Nearly all kids have had the same experience. They are eating in a restaurant with their parents. They finished the spaghetti minutes ago. Now, they are bored. Their little brother is kicking them under the table. He is also complaining about the desserts(餐后甜点). Yet their parents are still eating and talking…and talking…and talking.
“Be patient.” One parent says. “We’ll have dessert soon.”
All kids know what happens next. After dessert, their parents drink coffee. Then they talk some more. Again, the children must wait. They have been in school all day and would rather be running and playing. Instead, they must sit in a chair and stare at a wall.
Going to a restaurant doesn’t have to be this way. Many restaurants say they are “family-friendly”. Family restaurants, such as fast-food restaurants should play areas for children. At these restaurants, almost every play area is a big room full of climbing equipment. The room is usually, packed with happy kids. Parents can eat while the children play. Everyone is happy.
The real problem begins when families want to eat a fancier meal(大餐). The parents don’t want to hurry through the meal but talk to each other. They do not have bored children pestering(烦扰) them about leaving. That’s no fun for kids either. For them, going to a nicer restaurant means just one thing: sit still and be quiet.
On family blogs across the Web, dozens of parents post the same question all the time; are there any nicer restaurants with play areas for kids? Research shows that some nicer restaurants do have play areas. In warmer cities, it is easier for restaurants to build play areas outside. For example, at one restaurant kids can sail tiny little motor boats in a small, shallow pond. Parents can sit on a beautiful yard and watch the kids play. Some nicer restaurants even have indoor play areas. Research also shows that these restaurants serve more than just burgers, chickens and fries.
So, it’s possible for a restaurant to provide both food and a place where kids can play. These restaurants seem to be popular, too. For some, families must have reservation days in advance. For others, families might be forced to wait in long lines. Clearly, quality food and safe play areas are both good for business.Why do children get unhappy at the restaurant?
| A．Because they can’t join in their parents’ talk. |
| B．Because the dessert isn’t served in time. |
| C．Because they can do nothing but wait. |
| D．Because the food there isn’t delicious. |
What is the real problem mentioned in the passage?
| A．Children don’t like eating fancier food. |
| B．Not many nicer restaurants provide play areas. |
| C．Parents don’t trouble to comfort their bored kids. |
| D．People have to wait for seats in nicer restaurants. |
What conclusion can we draw from the research?
| A．It’s common for nicer restaurants to provide good food and play areas. |
| B．Building play areas is more difficult for restaurants in colder cities. |
| C．Serving more kinds of foods may help restaurants to make more money. |
| D．It’s possible for restaurants to find a balance to make both happy. |
What does the writer mainly want to tell us?
| A．Cities need to help develop restaurant business. |
| B．Children are supposed to be much more patient. |
| C．Restaurants are supposed to give kids some space. |
| D．Parents need to care more about their kids when eating. |
Feeding a crowd of hundreds doesn’t make Kenny Seals-Nutt nervous.
In fact, he thrives in the kitchen. He’s in his perfect place when dicing tomatoes, making salads and baking cakes.
By the time Kenny, 16, reached his third year of high school at Hickory Grove, North Carolina, US, he had become vice president of his school’s cooking club. He also opened his own food company, called Modern Fusion.
Kenny said he developed his love of cooking by watching his mother, and his grandmother, who owned a catering (饮食业) business herself. Kenny helped them both in order to remember their tips: how long to cook chicken so it stays wet, and the right amount of tomatoes to add to a spaghetti dish.
At the age of 5, he cooked his first dish of shrimp and broccoli. Taking it for his school lunch, he warmed it up in the school’s microwave, while the other kids ate their sandwiches.
“I love to eat, and it started to become more fun to cook than to use a microwave,” he said.
Cooking came easy to Kenny, and he enjoyed adding new ingredients into common dishes. “It started with a passion (热情) and I wanted to know more,” he said. He began to watch the Food Network and read chef blogs.
Last summer, Kenny put his skills to the test by working with his grandmother to cater his uncle’s wedding. While she cooked traditional dishes, Kenny wanted to add new to the expected flavors (风味).
Now Kenny spends his weekends catering his own events: weddings, birthday parties, baby showers. Kenny’s dishes are always a hit.
Chef Frederick Mookie Hicks, owner of a catering business, said Kenny’s success comes from his ability to multitask in the kitchen. Hicks said he has asked Kenny to cook with him on jobs three times now, and he presents Kenny as a positive example of a passionate chef to the students in his cooking classes.
“He’s so vigorous (精神饱满的) about cooking that he doesn’t let anything stop him,” Hicks said. “I knew in the first five minutes of working with the kid that he is something special.”How is Kenny different from other students?
| A．He opened a cooking club in his high school. |
| B．He is famous on the Food Network. |
| C．He owned a food company at 16. |
| D．He loves to multi-task. |
What does the underlined word “thrives” probably mean?
| A．works energetic | B．grows fast |
| C．learns quickly | D．makes progress |
Which of the following best describes Kenny’s cooking?
| A．Traditional. | B．Creative. |
| C．Simple. | D．Strange. |
We can conclude from the article that ______.
| A．Kenny proved himself by catering his uncle’s wedding alone |
| B．Kenny likes to follow his mother’s recipe when cooking |
| C．Kenny was able to cook his first dish in primary school |
| D．Kenny’s success in cooking has a lot to do with his family |
After graduating from school, I didn’t go directly to university. Instead, I spent a year travelling round the world.
