Is early childhood education really necessary? Early childhood education primarily focuses on learning through playing to develop the child’s physical, sensory, communicational and social development．Early childhood education has become a concern of the government, who pushes poor children to be formally trained before they are old enough for Kindergarten．
There are good reasons for the government to push early childhood education．Studies have shown that orphaned children who did not receive good care and education become developmentally delayed causing failure in school, and even in life．Further studies show that poor children who take part in Head Start programs are more prepared for school, less likely to end up in Special Education classes, and are less likely to receive public help or go to jail．
There are also negative parts to putting a child in formal education programs too early．Time Magazine online explains that “the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” I have personally witnessed many children of my generation who went to Head Start programs become frustrated and bored with school before they finished high school．Yet parents have been sure that the earlier the child starts school, the better off he or she is, so they push to start children earlier．
Actually while early formal education of poor children does show great gains in the early elementary years, studies also show that this head start is really a “false start”, as the gains are lost in middle and high school years．It seems that environment is a bigger factor on life’s success than early education．Head Start programs have not achieved its original goal in closing the achievement gap in poor and middle school children．Perhaps it is time to find other ways to close that gap．The purpose of the government valuing the early childhood education is ________．
| A．to develop the children’s communication |
| B．to give orphaned children good care and education |
| C．to get the children prepared for the kindergarten |
| D．to train the children formally and regularly |
According to the studies, which of the following is True?
| A．Children with good early education may have a rich life． |
| B．The orphaned children are usually unhappy in their life． |
| C．Children without early education can do well at school． |
| D．Head Start programs are helpful to the poor children． |
“the younger the child the less his chances of catching up with first-grade work．” suggests that _________．
| A．the early childhood education is helpless to the child’s grade |
| B．it is good for the young children to receive early education |
| C．the early education can help the children follow the grade |
| D．the younger the children are, the cleverer they will be |
The author’s attitude toward the early childhood education is _________．
| A．puzzling | B．objective | C．indifferent | D．approving |
The main idea of the last passage is that __________．
| A．the early childhood education is very necessary |
| B．Head Start programs have helped the children a lot |
| C．environment is the most important to life’s success |
| D．better ways should be found to help the poor children |
Right is right. Right? Of course. But is left wrong? Well, the Romans used to think so. They thought left-handed people were mistakes of nature. Latin, the language of the Romans, had many words that expressed this view. Some words we use today still have this meaning. The Latin word “dexter” means “right”. The English word “dexterous” comes from this word. It means “handy” (clever with hands). So, right is handy. But the Latin word for left is “sinister”. The English word “sinister” comes from this word. Sinister means “evil” (very bad). Is it fair to call right-handed people handy and left-handed people evil? Well, fair or not, many languages have words that express such beliefs. In old English, the word for left means “weak”. That isn’t much of an improvement over “evil”.
Not very long ago, children were often forced to write with their right hands. Doctors have since found that this can be very harmful. You should use the hand you were born to use.
People who use their left hands are just starting to get better treatment. But why they get all these bad names in the first place? One reason may be that there are not as many left-handed people as there are right-handed people. There is one left-handed person for every five right-handed ones. People who are different are often thought to be wrong. But attitudes do seem to be changing. Fair-minded right-handed people are finally starting to give left-handed people a hand.
1. What does the passage lead us to believe when one writes?
A. He can only use his right hand.
B. He can only use his left hand.
C. He can use either his left hand or his right hand.
D. He can use both his left hand and his right hand.
2. The last sentence of this article means ________.
A. Fair-minded right-handed people want to change the habit of the left-handed people
B. Fair-minded right-handed people are starting to help the left-handed people
C. Fair-minded right-handed people are starting to use left hand to write and so on
D. Fair-minded right-handed people are starting to give up using their left hands
3. After we read the article we can certainly know that _______.
A. left-handed people have been treated poorly
B. the number of the left-handed people is larger than that of right-handed people
C. right-handed people are much cleverer than left-handed people
D. left-handed people are less smart but hardworking
4. Which of the following is NOT right, according to the article?
A. At one time, left-handed people were forced to use their right hands.
B. Left-handed people today are being treated better than those in the past.
C. There are not as many left-handed people as there are right-handed people today.
D. “Dexterous” comes from Latin, means “evil” and English “sinister” means “handy”.
With only about 1, 000 pandas left in the world, China is desperately trying to clone(克隆) the animal and save the endangered species(物种). That’s similar to what Texas A＆M University researchers have been undertaking(负责) for the past five years in a project called “Noah’s Ark”.
Noah’s Ark is aimed at collecting eggs, embryos(胚胎), semen and DNA of endangered animals and storing them in liquid nitrogen(氮). If certain species should become extinct, Dr. Duane Kraemer, a professor in Texas A＆M’S College of Veterinary Medicine, says there would be enough of the basic building blocks to reintroduce the species in the future.
It is estimated that as many as 2, 000 species of mammals, birds and reptiles will become extinct in over 100 years. The panda, native only to China, is in danger of becoming extinct in the next 25 years.
Chinese scientists said they grew an embryo introducing cells from a dead female panda into the egg cells of a Japanese white rabbit. They are now trying to implant the embryo into a host animal.
The entire procedure(过程) could take from three to five years to complete.
