Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cochran, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School, did something unforgettable. On the first day of school, with permission of the school headmaster, she took all of the desks out of the classroom.
The kids came into the first period. They walked in, and there were no desks. They looked around and said, "Ms Cochran, where are our desks?" And she said, “You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn them.”
They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades.”
"No," she said.
"Maybe it's our behavior."
And she told them, "No, it's not even your behavior."
Second period, the same thing. Third period... By early afternoon television news reporters had gathered in Ms. Cochran’s class to find out about this crazy teacher.
The last period of the day, Martha Cochran gathered her class. They were at this time sitting on the ground floor around the sides of the room. "Throughout the day no one has really understood how you earn the ordinary desks in this classroom." she said, "Now I'm going to tell you."
Martha Cochran went to the door of the classroom and opened it, and as she did, twenty-seven adults, who were fathers or mothers of the kids, walked into that classroom, each one having a school desk. And they placed those school desks in rows. And when they finished placing those desks, those kids for the first time in their lives understood how they earned those desks.
Martha said, "You don't have to earn those desks. They did it for you. They put them out there for you, but it's up to you to sit here responsibly to learn, to be good students and good citizens, because they paid a price for you to have that desk, and don't ever forget it!"Why did Cochran take all the desks out of the classroom?
| A．Because she wanted to punish the kids. |
| B．Because she wanted to let kids know how they earned the desks. |
| C．Because kids didn't need any desks at her classes. |
| D．Because the desks were all broken. |
Who get kids to have a chance to get education?
| A．Teachers. | B．The headmaster. |
| C．Kids themselves. | D．Kids’ parents. |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the text?
| A．Kids finally understood what their teacher meant by themselves. |
| B．The headmaster supported Ms. Cochran’s idea. |
| C．Kids studied without desks on the first day. |
| D．Kids' parents earned the desks for them. |
We chat with our colleagues all the time when we have lunch, gossip in the tearoom, or leave work together. Sharing your personal life brings you closer to your coworkers and builds trust within your team. But revealing too much about yourself to colleagues, managers or human resources staff can cause difficulties and even endanger your work.
It's important to keep the right balance between getting along with colleagues and maintaining your privacy. “Communication in the office is tricky and complicated. You can neither spread chatter, nor be too silent and shut yourself off from others，” said Yang Yudan, deputy HR director at P&G.
According to her, there are several safe topics to talk about with colleagues during the break, such as the weather or movies. Women like to talk about makeup and clothing, while men are fond of sports and online games. But discussing your private life, such as relationship, habits or health conditions, is a potential minefield.
Liang Kun, 26, had to resign from his job at a trading company in Guangzhou last week after discussing his income with colleagues during a lunch break. “I didn't realize it was such a serious issue until a senior member of staff went to find the boss, asking why I got a higher salary than her，” said Liang. “Then our HR told me that according to the employee handbook it is forbidden to talk about salary in the office.” HR expert Yang also reminds us that paychecks are your own business. It is unwise to share this information with others, no matter how close you are.
To summarize, Yang advises office workers to be more aware of the image they project when talking to colleagues, “When you share your personal life, it will be recorded on your invisible resume and may slow down your career progressing.”The author quoted Yang Yudan in the text to ________.
| A．show his admiration for her |
| B．make an argument with her |
| C．support his own viewpoint |
| D．build up his fame |
What can be inferred from the fact that Liang Kun had to resign his job according to the text?
| A．It was unwise for him to share information with others. |
| B．He broke the rules made by the company. |
| C．He was such an honest person that he told the truth. |
| D．He treated his colleagues as family members. |
What is the author's purpose in writing the text?
| A．To draw people's attention to their behaviors in public. |
| B．To advise office workers to be aware of the image they project. |
| C．To make you believe that communication in the office is complicated. |
| D．To warn you to be careful of invisible trouble while talking about your privacy to colleagues. |
Which would be the best title for the text?
| A．At Work, Keep It to Yourself |
| B．Keep the Right Balance |
| C．Share Your Personal Life with Others |
| D．Safe Topics to Talk about |
“It is one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy，” says Zeng Ming. He is talking about ecommerce. Mr. Zeng, the chief strategy officer for Alibaba, a giant Chinese Internet firm, predicts that digital transactions on his firm's platforms will top 1 trillion yuan($159 billion) this year—more than Amazon's and eBay's combined. That is a bold claim, but consider what happened on Singles Day.
