A primary school in UK has banned Valentine’s Day cards because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends.
Ashcombe Primary School in WestonSuperMare，Somerset，has told parents that cards declaring love can be“confusing” for children under the age of 11，who are still emotionally and socially developing. In this month’s newsletter(通讯)，Peter Turner，the head teacher，warned that any cards found in school would be confiscated(没收)．He wrote：“We do not wish to see any Valentine’s Day cards in school this year. Some children and parents encourage a lot of talk about boyfriends and girlfriends. We believe that such ideas should wait until children are mature enough emotionally and socially to understand the commitment involved in having or being a boyfriend or girlfriend.”Mr.Turner said any families wanting to support the Valentine’s Day idea should send cards in the post or deliver them to home addresses by hand.
His views were endorsed by Ruth Rice,46，who has twins Harriet and Olivia at the school. She said，“Children at that age shouldn’t really be thinking about Valentine’s Day，they should be concentrating on their schoolwork.”They are at an age when they are impressionable(易受影响的)and most parents including myself are with Mr.Turner. “She added that the cards cause” too much competition. If someone gets a card and another doesn’t，then someone will be disappointed.
However，Rajeev Takyar,40，who has two children Jai,11，and Aryan，five，at the school，said he was “outraged”．He said，“There are schools that have banned conkers(栗子游戏)and snowballs，and now Valentine’s Cards.”I think banning the cards stops children from having social skills. How are they going to learn about relationships otherwise？It’s ridiculous. Alec Suttenwood，father of three children，said of the ban：“It’s totally ridiculous. Young children just send the cards to each other as friends and to their parents. It’s just a bit of harmless fun. There is no difference between this and Mother’s or Father’s Day.”Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Ban on Valentine’s Day cards at school is well received. |
| B．Ban on Valentine’s Day cards at school causes argument. |
| C．British children spend too much time talking about love. |
| D．A British high school bans Valentine’s Day cards. |
The underlined word “endorsed” means________.
| A．criticized | B．quoted |
| C．disapproved | D．approved |
What do you know about Harriet and Olivia?
| A．They will send Valentine’s Day cards this year. |
| B．They are strongly against the school’s decision. |
| C．They are of the same age. |
| D．They are the children of Rajeev Takyar. |
According to Rajeev Takyar，________.
| A．sending Valentine’s Day cards helps develop children’s social skills |
| B．banning Valentine’s Day cards will benefit children |
| C．the cards cause too much competition among children |
| D．children are too young to talk about love |
The newsletter by Peter Turner probably appeared on________.
| A．February 22 | B．February 6 |
| C．March 18 | D．August 1 |
Women nowadays do not just want to work to help meet the rising costs of living and education for their children. They also want a career that will enable them to bring out their skills and use their potentials so that they can experience a sense of fulfillment and pride that come from achievements and success. Some careers that have been traditionally dominated(支配)by the male species have been made open and filled up by women as well. It is no longer a surprising occurrence today to see many women working as pilots, astronauts, engineers, in construction sites, and in the printing business that operates hightech machines.
Many women are also taking their chances on managerial and executive positions that mostly men are the ones sitting on. Many of them also do well in the line of education as teachers, deans and even presidents of universities. You can also see many women as lecturers and reviewers of different businesses. One example is that of the online printing company reviews where women usually have a say on what is the best choice for online printers for any marketing needs.
From the income that women are getting from their work, they are able to maintain a family and able to provide a better education for their children and able to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle.
However, there are still pronounced biases (偏见) against women in high leadership positions. There still exists the socalled genderrole stereotyping. Women need help to cope with and manage the typical stereotyping of women workers and managers. Those who look for jobs advertised in the classified sections of the newspaper often discover that many corporate positions are closed to women. And most often than not, many give preference to men by indicating in their ads phrases such as “male preferred” or “male applicants only”. Even in some family run or owned corporations, seldom can you see women managers and presidents.
Surveys show that although a man and a woman have the same level or handle the same position in an organization, the man would get a higher or bigger compensation package(薪酬) compared to women. Because of this, many women are just contented，to be in subordinate positions in finance, human resources, sales, manufacturing and other supportive roles.
There are still other barriers that prevent women from reaching their full potentials in the world of employment. Our culture does not encourage women to excel in government and in businessrelated jobs. Women who are able to make it on top and handle leadership roles are sometimes regarded merely as tokens. The abilities and skills of women are normally questioned by their own peers, and sadly even by other women.
If you are a woman who have the interest, ability and drive to pursue management careers，career counseling is of great help to help you find direction and increase motivation to pursue your career goals. It will help you have the selfconfidence to get you in the same career opportunities open to men in this society that still prefers men for top level positions.From the first paragraph we know that women________.
| A．work mainly to help meet the rising costs of living |
| B．want to provide their children with better education |
| C．also want to take some more challenging jobs |
| D．have taken up some work that men can do well |
It can be inferred that in the past it was surprising to see women________.
| A．taking jobs outside home |
| B．working as pilots or astronauts |
| C．educating their children at home |
| D．operating machines at home |
The underlined word “subordinate” in the 5th paragraph has a similar meaning to“________”．
| A．higher | B．lower |
| C．more rewarding | D．less demanding |
What's the best title for the passage?
| A．Women working out of houses |
| B．Women fighting against biases |
| C．Women getting larger income |
| D．Women aiming high in careers |
Sparrow is a fast－food chain with 200 restaurants.Some years ago，the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company.Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining，the chain was generally in an unhealthy state.With more and more fast－food concepts reaching the market，the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention.And to make matters worse，its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.
Sparrow failed to grow for another two years until a new CEO，Carl Pearson，decided to build up its market share.He did a survey，which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain，while customers of other fast－food chains were unwilling to turn away from them.Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.
Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand.The chain's owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy's restaurants.Pearson resisted，arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun.Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time.Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success，rather than customers' spending power.Finally，the owner accepted his idea.
The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast－food industry.The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars.Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.
Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image.For example，he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover(营业额)．
These efforts paid off，and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast－food chains in the regions where it operated.Which was one of the problems Sparrow faced before Pearson became CEO?
| A．The number of its customers was declining. |
| B．Its customers found the food unhealthy. |
| C．It was in need of financial support. |
| D．Most of its restaurants were closed. |
What does the underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Customers of Sparrow restaurants. |
| B．Sparrow restaurants. |
| C．Customers of other fast－food chains. |
| D．Other fast－food chains. |
For what purpose did Pearson start the advertising campaign?
| A．To build a good relationship with the public. |
| B．To stress the unusual tradition of Sparrow. |
| C．To learn about customers' spending power. |
| D．To meet the challenge from Marcy's restaurants. |
What was Pearson's achievement as a CEO?
| A．He managed to pay off Sparrow's debts. |
| B．He made Sparrow much more competitive. |
| C．He helped Sparrow take over a company. |
| D．He improved the welfare of Sparrow employees. |
The Healthy Habits Survey(调查)shows that only about one third of American seniors have correct habits. Here are some findings and expert advice.
1．How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday?
·Finding：A full 33% of seniors brush their teeth only once a day.
·Step：Remove the 300 types of bacteria in your mouth each morning with a battery－operated toothbrush. Brush gently for 2 minutes, at least twice a day.
2．How many times did you wash your hands or bathe yesterday?
·Finding：Seniors, on average, bathe fewer than 3 days a week. And nearly 30%wash their hands only 4 times a day—half of the number doctors recommend.
·Step：We touch our faces around 3,000 times a day－often inviting germs(病菌)to enter our mouth, nose, and eyes.Use toilet paper to avoid touching the door handle. And, most important, wash your hands often with hot running water and soap for 20 seconds.
3．How often do you think about fighting germs?
·Finding：Seniors are not fighting germs as well as they should.
·Step：Be aware of germs. Do you know it is not your toilet but your kitchen sponge(海绵)that can carry more germs than anything else? To kill these germs, keep your sponge in the microwave for 10 seconds.What is found out about American seniors?
| A．Most of them have good habits. |
| B．Nearly 30%of them bathe three days a week. |
| C．All of them are fighting germs better than expected. |
| D．About one third of them brush their teeth only once a day. |
Doctors suggest that people should wash their hands ________.
| A．twice a day | B．three times a day |
| C．four times a day | D．eight times a day |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．We should keep from touching our faces. |
| B．There are less than 300 types of bacteria in the mouth. |
| C．A kitchen sponge can carry more germs than a toilet. |
| D．We should wash our hands before touching a door handle. |
The text probably comes from________.
| A．a guide book | B．a popular magazine |
| C．a book review | D．an official document |
I am a writer.I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke(唤起)an emotion，a visual image，a complex idea，or a simple truth.Language_is_the_tool_of_my_trade.And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California，I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks.Like others，I have described it to people as “broken” English.But I feel embarrassed to say that.It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than“broken”，as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed，as if it lacked a certain wholeness.I've heard other terms used，“limited English”， for example.But they seem just as bad，as if everything is limited，including people's perceptions(认识)of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact，because when I was growing up, my mother's “limited” English limited my perception of her.I was ashamed of her English.I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say.That is，because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me：the fact that people in department stores，at banks，and at restaurants did not take her seriously，did not give her good service，pretended not to understand her，or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985.And for reasons I won't get into today，I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with：the English she used with me，which for lack of a better term might be described as“broken”：and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese，her internal(内在的)language，and for that I sought to preserve the essence，but neither an English nor a Chinese structure.I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show：her intention，her feelings，the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.By saying“Language is the tool of my trade”，the author means that ________.
| A．she uses English in foreign trade |
| B．she is fascinated by languages |
| C．she works as a translator |
| D．she is a writer by profession |
The author used to think of her mother's English as ________.
| A．impolite | B．amusing | C．imperfect | D．practical |
The author gradually realizes her mother's English is ________.
| A．well structured | B．in the old style |
| C．easy to translate | D．rich in meaning |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The change of the author's attitude to her mother's English. |
| B．The limitation of the author's perception of her mother. |
| C．The author's misunderstanding of “limited” English. |
| D．The author's experiences of using broken English. |
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family，and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck.I'm not going to say luck，talent，and circumstances don't come into play because they do.Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence，and that's just the reality of how life is.
However，to succeed in life，one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And，in addition to that，in order to get really good at something，one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things，it'll require even more time，time that most people won't put in.
However，to succeed in life，one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And，in addition to that，in order to get really good at something，one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things，it'll require even more time，time that most people won't put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do，it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do，it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success，you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It's sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent，but thinking that way does you no good，and there's a huge chance that you're wrong anyway.
Whatever you do，if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out，almost to the point of addiction，and over a long period of time.If you're not willing to put in the time and work，don't expect to receive any rewards.Consistent, hard work won't guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.
| A．the reasons for success |
| B．the meaning of success |
| C．the standards of success |
| D．the importance of success |
Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ________.
| A．work makes one feel pain |
| B．one tends to enjoy his work |
| C．one gives up his work easily |
| D．it takes a lot of time to succeed |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．Successful people like to show their great skills. |
| B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent. |
| C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life. |
| D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success. |
What is the main theme of the passage?
| A．Having a goal is vital to success. |
| B．Being good is different from being great. |
| C．One cannot succeed without time and practice. |
| D．Luck，talent and family help to achieve success. |