Scott Langteau has this message for kids：spend less time playing video games.
It’s a message that many a mom and dad have tried to impress upon many a youngster (and some notsoyoungsters) who spend perhaps a bit too much time with game controllers in hand.
But the 40yearold Langteau isn’t a parent.He’s a veteran (老手) of the video game industry—one who played producer on three “Medal of Honor” games and cofounded his own game development company.
Langteau has just published a children’s books called Sofa Boy，which tells the story of a kid who spends too much time sitting on the couch with controller clutched in hand and the rather terrible consequences that follow.
It’s a fairy tale plucked straight from Langteau’s own experiences as a lad with a fondness for video games and his own bouts with a bit of game addiction.But first，Langteau would like to make one thing clear，“I’m not saying that you shouldn’t play video games.I think video games are great.I think they do great things for kids.”Instead，Langteau says his book is all about a little something called moderation (克制)．
“It’s about being well rounded，” he says.“Just like with anything else，we all need to make sure that there’s a variety in what we do.”
Video gamers can be rather badtempered when it comes to accepting criticism about their favorite entertainment.And understandably so.After all，most people who go around talking about the dangers of playing video games tend to be outsiders—people who don’t play video games and certainly don’t understand that they can be a valuable and healthy form of entertainment.
But Langteau and Sofa Boy seem to be in a unique position to deliver a message of gaming moderation that the young game masses might actually listen to.After all，this is a man who understands what it means to be a kid with a passion for games.His early experience has taught him a lesson.Scott Langteau published Sofa Boy to________.
| A．share his great skills on games |
| B．warn kids against game addiction |
| C．tell about his fairy tale as a kid |
| D．deliver a message for video games |
Which of the following is TRUE about Sofa Boy?
| A．The book implies the writer’s own story. |
| B．The book describes a veteran of games. |
| C．The boy in the book wins a medal in games. |
| D．The boy in the book is not a video game addict. |
We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．Langteau advises the young to play games within limits |
| B．Langteau advises the young not to play games |
| C．playing video games ruins the future of kids |
| D．playing video games doesn’t benefit kids |
By saying “It’s about being well rounded，...” (in Para.6)，Langteau means________.
| A．games do great good to kids |
| B．gamers are usually fat and round |
| C．games should be viewed from all sides |
| D．gamers are to blame for their behaviors |
Do you enjoy seeing the stars twinkling at night ? Or do you love the ocean and sea, diving and racing with lovely dolphins? With heavy burdens on their shoulders, teenagers find it hard to pull out. Even if they are free, they prefer to occupy themselves with computer games or watching TV. How to get children away from screens is a great concern for parents. Now there is some good news for those concerned parents and teachers.
A campaign is being launched to encourage children to surrender 30 minutes of screen time a day to head for the great outdoors.
The newly formed Wild Network – a collaboration of nearly 400 organizations – is attempting to attract youngsters away from television and computer screen and into fields, woods and parks.
Organizers say it is the UK's biggest ever campaign to reconnect children with nature and outdoor play, and claim it could help improve fitness, mental alertness and general well–being.
A documentary film, Project Wild Thing, will herald the launch at more than 50 cinemas across the UK from Friday. It looks at the increasingly fragile link between children and nature.
Members of the network include the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS sustainable development unit.
Andy Simpson, chairman of the Wild Network, said: "The tragic truth is that kids have lost touch with nature and the outdoors in just one generation. Time spent outdoors is down, roaming ranges have fallen drastically, activity levels are declining and the ability to identify common species has been lost."
Suggestions of how to get more time in nature include collecting conkers(板栗), camping or snail racing, and observing autumn colour on trees.
From January, the network will aim to make suggestions to politicians on how government can do more to get children muddy and bright-eyed.
This is not the first time the message of less screen, more play has been brought up. Children in the 1980s were entreated to do the same by the BBC TV series Why Don't You, which somewhat confusingly called on its viewers to "switch off your TV set, and go do something less boring instead".What is the main purpose of the campaign in UK?
| A．To save 30 minutes for watching TV programme each day. |
| B．To encourage children to play outdoors. |
| C．To see the documentary film, Project Wild Thing. |
| D．To teach students how to learn more efficiently in schools. |
According to the organizers of Wild Network, there will be many advantages from the campaign except _______.
| A．improving health conditions |
| B．keeping touch with nature |
| C．learning more about wildlife |
| D．teaching children how to make full use of their spare time |
The underlined part “ to get children muddy and bright-eyed ” means “_______ ”.
| A．to make children covered with mud |
| B．to urge politicians to do more things for children |
| C．to encourage children to take part in outdoors activities |
| D．to help children identify common species |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．A new campaign. | B．Less screen, more play outdoors. |
| C．A newly formed Wild Network. | D．Children get to know wild things. |
When asked about happiness, we usually think of something extraordinary, an absolute delight, which seems to get rarer the older we get.
