Are you carrying too much on your back at school? I’m sure lots of children of your age will say “Yes”. Not only the students in China have this problem, but children in the United States also have heavy school bags.
Doctors are starting to worry that younger and younger students are having back and neck problems as a result of school bags being too heavy for them.
“It’s hard for me to go upstairs with my bag because it’s so heavy,” said Rick Hammond, an 11-year-old student it the US.
Rick is among students who have common school bags with two straps(带子)to carry them, but many other students choose rolling(有滚轮的)bags.
But even with rolling bags, getting up stairs and buses is still a problem for children. Many of them have hurt their backs and necks because of the heavy school bags.
But how much is too much? Doctors say students should carry no more than 10% to 15% of their own body weight(重量).
Scott Batch, a back doctor, said children under Grade 4 should stay with 10%. But it is also important that older children don’t stay with over 15%, because their bodies are still growing.“
Children are losing their balance(平衡)and falling down with their school bags,” he said.
Parents and teachers are starting to tell children to only take home library books they will be reading that night. Some teachers are using pieces of paper or thin workbooks for students to take home.
One of the best answers is, as some children said, to have no homework at all!From the passage we can know that .
| A．only children in China carry too heavy school bags |
| B．children in other countries don’t carry too heavy bags |
| C．both children in China and the US carry too heavy school bags |
| D．only children in the US carry too heavy school bags |
Children feel it hard for them to go upstairs because .
| A．they are too young |
| B．their school bags are too heavy |
| C．they don’t know how to go upstairs |
| D．their parents don’t always go upstairs with them together |
If a child carries a heavy school bag, .
| A．his back and neck will be hurt | B．his head and arms will be hurt |
| C．his hands will be hurt | D．his feet will be hurt |
According to the doctor, Scott Batch, if a child in Grade 5 weighs(重)about 30 kilos, the school bag he carries should not be over .
| A．5 kilos | B．3 kilos | C．5.5 kilos | D．4.5 kilos |
Some students think the best answer to this problem is that .
| A．they should have a little homework to do after they get home |
| B．their teachers had better not ask them to do any homework |
| C．they should only take home library books they will read that night |
| D．they should use thin workbooks instead of think ones |
It is winter in many parts of the world. For some areas, that means snow. Maybe even lots of snow. If you don’t have to drive in it or remove it, snow can be very beautiful. When snow covers everything around you, the world looks like a “winter wonderland”. That is the name of a very popular song about winter. Richard Smith and Felix Bernard wrote the song back in 1934. There are hundreds of recordings of this happy song.
But winter is not always such a beautiful and happy time. It’s cold outside. You try hard to keep warm. The days are darker and shorter. The sun rarely shines. The leaves on the trees are brown. It isn’t surprising that some people are sad in winter. And some people dream about being somewhere else where it’s warm and pretty—like the state of California. The Mamas and the Papas recorded this famous song “California Dreaming”.
During the 1960s, many other famous rock groups released songs about winter. Here is a poetic song by Simon and Garfunkel called “A Hazy Shade of Winter”. They sing about life and hope and possibilities.
In 1968, the group Blood, Sweat and Tears recorded this gentle, sad song about winter. They sing about a lost love and forgotten memories in “Sometimes in Winter”.
In the early 1990s, Tori Amos wrote and recorded the beautiful song called “Winter”. She enjoyed singing about winter when she was a child.
Finally, on a happier note comes this song written and recorded by Fountains of Wayne in 2003. They sing about a snowstorm in a New England town. Nothing unusual there. But instead of being sad or tense about the snow, they write a song about it.When is snow beautiful?
| A．When people drive in it. |
| B．When people don’t have to take it away. |
| C．When it has snowed heavily. |
| D．When people sing in the snow. |
According to the second paragraph, winter is ________ .
| A．beautiful and happy |
| B．happy and warm |
| C．lovely and hopeful |
| D．cold and sad |
Which of the songs can bring us hope of life?
| A．Winter Wonderland. |
| B．California Dreaming. |
| C．A Hazy Shade of Winter. |
| D．Sometimes in Winter. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Songs about winter. |
| B．Different ideas about winter. |
| C．Winter in different areas. |
| D．Winter is cold but happy. |
Nelson Mandela is respected and admired across the world. And to South Africans he is a superstar. He is a hero who shocked the world by fighting for peace between races(种族), despite the 27 years he spent in the prison of the South Africa’s white, racist government.
