In some Western countries, there are many opportunities for adults who want to improve their lives. There are public schools you can attend. In the schools, you can take things like English, arithmetic, and history. You can find classes in almost any subject you want to study. You may want to learn to type, sew, paint, or fix TV sets. You may want to learn more about trade you are already in. You may want to learn a new trade. You may want to get a high school diploma. You may even want to go to college. All it takes is time and effort.
In many cities, there are adult classes in the public schools. You can attend many of these classes without having to pay money. In some schools you may have to pay a small fee. There are also many kinds of private schools for adults.
In addition to schools, many industries and unions conduct on-the-job training programs. In these programs you hear about new ideas and learn new skills. Many large companies will send a worker to school if he or she has ability.
Many job opportunities are offered to those who wish to work. It helps if you know more than one language. There are good jobs for interpreters and typists who know English and another language.
There are many good jobs in government. In most cases, you must be a citizen of this country, and you must take a civil service examination. These examinations are open to everyone, regardless of race, religion, or color.
For many civil service jobs you need a high school diploma. The person who does not have a high school diploma can get one. There are several ways. You can study high school subjects at home and then take special tests. If you pass the tests, then you get a diploma. Or you can go to night school. There are classes that prepare you to take special tests to earn a diploma.
You can attend a night school that grants a high school diploma if you complete certain courses. If you do this, you do not have to take the special test.
Be as well trained as you can. Get as much training as you can. Opportunity knocks at every door. Be sure that when it knocks at your door you are ready.According to the article, if you want to live a better life, you have to get__________.
| A．some time | B．an education | C．new ideas | D．new jobs |
In many places, public schooling for adults is ____________________.
| A．difficult | B．easy | C．free | D．new |
What does this article tell us?
| A．Civil service jobs are offered to everyone. |
| B．Only a citizen can apply for a government job. |
| C．Training programs are often poorly organized. |
| D．Large companies will send most of their workers to school. |
We can see that___________________________________.
| A．well-trained people are often out of work |
| B．typists who know English earn much more money |
| C．one can work on a high school diploma at home |
| D．the person without a high school diploma can also get a civil service job |
The purpose of adults’ going to night school is to_______________.
| A．take special tasks | B．complete certain courses |
| C．get more training | D．get a diploma |
A team of researchers in the UK has shown that children who were taken to the library more often and owned more books at two years old achieved higher scores in school tests when they began primary school. The research also showed that although social background has a noticeable effect on a child’s readiness for school, attending pre-school and having their parents teach them a wide range of activities have a positive effect---while extended exposure to television lowers their scores.
“One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in his very early years is critical (至关重要的) for a smooth transition into the educational system,” said Professor James Law. “This is a very positive message, as it gets us away from the belief that a child’s educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage, such as income, housing, or the mother’s education.”
Data from the study shows that children from a positive communication environment had a better expressive vocabulary by their second birthday. These children went on to achieve higher scores in language, reading and maths tests when they entered school. In the early years, the communication environment was a better predictor of children’s success with language than their general social background.
Most children develop speech and language effortlessly, but some are slow to acquire these skills and go on to struggle with literacy (读写能力) and academic skills throughout their schooling. This project set out to uncover what factors contributed to these problems.
Professor Sue Roulstone said, “These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their children from the very start of their lives. The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, such as having children’s books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school.”According to the passage, what is the most important factor contributing to children’s success at school? _____.
| A．Their general social background. |
| B．Being taken to a library as early as possible. |
| C．Being involved in various activities. |
| D．Their communication environment. |
From the research, Professor James Law concluded that _____.
| A．children could naturally have a smooth transition into the educational system |
| B．the very early years had a big effect on children’s school performance |
| C．communication with children after they were over two years old was more effective |
| D．children’s educational future was pre-determined by their parents’ social position |
The study shows that two-year-old children who have a positive communication environment do better in _____.
| A．maths | B．reading |
| C．writing | D．speaking |
What is implied in the passage? _____.
| A．The research could help children who suffer from learning difficulties. |
| B．Parents should take their children to school as early as possible. |
| C．Teachers should teach children how to communicate with their parents. |
| D．Children who have good language abilities will not have difficulties in class. |
People can most probably find this passage in the _____section of a website.
| A．environment | B．education |
| C．lifestyle | D．Science |
Plans to expand wind energy into the most scenic parts of Germany are meeting increasing opposition across the country.
Anti-wind campaigners are angry that areas including the forests made famous by the tales of the Brothers Grimm are among the targets for new turbines (涡轮机). For the first time they have formed a national opposition group to thwart the expansion. They say the expansion will damage forests and tourism across the country.
