LONDON (Reuters Life!) ---- Forget about talking your children into considering life as a doctor or a teacher and start training them for the talent show.
A survey of British parents showed the aspirations (志向) of their children are greatly different from what they dreamed about when considering who they wanted to be when they grew up.
Although astronaut (宇航员) still remains fairly high on the list of careers (事业) kids dream about these days, others like doctor and teacher have been taken the place of by the desire (欲望) to win good name and money as a sporting hero, pop star or actor.
The parents of children aged 5 to 11 said the choice of lawyer had dropped by only one place on a top 10 list to sixth, while teacher had dropped to ninth from top in the last 25 or more years.
The survey for British TV channel “Watch” found a great difference between the genders (性别) of today’s young people when compared with their parents’ dreams 25 years or more ago.
Playing professional football, being an astronaut and joining the firefighting service topped the boys’ choices, while girls are more likely to be dreaming of taking to the stage as a pop star or actress or joining the medical profession.
When asked what they would like their children to do for a living, today’s parents still like the academic (学术的) professions (职业), with law and medicine scoring highly, while being a boss came third.
Parents also praised job happiness above wealth (财富) when it comes to their hopes for their children.
Nearly 70 percent of the parents surveyed thought that they failed to follow their dreams when it came to their career, with 37 percent thinking it was caused by a lack of aspiration and not having the necessary conditions.From the passage we know that most parents still hope that in the future their children can take up ______.
| A．jobs such as musicians, singers and dancers |
| B．jobs related to academic professions like lawyers and doctors |
| C．jobs in which they will not be endangered |
| D．jobs which will be well paid only |
According to the survey for British TV channel “Watch”, which of the following is the boys’ best career choice?
| A．A pop star | B．An actor | C．A doctor | D．A firefighter |
What can be learnt from the passage?
| A．Parents’ hope for their children’s career did not change too much. |
| B．Parents pay much attention to the income of their children. |
| C．Less than half of the parents who were surveyed didn’t follow their dreams. |
| D．Most parents didn’t have the necessary conditions to realize their dreams. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Many reasons cause the change of children’s dreams. |
| B．Parents’ dreams are different form children’s. |
| C．Parents are changing their own dreams. |
| D．Children’s dreams are always changing. |
People in cities all over the world shop in supermarkets. When you enter the supermarket, you see shelves full of food. You walk in the aisles, pushing your shopping cart. You probably hear soft, slow music in the supermarket. This kind of music is playing to relax you and make you walk slowly. Thus, you will probably stay longer and buy more food.
Where do you go in the supermarket when you first arrive? Many people go to the meat section first. This area of the store has many different kinds of meat. Some kinds are expensive and others are not. Usually, some kinds of meat are on sale. So it has a special low price. The manager of the store knows where the customers usually enter the meat section. The meat on sale is usually at the other end of the section, away from where the customers enter. If you want to buy this specially priced meat, you have to walk by the more expensive meat first. Maybe you will see something that you want to buy before you reach the cheaper, inexpensive meat. Then you will spend more money in the meat section.
The diary section sells milk that is low in fat. Some supermarkets sell three different containers（包装盒）of low-fat milk. Each container looks different, but each contains the same product. One says "1% fat", one says "99% fat free" and one says "low-fat" in big letters and "1%"in very small letters. If you look carefully you can see that all the milk has the same amount of fat, and each container is the same size. The prices of all these three should be the same. However, in many stores these three containers of milk would each have a different price. The store will make more money if a customer chooses the milk that costs the most.
Most of the food in supermarkets is very attractive. People often stop to look at the products in attractive containers. But remember, many products will say, "Buy me!". Stop and think which ones are the best value for your money. The word "aisles" in the first paragraph means _______ .
| A．the entrance of a supermarket |
| B．the place where you pay for your goods |
| C．the way between the shelves |
| D．the place where the special priced meat is on sale. |
When you walk by the expensive meat, _______ .
| A．maybe you will buy some | B．you will not look at it |
| C．you will buy diary products | D．maybe it is on sale |
The three different kinds of low-fat milk _______ .
| A．contain three different amount of milk |
| B．contain three different kinds of milk |
| C．each have the same amount of fat |
| D．are all the same price |
Supermarket managers make the food attractive so _______ .
| A．it is cheap |
| B．the customers will buy more |
| C．it is expensive |
| D．it is in the diary section |
Pottery is the name given to all kinds of useful or artistic objects made from clay. Pottery can be plates or water pots or baskets. Pottery can be large or small, fancy or plain. Pottery is part of the large family of ceramics（陶器）.Ceramics are synthetic materials. For example, bricks and tiles (瓦片) are both ceramics.
How is pottery made? First, a potter takes some clay. Clay is a soft, red material from the earth. It looks a little like red dirt, but it's very different. Clay is thick and rich. Wet clay can be worked into any shape. When the clay dries, it will keep that shape. The potters takes some clay and pushes and squeezes（挤压）it until it is soft and smooth. After that, the clay can be shaped into anything. There are several ways to shape clay. Sometimes potters use their hands. Sometimes they use a special wheel. They place the clay in the center of a round, flat wheel. The wheel moves very fast, and the potter shapes the clay.
After the potter has shaped the clay, it can be decorated(装饰). Potters use glaze, which is a kind of paint, to decorate their work. Some glazes are very simple. Other glazes have beautiful colors and designs. The glaze is not just beautiful. It is also useful. The glaze makes the pottery smooth and waterproof. Potters also make some decorative lines and designs on the surface. After it is decorated, the clay must be baked, or fired, in a special oven.
Baking the clay at very high temperature makes it hard and strong. Firing also makes the glaze stick to the pottery. When the firing is over, the potter carefully removes the pottery from the oven and lets it cool slowly. If it cools too quickly, it could crack and break.