For kids, happiness has a magical quality. Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫无掩饰的).
In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes. Suddenly it's conditional on such things as excitement, love and popularity. I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.
In adulthood the things that bring deep joy—love, marriage, birth—also bring responsibility and the risk of loss. For adults, happiness is complicated(复杂的) .
My definition of happiness is "the capacity for enjoyment". The more we can enjoy what we have, the happier we are. It's easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends, the freedom to live where we please, and even good health.
I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday. First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch-box and had the house to myself. Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing, which I love. When the kids and my husband came home, I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.
Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work. I don't think that my grandmother, who raised 14 children, had much of either. She did have a network of close friends and family, and maybe this is what satisfied her.
We, however, with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area, have turned happiness into one more thing we've got to have. We're so self-conscious about our "right" to it that it's making us miserable. So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success, without noticing that the people who have those things aren't necessarily happier.
Happiness isn't about what happens to us--it's about how we see what happens to us. It's the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.As people grow older, they ______.
| A．feel it harder to experience happiness |
| B．associate their happiness less with others |
| C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness |
| D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness |
What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 5 and 6?
| A．She cares little about her own health |
| B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling |
| C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life. |
| D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?
| A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness |
| B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma's case. |
| C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings |
| D．Grandma's happiness came from modest expectations of life, |
People who equal happiness with wealth and success ______.
| A．consider pressure something blocking their way |
| B．stress their right to happiness too much |
| C．are at a loss to make correct choices |
| D．are more likely to be happy |
What can be concluded from the passage?
| A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative. |
| B．Each man is the master of his own fate. |
| C．Success leads to happiness. |
| D．Happy is he who is content. |
George Gershwin, born in 1998, was one of America’s greatest composers. He published his first song when he was eighteen years old. During the next twenty years he wrote more than five hundred songs.
Many of Gershwin’s songs were first written for musical plays performed in theatres in New York City. These plays were a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s and 1930s. Many of his songs have remained popular as ever. Over the years they have been sung and played in every possible way — from jazz to country.
In the 1920s there was a debate in the United States about jazz music. Could jazz, some people asked, be considered serious music? In 1924 jazz musician and orchestra leader Paul Whiteman decided to organize a special concert to show that jazz was serious music. Gershwin agreed to compose something for the concert before he realized he had just a few weeks to do it. And in that short time, he composed a piece for piano and orchestra which he called Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin himself played the piano at the concert. The audience were thrilled when they heard his music. It made him world-famous and showed that jazz music could be both serious and popular.
In 1928, Gershwin went to Paris. He applied to study composition (作曲)with the well-known musician Nadia Boulanger, but she rejected him. She was afraid that classical study would ruin his jazz-influenced style. While there, Gershwin wrote An American in Paris. When it was first performed, critics (评论家)were divided over the music. Some called it happy and full of life, to others it was silly and boring. But it quickly became popular in Europe and the United States. It still remains one of his most famous works.
George Gershwin died in 1937, just days after doctors learned he had brain cancer. He was only thirty-nine years old. Newspapers all over the world reported his death on their front pages. People mourned the loss of the man and all the music he might have still written. Many of Gershwin’s musical works were ________.
| A．written about New Yorkers |
| B．Composed for Paul Whiteman |
| C．played mainly in the countryside |
| D．performed in various ways |
What do we know about the concert organized by Whiteman?
| A．It attracted more people to theatres. |
| B．It proved jazz could be serious music. |
| C．It made Gershwin leader of the orchestra. |
| D．It caused a debate among jazz musicians. |
What did Gershwin do during his stay in Paris?
| A．He created one of his best works | B．He studied with Nadia Boulanger |
| C．He argued with French critics | D．He changed his music style |
What do we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Many of Gershwin’s works were lost. |
| B．The death of Gershwin was widely reported. |
| C．A concert was held in memory of Gershwin. |
| D．Brain cancer research started after Gershwin’s death. |
Which of the following best describes Gershwin?
| A．Talented and productive | B．Serious and boring |
| C．popular and unhappy | D．Friendly and honest |
Dogs wag(摇摆) their tails in different directions depending on whether they are excited and wanting to move forward or threatened and thinking of moving back, a study has found.
