Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously, Jason was determined not to go against their father's wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
" Dad will be really mad if he finds out you've been playing with his new computer.”Jason said, " He told us not to touch it.”
“ He won’t find out," Mark said. "I'll just have a quick look and shut it down. "
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father's equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new Computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model," his father had explained, "so don’t touch it under any circumstances. " But his father's warning only seized to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen; "SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
"Yes!" Mark cried excitedly, "It's a computer game. I knew it! Dad's only been pretending to work. He's really been playing games instead. " A new message appeared on the screen; "ENTER NAMES
VOYAGER 1:…
VOYAGER 2:…
Mark's fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
"INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED( 自动回收程序已启动).”
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume
"I think we'd better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.
But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒) , until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.
"TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION ( 目的地) ： MARS. RETRIEVE DATE;
2025." Why did Mark touch the computer against his father's warning?
| A．He wanted to take a voyage. |
| B．He wanted to practice his skill. |
| C．He was so much attracted by it. |
| D．He was eager to do an experiment. |
Where did the boys' father most likely work?
| A．In an electronic factory. | B．In a computer company. |
| C．In a scientific research center. | |
| D．In an information processing center. |
Mark thought "SPACE TRANSPORTER" on the screen was the name of______.
| A．a computer game |
| B．a company website |
| C．a software producer |
| D．an astronomy |
What happened to the boys at the end of the theory?
| A．They were blown into the air. |
| B．They were sent to another planet. |
| C．They were hidden in the strong light. |
| D．They were carried away to another country. |
More People Are Leaving the Rat Race for the Simple Life
Time is more precious than money for an increasing number of people who are choosing to live more with less—and liking it
Kay and Charles Giddens, two lawyers, sold their home to start a B&B hotel．Four years later, the couple dishes out banana pancake breakfast, cleans toilets and serves homemade chocolate chip cookies to guests in a B&B hotel surrounded by trees on a hill known for colorful sunsets.
“Do I miss the freeways? Do I miss the traffic? Do I miss the stress? No,” says Ms．Giddens, “This is a phenomenon that’s fairly widespread． A lot of people are reevaluating their lives and figuring out what they want to do．If their base is being damaged, what’s the payoff?”
Simple living ranges from cutting down on weeknight activities to sharing housing, living closer to work, avoiding shopping malls, borrowing books from the library instead of buying them, and taking a cut in pay to work at a more pleasurable job.
Vicki Robin, a writer, lives on a budget equal to a fifth of what she used to make．“You become conscious about where your money is going and how valuable it is,” Ms．Robin says, “You tend not to use things up．You cook at home rather than eat out…”
Janet Luhrs, a lawyer, quit her job after giving birth and leaving her daughter with a nanny for two weeks．“It was not the way I wanted to raise my kids,” she says, “Simplicity is not just about saving money; it’s about me sitting down every night with my kids to a candlelit dinner with classical music.”
Mrs．Luhrs now edits a magazine, Simple Living, which publishes tips on how to buy recycled furniture and shoes, organize potluck dinners instead of expensive receptions, and generally how to consume less.
“It’s not about poverty,” Mrs．Luhrs explains, “It’s about conscious living and creating the life you want．The less stuff you buy, the less money goes out of the door, and the less money you have to earn.”Kay and Charles Giddens sold their home to ______.
| A．pay off the debt |
| B．start a private hotel |
| C．cut down expenses |
| D．buy living necessities |
Simple living includes ______.
| A．building a home library |
| B．living in the countryside |
| C．enjoying a colorful night life |
| D．sharing housing with others |
It can be learned from the passage that now Janet Luhrs ______.
| A．spends more time with her kids |
| B．has an interest in classical music |
| C．works as a reporter of a magazine |
| D．helps people buy recycled clothes |
How does the author develop the passage?
| A．By using figures. |
| B．By asking questions. |
| C．By giving examples． |
| D．By making comparisons． |
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Camp All-Star
One of a Kind Summer Camps for Kids
Welcome to Camp All-Star, your No．1 summer sports camp for kids! Located on the famous Kents Hill School campus by the beautiful lake, Camp All-Star hosts kids from around the world． When thinking about your next overnight summer camp, consider the best—Camp All-Star!