Invented a few years ago by students and seized upon by digital marketers, this festival for lonely hearts falls annually on the 11th day of the 11th month(since 1 is the loneliest number). It is like St Valentine's Day, only worse. Singletons show each other with tender gifts: a barrage of pearls; a storm of sweets.
This November 11th they spent a surprising 19 billion yuan on Alibaba's online platforms—a fourfold increase on a year ago, and more than double what Americans spent online last Cyber Monday(the Monday after Thanksgiving, when retailers urge Americans to shop online). About 100 million purchases were logged, accounting for 80% of the packages shipped that day. Couriers(快递员) were buried in parcels.
So life is good for China's etailers. Then? Not exactly. The number of digital marketers is increasing and online sales are booming. Consumers are enjoying lower prices, better service and more variety. The problem? The pressure on profits in Chinese ecommerce is worse than in America, reckons Elinor Leung of CLSA, a broker. “Almost no one makes money，” she says.
The fiercest battles are being fought between online retailers and their bricksandmortar(实体的) rivals. Dangdang, a firm that resembles Amazon, and 360buy, another online retailer, have cut prices fiercely. Tencent, a cashrich online giant known for its instantmessaging software, is splashing out to win market share. 360buy has also just raised $400 millon from investors to do the same. But it is unclear how much longer such firms can burn through capital. What's the best title of this passage?
| A．The Ambition of Alibaba |
| B．Fierce Competition between Retailers |
| C．A New Festival for the Singles |
| D．Chinese Booming Ecommerce |
According to Zeng Ming, this year Alibaba will ________.
| A．outweigh Amazon and eBay in worldwide influence |
| B．rank top among all the Internet firms |
| C．have more than 159 billion dollars' sale |
| D．create another sales miracle just like the one on Singles Day |
How many packages were shipped on November 11th from Alibaba's online platforms?
| A．About 80 million. | B．About 100 million. |
| C．About 125 million. | D．About 180 million. |
What's the author's attitude towards online retailers in China?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Concerned. |
| C．Sympathetic. | D．Indifferent. |
On a sunny day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.
Two 12yearold boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search for a football.Once they'd rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water.The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore.But they were no match for it and the boat was out of control.
Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.
“Everything went quiet in my head，” Tim recalls(回忆)．“I was trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”
Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water.Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress.“At one point, I considered turning back，” he says.“I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.” After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to yell to the boys, “Take down the umbrella！”
Christian made much effort to take down the umbrella.Then Tim was able to catch up and climb aboard the boat.He took over rowing, but the waves were almost too strong for him.
“Let's aim for the pier(码头)，” Jack said.Tim turned the boat toward it.Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink.“Can you guys swim？” he cried.“A little bit，” the boys said.
Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier.Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs.Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys' faces.
“Are we almost there？” they asked again and again.“Yes，” Tim told them each time.
After 30 minutes, they reached the pier.Why did the two boys go to the sea?
| A．To go boat rowing. |
| B．To get back their football. |
| C．To swim in the open water. |
| D．To test the umbrella as a sail. |
What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．The beach. | B．The water. |
| C．The boat. | D．The wind. |
Why did Tim raise his head regularly?
| A．To take in enough fresh air. |
| B．To consider turning back or not. |
| C．To check his distance from the boys. |
| D．To ask the boys to take down the umbrella. |
How did the two boys finally reach the pier?
| A．They were dragged to the pier by Tim. |
| B．They swam to the pier all by themselves. |
| C．They were washed to the pier by the waves. |
| D．They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back. |
For many of us, a little time with our smartphones or iPads before sleep is the highlight of the night. But would you still think it is relaxing if you knew that it damages or destroys your sleep? Scientists say that's exactly what it does.