I started my trip in London, the UK. I saw theBig Ben and visited the amazing churches.From there, I flew to Paris, and went down to the south of France, which is famous for its lovely beaches.
Next, I flew to India, and traveled round the country for about three months. Although the cities were crowded, the countryside was the beautiful. I stayed in a small fishing village by the sea and it was the happiest time of my life.
I then came to China, a country I had always wanted to visit. I saw Beijing, of course, and climbed up the Great Wall. I also took a trip to see some villages where I learned a lot about Chinese local customs.
Then, at last, I flew all the way home. It had been a great experience, but, yes, it was good to be home again!The writer travelled round the world ____________.
| A．after he graduated from school |
| B．when he was in university |
| C．before he graduated from school |
| D．After graduated from university |
The right order of the writer’s trip is _____________.
a. He went to Paris.
b.He saw the Big Ben.
c. He visited China.
d. He stayed in India for 3 months.
| A．c-d-a-b | B．a-b-c-d | C．b-a-d-c | D．d-c -b-a |
Which part of the trip did the writer enjoy most?
| A．Climbing up the Great Wall in China. |
| B．Staying in the fishing village in India. |
| C．Visiting the amazing churches in the UK. |
| D．Walking on the lovely beaches in the south of France. |
Who is this postcard sent to?
| A．Peter. | B．Gemma. | C．Kim. | D．Tom. |
Which place does this postcard come from?
| A．Holiday Cove. | B．Rest Harbour. |
| C．Mill Hill. | D．Crocodile Farm. |
What is Tom’s feeling to the crocodile farm?
| A．He is so excited. | B．He is afraid of it. |
| C．He felt so boring. | D．He nearly fell asleep. |
阅读短文, 根据短文内容回答问题。(共10分，每小题2分)
It's March, 2050.
Frank and Mary Smith wake up in their comfortable house in the morning and switch on the bedroom computer to get the latest news. They used to read the Times, but changed to electronic newspapers many years ago.
There is the usual news about space: another space flight has returned from Mars and scientists have discovered a new planet. Then they turn to business news: the US dollar has risen greatly in Shanghai, one of the world's leading business centers. Mary tells the computer to buy 5,000 dollars, and there is a quick response that it has been done.
As they watch the screen, Mary orders one of the household robots to make coffee for them. Frank disappears into the study to join a video conference with his partners around the world. He is a computer engineer, working for several companies. This is his third job: he used to be in marketing and then television.
Mary has a quick look at the shopping channels - the usual selection of electric cars, household robots and cheap travel offers - before picking up the video phone to talk to her assistant. She also has a job and she is doing medical research. Both she and Frank used to have an office desk in London, but in 2014 they decided to move to the seaside and work from home.
Frank and Mary have one daughter, Louise, who also has her own workstation at home. She goes to school only one day a week, mainly to play with other students. Classrooms disappeared in 2030 because there was no longer any need for them: communications systems have made it much easier to learn at home.
Louise, now thirteen, is studying Chinese at present, which has become a world language as
important as English. Louise has many Chinese friends. They communicate by computer.
According to the family doctor, Louise will live to at least 130. Her wish is to work for a
few decades (十年) and then spend her time on music and painting.Do Frank and Mary get the latest news on the computer in the morning?
Who makes coffee for Mary and Frank?
What does Frank do?
What are the two world languages in 2050?
What do you think of Louise's life in 2050? Why?
Every day in China, about 200 million children go to school. Many of them take school buses. What should we do to keep these students safe on the road?
On April 5, 2012，the State Council(国务院) published new rules about school bus safety. These new rules are stricter than the old ones.
Under the new rules, local governments must make sure that students go to nearby school or boarding schools to reduce traffic risks . Also, local governments must help kids in the countryside reach their school buses.
From now on, school buses have a speed limit of 80 km/h on highways and 60 km/h on normal roads. While on the road, other cars must let school buses go first.
The new rules also say that school buses must never be overloaded (超载的).
There are many other rules as well. A school bus must have more than seven seats. On each bus, there must be at least one adult to keep an eye on the kids. Each school bus must have a fire extinguisher (灭火器), a first aid kit (急救箱) and a GPS.
A series of school bus accidents happened in China in 2011. To stop such accidents, the Central Government decided to strengthen (加强) the rules for school buses.
The most serious accident happened in Gansu in November,2011. When a nine-seat minibus crashed. There were more than 60 children inside, and 21 of them died.
I hope such terrible things won’t happen again and all of us can pay more attention to the safety of the students.What did the State Council publish on April 5, 2012?
| A．New rules about school bus safety. |
| B．New rules about student safety. |
| C．New rules about student home. |
| D．New rules about class. |
According to the passage, the government made new rules because .
| A．21 students died in school bus accidents in 2011 |
| B．School buses in China were not safe enough before |
| C．200 million children in China go to school by bus every day |
| D．the government encourages all students to take school buses |
What does the underlined “”word mean?
| A．国外的 | B．国内的 | C．寄宿的 | D．较远的 |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．The most serious accident happened in 2011 in Gansu. |
| B．A school bus must have more than seven seats. |
| C．Local governments must help kids. |
| D．Safety first on the school bus. |