The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting moments for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. Every kid was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.
Some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year. During the previous year Rita had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita would be given the best job.
But there was a big surprise. Each child received a normal job. But Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Though the teacher insisted that this ant was very special, Rita felt disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. Even her father became very angry with the teacher and he encouraged Rita to pay no attention to this insignificant pet. However, Rita preferred to show the teacher her error by doing something special with that job of little interest.
Rita started investigating all about her little ant and gave the ant the best food, and it grew quite a bit bigger.
One day, a man, who looked very important, came into their classroom and declared, “Your class has been chosen to accompany me, this summer, on a journey to the tropical rainforest, where we will investigate all kinds of insects. Among all the schools of this region, your class has best cared for the little ant.”
That day the school was filled with joy and celebration. Everyone thanked Rita for having been so patient and responsible. And many children learnt that to be given the most important task you have to know how to be responsible even in what are the smallest tasks.What did the teacher base her decision on when giving out jobs to the children?
| A．Their ability of managing their accounts during the previous year. |
| B．Their characters and interests. |
| C．Their class performance during the previous year. |
| D．Their working performance during the previous year. |
What does the underlined sentence “But there was a big surprise.”mean?
| A．The most responsible student got the job of least interest. |
| B．Each child got an important job. |
| C．Each child got an interesting job. |
| D．The perfect student got the job of everyone’s preference． |
What is Rita’s attitude to her father’s suggestion?
| A．Acceptive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Uncertain. | D．Totally positive. |
We can infer that the man who made the declaration is a _________.
| A．principal | B．hunter |
| C．director | D．biologist |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Responsibility And Intelligence Bring Good Luck |
| B．Never Complain About Life |
| C．Small Tasks Can Lead To Fortunes |
| D．Men Are Best Known By Their Friends |
After The Super Girl was shown on TV, it was loved by millions of people, especially the young people. It becomes a hot topic among people. Here are some of their opinions
China is a developing country and women now show their abilities as freely as men do. The modern world is a stage for them to show who they are and what they want.
—Nancy , 14 The Super Girls
One of the girls looks like Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) . In Singapore, a show of this kind is called Superstar. I think the competition like this is a good chance for the young girls with the dreams of stage. As for The
Super Girl, I hope I can see one international super star coming out from this year's competition .
—Linda , 16
I am worried about these super girls. They are educated in different ways. At their ages, they should be spending more time at school , not on the stage. What are they learning? And for what?
—John , 15 What do people think about The Super Girl ?
| A．It was loved by all the people | B．Different people have different ideas |
| C．All the young people enjoyed it very much | D．It is not popular among people |
Linda hopes to see from The Super Girl.
| A．a show called Superstar in Singapore | B．a girl with the name of Jolin Tsai |
| C．an international superstar coming out | D．some young girls with dreams of the stage |
John worries about the super girls because these girls .
| A．don't spend enough time studying at school | B．spend too much time studying at school | C．show their abilities in their free time | D．are educated in the same way |
Should parents ever hit their children?
Research suggests many of us are likely to respond “no”, and public support for spanking(打屁股) has been falling over the years. But surverys also show that 75 percent to nearly 90 percent of parents admit to spanking their child at least once.
I was raised in a zero-tolerance home for disrespect, and my p
arents often turned to physical punishment. And, no, I don’t feel I was damaged by it.
Nothing is more annoying than watching ill-mannered behavior from children.
But there is data to suggest that a return t
o old-school spanking isn’t the answer.
Two years ago, Newsweek reported that it had found data suggesting that teens whose parents used physical punishment were more likely to become aggressive.
Murray Straus, professor at the University of New Hampshire in America, has studied the topic of children and spanking for decades. He said that children who were physically punished have lower IQs than their peers(同等的人). It may be that children with lower IQqs were more likely to get spanked, but the punishment may have been counterpoductive(反作用的) to their mental development, as well.
Some researchers make the argument that occasional open-handed smacks(用巴掌打) on the bottom are not only harmless but can have some benefit.
