If there's one thing I' ve learned from my years of being a kid, it' s that you have ZERO control over your own life.
Ever since school ended, I haven' t had anything I' ve needed to do or anywhere I' ve needed to be. As long as the air-conditioning(空调) was working and the TV remote had batteries in it, I was ready for a relaxing summer holiday.
But then, out of the blue, this happened - " Pack your bags. We' re going on a road trip ! " Mom said excitedly.
This isn't the first time Mom has sprung a trip on us without any warming. Last year on the first day of summer, she said we were going .to visit Aunt Loretta at the nursing home.
It wasn't exactly my idea of a fun way to kick off the summer. One time when we visited Aunt Loretta, her roommate grasped me and wouldn't let me go until someone gave her a chocolate cookie !
Mom kept talking about going to the nursing home for a whole day, which made me worry a lot. But at breakfast the next morning, she told us where we were really going - Disney World.
I was very happy, because I was really worried about spending the whole week at the nursing home. So was Dad.
But when my little brother, Danny, heard about the change he became very angry. Mom had talked up the Aunt Loretta trip so much that Danny was actually excited about going there.
We ended up putting off our trip to Disney so we could visit Aunt Loretta.
I tried to talk Mom into letting us do something normal, like going to a water park for the day, but she didn't want to hear it. She said that spending a lot of time together in the car would be a " bonding" experience for the whole family.What did the author prefer to do during his summer holidays?
| A．Visit Aunt Loretta. |
| B．Travel with his family. |
| C．Look after his little brother. |
| D．Watch TV comfortably at home. |
From the passage, we can learn that the author_______
| A．loved his aunt very much |
| B．got pretty excited about the road trip |
| C．felt helpless with his mother's surprise trips |
| D．blamed Danny for not going to Disney World |
Who makes the final decision in the family?
| A．The author. | B．Mom. | C．Dad. | D．Aunt Loretta |
The author wrote the passage to_______
| A．remember his mother |
| B．tell the story of his aunt |
| C．express his love for his brother |
| D．share with readers his childhood experiences |
There is a very special wolf that lives in Africa. They are actually called, the African wild dog, of painted dogs.
These animals live in open woodlands, or in the plains of Africa. Today, however, most of the animals can be found in eastern or southern Africa. These animals are beautiful. They have rounded ears instead of pointed like most dogs, and they have four toes (脚趾) on each of their four feet, also a unique characteristic because other dogs have five. Their fine fur is always different from each other. The fur is usually a combination of black, brown, red, and white, and sometimes even yellow. No wonder they’re called the painted wolf.
The African wild dog is a very social animal. They live in groups and have numbers from five to about twenty. The members of a group are always very close to one another. They communicate in their own language or body language. When someone is very old or sick, the others will help, and they are willing to share the food with the elders and with those who are weak, which is what we should learn from.
The family does everything together, from raising young, to sleeping together, to hunting. When they hunt, they will work together suing team work to kill animals that are larger than them.
They sometimes hunt farm animals. This is unfortunate, because both poachers (偷猎者), and people who own farms shoot the painted dogs who are just trying to survive.
Before, there used to be many large groups throughout the land, but now the African wild god is very rare. They are also losing their population because of their own loss of habitat thanks to human’s farming and forest cutting.From the text we learn that the African wild dog .
| A．lives in the north of Africa |
| B．has sixteen toes altogether |
| C．has pointed ears like most dogs |
| D．lives in forests in groups |
Why do African wild dogs get the name “painted dogs”?
| A．They all have colorful fur. |
| B．The dogs in the same group are of different colors. |
| C．Artists love to paint them in different colors. |
| D．None of them has the same color. |
According to the author, what should we learn from African wild dogs?
| A．They always do everything together. |
| B．They help the sick, the elderly and the weak. |
| C．They are always very close to one another. |
| D．They communicate in their own language. |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why African wild dogs are becoming very rare?
| A．Poachers kill some of them. |
| B．They are short of food sometimes. |
| C．They are losing their habitat. |
| D．Farmers shoot some of them. |
Where could this passage probably be found?
| A．The Travelers | B．Fashion Weekly | C．Animal World | D．Star Magazine |
[1]Why is physical education important for students? There are many reasons. First of all, this subject helps them achieve the primary goal of physical education, which is physical fitness. As part of this, they can learn that it is highly important to include exercise and physical activities as part of their lifestyle.