Germany has started a massive expansion of renewable energy since the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 in Japan. The government decided to reduce atomic plants and instead increase the opportunities for green power. As a result, solar farms, biogas plants and wind parks are booming. In 2013, 22% of Germany’s electricity was generated by renewable energy. Wind has played a major part in this change, making up half of the renewable energy in 2013, and the public has been generally supportive. To date, a majority of the 23,000 wind turbines in the country have been built in the flat northern and eastern parts of the country. But now the focus of expansion is on the areas of dark forest in the central and southern areas of Germany.
One such region is the Rheinhardswald in the northern part of the state of Hesse. This is the home of the magical tales of Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and others, made famous in the books of the Brothers Grimm. This scenic place is a magnet, attracting hundreds and thousands of tourists from all over the world. But now there are also plans to build up to 200 turbines in this scenic place!
Ann-Kathrin Blankenberg is a PhD student and an opponent of the plans. “It is not because this is the area of Sleeping Beauty,” she says, “I want the green movement, I want green technology, I don’t want nuclear power--- but they should be made in the right way and not by destroying the forests.”
The campaigners argue that putting wind turbines in this area makes no sense. The wind speeds are low and the area is home to some extremely rare birds including the endangered black stork. Campaigners say building turbines here would be disastrous for the birds.The underlined word “thwart” can be replaced by_____.
| A．support | B．prevent |
| C．increased | D．promote |
Which of the following does NOT belong to green power? _____.
| A．Solar energy | B．Wind energy |
| C．Bio-energy | D．Atomic energy |
What percentage of Germany’s electricity was generated by wind in 2013? _____.
| A．11% | B．22% | C．50% | D．60% |
What can be inferred from the passage? _____.
| A．The author is against building more wind turbines. |
| B．The public prefers wind energy to nuclear energy. |
| C．Most Germans object to building wind turbines all over Germany. |
| D．The central and southern areas of Germany are rich in wind energy. |
What is the main idea of the passage? _____.
| A．Wind parks are increasing rapidly all over Germany. |
| B．The Rheinhardswald is famous for the tales of Sleeping Beauty. |
| C．Expanding wind energy into the land of Sleeping Beauty causes controversy. |
| D．Building wind turbines in the land of Sleeping Beauty area makes no sense. |
The shocking disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has captured the attention of millions around the world as the search for the airplane and its passengers and crew continues. What happened to the flight’s 239 passengers and crew after the plane left Kuala Lumpur on Saturday? It is becoming an increasingly desperate question as the days pass.
But it’s hardly the first mystery of its kind. Here are some half-solved and unsolved airline mysteries that kept investigators clueless for years.
Air France Flight 447:An Airbus A330 flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board. But it took a full five days for search and rescue teams to find the wreck（残骸）and another three years for investigators to report that ice crystals had caused the autopilot (自动驾驶仪) to disconnect. The bodies of 74 passengers remain unrecovered.
Amelia Earhart:Ace (王牌) pilot Amelia Earhart disappeared in her twin-engine monoplane Electra over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. No trace of her plane was ever found even after a multi-million dollar search effort, and Earhart was officially declared dead in 1939.
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739:A U.S. military flight left Guam in 1962 with more 90 personnel headed for the Philippines, but it never arrived. The pilots never issued a distress call, and 1,300 people involved in the U.S. military search never found any trace of wreckage.
British South American Airways:It took more than 50 years to find any trace of the 11 people aboard a 1947 flight that disappeared in the Andes Mountains. A pair of Argentineans rock climbers discovered engine wreckage in the Andes in 1998, and an army expedition later found human remains as well.
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571:A flight headed to Santiago, Chile carrying 45 passengers and crew crashed into the Andes Mountains in poor weather in 1972, killing twelve people. In the meantime, eight were killed in an avalanche (雪崩) that hit the plane’s wreckage where they were taking shelter, and the rest stayed alive by eating the flesh of the dead before they were finally found more than two months after disappearing out of the sky.The underlined word “plunged” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．jumped | B．broke |
| C．flew | D．dived |
What can we learn from Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571? _____.
| A．12 people were lost until now. |
| B．25 people were rescued instantly. |
| C．The rest who stayed alive killed 8 people. |
| D．8 were killed by a fall of a large mass of snow down a mountainside. |
From the passage, what could have led to British South American Airways crash? _____.
| A．The bad weather. | B．Not mentioned. |
| C．The ice crystals. | D．The lightening. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? _____.
| A．Earhart was declared dead by the authorities two years later. |
| B．The bodies of Flight 447 had all been found after three years. |
| C．Two Argentineans rock climbers discovered the dead in the Andes. |
| D．Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was regarded as the largest air crash. |
The passage has been written to _____.
| A．introduce the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 |
| B．explain how to avoid airplane disappearances as a pilot |
| C．tell readers mysterious airplane disappearances in Aviation History |
| D．call on people to protect themselves |
“It’s So Good” in French, was one of Eartha Mae Kitt’s first hit songs. But her childhood wasn’t so good. She was born into a poor family in South Carolina in nineteen twenty-seven. When Eartha was eight, her mother remarried. Her stepfather did not like her so she was sent to New York City to live with an aunt, who helped pay for her piano and dance lessons.