Researchers in Italy examined the tail wagging behaviour of 30 dogs, catching their responses to a range of stimuli(刺激物) with video cameras. To conduct the study they chose 15 male dogs and 15 female ones aged between one and six years. The dogs were all family pets whose owners had allowed them to take part in the experiment at Ban University. The dogs were placed in a large wooden box with an opening at the front to allow for them to view various stimuli. They were tested one at a time.
The researchers led by Professor Giorgio Vallortigara of the University of Trieste found that when the dogs were shown their owners—a positive experience—their tails wagged energetically to the right side. When they were shown an unfamiliar human they wagged to the right, but with somewhat less enthusiasm. The appearance of a cat again caused a right-hand side wag, although with less intensity again. The appearance of a large unfamiliar dog, similar to a German shepherd, changed the direction of tail wagging to the left. Researchers supposed the dog was thinking of moving back. When the dogs were not shown any stimuli they tended to wag their tails to the left, suggesting they preferred company. While the changes in the tail wagging were not easily noticed without the aid of video, it was thought that the findings could help people judge the mood of dogs. Computer and video systems, for example, could be used by professional dog trainers to determine the mood of dogs that they were required to approach. .The video cameras were used to catch the dogs’ responses because ___________ .
| A．it was easier to catch the dogs’response changes in the tail wagging |
| B．the dogs were put in the wooden boxes and tested one at a time. |
| C．they enabled the dogs’owners to know about their dogs’habit |
| D．the dogs wagged their tails in different directions when they were in different moods |
The underlined word “intensity” in the passage means .
| A．surprise | B．worry | C．excitement | D．interest |
When there are no stimuli, a dog will ___________ .
| A．wag to the left | B．wag to the right |
| C．not wag at all | D．wag to the left and then to the right |
The underlined word “they” refers to _____.
| A．the dogs | B．the trainers | C．the systems | D．the rescarchers |
The purpose of doing the experiment is _____________ .
| A．to train dogs for their owners | B．to help people judge the mood of dogs |
| C．to help dogs find company | D．to help people choose their pet dogs |
Four years ago my sweet mom went to be with God. She did it her way.
I got the call at work, and I headed home quickly. Mom and Dad lived on a small farm that they had owned since I was seven. I hated going there every weekend. There was nothing for a young girl to do but watch the one station on the old TV set, if the weather allowed reception.
My mom, on the other hand, loved the peace and quiet of the land and loved to work in the garden among her flowers and vegetables. The place was simple, with no indoor pipes or heating. We had a big wood stove in the kitchen that did its best to heat the little farmhouse, but it always seemed cold and too quiet to me.
In the evenings, my mom and I would sit for hours singing in the little kitchen. I sang the rhythm and Mom harmonized. Her favorite song was "Moon River" and we sang it over and over. Mom told me stories about how when I was a little girl, I could sing before I could talk. She loved to tell there was one song I particularly loved called "Ivory Tower".
As time passed, I had my own children and went to visit every week or two. The kids loved the farm and the tractor rides with my dad. Me, well, I still hated the silence of the farm. While my mom loved to sit at her kitchen table and look out at her garden and flowers and retell all the old stories, I missed the hustle and bustle(喧闹) of my life at home. But I sat there listening quietly as she reminisced.
Now, I sat back in the silence and turned on an old radio. Music always comforted me.
My heart skipped a beat. "Moon River" was playing on the radio. I sat there shocked, with a tear running down my cheek, as I listened to every familiar note.
Then the radio announcer of this old station came on. "Here's one we haven't heard in a while," and an unfamiliar song began. I began to cry harder as I heard the words sung over the airwaves "Come down, come down from your Ivory Tower…".The writer didn’t like staying in the farm for the following reasons Except that ________.
| A．it was too cold and quiet |
| B．she could only sing one song in the small farm |
| C．there was nothing more that could make her excited |
| D．it had no indoor pipes or heating |
From the first paragraph, we know that the writer’s mother ________.
| A．passed away four years ago | B．left the small farm |
| C．left to live her own way | D．preferred to be with God |
The underlined word reminisced in the fifth paragraph probably means ________.
| A．remembered | B．comforted | C．shouted | D．sighed |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The writer was able to sing before she could speak. |
| B．The writer preferred to live a busy life in the city. |
| C．The writer was still quite familiar with the song "Ivory Tower". |
| D．The writer treasured all her childhood memories in the small farmhouse. |
Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Cherish life | B．My happy childhood |
| C．Our small farmhouse | D．Mom’s music |