[2]Physical education helps children achieve a healthy lifestyle. Inside the classroom, teachers educate kids about highly relevant issues such as the importance of hygiene (卫生) and health. This subject will help them realize the importance of having strong bodies. Likewise, it will also teach them how to have a healthy and an active lifestyle.
[3]Taking PE classes can help of students. Being confident is very important to them as they grow and become responsible as well as competitive adults someday. This aspect (方面) of physical education is extremely important in the character development of students. Furthermore, it will teach them how to have a positive attitude.
[4]Physical education can teach students a set of all-important values. For example, it teaches students to fight like sportsmen and to cooperate with others to achieve one common goal as a team.
[5]Physical education also helps students develop their motor skills. On this kind of program, they are placed in situations where they can further develop and improve their reflexes (反应), concentration and body posture. By taking this class, they can realize their full potential as individuals and as part of a team.
[6]Moreover, physical education is also a means of enjoyment for students. By engaging in sports and physical activities, they can spend some pleasant time away from their other usual academic subjects. By doing so, they can achieve healthy minds and bodies. What’s the text mainly about? (no more than 6 words)
What does the underlined word “it” (Line 3 paragraph 2) probably refer to? (no more than 3 words)
Fill in the blank in Paragraph 3 with proper words. (no more than 4 words)
Based on the text, list two values that students can learn in PE classes. (no more than 6 words)
How can a student keep healthy physically and mentally? (no more than 9 words)
Tony Burke, Australia’s environment minister, says he won’t decide until next year whether the koala should be protected as an endangered species. He was expected to make his decision by the end of October. But that decision has been put off. Burke said he needed more time to go over the latest information about the koala’s population.
In September, an Australian Senate committee reported that there was no question the koala’s population is on the decrease. “But they may not yet be eligible (符合条件) for listing as a threatened species,” said Senator Doug Cameron. “To have such a significant Australian icon(偶像) included on the threatened species list would be a national shame.”
The koala is found only in the eucalyptus (桉树) forests of Australia. And its population is reported to have fallen sharply for many reasons, including the cutting down of forests to make way for human beings’ development, their own illness, climate change and killings by other animals such as wild dogs. And every year many koalas are hit by cars as they are trying to cross the busy roads.
Putting off the decision on protection for the koala “is really bad news,” said Debbie Pointing, the president of the Koala Action Group. “We’ve worked tirelessly for many years to gather data on the populations,” Pointing said. “That data should be enough to make a decision.”
However, Burke pointed out that the Australian government had spent at least $6.3 million on koala conservation efforts since 1996. senators listed efforts that are already underway in Queensland – the construction of special koala bridges as well as fences along roads, to keep the animals out of harm’s way.
Some people say that is not enough. “What we’re doing at the moment is likely to drive this species to extinction,” Queensland University zoologist Bill Ellis said.
“Koalas are an iconic Australian animal,” Burke told Australians. “They hold a special place in the hearts of Australians.”
But it is a fact that if more isn’t done to protect the koala, they might soon hold a place only in Australians’ memories. Tony Burke put off announcing the koala as an endangered species because .
| A．he needed more time to examine latest information |
| B．he doubted whether koalas’ number is decreasing |
| C．he was thinking about ways to protect koalas |
| D．he had more important issues to deal with |
What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．The habitat of the koala. |
| B．Australia’s traffic problems. |
| C．The importance of koalas for Australians. |
| D．Reasons for the decrease of the koala population. |
According to the text, Debbie Pointing thinks that .
| A．the construction of special koala bridges is of little use |
| B．the government should announce the koala as an endangered species |
| C．the government is to blame for the decreasing koala population |
| D．koala are becoming less important in Australians’ hearts |
It can be learned from the text that Tony Burke .
| A．decided to construct more fences along roads |
| B．called on Australians to take care of the koala |
| C．thought the government has done much for koalas |
| D．was optimistic about the koalas’ future |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Australia puts off the decision on whether the koala is endangered. |
| B．Australia is taking special measures to protect koalas. |
| C．The population of koalas is reducing rapidly. |
| D．Australians are concerned about koalas. |
A new reading tool was put on the market this week for the two-to five-year-old set. It is sold for at least $389, an expensive purchase for a kid – and that doesn’t even include a $99 annual subscription (订阅) fee for games, e-books, and age-appropriate software.