Mandela who won the nation’s first all-race elections in 1994, retired 1999. But he remains as popular as ever.
“He’s loved by all people, whether you’re while or black, whether you’re young or old,” said Ali Bacher, South Africa’s famous cricket (板球) athlete.
His popularity has inspired an entire national industry. His portrait(肖像) has appeared at many places, including on some goods. His face has appeared on a South African coin and some business leaders hope to build a statue(雕像) for him --- the Statue of Freedom. It would stand taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.
His popularity is similar to that of John F. Kennedy with US or Winston Churchill in Britain, but few politicians in this times have achieved his level of admiration, said Tom Lodge, head of the political science department of the University of the Witwatersrand.
“Sometimes it isn’t completely appreciated what a skilled performer Mandela has been throughout his political career. He’s a very, very clever man.”
“Through the ages, the human race has had its icons --- men and women who rose above ordinary people to inspire their generations,” The Mail and Guardian Weekly said. “In our generation, the gods presented us Nelson Mandela.”Nelson Mandela is loved by all the people of South Africa because ________.
| A．he’s as popular as Kennedy and Churchill |
| B．he has kept in prison for 27 years |
| C．he’s a great fighter against the racialism |
| D．he’s the first all-race elections president |
Which of the following statements about Mandela’s portrait is true?
| A．It helps develop business. |
| B．It appears on the Statue of Freedom. |
| C．It is used to raise money for the Statue of Freedom. |
| D．It is similar to that of John F. Kennedy or Winston Churchill. |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means “________.”
| A．Mandela is as great as a god |
| B．We are proud to live in Mandela’s time |
| C．Mandela lives together with us all |
| D．We are proud to know Mandela. |
On a flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged rich white South African lady had found herself sitting next to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain(抱怨) about her seat. “What seems to be the problem, Madam?” asked the attendant.
“Can’t you see?” She said, “You have seated me next to a black person! I can’t possibly sit next to this kind of person. Find me another seat!”
“Please calm down, Madam,” the stewardess replied. “The flight is very full today, but I will tell you what I will do---- I will go and check to see if we have any seats available(可利用的) in club or first class.”
The woman glanced at the angry black man beside her. A few minutes later, the stewardess returned with the good news, which she delivered to the lady.
“Madam, unfortunately, as I expected, economy is full. I have spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class.”
Before the lady had a chance to answer, the stewardess continued, “It is most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, learning this condition, the captain felt that it was shocking that someone should be forced to sit next to such a tiring person.”
Having said that, the stewardess turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, “So if you’d like to get you things, sir, I have your seat ready for you…”
At this point, obviously the surrounding passengers stood and gave an applause while the black man walked up to the front of the plane. Why did the lady complain about her seating?
| A．Because she didn’t want to sit in economy. |
| B．Because she would like a seat in first class. |
| C．Because she didn’t want to sit next to a black man. |
| D．Because she didn’t want to sit in club. |
What was the good news for the lady?
| A．The black man would have to change for another seat. |
| B．The captain understood her situation. |
| C．The cabin director was sparing no effort to help her. |
| D．They have one seat in first class. |
What was the other passengers’ attitude towards the lady?
| A．They liked her very much because she was a rich lady. |
| B．They disliked her because she looked down upon the black man. |
| C．They applauded for her when she moved to another seat. |
| D．They disliked her because she was not polite to the stewardess. |
What was unexpected to the lady?
| A．The plane was so full that day. |
| B．They found a seat for her in club. |
| C．The captain himself was concerned about her problem. |
| D．They found another seat for the black man. |
About ten men in every hundred suffer from color blindness in some way. Women are luckier, only about one in two hundred if affected in this matter. Perhaps, after all, it is safer to be driven by a woman.
