Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides. Following the rules…planning your next move...acting as a team member…these are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.
Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating (合作) .
Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones. Which sharpens the hand-eye coordination（协调）needed in hunting.
Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.
Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it—some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to give people hope through soccer. He created a foundation(基金会) to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.
Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life. Through playing hide-and-seek, children are expected to learn to ________.
| A．be a team leader | B．obey the basic rules |
| C．act as a grown-up | D．predict possible danger |
The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means that games can________.
| A．describe life in an exciting way |
| B．turn real-life experiences into a play |
| C．make learning life skills more interesting |
| D．change people’s views of sporting events |
According to the passage, why is winning Olympic medals so encouraging?
| A．It makes people have a deep love for the country. |
| B．It proves the exceptional skills of the winners. |
| C．It helps the country out of natural disasters. |
| D．It earns the winners fame and fortune. |
Iribarne’s goal of forming the foundation is to _______.
| A．bring fun to poor kids |
| B．provide soccer balls for children |
| C．give poor kids a chance for a better life |
| D．appeal to soccer players to help poor kids |
What can be learned from the passage?
| A．Games benefit people all their lives. |
| B．Sports can get all athletes together. |
| C．People are advised to play games for fun. |
| D．Sports increase a country’s competitiveness. |
They already guide blind and disabled people; now dogs are to be trained to help people with dementia（痴呆） or Alzheimer's．Alzheimer's can make people confuse night and day or forget basic things such as washing or drinking enough water．
The dogs will be trained to respond to sound triggers（触发器） in the home that cause them to perform tasks．The duties will include reminding their owners to take medicine, as well as encouraging them to eat, drink and sleep regularly．
The idea was developed by design students at the Glasgow School of Art and will now be put into practice by Alzheimer's Scotland and Dogs for the Disabled．The first dogs will be distributed to four Scottish couples, where one of the partners is in the early stages of dementia．Some 670,000 people in Britain have dementia and one in three over 65s will develop the condition．By 2021 this is expected to rise to one million．
Joyce Gray of Alzheimer's Scotland said, "People in the early stages of dementia are still able to live a relatively normal life, and dogs help to maintain routine．" Another advantage of using the pets as companions is that dogs can give them a sense of silent support and companionship．Ms Gray said, "The evidence is that people may forget familiar faces but not pets．It's such a strong bond that people often remember them longest．People don't need to communicate verbally （言语地） but they can still interact．You can have a speechless bond．"
Helen McCain, director of Dogs for the Disabled, said, "People with dementia often forget to take the medicine．If a dog presents them with a bag with pills in it there's a greater chance of them taking it．The dog would also encourage the owner to take them out for walks, ensuring they keep exercising and interacting with other people．"In Britain people with dementia _ _．
| A．are likely to increase in number |
| B．are mostly over 65 years old |
| C．will be trained to respond to sound triggers |
| D．will be able to live a relatively normal life |
The dogs are taught to perform tasks by -．
| A．making some sound signals |
| B．communicating with the patients |
| C．reminding the patients by barking |
| D．reacting to some sound triggers |
What does the underlined word "them" in Paragraph 4 refer to?
| A．Faces． | B．Triggers． | C．Pets． | D．Companions． |
What is mainly talked about in the passage?