That might be fine for parents willing and able to pay thousands for private nursery schools, but will the tool actually help kids learn language and reading skills more effectively than traditional books?
Probably not, said Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center for Media and Child Health at Children’s Hospital Boston. “There is a sensory components (感官因素) to books that isn’t there with e-books,” he explained. “You can smell it, turn the pages, and taste it, as young kids are likely to do.”
That might help little ones become more familiar with the books, helping them learn from them, but far more important is whether a person is actually sitting with them while they’re looking at the pages.
Researchers have shown time and again that kids learn better when they’re having interaction (互动) with real people, rather than electronic voices reading to them from a computer or speaking to them from the TV.
A Georgetown University study found that kids who learned to put on gloves from watching a video took six times as long to learn the process as those who watched it shown by an adult standing in front of them.
“I’m a big believer in teaching kids to live in the digital society and use what the rest of the family uses, but they do need to be supervised,” said Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, a Boston-based children’s doctor and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “We don’t recommend that young kids use any type of technology for very long since they have the attention span (注意力持续时间) of a butterfly.”According to the text, the new tool .
| A．is mainly used to entertain kids |
| B．can be accepted by most families |
| C．is designed for preschool kids |
| D．can download games for free |
Why is Dr. Michael Rich against the new tool?
| A．Because it doesn’t really involve many of the senses. |
| B．Because it does great harm to kids’ eyesight. |
| C．Because kids can’t communicate with it. |
| D．Because traditional books are cheaper. |
The study mentioned in Paragraph 6 aims to .
| A．show the disadvantage of kids’ watching videos |
| B．prove the importance of interaction with people |
| C．ask parents to teach their kids to learn |
| D．prove using e-books saves much time |
The underlined word “supervised” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “”.
| A．punished | B．watched | C．encouraged | D．understood |
What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To introduce a new electronic device. |
| B．To teach kids how to live in a digital world. |
| C．To show parents how to help kids gain knowledge. |
| D．To throw new light on kids’ use of electronic tools. |
The other day, I received a most unexpected message in response to one of my essays: I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished. I shared your opinion …
It was signed Margaret Leibfried, who was my English teacher — a teacher who appeared at a vital (关键) point in my life and helped me believe that I could become a writer.
Thirty years ago, I entered high school as an introvert (性格内向的人) made all the more shy because I was the school’s only nonwhite student. I always felt in danger of being swept away by a sea of tall white athletes. I spent a lot of time alone, reading and writing stories, hoping to escape being teased.
Ms. Leibfried taught American literature and composition grammar, which involved the usual memorizing vocabulary, but also, thrillingly, reading novels.
Thrilling to me, that is. Many of my classmates expressed dislike for novels because they were “not real.” For once, I didn’t care what they thought. Ms. Leibfried seemed to notice my interest in both reading and writing, and she took the time to make me feel less shy; she even offered me reading suggestions, like one of her favorite novels, “The Bell Jar.”
That year’s big project was a book report, to be read aloud to the class. However, Ms. Leibfried suggested I do something “a little different.” Instead of a report, I chose a passage from “The Bell Jar” that I considered as the best to recite.
The morning of the presentations, I remember my hands sweating so badly as I walked to the front of the class that I kept my hands crossed, so I wouldn’t wipe them on my blouse.
When I finished, to my surprise, the class applauded. “Marie has picked out a particularly sensitive piece of writing and delivered it beautifully,” Ms. Leibfried said, smiling. I felt, maybe for the first time, confident.What was the author’s high school life like before she met Ms. Leibfried?
| A．Lonely. | B．Exciting. | C．Wild. | D．Busy |
In Paragraph 5, the author mainly tells us .
| A．how she cared what her classmates thought |
| B．when she became interested in “The Bell Jar” |
| C．why many of her classmates disliked novels |
| D．how Ms. Leibfried helped and encouraged her |
Why did Ms. Leibfried ask the author to recite a passage in front of the class?
| A．To test whether she had a good memory. |
| B．To make her earn the respect of her classmates. |
| C．To help deepen her understanding of “The Bell Jar.” |
| D．To guide her to build a good relationship with others. |
How did the author feel when she made the presentation?
| A．Comfortable. | B．sad. | C．Nervous. | D．Confident. |
What was the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To express her thanks to her teacher. |
| B．To discuss the issue of racial prejudice (偏见). |
| C．To introduce one of her favorite books. |
| D．To suggest the ways to gain confidence. |