Parents are fuelling bad behavior among their children by attempting to "buy" their love with expensive gifts nowadays.
Over recent decades we seem to have created a "must have" culture among our young people. Many mothers and fathers believe they are "failing as parents" if they are unable to ensure that their children have the latest toy, electronic devices (the lap-top, cellphones, Game Boy, etc.) along with their friends. In many cases, families also feel pressured to enroll (使加入) children in "'every interest club or after-school activity that is available" to fill up their time like most of the other children.
But experts warned that the move might affect "precious family time" negatively. Graham Gorton, chairman of the Independent Schools Association, said that parents spent too much time filling their children's lives, which had a series of negative effects on "the very precious family time that exists".
"It seems that those times when a whole weekend without planned work was seen as a luxury (奢侈) and a perfect opportunity to spend time together and share those valuable moments of childhood are long gone," Mr. Gorton said. "As a child I only once said that phrase that parents feared 'I'm bored'. Immediately my mother took action and produced a list of jobs and then insisted that I complete every one of them. Though l didn't think cleaning all the floors could really get rid of my boredom, I enjoyed the feeling of staying at home with my mother and brothers."
Earlier this year, some researchers suggested that relatively wealthy parents were sometimes guilty of failing to teach basic social skills to children. "Often, it’s the rich middle classes that buy off their children through the computer and the TV. That then sets them apart from their family, and then the parents are surprised when their child isn’ t coming to school." The second paragraph mainly tells us that ________.
| A．today’s children have little time to play |
| B．today’s children depend on electronic tools too much |
| C．today’s parents feel pressured by the "'must have" culture |
| D．being qualified parents becomes harder for today's young people |
What does the "must have" phenomenon refer to based on the passage?
| A．That children must have what other children have. |
| B．That children must have proper pressure to work hard. |
| C．That children must have special skills to ensure a better future. |
| D．That parents must have patience to know their children better. |
Which of the following is the best advice you could give to parents based on Gorton’s statement?
| A．Plan fewer activities for their children to improve family time. |
| B．Buy their children fewer things that they are fond of. |
| C．Give their children more housework to do. |
| D．Leave their children alone when the kids feel bored. |
Mr. Gorton tended to think that in the past ________.
| A．children enjoyed doing housework |
| B．children never thought life was boring |
| C．children liked to spend time with their family |
| D．children often had some planned work after school |
From the passage we can infer that ________.
| A．wealthy parents don’t like teaching basic social skills to children |
| B．parents should be much more strict with their children at home |
| C．children should not be brought up in a wealthy and pleasant environment |
| D．only satisfying children’s material needs is not a good way of parenting |
To tell you the truth, I’m not interested in owning a cellular (网络) phone. Except for use in an emergency (紧急情况), for ordinary cellular phone service is very expensive. How would I get help if I were in trouble or in danger? A good friend said about a product she thought would settle my problem. It’s the SOS phone—a cellular phone service designed for emergency use.
With the touch of a button, the SOS phone will connect me to a roadside emergency service, a 911 service or a trained SOS operator, 24 hours a day. If 
I ever need help. I know it’s just a phone call away.
By pressing the “Tow” button, I’ll bc connected with my emergency roadside service provider. Or, if I don’t have one, the SOS operator can suggest one to me and get in touch with them immediately.
The “911” button would connect me to 911 emergency service in my area------best of all, the call is completely free!
If I just want to call home to tell my husband and children something necessary, I can, by pressing the “Call” hutton, I’ll reach an operator. When I ask the operator to call home, I’ll be connected automatically (自动地). And because the Call Center has my 10 most-used phone numbers, I don’t even have to recite the numbers.
Unlike ordinary cellular phone plans, the SOS phone doesn't have any minimum usage requirements (底价) or other promises that could change the price
Why not try it yourself! The writer enjoys using the SOS phone because ______.
| A．she is always in trouble or in danger |
| B．she thinks the cost of its service is reasonable |
| C．she needn’t pay for any emergency service |
| D．the ordinary cellular phone can not he used in an emergency |
Press______button, and you can get service without paying fee.
| A．911 | B．Tow | C．call | D．Tow and 911 |
When
you have an SOS phone, ________.
| A．you will get help whenever you are in an emergency |
| B．you will be safe wherever you are |
| C．you can be connected with anyone |
| D．you can get service from any cellular phones |
When you want to call home, ______.
| A．you will have to tel1 the operator your home phone number |
| B．the operator will suggest one phone number to you |
| C．the Call Center will pass on your words to your family |
| D．you’ll be connected with your family with the Help of an operator |
The writer wants to ______.
| A．tell us her experience |
| B．let us know she has an SOS phone |
| C．let us know something about the SOS phone |
| D．tell us she is very safe now |
The journey two naval (海军) officers made some time ago to tile very deepest point on the earth makes us realize how much of the world still remains to be explored (探测). The two men went down several miles to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean hiding in a small steel ball called a “bathy-scaphe” to find out if there are any ocean currents (急流) or signs of life.
