It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the top step.
“Any old papers, lady？” asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals, wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I'll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I served them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich？”
“Am I rich? Pity, no！”
I looked at my wornout slipcovers(椅套). The girl put her cup back in its saucer (碟) carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” They left after that, holding their papers against the wind. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Lady, are you rich? |
| B．A story of Thanksgiving Day |
| C．Don't forget how rich you are |
| D．Does cups and saucers match well? |
The writer let the two children come in and served them well because________.
| A．she wanted to sell old papers to them |
| B．she showed great pity and care on them |
| C．she wanted to invite them to her Thanksgiving party |
| D．she had the same experience as them in the past |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The girl thought the writer was rich just because she wanted to make the writer happy. |
| B．The writer had thought she wasn't rich because her supplies were not expensive. |
| C．If cups and saucers match well, they are a best pair even though cheap. |
| D．After hearing what they said, the writer seemed to understand what a rich life was. |
The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to________.
| A．show that she was a kindhearted lady |
| B．leave room for readers to think about what being rich is |
| C．remind her that she shouldn't forget how rich she was |
| D．prove that she had understood what meant being rich |
It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on________.
| A．how much money you have made |
| B．what attitude you have had towards life |
| C．the way you help others |
| D．your social relationship |
There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority it must be given over in general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?
If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe". He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: "This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible." It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil's technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.Teachers differ in their opinions about ________.
| A．the difficulties in teaching spelling |
| B．the necessity of teaching spelling |
| C．the complexities of the basic writing skills |
| D．the role of spelling in general language development |
The expression "play safe" probably means “_______”.
| A．to write carefully |
| B．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
| C．to do as teachers say |
| D．to use dictionaries frequently |
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ______.
| A．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| B．students will have more confidence in writing |
| C．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| D．students will learn to be independent of teachers |
The major point discussed in the passage is ________.
| A．the relationship between spelling and content of a composition |
| B．the importance of developing writhing skills |
| C．the correct way of marking compositions |
| D．the complexities of spelling |
Cheaters called “pirates” often use camcorders(便携式摄像机) and cell phones to make illegal copies of blockbusters in the local theater. These pirates then sell those recordings on the street or over the Internet for very low prices. Some share them for free.
“It’s unfair for people to pirate movies,” says 15-year-old Hadaia Azad Ezzulddin. Movie piracy “takes money out of the pockets of thousands of people in the movie industry,” she notes. Victims include famous actors and directors as well as local theater owners and their employees.
Hadaia came up with an idea that could help stop movie piracy. Hadaia’s idea uses infrared(红外线的) light. This range of light is invisible to the human eye. It is visible, however, to many types of cameras. Theater owners could place small infrared lights on their movie screens. The lights would not disturb people watching the movie. It would, however, distort the recordings made by many types of cameras.
To test her idea, Hadaia built a box with a movie screen inside. Then, she projected images on that screen through a hole in the box. She took recordings of those images, using nine different types of cameras. These included the types found in cell phones as well as camcorders. During some tests, she also turned on light emitting diodes(发光二极管), or LEDs. The LEDs were embedded（植入的）in a certain place behind the movie screen. They gave out infrared light.
Sure enough, she showed, a pirated movie included odd stripes or spots if it had been recorded while the LEDs were on. It might be possible to use the LEDs to flash the date and time on the movie screen. The information would then appear in the illegal recordings. Theater owners or police might use the information to track down the pirates.
Cutting down on piracy might get more people into theaters to watch the real movie instead of an illegal copy. Six out of every ten films now produced aren’t profitable. They don’t make enough money to recover how much was spent to make and market them. Such a poor payback can discourage filmmakers from producing anything but the types expected to become blockbuster hits. It might also keep smaller theaters from showing a wider variety of movie types.From what Hadaia says in Paragraph 2, we can infer that _______.
| A．most people spend less money on pirates moves |
| B．the pirates don’t have to pay for the movie tickets |
| C．theater owners will increase the price of movie tickets |
| D．she strongly criticizes those who video movies in the theater |
Infrared lights are put on the movie screens to _______.
| A．adjust the brightness of the movie screens |
| B．make sure the images of movies are dark |
| C．make illegal copies of movies unpleasant to see |
| D．protect the eyesight of viewers in the darkness |
What is the correct order of the steps in Hadaia’s test?
a. She projected pictures on the screen.
b. She used cameras to record the pictures.
c. She turned on the LEDs placed behind the screen.
d. She made a special box with a movie screen inside.
| A．d c a b | B．d b a c |
| C．b a c d | D．b c a d |
According to the last paragraph, we can know that _______.
| A．forty percent of movies now are profitable |
| B．small theaters often choose to show low-cost movies |
| C．more and more people go to theaters to fight movie piracy |
| D．filmmakers prefer to produce ordinary movies than blockbusters |
My students often tell me they don’t have “enough time” to do all their schoolwork. My reply is often brief –You have as much time as the president. I usually carry on a bit about there being 24 hours per day for everyone, and suggest that “not enough time” is not an acceptable explanation of not getting something done.
Once in graduate school, I tried to justify myself to one of my professors by saying that I was working. His answer to me was, “That’s irrelevant. What’s important is the quality of your work.” Since then I have had time to reflect on the “hard worker” dodge(伎俩), and I have come to some conclusions – all relevant to the issue of how much time we have.
