The private automobile(私家车)has long played an important role in the United States. In fact, it has become a necessary and important part of the American way of life. In 1986, sixty-nine percent of American families owned at least one car, and thirty-eight percent had more than one. By giving workers rapid transportation, the automobile has freed them from having to live near their place of work. This has encouraged the growth of the cities, but it has also led to traffic problems.
For farm families the automobiles is very helpful. It has made it possible for them to travel to town very often for business and for pleasure, and also to transport their children to distant schools.
Family life has been affected(影响)in various ways. The car helps to keep families together when it is used for picnics, outings, and other shared experiences. However, when teenager children have the use of the car, their parents can't keep an eye on them. There is a great danger if the driver has been drinking alcohol or taking drugs—or is “showing off” by speeding or breaking other traffic laws. Mothers of victims(受害者)of such accidents have formed an organization called MADD(Mothers Against Drunk Driving). These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧). These women want to prevent further tragedies(悲剧). They have worked to encourage the government to limit the youngest drinking age. Students have formed a similar organization SADD(Student Against Drunk Driving)and are spreading the same message among their friends.
For many Americans the automobile is a necessity. But for some, it is also a mark of social position and for young people, a sign of becoming an adult. Altogether, cars mean very much to Americans.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the text?
| A．Cars have encouraged the growth of the cities. |
| B．Cars can bring families together when they go for picnics. |
| C．Cars have enabled people to live far from their place for work. |
| D．Cars help city families to transport their children to faraway schools. |
What has been done to deal with the problem of drunk driving?
| A．Parents have paid more attention to their children. |
| B．Some organizations have been set up against drunk driving. |
| C．Mothers have tried to persuade their children not to drink alcohol. |
| D．University students have asked the government to solve the problem. |
We can infer from the text that________in American.
| A．it will be more difficult for people to get new cars |
| B．parents will not allow their children to have their own cars |
| C．the government will encourage people to use public transportation |
| D．cars will still be popular though they have caused many problems |
Hair has always been an important sign of beauty. This is especially true for women. Next to the face, hair is one of the main qualities people look for when they consider a woman’s beauty. Whether long or short, curly or straight, hair often gets a lot of attention.
Each hair on a person’s head grows from a single tube-like hole in the skin called a follicle. People are born with all of the hair follicles they are ever going to have. The average person has about one hundred thousand hair follicles. They begin to form around the third month of pregnancy.
Each hair grows independently of other hairs. There are three periods of hair growth. Not all hairs experience the same period of growth at the same time. The period of active growth is called Anagen. During this period, hair grows at a rate of about three tenths millimeters a day, or one centimeter a month. About 85 percent of hair follicles are going through this process at any given time. This period can last from two to six years.
The Catagen period of hair growth comes next. It is then that hair growth begins to slow down. This period usually lasts two or three weeks. Finally, hair growth comes to a complete stop and the hairs begin to fall out. This period is known as Telogen. It affects about 15 percent of all hairs at a time.
On average, a person loses between 50 and 100 hairs every day. Since each hair grows at a different rate, this process is overlooked. Once the Telogen period has ended, the hair growth process begins again.What does the underlined word “They” in the 2nd paragraph refer to?
| A．The babies | B．The hairs |
| C．The follicles | D．The pregnant women |
Anagen is the period when ________.
| A．hairs grow the fastest |
| B．hairs grow at a different rate |
| C．hair growth comes to a stop |
| D．85 percent of hairs are growing |
When some hairs are experiencing the period of Telogen, they ________.
| A．grow very quickly | B．slow down their growth |
| C．stop growing | D．affects other hairs’ growth |
Which of the following shows the process of hair growth?
| A．Anagen → Telogen → Catagen |
| B．Anagen → Catagen → Telogen |
| C．Anagen ↗ ↘ Catagen ← Telogen |
| D．Anagen |
↗ ↘
Telogen ← Catagen
C
chemistrynerd |
US High School Teacher |
As a science teacher, I also want to incorporate literacy(读写能力) and reading into science. I thought it would be cool to have something called “Article Fridays” (or monthly, and maybe a more creative name) where students read articles and summarize them on different chemistry topics that they find interesting. I’d have a couple students each time share what they found, and they’d all hand them in. I work on a block schedule(模块教学计划) so I’m not sure exactly how this would work. Does anyone have creative ideas on how to get kids thinking of science that’s in the ‘real world’? I’d probably do this with my Honors or AP classes.