There are different forms of color blindness. In some cases a man may not be able to see deep red. He may think that red, orange and yellow are all shades of green. Sometimes a person can’t tell the differences between blue and green. In rare cases an unlucky man sees everything in shades of green--- a strange world in deed.
Color blindness in human beings is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there are millions very small things called “cones”. These help us see in a bright day and tell the differences between colors. There are also millions of “rods”, but these are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shapes(形状) but not color. Some insects have favorite colors. Mosquitoes like blue but do not like yellow. A red light will not attract insects but a blue lamp will. In similar way human being also have favorite colors. Yet we are lucky. With the aid of cones in our eyes we can see many beautiful colors by day and with the aid of the rods we can see shapes at night. One day we may even learn more about the invisible colors around us. The passage is mainly about ______.
| A．color and its surprising effects on drivers |
| B．women being luckier than man in that fewer of them are color blind |
| C．danger caused by color blindness |
| D．color blindness and how our eyes tell different colors and shapes |
According to the passage, with the help of “cones” we can _____.
| A．tell different colors | B．see in weak light |
| C．tell different shapes | D．tell orange from yellow |
Why do some people say it is safer to be driven by women?
| A．Women are more careful. |
| B．There are fewer color blind women. |
| C．Women are fonder of driving than men. |
| D．Women are weaker but quicker in thinking. |
Which of the following statements about color blind people is true?
| A．Not all of them have the same problem in recognizing colors. |
| B．None of them can see deep red but all can tell blue from green. |
| C．None of them can tell blue from green but all can see deep red. |
| D．All of them are lucky enough to see everything in shades of green. |
When Pat Jones finished college, she decided to travel around the world and see as many foreign places as she could while she was young. Pat wanted to visit Latin America first, so she got a job as an English teacher in a school in Bolivia. Pat spoke a little Spanish, so she was able to communicate with her students even when they didn’t know much English.
Once, A sentence she had read somewhere struck her mind: if you dream in a foreign language, you have really mastered it. Pat repeated this sentence to her students and hoped that some day she would dream in Spanish and they would dream in English.
One day, one of her worst students came up and explained in Spanish that he had not done his homework. He had gone to bed early and had slept badly.
“What does this have to do with your homework?” Pat asked.
“I dreamed all night, Miss Jones. And my dream was in English.”
“In English?” Pat was very surprised, since he was such a bad student. She was even secretly jealous (嫉妒的). Her dream was still not in Spanish. But she encouraged her young student, “Well, tell me about your dream.”
“All the people in my dream spoke English. All the newspapers and magazines and all the TV programs were in English.”
“But that’s wonderful,” said Pat. “What did all the people say to you?”
“I am sorry, Miss Jones. That’s why I slept so badly. I didn’t understand a word they said. It was a nightmare (噩梦)”.Pat believed that ______.
| A．people can learn foreign languages in their dreams |
| B．she already dreamed in Spanish so she has mastered Spanish |
| C．one of her worst students had already mastered English |
| D．dreaming in a foreign language means a good command of it |
Pat’s student didn’t finish his home work because______.
| A．the home work was too difficult |
| B．the student dreamed in English |
| C．the student didn’t sleep well |
| D．the student didn’t know much English |
The writer wrote this story ______.
| A．to show us how to learn a foreign language |
| B．to show us how to teach a foreign language |
| C．to amuse us with an interesting story |
| D．to encourage us to travel to foreign countries |
From the passage we can infer that ______.
| A．in Bolivia, people speak Spanish |
| B．Pat’s student who dreamed in English was actually good at English |
| C．Pat has already learned much Spanish |
| D．in Latin America, the newspapers and magazines are in English |