Eartha Kitt worked in a factory as a young teenager. But she kept up her dance lessons. One day she tried out for a famous African-American dance company. Soon, Eartha was performing in shows around the world with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe.
In Paris, Eartha left the dance company to sing in a nightclub. Her voice was very attracting. She learned French quickly and gained French fans. Soon the film director Orson Welles discovered Eartha Kitt singing in Paris. Welles asked her to play a lead part in a play he was directing. The play made her find her acting talent for the first time.
After that Eartha Kitt returned to New York and appeared in the Broadway show with “Monotonous”, a song about a bored woman, and it became famous. She soon signed with a record company.
Then Eartha Kitt acted her first role in a film in nineteen fifty-seven in “Mark of the Hawk”. Kitt was very careful about choosing her roles in films. She refused parts that were not respectful to black people. In nineteen sixty-seven, Eartha Kitt got the part of Catwoman on the popular television series “Batman”. Fans loved the special way she said her “r”s to create a sound like a cat, which made her an unforgettable Catwoman.
She was strongly against the Vietnam War and in nineteen sixty-eight she became blacklisted (列入黑名单) in America. For about ten years, she could only find work in other countries. But that brought her a greater international achievement.What did Eartha Kitt do when she first performed around the world?_____.
| A．Sing | B．Dance |
| C．Direct | D．Act |
Who helped Eartha Kitt find her acting talent? _____.
| A．Her mother | B．Her aunt |
| C．Her stepfather | D．Orson Welles. |
What is the order of the things that happened to Eartha Kitt? _____.
a. playing in her first film b. winning some French fans
c. living with an aunt d. playing a role in a play
e. singing “Monotonous” f. receiving dance training
| A．cfbdea | B．fcbdea |
| C．fcdeab | D．cfbaed |
What made Eartha Kitt an unforgettable Catwoman in “Batman”? _____.
| A．Her walking steps. | B．The looks on her face. |
| C．Her way of speaking “r”. | D．Her good singing skills. |
What might be talked in the following paragraph? _____.
| A．Eartha Kitt’s bings. |
| B．Eartha Kitt’s families in America. |
| C．Eartha Kitt’s international success. |
| D．Eartha Kitt’s hard life after being blacklisted. |
Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her three-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They find out that the new baby is going to be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sings to his sister in Mommy's tummy.
The pregnancy progresses normally for Karen. But complications arise during delivery. Finally, Michael's little sister is born. But she is in serious condition. With siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushes the infant to the intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital.
The little girl gets worse. The doctor tells the parents, "There is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst." Karen and her husband have fixed up a special room in their home for the new baby — now they plan a funeral.
Michael, keeps begging his parents to let him see his sister, "I want to sing to her," he says. But kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. However, Karen makes up her mind. She will take Michael whether they like it or not.“If he doesn't see his sister now, he may never see her alive.” She dresses him in an oversized scrub suit and marches him into ICU. The head nurse recognizes him as a child and bellows, "Get that kid out of here now! " The mother, the usually mild-mannered lady glares steel-eyed into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. "He is not leaving until he sings to his sister!" Karen tows Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazes at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. And he begins to sing.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray”
Instantly the baby girl responds. The pulse rate becomes calm and steady.
"You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away "
The ragged, strained breathing becomes as smooth as a kitten's purr.
Keep on singing, Michael. Tears conquer the face of the bossy head nurse as well as Karen.
Funeral plans are scrapped. The next, day — the very next day — the little girl is well enough to go home!
NEVER GIVE UP THE ONE WE LOVE!How did Michal’s feel when he knew that he was going to have a sister?
| A．indifferent. | B．worried. |
| C．expectant. | D．disappointed. |
The doctor recommended the family ___________.
| A．get ready for the worst result. |
| B．wait for the hope in the near future. |
| C．prepare much more money for the infant. |
| D．prepare for another chance in other hospitals. |
Which word can best replace the underlined word in Paragraph 4?
| A．pointed. | B．yelled. |
| C．whispered. | D．ignored. |
What happened when Michael sang to his little sister?
| A．The little baby responded to his song and woke up immediately. |
| B．The baby heard the song and burst into tears. |
| C．The baby’s physical signs disappeared eventually. |
| D．The baby recovered from the dangerous state of coma gradually. |