writer wrote the passage to tell students to.
| A．join in clubs | B．help teachers | C．make less pollution | D．clean schools |
Do you know why you sleep? You may think it’s because you’re tired. Or perhaps you’ve been told sleep is good for you. Yet no one knows exactly why or how people sleep.
Until the early 1950s, most scientists thought the body and brain rested during sleep. Then a scientist watched people sleep. He noticed that during periods of between 5 and 30 minutes each, sleepers’ eyes made rapid movements, as if they were watching something. He called these periods REM sleep, for Rapid Eye Movement. Periods when sleepers’ eyes did not move he called non-REM sleep.
Whenever the scientist woke people during REM sleep, they were having vivid dreams. Measurements showed that sleepers’ pulses（脉搏）went up quickly during REM sleep. Their breathing, heartbeat, and the blood going to the brain also increased. Far from being a time of rest, REM sleep is a time when the body is hard at work. Scientists still don’t know the reason for this. Some believe REM sleep makes learning easier. Babies spend a lot of time in REM sleep. Because of this, some scientists believe that REM sleep helps the brain grow. Others think REM sleep is a time for the brain to empty the day’s garbage.
One thing all the scientists agree on is that sleep is necessary. Without enough sleep, people make mistakes. Most major car accidents happen during the early morning hours, when people are sleepiest.During REM sleep, a person’s breathing and heartbeat ________.
| A．stop | B．increase | C．decrease | D．stay the same |
Which word in paragraph（段落）3 means “colorful and lively”?
| A．easier | B．empty | C．vivid | D．quickly |
Which paragraph tells what happens when people don’t get enough sleep?
| A．1 | B．2 | C．3 | D．4 |
What is the main idea of the article?
| A．REM sleep helps the brain grow. |
| B．REM sleep has been watched and recorded by scientists. |
| C．REM sleep is a time to empty the day’s garbage. |
| D．REM sleep is an active time when the body is hard at work. |
You can decide from the article that REM sleep ________.
| A．has a restful effect on people |
| B．can be avoided with lots of sleep |
| C．is something that all people experience |
| D．is something that all scientists agree on |
Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members, and in particular, their parents, don’t know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for advice.
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a circle of friends Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among them on the phone. This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something difficult to say to their family members.
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. The question of “choice” is an interesting one.
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome.Many teenagers think their ________ know them better than their parents do.
| A．friends | B．brothers | C．sisters | D．teachers |
When teenagers stay alone, their usual way of communication is ________.
| A．to go to their friends |
| B．to talk with their parents |
| C．to have a discussion with their family by phone |
| D．to talk with their friends on the phone |
Which of the following is different in meaning from the sentences “Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their friends?
| A．Some parents may even not allow their children to meet their good friends. |
| B．Some parents may even ask their children to stay away from their good friends. |
| C．Some parents may even not let their children meet their good friends. |
| D．Some parents may want their children to meet their good friends at the stop. |
Which of the following sentences is right according to the passage?
| A．Parents should like everything their children enjoy. |
| B．In all families children can choose everything they like. |
| C．Parents should try their best to understand their children better. |
| D．Teenagers can only go to their friends for help. |
The sentence “Your answers are welcome” means“________”.
| A．You are welcome to have a discussion with us. |
| B．We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome. |
| C．Your answers are always correct. |
| D．You can give us all the right answers. |
Which is the best title of the passage?
| A．Only Parents Can Decide | B．Parents and Children |
| C．Teenagers Need Friends | D．A Strange Question |
Many cultures have different ideas about why people catch colds. For example in the United States, some people think that you can catch a cold if your feet get cold. So, mothers tell small children to wear warm boots in the winter. In other places, including parts of the Middle East, some people believe that strong winds cause colds. So, on trains and buses, people usually don’t like to sit next to open windows. In parts of Europe, some people think that wearing wet clothes will give you a cold. They say that after you go swimming, you should quickly put on dry clothes. Today, scientists know that colds are caused by a virus（病毒）. But the old ideas are still very strong, and many people still follow them to avoid（避免）getting ill.What is the main idea of this reading?
| A．People still believe old ideas about why they catch colds. |
| B．Colds are the biggest health problem in the world. |
| C．Some people think that strong winds cause colds. |
| D．You should take good care of your health in winter. |
Which is NOT a cause（成因）of colds in the reading?
| A．bad food | B．wet clothes | C．a virus | D．strong winds |
In "people still follow them to avoid getting ill", what does "them" mean?
| A．scientists | B．old ideas | C．colds | D．dry clothes |
According to the reading, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．There are many different ideas about how people catch colds. |
| B．Scientists don’t know how people catch colds. |
| C．Some people think that wearing wet clothes gives you a cold. |
| D．In the U.S., many small children wear boots in winter. |
Many people in different countries have ________ ideas about why people catch colds.
| A．no | B．one | C．the same | D．different |