As a group of young African immigrants struggle to adapt to life in the United States, an after-school drama program at White Oak Middle School aims to make their lives easier by first making them a little harder.
Project X is a program that uses drama, dance, poetry and other creative outlets to help students discuss the tough and sometimes painful problems they face as pre-teen immigrants with language barriers. A final unveiling of their creation will be performed for friends and family at the end of the year at Imagination Stage.
Wanjiru Kamau, coordinator of White Oak’s African Club said it’s important to give troubles to group members to help them find their place at the school. “It comforts those who are uncomfortable, and it discomforts those who are comfortable,” Kamau said of Project X.
Kamau teamed up with Imagination Stage after she noticed that many African students seemed uncomfortable talking about problems, such as being laughed at by their fellow students about how they look and talk. When most of the kids join the club, they speak little or no English, Kamau said. Each week, the club typically draws five to ten students who are originally from Africa for discussion sessions and the Project X programme.
“We are going to express ourselves through our words and our actions, and that’s powerful,” said teaching artist Meg Green as she introduced fill-in-the-blank poems the students wrote about their identities.
One student, Frank Ketchouang, 13, wrote, “I am from the world; I am love,” which drew oohs and aahs from the group. Ketchouang has been in the United States for less than a year, said Program Coordinator Chad Dike. When Ketchouang started attending Project X, he had been in the United States for two months and spoke no English. Now he’s one of the group’s most outgoing members and helps translate instructions from English to Creole for the group’s newest member, who is from Haiti.
Many people will give up when there’s a language barrier, “but these students prove them wrong”. Kamau said. “You do have something to give. You are important. When TV, media, etc. are bringing them down, this program is bringing them up.”Project X is intended for helping the young African immigrants to_________.
| A．get over language barriers |
| B．enrich after-school life |
| C．overcome tough problems |
| D．become more creative |
How well the members learn in the Project X program is shown by_________.
| A．their annual creative performances |
| B．their annual scores gained at school |
| C．the comments of friends and family |
| D．the comments of the program teachers |
What do we know about the Imagination Stage?
| A．It’s established by Kamau for Project X. |
| B．It’s a cooperative partner of White Oak’S African Club. |
| C．It’s a project designed by White Oak Middle School. |
| D．It’s operated once at the end of each year. |
According to the author, what Franck Ketchouang wrote was______.
| A．silly | B．simple | C．excellent | D．contradictory |
The passage is written mainly to_______.
| A．introduce the Project X program |
| B．inspire immigrants to never give up |
| C．advocate White Oak’S African Club |
| D．call for more attention to immigrants |
Until the 1980s, the American homeless population is mainly made up of older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(变化无常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened urban school administrators and teachers.
Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis. But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly.
One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not treated as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets.
Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions（规定） of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.
| A．the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties |
| B．many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities |
| C．there is a serious shortage of academic facilities |
| D．homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education |
The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.
| A．350,000 | B．1,500,000 | C．440,000 | D．110,000 |
One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.
| A．the homeless children are too young to be treated as children |
| B．the homeless population is growing rapidly |
| C．the homeless children usually stay outside school |
| D．some homeless children are deserted by their families |
The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ___.
| A．the educational problems of homeless children are being recognized |
| B．the estimates on homeless children are hard to determine |
| C．the address of grade-school children should be located |
| D．all homeless people should have free education |
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E-mail:harcourt@learning.comThis advertisement aims at calling on people to ________.
| A．attend full-time universities |
| B．work part time to further their education |
| C．improve their education at home to get better jobs |
| D．earn their degrees in different ways that suit them |
Which of the following is NOT clearly mentioned in this advertisement?
| A．The way how you will get your degree. |
| B．Tuition price. |
| C．The hot fields you will be preparing yourself for. |
| D．The length of time it will take you to get a degree. |
What does the writer of this ad intend to say by naming General Electric, IBM, Ford, etc.?
| A．To show that their training is widely used in the country. |
| B．To show that the training program is fully supported by famous companies in the U. S. |
| C．To prove the value of their training in every area. |
| D．To show the importance of getting recognized by the most famous companies. |
It seems to the writer that the greatest attraction for people to take their training is______.
| A．its convenience |
| B．the degree’s nation-wide recognition |
| C．the economic benefit it will bring about |
| D．the hot fields the training will help people to enter |
Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. He knows what he wants, and his objective is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock(有现货的), the salesman promptly produces it, and the business of trying it on follows at once. All being well, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat and to everyone's satisfaction.