 |
Caesar753 |
I like the idea, but not for just Honors/AP. I think that all students can work on improving their literacy. Besides, this is a good way to connect your content to current events. You’ll need to find high-interest articles that grab their attention and keep it. I’m not sure that I would devote an entire block to this activity because it might get boring even with high-interest articles.
 |
MyrisophilistHigh school Life Science |
I’m really into literacy and science as well, so PM me about it anytime! 
Do your students have Internet access in the classroom? If so, that opens up a world of resources. I put a ton of resources seeds on my website that relate to each class I teach. The New York Times Learning Blog has so many ideas on incorporating news into every subject. I highly recommend spending some time going through their resources. Here are a few I’ve bookmarked:
12 Ways to Learn Vocabulary with The New York Times
Great Ways to Teach Any Day’s Times
Teaching TopicsChemistrynerd is worried that ________.
| A．his students show no interest in his class |
| B．his students pay no attention to reading or writing |
| C．what his students learn is too difficult to understand |
| D．what his students need is not only science knowledge |
What can Caesar753 most possibly be?
| A．A college student | B．A college principal |
| C．A high school teacher | D．A high school student |
According to Myrisophilist, the underlined letters “PM” means ________.
| A．Private Message | B．Pardon Me |
| C．Password Maybe | D．Afternoon |
Myrisophilist’s teaching ways couldn’t be useful without ________.
| A．newspapers | B．the Internet |
| C．block schedules | D．other teachers’ help |
A listener from Brazil recently wrote to us asking for some advice. He’s planning a trip to the United States, and wanted to know about the best places to travel in America. Today, we tell about the most popular places to visit in the country, and hear about what makes them so appealing.
Each of the 50 states in America has interesting things to offer visitors, but some are more popular than others. Washington, D.C. is famous for its historical places, like the White House and the Lincoln Memorial. Visitors to Los Angeles, California can see the Hollywood Walk of Fame or shop the stores on Rodeo Drive where they may see a star or two. The Grand Canyon in Arizona appeals to hikers, climbers and nature lovers, as does Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
Trip Advisor is a website where people can write reviews about their travel experiences. There are also ratings for hotels, restaurants, and places people have visited around the world. Every year, Trip Advisor makes a list of the top 25 cities to visit in the United States. The results are based on the opinions of visitors to the website.
America’s major cities are still the most popular destinations for visitors. This is probably because of the good quality of services they provide tourists.
“They do a great job of giving travelers what they want when they’re on vacation. I think they kind of cater to every type of traveler need. So whether you’re traveling alone, you’re traveling for business, you’re traveling with your family - whatever it is, those destinations are really tuned in to delivering amazing experiences and just a lot of different opportunities when you’re there.” said Brooke Ferencsik, a tourist from Germany.The author is most possibly ________.
| A．a radio announcer | B．a journalist |
| C．a university professor | D．a tour guide |
Which of the following is the best place to visit if you want to know about American history?
A. Yellowstone National Park B. The Grand Canyon
C. Los Angeles, California D. Washington D.CAccording to Brooke Ferencsik, ________ make America’s major cities the most popular destinations for visitors.
| A．city residents’ kindness and care |
| B．the good services |
| C．great opportunities of jobs |
| D．the varieties of cities |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Welcome to Trip Advisor |
| B．America’s Major Tourist Attractions |
| C．The Power of the Internet |
| D．It’s Tourists Who Decide Where to Go |
Carrying a passenger on a bicycle is an offence punishable by law. Everyone knows that but still some of us do it.
I had done it many times before until something happened to teach me never to do it again. It was not the police. Rather it was an unforgettable, and unpleasant, experience.
It happened one evening when my friend Segaran and I wanted to go and visit another friend who lived some distance away. I had a bicycle. Segaran did not. So, as usual, he sat side-saddle on the horizontal bar of the bicycle while I pedalled. We had done it many times before, so it should not be any problem.