“The nuclear transfer(核子移植) of one species to another is not easy, and the lack of available(capable of being used) panda eggs could be a major problem,” Kraemer believes. “They will probably have to do several hundred transfers to result in one pregnancy(having a baby). It takes a long time and it’s difficult, but this could be groundbreaking science if it works. They are certainly not putting any live pandas at risk, so it is worth the effort,” adds Kraemer, who is one of the leaders of the Project at Texas A＆M, the first-ever attempt at cloning a dog.
“They are trying to do something that’s never been done, and this is very similar to our work in Noah’s Ark. We’re both trying to save animals that face extinction. I certainly appreciate their effort and there’s a lot we can learn from what they are attempting to do. It’s a research that is very much needed.”
1. The aim of “Noah’s Ark” project is to_______.
A. make effort to clone the endangered pandas
B. save endangered animals from dying out
C. collect DNA of endangered animals to study
D. transfer the nuclear of one animal to another
2. According to Professor Kraemer, the major problem in cloning pandas would be the lack of _______.
A. available panda eggs B. host animals
C. qualified researchers D. enough money
3. The best title for the passage may be _______.
A. China’s Success in Pandas Cloning
B. The First Cloned Panda in the World
C. Exploring the Possibility to Clone Pandas
D. China — the Native Place of Pandas Forever
4. From the passage we know that _______.
A. Kraemer and his team have succeeded in cloning a cat
B. scientists try to implant a panda’s egg into a tiger
C. Kraemer will work with Chinese scientists in clone researches
D. about two thousand of species will probably die out in about a century
According to a famous optical(光学) expert, Alexander, who recently visited Shanghai, the developed countries in Europe and America have made rules that children must wear resinous(树脂) glasses instead of the traditional glasses made of glass. This is because the glass glasses are more likely to do harm to children’s eyesight.
Alexander pointed out: wearing the right glasses as soon as possible is still the best way to cure and put right children’s eyesight problems.
In America and Japan the resinous glasses have taken up 80 percent of the glasses market. And some European countries and America have made it a law that children, teenagers and drivers must wear resinous glasses. Now, about 10 million children in China have different eyesight problems and they need timely treatment.
But still, too many parents are buying the traditional glass glasses for their children. This is mainly because many parents know little or nothing about the good points of the resinous glasses. Besides, the price for the new glasses is a little higher than the traditional ones.
1. This news article mainly wants to tell us _______.
A. Alexander visited China and introduced a new type of glasses
B. we should wear resinous glasses instead of glass glasses
C. resinous glasses are popular in Europe and America
D. glasses can be made of other materials instead of glass
2. According to Alexander, the “timely treatment” to eyesight problems is _______.
A. to stop wearing glass glasses any more
B. to buy a pair of glasses and wear them right away
C. to wear suitable resinous glasses at the right time
D. to buy glasses made in Europe, Japan or America if possible
3. It can be inferred from this news text that _______.
A. resinous glasses are not on sale in China yet
B. resinous glasses are not acceptable in China
C. glass glasses have disappeared on western market because there is a law against them
D. glass glasses are the first choice in China not only because of their price
(1—3 BCD)
Zinc(锌) is one of about 20 elements necessary for good health. It is present in the body in a very small amount but makes it possible for important chemical actions to be carried out in cells. Scientists are just beginning to discover how zinc and other elements work.
Researchers first studied zinc as a way to speed recovery. Dr. Waltor Powys formerly with the United States Air Force noted that the laboratory animals recovered faster when some matters were added to their food. One of these matters was zinc. Dr. Powys later tested the zinc treatment on an American airman recovering from medical operations. The airman who received zinc sulphate(硫酸盐) recovered in half of the usual time. Other doctors studied persons who had a number of strange disorders. The doctors learned that all of these problems were caused by lack of zinc in the body. They treated these disorders successfully by giving the patients zinc sulphate.
The amount of zinc in the body can be found by examining blood and hair. A lack of this important element is not uncommon among people in both industrial and developing countries. Zinc is found in most high protein(蛋白质) foods such as meat, milk, fish and eggs. It is also found in whole grains. But many people do not eat enough of these food. Food markets should add these elements so that more people could get needed amount of these necessary matters.
1. Which of the following statements is true?
A. Scientists found how zinc works a long time ago.
B. People need a large amount of zinc to be healthy.
C. Zinc allows important chemical actions to take place in cells.
D. Zinc must be used in the course of medical operation.
2. One of the results from the study of zinc is that _______.
A. there’s only a little zinc in the human body
B. food rich in protein contains more zinc
C. some physical problems are caused by lack of zinc
D. any patient who receives zinc sulphate gets well immediately
3. The best title for the passage may be _______.
A. A New Discovery B. Zinc and Health
C. How Zinc Works D. Add Zinc to Your Food
The common cold is the world's most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that flesh receives.
The most widespread mistake of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses(病毒) passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated Arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.
In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp(奥斯维辛集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds.
At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains—taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is to relieve the symptoms(症状).
1. The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 3
2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?
A. The Eskimos do not suffer from colds all the time.
B. Colds are not caused by cold.
C. People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors.
D. A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already had one.
3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when ________.
A. they are working in the isolated Arctic regions
B. they are writing reports in terribly cold weather
C. they are free from work in the isolated Arctic regions
D. they are coming into touch again with the outside world
4. The passage mainly discusses ________.
A. the experiments on the common cold
B. the fallacy about the common cold
C. the reason and the way people catch colds
D. the continued spread of common colds