It was necessary to set ont early, so that the bathyscaphe would come to the surfacc in daylight, and so be easily found by the mother ship which would be waiting for it. The divers began preparations at dawn and soon afterwards, when all was ready, the steel ball disappeared under the surface of the water.
In time, the temperature dropped to freezing-point and the men trembled inside the ball. They kept in touch with the mother ship by telephone describing how they felt. Then, at a depth of 3 000 feet, the telephone stopped working and they were quite cut off from the outside world. At 30 000 feet, the men were surprised by a sudden, loud noise-------even the smallest hole in the ball would have meant instant death. Luckily, though, it was only one of the outer windows that had broken. Soon afterwards, the bathyscaphe touched the soft ocean floor, raising a big cloud of “dust” made up of different kinds of small, dead sea animals. Here, powerful lights lit up the dark water and the men were surprised to see fish swimming just above them quite untroubled by thc very large wate-pressure. But they did not dare to leave the lights on for long, as the heat from them made the water boil. Quite unexpectedly, the telephone began working again and the weak but clear voices of the officers were heard on thc mother ship. After a stay of thirty minutes the men began their journey up, arriving three hours later, cold and wet through, but none the worse for their experience. The officers started their journey at dawn___.
| A．because they wanted to return to the mother ship in twenty four hours |
| B．because the sea then was calm |
| C．when the sun was not too strong |
| D．so that they could return before dark |
What did the officers find out at the bottom of the sea?
| A．They only found different dead sea animals. |
| B．They did find signs of life. |
| C．There was no signs of any life. |
| D．There was only dust. |
The journey to the bottom of the sea helped us to realize that______.
| A．much of the world hasn’t yet been explored |
| B．there are not any signs of life at the bottom of the sea |
| C．strong water-pressure has great effect on fish |
| D．powerful lights can not be turned on at the ocean floor without killing fish |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to “They were cold and wet through, but none the worse for their experience”?
| A．They were cold and wet through, which was the worst thing of all. |
| B．They were even worse than cold and wet through at the bottom of the sea. |
| C．Considering what they had just experienced, being cold and wet through was not too bad. |
| D．For such an experience, being cold and wet through was not bad for them at all. |
Face-to-face communication involves much more than the spoken word．In fact, we often communicate our feelings to others through our body language without realizing we are doing so．We communicate through posture, gesture and facial expression．But the eyes also play an important part in this unspoken language．William Shakespeare called the eyes "a window to the soul," and you can learn to look through that window and better understand a person's body language by reading eye movement．
Begin a conversation and ask a simple question．Watch carefully for eye movement during the response．If the person looks up, he or she is thinking or forming pictures．This is also a sign of a visual thinker．Looking up and to the left shows recalling a memory, while looking up and to the right could show imaginative construction or lying．
If the person looks down, this could be a sign of obedience or even blame．Looking down and to the left can show a person talking to themselves．Looking down and to the right can show that they are feeling strong emotion．
Looking sideways can indicate distraction or checking out a potential threat, hut a sideways glance can also show anger．In addition, eyes that look side to side often show shiftiness and lying．
A glance usually indicates a desire for something．Glancing at a door could show a desire to leave the room, while a glance, at a person could indic
ate a desire to talk to them．A glance is also used when it is forbidden to look at something．
A person who is lying to you may hold eye contact longer than normal．In addition, this person might smile with his mouth but not with his eyes．Smiling with the eyes is difficult to do if the emotion is not genuine．
Rapid blinking（眨）of the eyes can occur when a person is thinking, and this can also be another sign of lying．Again, a person who is aware of this sign might overcompensate and stare．．The writer supported his argument in the first paragraph by ____．
| A．using a quotation | B．defining the body language |
| C．telling a story of William Shakespeare | D．making a comment on eyes |
．Which of the following eye movement shows a dishonest speaker?
| A．If he looks up and to the left． |
| B．If he looks up and to the right． |
| C．If he looks down and to the left． |
| D．If he looks down and to the right． |
．Which eye movement cannot hide your feelings?