For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants, or does not have exactly what he wants. In that case the salesman, as the name implies, tries to sell the customer something else, he offers the nearest to the article required. No good salesman brings out such a substitute impolitely; he does so with skill: “I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it for size? It happens to be the color you mentioned.” Few men have patience with this treatment, and the usual response is: “This is the right color and may be the right size, but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on.”
Now how does a woman go about buying clothes? In almost every respect she does so in the opposite way. Her shopping is not often based on need. She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look round”. She is always open to persuasion; indeed she sets great store by what the saleswoman tells her, even by what companions tell her. She will try on any number of things. Uppermost in her mind is the thought of finding something that everyone thinks suits her. Contrary to a lot of jokes, most women have an excellent sense of value when they buy clothes. They are always on the lookout for the unexpected bargain. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour going from one rail to another, to and fro, often retracing her steps, before selecting the dresses she wants to try on. It is a laborious process, but apparently an enjoyable one. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.The underlined sentence “the price is a secondary consideration” in the first paragraph means when a man is shopping ______.
| A．he buys good quality things, so long as they are not too dear |
| B．he buys whatever he likes without considering its value |
| C．he does not mind how much he has to pay for the right things |
| D．he often buys things without giving the matter proper thought. |
What does a man do when he can not get exactly what he wants?
| A．He buys a similar thing because of the color he wants. |
| B．He usually does not buy anything. |
| C．At least two of his requirements must be met before he buys. |
| D．So long as the style is right, he buys the thing. |
What is the most obvious difference between men and women shoppers?
| A．Men do not try clothes on in a shop while women do. |
| B．Women bargain for their clothes, but men do not. |
| C．The time they take over buying clothes. |
| D．Men go shopping based on need, but women never. |
We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it's an ingredient (配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices (香料) like chili peppers.
Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say "Ugh!" and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.
The word "chocolate" comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too. Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.
In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.
Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce.The main topic of the passageis _________.
| A．the different tastes of chocolate |
| B．the origin of the word “chocolate” |
| C．the medical effects of chocolate |
| D．the production and development of chocolate |
The Spaniards think that cacao was a medicine because_____
| A．it was strong and bitter. |
| B．it was good for digestion. |
| C．it cured man's diseases. |
| D．it was a kind of drink for good health. |
Which is the right time order of the events regarding chocolate?_______
a. Chocolate became a cheap and popular drink in England.
b. A factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate.
c. The Spaniards started drinking cacao.
d. It was found that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao.
e. A factory mixed milk and chocolate together.
| A．a-b-c-d-e | B．c-d-e-b-a | C．c-d-a-b-e | D．c-d-b-e-a |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
| A．Mexicans like chocolate very much |
| B．chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or a candy bar |
| C．chocolate is a product of the cacao tree |
| D．people liked the taste of chocolate mixed with milk |
A machine which makes water out of air could become the greatest household invention since the microwave． Using the same technology as a dehumidifier (除湿器)， the Water Mill is able to create a ready supply of drinking water by getting it from a limitless source－the air． The company behind the machine says not only does it offer all alterative to bottled water in developed countries，but it is a solution for the millions who face a daily water shortage．
The machine works by drawing in damp air through a filter(过滤器) and over a cooling element which changes it into water droplets．It can produce up to 12 liters a day．The Water Mill will also produce more water when storms pass over, as the humidity（湿度）in the air increases．In keeping with its ecodevelopment，the machine uses the same amount of electricity as three light bulbs．
Inventor Jonathan Ritchey said：“The demand for water is off the chart．People are looking for freedom from water distribution systems that are shaky and unreliable”．
The machine，which is about 3 feet wide，is likely to cost￡800 when it goes on sale here in the spring．Its maker, Canadian firm Element Four, estimates that a liter of water will cost around 20 pence to produce．
Environmentalists claim half the world’s population will face water shortage because of climate change by 2080．One in five humans is said to lack access to safe drinking water．
The Water Mill is not effective in areas with below about 30 percent relative humidity, but with average relative humidity in England of more than 70 percent that won’t be much of an issue here.According to the author, the biggest advantage of the machine is its ______．
| A．little power use | B．unlimited source | C．proper size | D．high production |
We can conclude from the passage that the machine________．
| A．can be used everywhere |
| B．has not been on sale |
| C．will replace the water distribution system |
| D．will solve the problem of water shortage |
The underlined phrase “off the chart” in the passage means ________
| A．record-breaking． | B．urgent． | C．unbelievable． | D．amazing． |
What would be the best title for this passage?________
| A．Microwave for Household Use | B．Filter to Draw in Damp Air |
| C．Mode Dehumidifier on Sale | D．Machine to Make Water out of Air |