In ancient times, when there were no lamps, telephones or smartphones, the sun was the main source of light. When the sun went down, our brains took that as a signal to start producing melatonin(褪黑素), a chemical that helps us sleep.
However, a healthy amount of melatonin can only be produced in complete darkness.Any light in your bedroom—even the one on the alarm clock or the charging indicator on your cellphone—could disturb the process, not to mention something as bright as smartphone and iPad screens. We tend to hold these much closer than a television or laptop, which allows them to shoot far more light straight into our eyes.
“This is particularly worrisome in populations such as young adults and adolescents, who already tend to be night_owls，” said researcher Brittany Wood at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.“Lack of sleep among teens is leading to depression, selfharm, low concentration and poor performance at school，” she added.
While all lights are the enemy of sleep, not all colors of light have the same effect. Our eyes are particularly sensitive to blue light, which is common during the day. Most of the light coming from electronic screens is blue light and it fools our brain into thinking it's still daytime. By contrast, orange or red light has less influence on melatonin production, because our brains recognize it as a signal that the day is ending, according to The Telegraph.
Asking yourself to keep your hands off your smartphone before bedtime might seem unreasonable, but you should at least remember to dim the screen or hold it farther away from your eyes. You could also wear a pair of orange sunglasses that take away the harmful blue light.According to the passage, we can know ________.
| A．it's a good habit to play with smartphones or iPads late into night |
| B．scientists suggest we should avoid using smartphones or iPads |
| C．darkness makes a great impact on the amount of melatonin |
| D．the sun was the only source of light in ancient times |
the sun was the main source of light.”可知D项为错误结论。Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The darker it is, the more melatonin will be produced. |
| B．The lighter it is, the more melatonin will be produced. |
| C．The more melatonin you have, the worse you'll sleep. |
| D．The more electrical equipment you have, the more melatonin will be produced. |
The underlined part in Paragraph 4 refers to those ________.
| A．who are young adults or adolescents |
| B．who don't perform well in school |
| C．who are addicted to a television or laptop |
| D．who are short of sleep at night and perform poorly in daily life |
In the writer's opinion, which is a correct suggestion?
| A．You should go to bed when the sun goes down. |
| B．You should use an orange or red light electronic screen. |
| C．You should wear a pair of blue sunglasses when sleeping. |
| D．You should avoid blue light as possible as you can before bedtime. |
One might expect that the evergrowing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holidaymakers. Indeed, a rosy picture is painted for the longterm future of the holiday industry. Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere. And every month another rockbound Pacific island is advertised as the ‘last paradise(天堂) on earth’．
However, the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy. In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of seaside holidays, overcrowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.
Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most. In recent years, Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education. Its forests, full of wildlife and rare flowers, were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise. In fact, the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holidaymakers traveling through the forest land. Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers, with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.
Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism. The people as well rapidly feel its effects. Farmland makes way for hotels, roads and airports; the old way of life goes. The onetime farmer is now the servant of some multinational organization; he is no longer his own master. Once it was his back that bore the pain; now it is his smile that is exploited. No doubt he wonders whether he wasn't happier in his village working his own land.
Thankfully, the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers. The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies. At the same time, tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.
The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit. Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies. Increased understanding in planning worldwide tourism can preserve the market for these companies. If not, in a few years' time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
| A．The Pacific island is a paradise. |
| B．The Pacific island is worth visiting. |
| C．The advertisement is not convincing. |
| D．The advertisement is not impressive. |
The example of Nepal is used to suggest ________.
| A．its natural resources are untouched |
| B．its forests are exploited for farmland |
| C．it develops well in health and education |
| D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists |
What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4?
| A．They are happy to work their own lands. |
| B．They have to please the tourists for a living. |
| C．They have to struggle for their independence. |
| D．They are proud of working in multinational organizations. |
Which of the following determines the future of tourism?
| A．The number of tourists. |
| B．The improvement of services. |
| C．The promotion of new products. |
| D．The management of tourism. |
The author's attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is ________.
| A．optimistic | B．doubtful |
| C．objective | D．negative |