| A．The idea of dementia dogs was developed by students． |
| B．Dogs are trained to assist Alzheimer's patients． |
| C．British people with Alzheimer's are in poor condition． |
| D．The dementia dogs perform most duties of a doctor． |
Dining Experiences at Belmond Grand Hotel Europe
Delicious cuisine is paired with excellent musical entertainment at Belmond Grand Hotel Europe．
TCHAIKOVSKY NIGHT
Every Friday, dine in Lobby Bar and be treated to a special musical accompaniment．
Enjoy timeless classics from the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky, performed by local dancers and a
chamber orchestra．
Time: 7 pm - 10 pm
Price: RUB 2, 000 per adult
RUSSIAN AFTERNOON TEA
Take a seat in the Mezzanine Cafe at a table laid out with Imperial Porcelain china．Feast on Borodinsky
bread sandwiches with various fillings, hot smoked trout（鳟鱼）, delightful mini pirozhki and sweets such
as vatrushkas, all accompanied by good, strong tea and light music．
Available daily 2 pm - 6 pm, priced at 1800 RUB for two．
TAITTINGER CHAMPAGNE BRUNCH
Enjoy a wide variety of international dishes and unlimited drinks accompanied by live jazz at L'Europe
Restaurant every Sunday．A supervised playroom for children is also available．
Time: I pm - 4:30 pm
Price: RUB 4, 900 per adult; Children': up t0 7 - free / 7 t0 15 - RUBI, 800 / above 16 - full price
VODKA EXPERIENCE
Available in the Caviar Bar, let our seasoned chef take you through caviar and vodka pairings．
You can also take part in cocktail demonstrations, or enjoy vodka-themed treatments at the beauty salon．
Available daily 4 pm - 11 pm, priced at RUB 3, 000 for one bottle．A couple with twins aged 5 dining at L'Europe Restaurant should pay at least ．
| A．RUB 14, 400 | B．RUB 19, 600 |
| C．RUB 9, 800 | D．RUB 3, 600 |
Which of the following will be your best choice, if you like classical music?
| A．Lobby Bar． | B．The Mezzanine Caf6． |
| C．Caviar Bar． | D．L'Europe Restaurant． |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A science fiction． | B．A hotel brochure． |
| C．A recipe book． | D．A geography textbook． |
On countless mornings over the past year, I stood with my son, James, in our driveway, watching our neighbor hurry off to kindergarten．My wife and I wanted to give James the best education, but that meant we'd have to change our jobs and spend less time with our kid．I asked myself, "Would this trade-off be worth it?" When I look at the research on child development, I think it might not．Where our kids go to school might matter less than most American parents think．
Social scientists have long tried to determine why some children grow up to be successful．In a 2001 study, Greg Duncan, a professor of education at the University of California, measured the influence that the people in a child's life have on how well the child does in school．Duncan and his team found almost no relationship between how students did on the test and whom they sat beside in class, whom they hung out with after school and who lived in their block．The only meaningful link they found was between siblings （兄弟姐妹） and twins in particular．
For a long time, scholars thought that a family's income heavily affected how well kids did in life．But that might not be the case．When Susan Mayer at the University of Chicago looked at the relationship between family income and lifetime achievement, she ran a series of experiments to measure it, finding such outcomes weren't caused by income．She argued that the things that make a difference are relatively inexpensive: the number of books a kid has or how often his family goes to museums．
Lareau, another scholar began one of the most in-depth observations of American parenting．He concluded that success is much more related to the amount of time parents spend with their children．He said "Many parents I interviewed are anxious about their children's futures．But they have exaggerated（夸大） the sense of the risks involved if they don't give their children 'the best' of everything．"
So at last, we decided to leave things as it were．More time with our kid is the best we can provide．The first paragraph is intended to _．
| A．introduce the topic of the passage |
| B．confirm the result of a research |
| C．stress the importance of good education |
| D．support a research on child development |
From the passage we know that most American parents _．
| A．spend a lot of time with their children |
| B．like to buy a variety of books for their children |
| C．think children's achievement largely depends on schools |
| D．believe their income cannot afford children's education |
Who believes children's brothers and sisters may influence their academic performance?