Great Sports Summer Camps for Kids
Camp All-Star stands out among the successful camps in the U.S．We have the best sports fields and courts to make your child’s sports camp experience a successful one．Your child can enjoy playing for hours in any of our more than 30 sports and activities each day．Our camper to staff rate is three to one, which makes it possible for children to receive more careful instruction．
We have a wide variety of activities and sports to choose from: fishing, dance, basketball, soccer, baseball, and tennis．Boys and girls, aged 8-16, can customize their own schedules in our 2, 3, 4 or 6 week summer camp session for kids.
The aim of Camp All-Star is to develop athletic skills, encourage abilities in leadership, fair play and team work, and provide a fun, rewarding and memorable summer sports camp experience．Our staff have the experience and qualified training necessary to ensure that your child has a successful, memorable and enjoyable time at our summer camp.
Call Today About Our Overnight Summer Camps for Kids
Don’t let your kids waste another summer playing video games and sitting around． Let them enjoy their time and get some exercise at our exciting and friendly summer sports camp．Information for our upcoming camps can be found on our website．For additional information or questions, contact us today．We hope your kids can join us at Camp All-Star!Camp All-Star stands out among the others because it ______.
| A．is surrounded by a beautiful lake |
| B．provides various activities and sports |
| C．offers timely information on its websit |
| D．allows children to play outside all day long |
One of the goals of Camp All-star is to ______.
| A．fire kids’ imagination |
| B．build up kids’ confidence |
| C．develop kids’ leadership skills |
| D．promote kids’ self-control |
This advertisement is intended for ______.
| A．parents |
| B．coaches |
| C．staff |
| D．campers |
Being Authoritative (由权威的) Parents
Phrases like “tiger mom” and ‘‘helicopter parent” have made their way into everyday language．Many of us find ourselves drawn to the idea that with just a bit more parental hard work and effort, we might turn out children with bright futures．But is there anything wrong with a kind of “overparenting style”?
Parental involvement has a long history of being studied． Many of the studies, conducted by Diana Baumrind, a famous psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that a good parent is the one who is involved and reacts to her child in a positive way, who sets high expectations but gives her child independence．These “authoritative parents” appear to hit the sweet spot of parental involvement and generally raise children who do better academically, psychologically and socially than children whose parents are not strict and less involved, or controlling and more involved． Why is this parenting style so successful?
Authoritative parents actually help improve motivation in their children．Carol Dweck, a social psychologist at Stanford University, has done research that indicates why authoritative parents raise more motivated children．In a typical experiment, Dr．Dweck takes young children into a room and asks them to solve a simple puzzle．Most do so with little difficulty．But then Dr．Dweck tells some, but not all, of the kids how clever they are．As it turns out, the children who are not told they’re smart are more motivated to solve increasingly difficult puzzles．They also show higher levels of confidence and show greater progress in puzzle-solving．
As the experiment suggests, praising children’s talents and abilities seems to shake their confidence．Dealing with more difficult puzzles carries the risk of losing one’s status as “smart”．Dr．Dweck’s work strongly supports that of Dr．Baumrind, who also found that reasonably supporting a child’s independence and limiting interference (干涉) causes better academic and emotional results．
The central task of growing up is to develop a sense of self that is independent and confident．If you treat your young child who is just learning to walk as if she can’t walk, you reduce her confidence．Allowing children to make mistakes is one of the greatest challenges of parenting．It is easier when they are young．The potential mistakes carry greater risks, and part of being a parent is reducing risk for our children．According to the passage, a “tiger mom” ______．
| A．helps her children realize their dreams |
| B．speaks her children’s everyday language |
| C．places reasonable expectations on her children |
| D．pays close attention to her children’s experiences |
It is implied that controlling style of parenting may _____．
| A．face more challenges of children |
| B．foster independence in children |
| C．cause more problems in children |
| D．lead to children’s academic success |
The example of the children doing the puzzles suggests that ______．
| A．a good game plays a big role in training young minds |
| B．overpraising makes children less motivated and confident |
| C．puzzle-solving can give children the motivation they need |
| D．bright children usually show less confidence in difficult games |
The last paragraph tells us that ______．
| A．children should not be given much freedom |
| B．parents should not increase the risk of challenging |
