Nowadays, with the busy working hours, parents have no time left to spend with their children. However, spending time with children is of extreme importance. Giving some time for children will play an important role in their development. Therefore, it is a must for parents to spend time with children. Here are some tips for parents which will help them spend time with their little wonder.
Having Dinner with Children
Even if you are not there at home for a whole day, you should make sure that you have dinner with your children. Moreover, you should make it a point that you are having dinner with your entire family. Also, you should avoid watching TV when you are having dinner with your family.
Helping Child Comlete Homework
Helping your child complete homework will help you know how he/she is at studies. It is not that you have to spend hours regularly helping your child with homework. But, sometimes you can help your child solve some questions. In this way, you will get to spend time with your child as well as get to know about his or her studies.
Fun Activities
During weekends you can indulge your child in fun activities like gardening, painting etc. However, do not force your child to do so. You can also spend some time in teaching your child finger painting, vegetable painting and craft work. You may even help your child complete his or her art and craft assignments. These activities will help you improve creativity of your child as well as the interaction between you and your child.The passage is mainly about_______.
| A．the importance of spending time with children |
| B．the ways to spend time with children |
| C．the reasons to spend time with children |
| D．the activities children like to take part in |
In the second paragraph, the author suggests that parents should________.
| A．watch TV with their children |
| B．stay at home a whole day |
| C．spend time with the whole family |
| D．avoid listening to some music |
The underlined word “indulge” in the last paragraph means_______.
| A．push | B．put | C．ask | D．allow |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Helping children with homework will help improve their creativity. |
| B．Parents should spend time regularly with children`s homework |
| C．Spending time with children for parents is a must |
| D．Parents should pick up their children regularly. |
Robots industry is developing so rapidly that there is no denying that we may one day find ourselves surrounded by robots.
The humanoid (human like) robots with two legs such as Honda Motor Co. Ltd’s ASIMO would likely have an easier time climbing up stairs inside homes than a robot that moves on wheels, developers say.
But it will be some time before such devices make their way into people’s homes.
“They may look smart, but they are still quite stupid,” Shimoyama said. “I don’t think they will ever be as smart as humans.”
While safety is an obvious concern, robots also need to be sensitive to people’s needs.
Researchers at Fujitsu Frontech Ltd and Fujitsu Laboratories responsible for developing “Enon”, a guide and patrol (巡逻) robot designed for use in shopping malls and corporate facilities (公共场所), are working on this.
Enon, which has a humanoid upper body but no legs, is equipped with a touch screen on its chest and space in its stomach to carry loads weighting up to 10 kg.
In guide mode, it will check a newcomer and approach the person with a nod and a greeting: “Are you a visitor? Hello.”
Visitors requiring directions can point to icons (图标) displayed on Enon’s chest screen. If the restroom icon is pressed, the screen will display a map that shows the way.
The robot will then face and point in the direction of the restroom, although it won’t actually walk the visitor there.
Enon is now in use at four locations in Japan, including a shopping mall near Tokyo. The main goal is to make it more helpful for the elderly.
“People who work in the transportation sector often ask whether we can build a robot that will find elderly people who look lost in train stations, and ask them if they are all right,” said Toshihido Marita, director of Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd’s autonomous system laboratory. “Actually that is hard to do, very hard,” he said. The advantage of Honda Motor Co. Ltd’s ASIMO is that _________.
| A．it can do any housework for us |
| B．it can talk with patients or old people |
| C．it can climb up stairs as humans |
| D．it can walk smoothly with its wheels |
According to Shimoyama, robots _________.
| A．can be made to do everything humans do |
| B．will be made as smart as humans in the future |
| C．will remain as stupid as before |
| D．can never compete with humans in intelligence |
Most important of all, a robot should be made _________ at present.
| A．safe and elegant | B．safe and functional |
| C．elegant and cheap | D．sensitive and cheap |
Which of the following statements about “Enon” is NOT true?
| A．It can be used as a guide in hospitals. |
| B．It can help shoppers carry goods selected. |
| C．It can be used to welcome guests in restaurants. |
| D．It can be used to stop thieves in malls. |
Enon is mainly designed to help _________.