| A．Lareau． | B．Greg Duncan． | C．Susan Mayer． | D．James． |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Parents' time matters to children's future． |
| B．School education determines children's future． |
| C．Family income counts to children's achievements． |
| D．Less education means more risks for children's success． |
LaMar Baylor, an American performer in the Broadway musical, spends most of his time in New York City．But since 2011, he has also spent weeks in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda．There, he teaches dance to boys who live on the street．His teaching is part of an effort by the Rebecca Davis Dance Company．The project helps young people learn more about dance and learn how to behave in a classroom environment．
Rebecca Davis and LaMar Baylor teach ballet to street children in Kigali, Rwanda．The children have lost all of their families．Some have been in prison; others have sold their bodies for sex．Dance classes provide the children with structured learning and self-expression that they've never had before．
Rebecca Davis is the founder and director of the dance company．She got the idea for the project after visiting Rwanda in 2008．There she met a large number of street children who were dancing, and she thought that dance could be used to get them off the street and into a safe place．She believes that learning to dance is a step toward education．She says children can take classes in information and technology after they have learned to attend classes and follow directions．
Boys who have done best in the classes win scholarships and are sent to the Sunrise Boarding School．About 30 boys have won this kind of financial aid．
As for LaMar Baylor, he knows from his own experience how dance can lead to a better life．He is from Camden, New Jersey．Camden has sometimes been called America's poorest and most dangerous city．He now thanks dancing for saving his life．
The Rwanda program is the largest one set up by the Rebecca Davis Dance Company, and Ms．Davis has also set up dance programs in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Guinea．About 2,000 children in the three countries have taken part in the project since it was begun in 2010．The dance project aims to____．
| A．give the street children parental care |
| B．provide scholarship for the street children |
| C．help the street children receive some education |
| D．keep the street children in good health |
What do we learn about the street children from the passage?
| A．All of them can be sent to the Sunrise Boarding School． |
| B．It may be hard for them to adapt to classroom rules at first． |
| C．They only take classes in dancing． |
| D．Many of them have been in prison． |
What LaMar Baylor and the street children in the project have in common is that _．
| A．they all benefit from dancing |
| B．they borrowed money from the project |
| C．they learn to express themselves in dance class |
| D．they were homeless at one time |
We can infer from the last paragraph that -．
| A．the dance project was started in Guinea |
| B．the Rwanda program is the first program by Rebecca Davis |
| C．the Rwanda program has attracted about 2,000 children |
| D．the dance project gains popularity and grows quickly |
According to Beth Anaclerio, an Evaston mother of two, ages 4 and 18 months, a child’s birthday party doesn’t have to be a hassle; it can be a basket of fun, “Having a party at home usually requires a lot of running around on the part of the parents, and often the birthday boy or girl gets lost in wild excitement．But it really doesn’t have to be that way,” said Anaclerio．Last summer, Anaclerio and her friend Jill Carlisle, a Northbrook mother of a 2-year-old, founded a home party-planning business called “A Party in a Basket．” Their goal is to help parents and children share in the fun part of party planning, like choosing the subject or making a cake, while they take care of everything．
Drawing on their experiences as mothers, they have created 10 ready-to-use, home party packages．Everything a family needs to plan a party, except the cake and ice cream, is delivered to the home in a large basket．
“Our parties are aimed for children 2 to 10,” Anaclerio said, “and they’re very interactive（互动） and creative in that they build a sense of drama based on a subject．For example, at the Soda Shoppe party the guests become waiters and waitresses and build wonderful ice cream creations．”
The standard $200 package for eight children includes a basket filled with invitations, gifts, games and prizes, paper goods, a party planner and the like．For more information, call Anaclerio at 708-864-6584 or Carlisle at 708-205-9141．The main purpose of writing this text is _____．
| A．to share information about party planning |
| B．to introduce the joys of a birthday party |
| C．to sell a service |
| D．to announce a business plan |
The most important idea behind the kind of party planning described here is that _____．
| A．it brings parents and children closer together |
| B．guests play a part in the preparation of a party |
| C．parents are spared the trouble of sending invitations |
| D．it provides a subject of conversation |
What does the underlined word “hassle” probably mean?
| A．a party designed by specialists． |
| B．a plan requiring careful thought． |
| C．a demand made by guests． |
| D．a situation causing difficulty or trouble． |
Which of the following is most likely to be a party planner?
A． |
B． |
C． |
D． |