| A．Looking side to side． | B．Blinking the eyes quickly． |
| C．Smiling with the eyes． | D．Maintaining a prolonged eyes contact． |
．The writer wrote this passage to ____．
| A．introduce the different meanings of the body languages |
| B．teach us how to use eyes to express ourselves |
| C．explain the importance of body languages |
| D．tell us how to read eye movement |
It's not every week that England's greatest playwright William Shakespeare hits the headlines, but the Bard of Avon （艾芬河的吟游诗人） has been the subject of two news stories in recent days as new information has come to light about the writer and his working environment．
In the first development, a portrait of Shakespeare, which is believed to be the only picture painted of him during his lifetime, was unveiled in London．
The artwork has been dated back to 1610, meaning it was painted six years before the writer's death．
The painting had been owned by a family descended from Shakespeare's literary patron （文学赞助人） tor hundreds of years without them ever knowing who the man in the picture was．
Alec Cobbe, who inherited the portrait, realized that the painting was a likeness of Shakespeare after visiting an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery where he saw a portrait that had, until 70 years ago, been accepted as a life portrait of Shakespeare．
Mr Cobhe immediately realized he was looking at a copy of the painting that had been in his family for centuries．
The painting will now go on display in Shakespeare's hometown Stratford-upon-Avon．
In a separate story, archaeologists in London believe they have unearthed the remains of Shakespeare's first theatre．
The site was excavated（发掘） by a team from the Museum of London last summer, and is believed to have been built in 1576．
Experts think that Shakespeare himself acted at the theatre, which may have been where the play Romeo and Juliet was premiered （首次公演）．
It is believed that 25 years after construction, the building was pulled down and moved timber by timber to the South Bank of the Thames, where a reconstruction of the theatre now stands．．What is the story mainly about?
| A．The remains of the first theatre． | B．Shakespeare's portrait． |
| C．Early life of Shakespeare． | D．Great works of Shakespeare． |
．What does the underlined word "unveiled" mean in the passage?
| A．made public | B．found out | C．on sale | D．sold out |
．Before visiting the exhibition, Alec Cobbe ____．
| A．knew his painting was a copy of the portrait of Shakespeare |
| B．thought his painting was a little like Shakespeare |
| C．realized his painting was very valuable |
| D．was unknown who the man in the painting was |
．Which of the following is true?
| A．The site was the first theater Shakespeare built． |
| B．Romeo and Juliet was first put on in 1576． |
| C．The theatre was pulled down to make place for a new one． |
| D．The theatre rebuilt stands on the South Bank of the Thames． |
The world is not coming to an end on December 21st, 2012, the US space agency announced to dispel （消除） widespread rumors fueled by the Internet and a new Hollywood movie．
The latest big screen 2012 was based on stories according to the Mayan calendar．It showed that by the end of 2012, a Planet X will collide （碰撞） with the earth．
Some websites accuse NASA of hiding the truth on the planet's existence, but the US space agency considered such stories as tricks．"There is no basis in fact for these claims," NASA said in its website．"If such a collision were real, scientists would have been tracking it for at least the last decade, and we would see it
with our eyes now．Obviously, it doesn't exist and there will be no threat to the earth in 2012," it insisted．"After all, our planet has been getting along just well for more than four billion years," added NASA．
There is another planet, Eris, floating in space．But the small planet will remain safely fixed in the outer solar system and it can come no closer than four billion miles to the earth, according to NASA．
And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our plant would be very little．"And while comets and asteroids （小行星） have always hit the earth, big hits are very rare," NASA noted．The last major collision was believed to be 65 million years ago, resulting the end of dinosaurs （恐龙）．
"We are sure that there are no threatening asteroids as large as the one that killed the dinosaurs," the space agency said．．What played a key role in the spread of the rumors?
| A．The Internet and the film 2012． |
| B．The Mayan calendar． |
| C．The US space agency． |
| D．The television screen． |
．The underlined word "it" in Paragraph Three probably refers to ____．
| A．the collision | B．the Planet X |
| C．the threat | D．the NASA website |
．We can conclude from the passage that ____．
| A．the film 2012 is well accepted in the science field |
| B．scientists have been tracking Planet X for over ten years |
| C．the earth will exist for more than four billion years |
| D．the rumors caused a panic among some people |
．What do we know about Eris according to the passage?
| A．It doesn't exist in the universe． |
| B．It won't threaten the earth． |
| C．It is too far to be seen． |
| D．It is similar to the earth. |