| A．old people | B．mall owners | C．tourists or newcomers | D．shoppers |
My parents influenced us with the concepts of family, faith and love for one’s motherland when l was young．Even though we struggled to make ends meet, they stressed how fortunate we were to live in a great country with limitless opportunities．
I got my first real job when l was ten．My dad, Benjamin, injured his back working in a cardboard - box factory and was retrained as a hairstylist．He rented space in a little mall and gave his shop the fancy name of Mr．Ben's Coiffure．
The owner of the shopping center gave Dad a discount on his rent for cleaning the parking lot three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 a.m. to pick up rubbish. Dad used a little machine that looked like a lawn mower．Mom and I emptied rubbish cans and picked up rubbish by hand．It took two to three hours to clean the lot．I'd s1eep in the car on the way home. I did this for two years, but the lessons I learned have lasted a lifetime, I acquired discipline(自制力) and a strong work morality(道德), and learned at an early age the importance of balancing life's competing interests---in my case, school, homework and a job．This really helped during my senior year of high school, when l worked 40 hours a week flipping hamburgers at a fast–food joint while taking a full load of college-prepared courses．The hard work paid off．I attended the U．S．Military Academy and went on to receive graduate degree in law and business from Harvard．Later, I joined a big Los Angeles law firm and was elected to the California state committee．In these jobs and in everything else I’ve done, I have never forgotten those nights in the parking lot．The experience taught me that there is dignity in all work and that if people are working to provide for themselves and their families, that is something we should honor．According to the text, the author thinks .
| A．he is lucky to have many chances to get a job |
| B．it is difficult to find a job to make ends meet |
| C．his parents are full of complaint about their life |
| D．it is not acceptable to live in such bad conditions |
In order to get a discount on rent, .
| A．his father had to work as a hairstylist |
| B．his father had to work in a cardboard - box factory |
| C．they had to clean the-parking lot three nights a week |
| D．his father had to pick up litter by hand three hours a day |
Which of the following is NOT true of the author?
| A．He got the graduate degrees from Harvard． |
| B．He took a college - prep courses at high school． |
| C．He took a part-time job during his senior year． |
| D．He regretted having worked in the parking lot． |
What does the underlined sentence "The hard work paid off" mean?
| A．The author got a high pay by working hard． |
| B．The author complained of the hard work． |
| C．The effort which he made had no effect． |
| D．The hard work was worthwhile for the author． |
We can learn from the text that _
| A．it is unimaginable for a child to help his family |
| B．it is honored to work for one's family as a member |
| C．it is unnecessary to keep work rules-of behavior |
| D．the harder the work is, the more interest one shows |
When my family moved to America from a small village in Guangdong, China, we brought not only our luggage, but also our village rules, customs and culture. One of the rules is that young people should always respect elders. Unluckily, this rule led to my very first embarrassment in the United States.
I had a part-time job as a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. One time, when I was serving food to a middle-aged couple, the wife asked me how the food could be served so quickly. I told her that I had made sure they got their food quickly because I always respect the elderly. As soon as I said that, her face showed great displeasure. My manager, who happened to hear what I said, took me aside and gave me a long lecture about how sensitive(敏感) Americans are and how they dislike the description “old”. I then walked back to the table and apologized to the wife. After the couple heard my reason, they understood that the problem was caused by cultural differences, so they laughed and were no longer angry.
In my village in China, people are proud of being old. Not so many people live to be seventy or eighty, and people who reach such an age have the most knowledge and experience. Young people always respect older people because they know they can learn from their rich experience.
However, in the United States, people think “growing old” is a problem since “old” shows that a person is going to retire or that the body is not working well. Here many people try to keep themselves away from growing old by doing exercises or jogging, and women put on makeup, hoping to look young. When I told the couple in the restaurant that I respect the elderly, they got angry because this caused them to feel they had failed to stay young. I had told them something they didn’t want to hear.