Near my friend’s house, we got onto a gravel(碎石) path made slippery by the recent rain. Still we managed to move along, thoroughly enjoying the rough ride.
As we passed by a stream, I made the mistake of going too near the bank. The rain had softened the soil and it could not hold our combined weight. One moment we were going along merrily, the next we were tumbling head over heels into the stream.
Splash! Splash! Splash! We plunged into the river bicycle first, followed by Segaran, then me. Normally the stream is only a few centimetres deep with clear water. When we fell in, it was a metre deep with smelly black water. The water prevented us from getting badly injured but we also had to pay the price of swallowing some of it. It tasted horrible. Segaran got the worst of it for being sandwiched between the bicycle and me. Our pride was far more hurt.
We walked all the way home. I had to push the bicycle because its front wheel was bent out of shape. From that moment I promised never to carry anyone on a bicycle again.________ taught the author never to carry a passenger on a bicycle again.
| A．The police | B．The experience |
| C．Segaran | D．The visited friend |
Where did they land when they fell off the bike?
| A．Into the dirty river | B．Onto the friend’s house |
| C．Onto the gravel path | D．Into the softened soil |
The author felt hurt mainly because ________.
| A．he swallowed some dirty water |
| B．he got badly injured in the water |
| C．he made Segaran sandwiched and hurt |
| D．he failed in a thing he had thought was easy |
Where does the following paragraph go back into the passage?
We retrieved ourselves and the bicycle from the stream. We were both dirty and wet. Obviously we were in no condition to visit anyone. So we decided to go home.
| A．Between Paragraph 3 and 4 |
| B．Between Paragraph 5 and 6 |
| C．Between Paragraph 6 and 7 |
| D．After the last paragraph |
Everyone has some opinion about history, no matter how ill-informed. Walking through a parking lot in a university in Miami, I noticed a bumper sticker (车尾贴纸) that said, “Ruin a Liberal’s (自由派) Day—Recite Historical Fact!” But Marwick thinks this sort of opinion is just fine; it is unavoidable that we all feel a sense of ownership of history.
History never stands still, as Marwick says at the beginning of The Nature of History, “The shape and content of history, too, vary according to the methods and materials available to different generations.” Marwick’s goal is to explain, in plain language, the changes in the way history is done up to the present; one method is to connect history with advances in the physical sciences. Marwick examines a number of case studies toward the end of the book. He ends the book with a refreshing collection of aphorisms (格言) about history. History truly belongs to each and every man and we all belong to history; with the proper education, history can be made more accessible to everyone.
Marwick relates how inventions and the physical sciences have driven historical changes. Dropping a ball in a vacuum will reveal the same properties (性质) each time the experiment is conducted, providing the conditions are the same. But historians obviously do not have the luxury of reproducing such conditions; historians view the past through the present which depends on invention and science.
By looking at the changing nature of history, Marwick feels the study progressing. Although Marwick suspects some people would accuse a historian of creating job security with the endless views of the past, he insists it is imperative based on the philosophy, science, and new materials of the age. History, according to Marwick, must be for everyone and not remain locked behind the walls of academia.The author mentions the bumper sticker in order to ________.
| A．show his own opinion about history |
| B．introduce the readers to Marwick |
| C．explain the freedom of understanding history |
| D．make the readers know about the argument between historians |
Which of the following best describes the statement “History never stands still”?
| A．Marwick explains the changes in the way history is done up to the present. |
| B．Marwick connects history with advances in the physical sciences. |
| C．He ends the book with a refreshing collection of aphorisms about history. |
| D．The shape and content of history vary according to the methods and materials available. |
In paragraph 3, Marwick gives the example of dropping a ball in a vacuum to prove ________.
| A．the changeable nature of history |
| B．the difficulty of historical study |
| C．changeable ways of historical study |
| D．the difficulty of scientific study |
The text is intended to ________.
| A．state a historian’s ideas |
| B．argue against a historian |
| C．attract readers to study history |
| D．describe the story of a historian |