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. |
Dogs and cats are not for students who live in the dormitory. Just think about the noise, the smell and all that wild behavior—chewing on whatever they can get their teeth on, or knocking over the trash can. But don’t feel sad. There are smaller and less destructive pets to make your dormitory life colorful.
Betta fish
They make great pets with their big personality and astonishing colors, ranging from bright red, dark blue to lemon yellow. Unlike many fish, most bettas react to their owner’s presence and become more active when they are nearby, which is unusual in the fish world.
Chinchillas
Without bad smell, about the size of a rabbit and with fur so dense that they can’t get pests such as fleas(跳蚤), the friendly creature originally from the Andes Mountains in South America makes an ideal indoor pet. Chinchillas are very social animals, so if you only have one, you will become its family. In cold winter days, in a glance at this fury pet in a dorm will bring you a lot of warmth.
Land hermit crabs
In a society where owners are often asked “Are they tasty?”, land hermit crabs are among the most unlucky animals commonly kept as pets. But they are easy to care for, inexpensive and fascinating to watch. And the fact that they don’t cause any allergic reactions makes them perfect for college dormitories.
Red-eared sliders
If you’re interested in a lifelong friend, a red-eared slider makes a wonderful pet. If well cared for, they can live for around 40 years. But there are a couple of things you should know. Red-eared can grow to an adult size of up to 30cm! So you may need a larger tank quickly. In addition, you will need to provide UV lighting, water heater, and a swimming area and a basking (晒太阳) area. Housing a red eared slider is not easy.All the dormitory pets mentioned in the text are _____.
| A．active and allergic | B．quiet and peaceful |
| C．colorful and tasty | D．small and smelly |
Which of the following is not true about these creatures?
| A．Bettas are active and rich in colors. |
| B．Chinchillas are originally mountain animals. |
| C．Land hermit crabs are allergic but tasty. |
| D．Red-eared sliders need more care from the owner. |
If you want to keep the pet as long as possible, you’d better choose _____.
| A．Betta fish | B．Chinchillas |
| C．Land hermit crabs | D．Red-eared sliders |
The text is mainly to _____.
| A．introduce the best way to keep pets |
| B．offer useful tips for choosing pets |
| C．inform students of lifestyle of pets |
| D．recommend some dormitory pets |
Dear Grandma,
It was nice seeing you at Christmas．You looked so happy!
After losing two grandparents within the past year, I have taken some time to reflect on what is most important．I want to let you know what a positive influence you have been on me．I am the person I am because of you．
I remember being on your farm a lot when I was younger．I remember the projects you planned for us．We painted rocks to represent our family members．We made doll clothes out of colorful socks．We made many "playhouses" in the woods．
We learned that if you left a bucket of soybeans in the rain, you would soon have a bucket of growing beans．We learned that if we helped pick the strawberries in the morning, we'd have them on our ice cream in the afternoon．We learned that some plants have funny names, like the elephant ear plant．We learned that you could make do with what you had．We learned that making things out of paper and cardboard was more fun than what came inside the packaging．We learned it was OK to get dirty, but Grandma would wash us up before Mom came．
You once made models of everyone's houses, which made me want to be an architect．Another time, you made quilts for all of the grandkids．I still use mine every night．The edge has worn out．
But you taught me how to fix it．
I love and respect you．You are always patient, with a quiet determination．
Grandma, thank you for everything you have taught me．I hope that I am able to pass on all these memories and skills to my children and grandchildren．
Love always,
KellyAfter losing two grandparents, the author began to _____．
| A．realize her grandma's influence on her |
| B．become a person like her grandma |
| C．write to her grandma regularly |
| D．like her grandma very much |
On her grandma's farm, Kelly learned to ______．
| A．make strawberry ice cream |
| B．name different funny plants |
| C．mend the worn-out edge of her quilt |
| D．use cupboards to make models of houses |
Kelly's grandma ______．
| A．was willing to help others |
| B．was skilled in making things |
| C．wanted Kelly to be an architect |
| D．disliked the kids' bad behaviors |
Kelly wrote this letter mainly to ______．
| A．send her grandma best wishes for Christmas |
| B．show love and respect for her grandma |
| C．recall her happy life on the farm |
| D．ask her grandma for help |
Severely disabled people may soon be able to use their noses to write, drive a wheelchair or surf the Internet, thanks to a device (装置) developed by doctors in Israel.
The device will be used by breathing in and out through the nose, according to a study. Healthy people who tested the device quickly learned to play computer games and write sentences by sniffing. Encouraged by the results, the researchers decided to test their device on people who are paralyzed (瘫痪) but whose intelligence remains normal. Ten paralyzed who tested the device quickly learned to use their noses to write words, open a webpage, copy words and put them into a search engine.
With their success in helping severely disabled people to communicate, the researchers decided to make use of the new technology to design an electric wheelchair to be driven by sniffs.