After that, I changed the way I had been with older people. It is not that I don’t respect them any more; I still respect them, but now I don’t show my feelings through words. Jack brought the couple their food very fast because[_______________.
| A．the manager asked him to do so | B．he respected the elderly |
| C．the couple wanted him to do so | D．he wanted more pay |
When Jack called the couple “elderly”, they became[____________.
| A．nervous | B．satisfied |
| C．unhappy | D．excited |
In Jack’s hometown,______________.
| A．people dislike being called “old” |
| B．people are proud of being old |
| C．many people reach the age of seventy or eighty |
| D．the elderly are the first to get food in restaurants |
After this experience, Jack___________.
| A．lost his job in the restaurant |
| B．made friends with the couple |
| C．no longer respected the elderly |
| D．changed his way with older people |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The more Jack explained, the angrier the couple got. |
| B．Jack wanted to show his feelings through words after his experience. |
| C．The manager went back to the table and apologized to the couple. |
| D．From this experience, Jack learned more about American culture. |
Attention STARBUCKS
Owners of Stainless Steel Travel Mug
Mug lid Recall---16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mug
We’ve recognized a fault at the cup. The fault might cause some lids to lift slightly from the body of the mug, and could possibly account for injury from hot liquid leaking(漏). So, we have given a lid recall notice immediately. The notice is only about STARBUCKS 16 oz Stainless Steel Travel Mugs which were sold between November 2012 and February 2013. The bottom of the mug is printed with “ThermoSServ”, the distributor’s name. There is not any printing on the mug handle.
At STARBUCKS, customers’ safety is valued above anything else. Therefore, no matter whether your lid is leaking , for your safety, we request you bring your mug to your nearest STARBUCKS ( NOT including Esso STARBUCKS), where they are sure to exchange the lid for a new lid that fits well and safely. The new lids are going to arrive March 1, 2013.
Don’t use your mug until you exchange the lid, please.
Here’s what you do:
* Please do not use your mug until you have exchanged the lid for a new one.
* New lids will arrive March 1, 2013.
* Return your travel mug to a STARBUCKS store.
* Your lid will be exchanged for a new lid.
If you’d like to return the entire mug, bring it back at any time for a full repayment.
If you have any questions about this recall, please call us at:
Toll Free Number: 1-999-701-1717
9:30 am - 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time STARBUCKS The passage is written in order to ________.
| A．warn against the danger of using the mug |
| B．tell people to exchange a lid |
| C．persuade people to buy a new lid |
| D．introduce a new type of mugs |
The passage is mainly aimed at those who ________.
| A．have 16 oz stainless steel mugs |
| B．often travel around |
| C．want to buy 16 oz stainless steel mugs |
| D．are selling the mugs |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．People should stop using the mug immediately. |
| B．People can get the money back if they return the mug. |
| C．People with questions can call the company free of charge. |
| D．People can return the lid between November 2012 and February 2013. |
We can learn that STARBUCKS from the passage ________.
| A．is a club for travelers |
| B．wants to make more money |
| C．is an organization helping customers |
| D．cares about the customers’ safety |
The passage is most likely taken from a(n) ________.
| A．news report | B．advertisement | C．tour-guide book | D．novel |
Many facts suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the doctors. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.
Some people blame(责备) the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods, such as fried chicken and ice cream, at low prices. This has turned out a whole generation（一代人）） of grown-ups who don’t often cook a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then probably children would buy less take-away food.
There is another argument that blames parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I agree with this, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food shops. If children are given fried chicken and chocolate rather than healthy food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will probably choose sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives. There is a third reason for this situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play computer games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime(消遣), it also gives them time to eat more unhealthy food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sports. The above are the main reasons for this problem, and therefore we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food shops and bad eating habits.According to the text, what kind of children may eat more unhealthy food?
| A．Those who often take exercise. |
| B．Those who often watch television |
| C．Those who often have meals at home. |
| D．Those who often walk to school. |
The author thinks that children are becoming overweight because _______.
| A．their parents often cook meals for them. |
| B．they are too busy to go out and play. |
| C．they can't choose what to eat. |
| D．there are too many fast food shops around. |
The underlined word "steering" in the last sentence most probably means ____.
| A．forcing | B．guiding | C．driving | D．moving |
According to the author, which of the following is WRONG?
| A．We should encourage children to be more active. |
| B．Children ought to keep away from fast food shops. |
| C．Parents needn't cook meals for their children. |
| D．Parents should help their children form a good eating habit. |
The main purpose of the text is to _______.
| A．tell a story | B．provide facts | C．give advice | D．compare opinions |