Last year, Marjorie Gunnoe, a psychologist at Calvin College, studied teens who have never spanked. There are a greater number of children growing up without ever having been physi punished. Gunnoe’s research suggests they don’t turn out any better than those who were sometimes spank.
There are some parents who simply cannot control their tempers(脾气). But I still believe that the best parents are the ones who are able to offer fair and firm discipline without ever turning to physical puishment.According to the first three paragraphs, the author was probably hit by her parents when .
| A．they were dissatisfied with her grade |
| B．she showed no respect for the elder |
| C．they cannot control their temper |
| D．their discipline turns out to be not strict enough |
According to Murray Straus, children who are physically punished .
| A．are less aggreesive toward others when they get older |
| B．have slower physical development |
| C．benefit from occasional spanking |
| D．may develop lower IQs than their peer |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the article?
| A．40 percent of children grow up without ever being spanked |
| B．Children who suffer less physical punishment are better students |
| C．Occasional open-handed spanking on the bottom are mentally harmful |
| D．Researchers disagree over whether smacking is mentally harmful to children |
The author seems to agree that .
| A．parents should determine whether a child needs to be smacked or not |
| B．children who have been spanked tend to behave better than those who haven’t |
| C．good parents discipline their children in a fair and reasonable way |
| D．physical punishment should be the last resort of any parent |
“There is an out – of – date idea that children grow up and leave home when they’re 18,and the truth is far from that,” says Mr．Larry Bumpass of the University of Wisconsin．Today unexpected numbers of young adults are living with their parents．“There is a great change in the middle class,” declares Allan Schnaiberg of Northwestern University, whose son, 19, moved back in after an absence of eight months．
Scientists show a number of reasons for this return to the nest．The marriage age is rising, a condition that makes home and its pleasantness particularly attractive to young people．A high divorce （离婚） rate and a low remarriage rate make some differences．For some, the expense of an away - from - home college education has become so great that many students now attend local schools．Even after graduation, young people find their wings tied by terrible housing costs．
Living at home, says Knighton, a school teacher, continues to give security （安全保卫） and moral（道义的） support．Her mother agreed．“Its strange for the kids to pay all that money for rent．It makes sense for kids to stay at home．” But sharing the family home requires changes for all．There are the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy．Some families, however, manage the careful balancing act．But for others, it proves too difficult．Michelle Del Turco, 24, has been home three times and left three times．“What I considered a social drink, my dad considered an alcohol （酒精） problem,” she explains．“He never liked anyone I dated, so I either had to hide away or meet them at friends' houses．”
Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most scientists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake．Children, can end up with a sense of defeat and failure．And aging parents,
who should be enjoying some freedom, find themselves stuck with too many things．Many agree that brief visits, however, can work well．According to the author, there w
as once a trend in the U．S．________．
| A．for young adults to leave their parents and live separately |
| B．for middle class young adults to stay with their parents |
| C．for married young adults to move back home after a lengthy absence |
| D．for young adults to get jobs nearby in order to live with their parents |
Which of the following does not lead to young adults returning to the nest?
| A．Young adults find housing costs too high． |
| B．Young adults are not old enough． |
| C．Young adults look for parental comfort and support． |
| D．Quite a number of young adults attend local schools． |
The underlined word “hassles” in the passage probably means _________．
| A．agreements | B．worries |
| C．disadvantages | D．quarrels |
According to the passage what is the best for both parents and children?
| A．They should share the family expenses． |
| B．Children should leave their parents when they are grown up． |
| C．Adult children should live away from their parents and visit their parents from time to time． |
| D．Parents should support their adult children when they are in trouble． |
．One of the disadvantages of young adults returning to slay with their parents is th
at ______．
| A．there will certainly be inconveniences in even-day life |
| B．most parents find it difficult to keep a bigger family going |
| C．the young adults try to be overprotected by their parents |
| D．public opinion is against young adults staying with their parents |
Parents whose children show a special interest in a sport feel very difficult to make a decision about their children’s careers．Should they allow their children to train to become top sports men or women? For many children it means starting schoolwork very young, and going out with friends and other interests have to take a second place．It’s very difficult to explain to a young child why he or she has to train five hours a day, even at the weekend, when most of his or her friends are playing．
Another problem is of course money．In many countries money for training is available from government for the best young sportsmen and sportswomen．If this help can not be given, it means that it is the parents who have to find the time and the money to support their child’s development and sports clothes, transport to competitions, special equipment, etc．All can be expensive.