Ten healthy people easily mastered sniff—driving a wheelchair through a maze (迷宫), and a 30-year-old man who had been paralyzed from the neck down for six years was as good a sniff-driver as the healthy participants at his second attempt. In other words, a paralyzed person could use the sniff controller to drive an electric wheelchair.
At the moment, sniff-controlled technology is still in the stage of development, and the Weizmann Institute has already applied for a patent on the device. "I’ll be very happy if it can help us to make money, but the real problem is that I hope someone will develop it, because this would help a lot of people," said Sobel, one of the lead researchers of the study.What’s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To introduce a new invention. |
| B．To equip the disabled with life skills. |
| C．To show the nose's special functions. |
| D．To instruct doctors to apply for a patent. |
In the test, the paralyzed people with normal intelligence can use their nose to ______.
| A．type long sentences quickly |
| B．play computer games easily |
| C．enter a website without much difficulty |
| D．communicate with others successfully |
With the help of the sniffing device, a 30-year-old disabled man ______.
| A．spent six years learning how to drive a wheelchair |
| B．failed to drive through the maze at his first attempt |
| C．took the wheelchair controlled by healthy participants |
| D．managed to drive an electric wheelchair by sniffing |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that the sniff-controlled technology ______.
| A．will be applied to other fields of research |
| B．needs further developing to serve more people |
| C．has become an important patented invention |
| D．shows the wisdom and talents of Israel doctors |
When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him.
"I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr.," he says of his father. So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. "I'm jumping up and down, saying, Mom, can I go? Can I go?"
The experience changed Dekalb's life, he tells his dad on a visit to Story Corps. "My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off." the younger Dekalb says. "This is the life that I want to live someday."
Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together—father supervising(监督)son.
"You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow," his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced.
I received a phone call that night. And they said, “Well, your son was at this fire.” I said, “OK, which way is this conversation going to go?” Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.
And they said, “But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.'
And the word went around, “Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!” So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad.
Dekalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son."The underlined phrase tag along in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．put out fire |
| B．watch basketball |
| C．follow his father |
| D．ask his mother’s permission |
Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of _________.
| A．27 | B．21 | C．8 | D．35 |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too. |
| B．Dekalb Walcott Jr. is proud to be a second-generation firefighter. |
| C．Dekalb Walcott Jr. wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III. |
| D．Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son. |
| B．Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy. |
| C．Dekalb Walcott III: A Second-generation Firefighter. |
| D．Dekalb Walcott Jr.: A Chicago Fire Chief. |
Etymology, the study of words and word roots, may sound like the kind of thing done by boring librarians in small, dusty rooms．Yet etymologists actually have a uniquely interesting job．They are in many ways just like archaeologists (考古学家) digging up the physical history of people and events．The special aspect of etymology is that it digs up history, so to speak, through the words and phrases that are left behind．
The English language, in particular, is a great field to explore history through words. As a language, English has an extraordinary number of words．This is partly due to its ability to adapt foreign words so readily．For example, "English" words such as kindergarten (from German), croissant (from French), and cheetah (from Hindi) have become part of the language with little or no change from their original sounds and spellings. So English-language etymologists have a vast world of words to explore．
Another enjoyable thing about etymology for most word experts is solving word mysteries(谜)．No, etymologists do not go around solving murders, like the great detective Sherlock Holmes．What these word experts solve are mysterious origins of some of our most common words
One of the biggest questions English language experts have pursued is how English came to have the phrase OK．Though it is one of the most commonly used expressions, its exact beginning is a puzzle even to this day．Even its spelling is not entirely consistent-unless you spell it Okay, it is hard even to call it a word．
Etymologists have been able to narrow OK’s origin down to a likely, although not certain, source(来源)．It became widely used around the time of Martin Van Buren's run for president in 1840. His nickname was Old Kinderhook. What troubles word experts about this explanation is that the phrase appeared in some newspapers before Van Buren became well known．It is likely that Van Buren could be called its primary source Etymologists will doubtlessly keep searching for the initial source．However, it is clear that OK’s popularity and reputation have topped those of the American president to whom it has been most clearly linked．The author mentions the words like "croissant" in Paragraph 2 to indicate________．
| A．words have changed a lot in the two languages |
| B．what English-language etymologists are exploring now |
| C．English has absorbed many words from other foreign languages |
| D．the English vocabulary is difficult to the non-English-speaking people |
The underlined word "pursued" in Paragraph 4 means___________．
| A．looked upon | B．dug up | C．put in | D．set down |
We can learn from the passage that etymologists_______．
| A．discover the possible origin of words |
| B．help detectives to solve mysterious murders |
| C．write interesting stories for some newspapers |
| D．explore the English language as well as the recent events |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To present the history of English words. |
| B．To explain the procedure of an etymologist's job. |
| C．To introduce the pleasure of the study of words and word roots． |
| D．To teach readers how to distinguish English and non-English words |