Since pottery is waterproof, it is very popular for dishes. You can find examples of pottery in almost any home. But pottery can also be found in museums. Some pieces of pottery are valuable and beautiful pieces of art. It is possible that ceramics are materials of _______ .
| A．metal | B．plastic | C．wood | D．earth |
The word "waterproof" means _______ .
| A．能盛水的 | B．防水的 | C．溶解于水的 | D．吸水性强的 |
Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Plates, water pots and bowls are all examples of pottery. |
| B．Wet clay can be made into anything of different shapes by the hands or a special wheel. |
| C．The clay becomes smooth and waterproof because of the glaze. |
| D．After the firing in high temperature, pottery is easy to break. |
The week after Jane's birthday, Barbara and Mary were away. Jane decided to have a late birthday party. She telephoned several friends. She asked some to bring records, some to bring food and others to bring something to drink. She rang another friend to see if she could borrow his record player. She herself bought some food and drink to get the party going. She took up all the carpets (地毯) so that they could dance. She did not know whether Barbara and Mary would have approved (赞成), but as long as she was careful, she was sure that they would not mind. She warned the two people in the flat above and invited them down.
“Oh, ” said Jane, surprised. “What's all this about? ”
The first guests arrived soon after eight. The music was soon playing loudly and they started dancing. Some of Jane's friends brought other friends with them. As more and more people arrived,the noise increased. People started shouting at each other, so they turned the music up. This made it more difficult to hear each other above the music, so they shouted more loudly. At half past ten the bell rang. “Turn down the music!” someone shouted. “Someone probably called the police.” When Jane opened the door, there was a policeman standing there. She started to apologize, “I'm sorry about all the noise, officer. But you see, it was my birthday last week and I'm having a party.” “Never mind about that, miss. We're here because of something much more important.”
“Well, there's been a report of burglary (盗窃行为). We think the thief may have come to your party, pretending to be a friend of someone here. ”When did Jane have the party?
| A．On her birthday. | B．After her birthday. |
| C．Before Barbara and Mary left. | D．As soon as she telephone her friends. |
Why did people shout at each other at the party?
| A．They got rather angry with each other. |
| B．They were very glad to make new friends. |
| C．They became too excited while dancing. |
| D．They couldn't hear each other because of the music. |
What reason did Jane think the policeman came for?
| A．They made too much noise. |
| B．A thief was among the guests. |
| C．He had some important things to do. |
| D．He was interested in birthday parties. |
Nanjing-style paper cutting is an important part of Chinese paper cutting. It is known for its different designs, simplistic but graceful shapes, finely cut lines and unique skills. Zhang Fanglin is a leading figure in the Nanjing-style paper cutting. Zhang was born in a paper-cutting family. He is the fourth generation to continue the family’s paper-cutting skills. Taught by his father, he began to learn paper cutting in his childhood. In 1963 when he was only 14 years old, he started his artistic career in a local folk handicraft factory. Over the past decades, Zhang has created many works and developed excellent skills. In 1985, Zhang was admitted into Nanjing Municipal Fine Arts Company, creating and designing paper cuts. Throughout his artistic career, Zhang has absorbed characteristics and elements（元素）of various styles of paper cutting and created a large number of creative paper-cutting works. Thanks to his great contributions, he won many national prizes and was awarded the title of “National Master Artist in Handicraft Art”.
As a leading figure, Zhang Fanglin has been invited to more than 30 countries and regions around the world, showcasing his paper-cutting skills. In the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Zhang showcased his new creations of gold foil-embedded paper cutting works. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Chinese paper cutting. | B．Nanjing-style paper cutting. |
| C．A paper cutting family. | D．A paper cutting artist. |
How old was Zhang Fanglin when he was admitted into Nanjing Municipal Fine Arts Company?
| A．36. | B．14. | C．22. | D．18. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Nanjing-style paper cutting is the most important part of Chinese paper cutting. |
| B．Zhang is a creative artist who knows different styles of paper cutting well. |
| C．Zhang won many international prizes because of his great contributions. |
| D．All the members of the family taught Zhang how to design paper cuts. |
Buying insurance (保险) is a way in which people can protect themselves against large losses. Protection against fire is one kind of insurance. Large numbers of people pay small sums of money to an insurance company. Although thousands of people have paid for fire insurance, only a few will lose their homes by fire. The insurance company will pay for these homes out of the small sums of money it has collected.
The first modern fire insurance company was formed in London, England, in the 1760s. A great fire had just destroyed most of the city, and people wanted protection against further losses. The first company grew rapidly. Soon other companies were founded in other areas.
Benjamin Franklin helped form the first fire insurance company in America in 1752, and then a new kind of insurance for farmers was suggested. The new insurance would provide protection against the loss of crops from storms.
Later on another new insurance company was started in America. This company, which offered life insurance, collected small sums of money regularly from many different men. If a man died, his family was given a large sum of money.
Over the years, insurance companies have offered new kinds of insurance protection. The new kinds of insurance cover losses from such accidents as car and plane crashes. Today, most people have some kind of insurance. Who helped set up the first company in America?
| A．Benjamin Franklin. | B．Businessmen. |
| C．The first insurance company in London. | D．Farmers. |
Insurance means ____.
| A．Protection against the losses from the storms |
| B．protection against illness |
| C．Protection against accidents |
| D．all of the above |
The first modern insurance company offered ____.
| A．life insurance | B．fire insurance | C．a new kind of insurance | D．both A and B |
Why do most people buy some kind of insurance today?
| A．Insurance will keep their homes from burning. |
| B．People can protect themselves against large losses. |
| C．Insurance will pay for safety. |
| D．The insurance companies grow rapidly. |