| C．parents should allow their children to learn from mistakes |
| D．children should correct mistakes with the help of their parents |
The Entropia Universe
The Entropia Universe is a virtual world on the Internet, which seems very like our real life．It is set in a distant future and based on a planet called Calypso．Entropia was the brainchild of a group of Swedish computer lovers who decided to see if they could create a three dimensional (维度的) virtual world that could be placed on the Internet．They did manage after they received the financial backing they needed．
The game can be played for free, but nearly all in-game activities require personal resources that you have available to use．Although there are various activities to keep you busy on Calypso, what most people do first is to find themselves a profession, such as hunting the fierce animals on Calypso, mining the precious minerals and making tools．Then they can think about buying their virtual house or paying a visit to a virtual nightclub or doing any of the other activities that make life bearable．
Entropia has its very own economy (经济) and its own currency, the PED (Project Entropia Dollars)．Players move real world money into PED which they then use to pay for their life on Calypso．However, the virtual things inside Entropia do have a real value in the outside world, and careful business deals mean that players can actually make real money there．PED can be changed into dollars any time at a rate of 10PED to 1US$．
What’s so impressive about The Entropia Universe is the number of players; currently more than 600,000 representing over 220 countries from planet Earth．A number of players insist that it’s a good way to make money．However, the reality of Entropia’s economic system is that most people end up paying more than they earn and it’s not uncommon to find players who are paying up to $200 a month into their PED account．This might not be the most economical way of spending one’s free time．However, some people say that for them the fact that they can escape the realities of the earthbound life and become a different person with a completely different life for a few hours every week is worth the use of money, even if they don’t get any interest rates on it．What can we learn about The Entropia Universe?
| A．It costs nothing to join． |
| B．It focuses on business plans． |
| C．It is designed for computer lovers． |
| D．It presents what life is like on other planets． |
What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
| A．What people do on Calypso． |
| B．When people buy houses there． |
| C．How people make life bearable． |
| D．Why people often find a job first． |
According to the author, playing on The Entropia Universe ______．
| A．may be very annoying |
| B．can be quite expensive |
| C．is a cheap way to kill time |
| D．is a good way to earn money |
What can be inferred about The Entropia Universe?
| A．It is technical． |
| B．It is satisfying． |
| C．It is ridiculous． |
| D．It is educational． |
Do you know a child who has used first aid to save a life or help an injured person?
St．John Ambulance is seeking young people who have acted quickly, calmly and effectively at a real emergency for its annual Young First Aider of the Year awards．
The awards are open to all those under 18, and the closing date for nomination (提名) is April 30, 2016.The winners will be invited to attend a special ceremony in June, 2016.
“St．John Ambulance believes it is essential for young people to learn first aid so that they can help anyone who is injured,” said Sandra Stocker, director of St．John Ambulance Awards Committee．“The Young First Aider of the Year is a wonderful way to celebrate their bravery and quick-thinking．”
Nomination for the Young First Aider of the Year is now open．Please complete and return the nomination forms as soon as possible and certainly no later than April 30, 2016.The committee will decide which of the nominees will receive the Young First Aider of the Year awards by considering the actions of the nominees along with their ages and other factors．You should send any evidence you have with the nomination form, showing the nominees’ actions．
Examples of evidence could include:
◆ Newspaper clippings (剪报) of the incident．
◆ Police incident record numbers．
Once a nomination form is received, the nominee or nominator may be approached for further details of the incident．For further information please get in touch with Sandra Stocker by email or on 020-73244082 or 020-732440813.
Find out who our winners will be for 2016.What does the passage intend to tell the readers?
| A．Young people should learn first aid to help the injured． |
| B．Learning first aid can help young people win an award． |
| C．The injured are encouraged to act quickly and calmly． |
| D．St．John Ambulance makes profit by training first aiders． |
If you suggest someone for the awards, you should ______．
| A．attend the awards ceremony |
| B．make a speech introducing yourself |
| C．provide the details of the incident |
| D．have a good knowledge about first aid |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．Demand for First Aiders |
| B．Importance of First Aid |
| C．St．John Ambulance Awards |
| D．Young First Aider of the Year |