If you look at the matter analytically, you can identify two parts of the problem. There is, of course, the matter of “time”, which we can think of as fixed. Then there is the issue of “work” during that time, which can vary in intensity. But, as my professor suggested, it’s not diligence but the quality of the product that is important.
That led me to a new idea, the quality of work. That concept is perhaps best explained by a sign I once saw on the wall in someone’s office – Don’t work harder but work smarter! There’s a lot of sense in that idea.
If you can’t get more time, and few of us can, the only solution is to improve the quality of work. That means thinking of ways of getting more out of the same time than we might otherwise get. That should lead us to an analysis of our work habits. Since “work” for students usually means “homework”, the expression “work habits” should be read as “learning habits”.
Then, as a smart student, you will seek to improve those skills that you use in study, chiefly reading and writing. If you learn to read better and write better, there are big benefits that pay off across the board in all your studies.From the passage, we know that the author is _____.
| A．a poet | B．an educator |
| C．an editor | D．a director |
We can infer from the first two paragraph that we students _____.
| A．have enough time | B．can meet the president |
| C．get something done well | D．should accept the explanation |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 means _____.
| A．That is impossible | B．That is not important |
| C．That is unbearable | D．That is not acceptable |
The main purpose of writing the passage is to give _____.
| A．information | B．encouragement |
| C．criticism | D．advice |
Kompong Phhluk Private Tour
Depart the city for an unspoiled floating community called Kompong Phhluk which is astonishing for its stilted-house villages and flooded forest.
Stop on the way for the Rolous Market tour. This is a great chance for you to take the photos of locals selling vegetables, different fish species and other local produce.
After this market tour we’ll all have a boat trip to the floating community of Kompong Phhluk, visit an island pagoda, a school and houses standing on 8 or 10m high stilts, fish farms and learn about the village life.
Stop and have lunch in a family’s house before getting into a row boat and venturing into the flooded forest, the habitat to some famous water-bird species.
Eventually we jump back into the big boat and set off for the largest fresh water lake in SE Asia, Tonle Sap.
Tour Details
·Departs 8:30am
·Returns around 2pm
·A picnic lunch with sandwiches and drinks is provided. We cannot provide local food from the area due to poor sanitation（卫生）, lack of hygiene standards and refrigeration.
·No passes required
Rates
·These rates are based on an English speaking guide.
·Rates include all transport, water and a picnic lunch.
·Children 11 years and under are 50%.
·Children 4 years and below are free.
·If your group is larger than 5 people, please email us for the best rate.
Number of People Price Per Person
1 Person$65
2 People$45
3 People$40
4 People$35
5 People$32
What to Wear
·Please be mindful of your clothing and try to avoid anything too revealing.
·We strongly recommend a sunglasses, hat and sunscreen.
General Information
·This is a poor rural village, please be mindful of the environment.
· Please do not hand things out to villagers, for this contributes to creating a begging cycle and can create jealousy.
·We recommend heading to the toilet before you go on this trip as facilities are very basic.Kompong Phhluk is famous for its ______.
| A．local vegetables and different fish species |
| B．stilted-house villages and flooded forest |
| C．Rolous Market and an island pagoda |
| D．water-bird habitat and fish farms |
A private trip for two parents and a 3-year-old boy costs ______.
| A．$40 | B．$80 | C．$90 | D．$120 |
Which of the following is not included in the rates?
| A．A tourist guide. | B．Transport. |
| C．Drinks. | D．Local food. |
We can conclude from the passage that ______.
| A．the living standard in the village is quite low |
| B．the tourist facilities along the way are quite good |
| C．revealing clothes are appropriate in the hot weather |
| D．giving local children small gifts is strongly recommended |
Barack Obama has really gone wild. The US president has taken part in the survival television show Running Wild With Bear Grylls, which will air on NBC later this year. In the show, Obama goes on an adventure with host Bear Grylls, learning how to survive in the Alaskan wilderness.
Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls, 41, has become known around the world as one of the most famous outdoor adventurers. The Briton has appeared on a number of wilderness survival shows in which he has climbed, sailed, and eaten bugs or cow tongue.
Obama doesn’t have to eat bugs or cow tongue on his adventure with Grylls. But he does have to eat leftovers - a bloody salmon (三文鱼). It was partly enjoyed by a bear that left some meat behind.
Although he is far from the White House kitchen, Obama seems to enjoy the outdoors. “As president, I am in what’s called the bubble（保护膜）, and the Secret Service makes sure that I’m always out of danger ... but I sometimes want to get out,” he said in a video.
However, Obama’s appearance on the show isn’t just for fun. He took part to raise awareness of the effect global warming has had on the US’s largest state, Alaska.On his adventure, Obama______.
| A．has to eat something strange like bugs |
| B．enjoys cow tongue with Grylls |
| C．takes in some unusual food |
| D．never has any difficulty |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____.
| A．Obama has been tired of the life in the White House |
| B．US presidents have never been in danger because of the Secret Service |
| C．the food prepared in the White House is not as good as the food outdoors |
| D．The life outside the White House is sometimes attractive to the president |
The purpose of Obama’s appearance on the show is _____.
| A．to have some fun |
| B．to promote environmental protection |
| C．to enjoy the wilderness in Alaska |
| D．to get out of the White House for a change |
Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Grylls is the most well known outdoor adventurer around the world.
B. The TV show with Obama’s appearance is now on air on NBC.
C. Obama learns how to survive with host Bear Grylls in African wilderness.
D. Grylls has special abilities to survive in the wild