Many parents are worried that it is dangerous to start serious training in a sport at an early age．Some doctors agree that young muscles may be damaged by training before they are properly developed．Professional trainers, however, believe that it is only by training young when young that you can reach the top as a successful sports person．It is clear that very few people do reach the top, and both parents and children should be prepared for failure even after many years of training．Where can we most probably find this passage?
| A．An advertisement. | B．A diary. |
| C．A newspaper. | D．A notice board. |
What does the underlined phrase “to take a second place” in the first paragraph mean?
| A．To become less important. |
| B．To put it at another place. |
| C．To happen again. |
| D．They are the most important of all the things. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．It’s easy to make a decision when your children want to take up sports. |
| B．Most of the students may become top sports men after a long period of training. |
| C．Early training may damage young muscles |
D．It’s not very expensive for parents to support t heir children’s development in sports. |
Our bodies are wonderfully skillful at keeping balance．When the temperature jumps, we sweat to cool down．When our blood pressure falls, our hearts can do something．As it turns out, though, our natural state is always changing．Researchers are finding that everything from blood pressure to brain function changes regularly with the cycles of sun, moon and seasons．And their insights （洞察力） are getting new ways for keeping away such common killers as heart disease and cancer．Only one doctor in 20 has a good knowledge of the scientific use of time in medicine．But according to a new American Medical Association, three out of four are eager to change that．“The field is exploding,” says Michael Smolensky．“Doctors used to look at us like, What spaceship did you get off ? Now they're thirsty to know more．”
In medical school, most doctors learn that people with chronic conditions should take their medicine regularly．“It’s a terrible way to treat disease,” says Dr Richard Martin．For example, asthmatics （气喘患者） are most likely to suffer during the night．Yet most patients try to keep a constant level of medicine in their blood day and night, whether by breathing in on an inhaler （吸入器） four times a day or taking a pill each morning and evening．In recent studies, researchers have found that a large mid afternoon dose of a bronchodilator （支气管扩张剂） can be as safe as several small doses, and better for preventing nighttime attacks．
If the night belongs to asthma, the dawn belongs to high blood pressure and heart disease．Heart attacks are twice as common at 9 a．m．as at 11 p．m．Part of the reason is that our blood pressure falls at night, then rises as we start to work for the day．“Doctors know that,” says Dr．Henry Black of Chicago's Medical Center, “but until now, we haven't been able to do anything about it．” Most blood - pressure drugs provide 18 to 20 hours of relief （减缓）．But because they’re taken in the morning, they're least effective when most needed．“You take your pill at 7 and it's working by 9,” says Dr．William White of the University of Connecticut Health Center “But by that time you've gone through the worst four hours of the day with no protection．” Bedtime medicine would prevent high blood pressure, but it would also push blood pressure to dangerously low levels during the night．Researchers are finding that _________ ．
| A．heart disease and cancer are the most common killers of human beings |
| B．only blood pressure and brain function are decided by cycles of sun, moon and seasons |
| C．the functions of human bodies have much to do with nature |
| D．any change in human bodies goes with changes in the surroundings |
According to the author, it is best for asthmatics to
take their medicine _________ ．
| A．at certain time |
| B．each morning and evening |
| C．when the disease occurs |
| D．at midafternoon |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A．Doctors know more about illnesses than before．
B．Doctors in the U．S．used to be thirsty to know more about the new medical field．
C．The researchers' insights are providing new methods to prevent common killers．
D．The correct use of time in medicine attracts more attention in medical circle in the U．S．A．The suggested title for this passage might be _________．
| A．Medicine Is Everything | B．Treatment Is Everything |
| C．Timing Is Everything | D．Prevention Is Everything |