C
Not enough American students want to be engineers, mathematicians, or scientists. The Obama administration wants to change that. They are spending money to do it. The government will invest three billion dollars in the education of young Americans in science, technology, engineering, and math. The four areas together are known as STEM.
Many jobs in the STEM fields will open in the coming years. The U.S. government's investment aims to increase the number of Americans who can take those jobs.
Yet girls appear far less interested in STEM subjects than boys. Only 25 percent of STEM students are girls.
Camsie McAdams is at the U.S. Education Department. She says girls simply do not feel welcomed in STEM subjects. Ms. McAdams says young women look at industries such as engineering and computer science and see most of the leaders are men.
Debbie Sterling is an engineer. She invented a construction toy for girls. The name of the toy is "Goldie Blox." Ms. Sterling hopes Goldie Blox will help girls develop spatial skills. Spatial skills help engineers and builders to think about objects in three dimensions.
To interest girls, Sterling created the character "Goldie." Goldie does not care about beauty or clothes. Goldie tells stories, solves difficult problems and creates pretend worlds.
Experts say parents should do more than just buy toys to interest their girls in STEM subjects. They should also provide a good education. At school, girls should participate in projects that require teamwork and creative thinking.
Women in scientific and technical jobs are also working to encourage young women to explore STEM. One is Anu Tewary. She studied Applied Physics and worked for technology companies. After she had a daughter, she started Technovation Challenge. The challenge is an international competition for young women from 10 to 18 years old.
Technovation offers girls the opportunity to learn how to start a company and become high-tech entrepreneurs. Since 2009, over 2,500 girls from 28 countries have developed 650 mobile phone applications. They learned to launch start-up companies through Technovation.
There's a good chance that soon, more young women using mobile phones will also be developing programs for them.
Why don’t the girls take jobs related to STEM subjects?
| A．Because they are less intelligent than boys. |
| B．Because they are forbidden to. |
| C．Because they lack interest and certain skills. |
| D．Because they are not welcomed. |
What should parents do to interest girls to enter STEM field?
| A．Just buy some toys for them. |
| B．Encourage them to take these subjects. |
| C．Explain to them the advantages of these subjects. |
| D．Attract them by giving them some rewards. |
The character "Goldie" can help _____.
| A．to improve the ability of telling stories |
| B．to develop spatial skills |
| C．to learn some knowledge of dressing up |
| D．to enlarge vocabulary |
Which statement is the writer likely to agree with?
| A．Girls are as intelligent as boys. |
| B．Jobs in the STEM fields aren’t available for girls. |
| C．The government is satisfied with the current situation in STEM. |
| D．Girls are looked down upon in jobs related to STEM. |
Which of the following is right about Technovation Challenge?
| A．It was founded by the government. |
| B．It is intended for girls of all ages. |
| C．It helps girl to overcome difficulties in their life. |
| D．It gives girls chances to learn knowledge about technology companies. |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendship doesn’t last long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be good friend means learning three rules: be honest;be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose the friend’s trust. Good friends always count on one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to friend. They tell your friend what is important to you. By sharing them, you help your friend know better.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand. You must try to put yourself in your friend’s place so you can understand the problem better.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three thinks in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because_______.
| A．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| B．there are too many people who want to make friends |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others. |
| D．they don’t know friendship is something serious. |
According to the passage honesty is_________.
| A．something countable |
| B．the base of friendship |
| C．as important as money |
| D．more important than anything else |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．Discussing your problems with your friends often helps to solve the problem. |
| D．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
The best title of this passage is_________.
| A．Honesty Is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C．How to Be Friends |
| D．Three Important Points in Life |
What’s the meaning of “count on” in the second paragraph?
| A．期望，依赖 | B．认为 |
| C．重视 | D．数，点（数） |
We all know that if we want to keep our body in good shape we have to do physical exercise regularly as well as be careful with what we eat. What we tend to forget is that this goes for our eyes as well. Medical science confirms that a diet rich in carotenoids (类胡萝卜素) can help maintain good vision(维持好视力) and prevent against a number of eye diseases. Here's some advice about how to choose the right diet to keep your eyes healthy.
— Eat orange food. Fruits and vegetables with orange flesh are rich in carotenoids. In addition to carrots，oranges，pumpkins and sweet potatoes are also available. All of these contain high levels of carotenoids，which help to maintain good vision.
— Include dark green vegetables，such as spinach (菠菜) and broccoli (西兰花) in your diet, to act as natural sunglasses. Recent scientific studies have shown that these vegetables can help block (阻挡) the damaging UV radiation(紫外线辐射)from the sun's rays.
— Prevent some eye diseases with orange juice, yellow corn, whole milk, nuts and leafy vegetables. These foods are good sources of vitamins A, C, D and E. All of these are necessary to good eye health.
— Increase your intake of omega¬3 with some sea fish, and some other seafood. Omega-3 helps build cell walls and is especially beneficial to keeping eyes healthy .It also helps regulate the eye's internal pressure and helps the eye dry up excess fluid.We can learn from the first paragraph that healthy food .
| A．keeps eyes healthy |
| B．means you don't need exercise |
| C．can help cure eye diseases efficiently(有效地) |
| D．means people don't have to wear glasses |
Why should people eat orange food according to the text？
| A．It is beneficial to building cell walls in eyes. |
| B．It is more delicious than other food. |
| C．It is good for eyesight. |
| D．It is rich in various vitamins. |
Which of the following can help block the damaging UV radiation from the sun's rays？
| A．Pumpkins. | B．Juice. |
| C．Nuts. | D．Broccoli. |
The purpose of the text is to tell people how to .
| A．keep their body in good shape |
| B．choose a healthy diet for their eyes |
| C．prevent serious eye diseases |
| D．get natural sunglasses from food |
A romantic message-in-a-bottle discovered by a mother and daughter at a Scottish beach has sparked（触发） a mystery about whether it could have travelled 5,000 miles across the seas from China.
Nicola MacFarlane, 41, and daughter Lucy, four, from Portobello, near Edinburgh, were looking for driftwood（浮木） on Portobello Beach when they came across an old glass bottle containing a note inside written in Mandarin. Now the family are trying to work out if the letter has managed the extraordinary journey across the Philippine Sea, into the Indian Ocean and through both the South Atlantic and the North Atlantic Ocean’s before washing up on the shores of Great Britain.
It was written on Chinese Valentine’s Day or Qixi Festival as it is more traditionally known, lunar July 7, 2012, so it sent off as recently as six days ago because it followed the modern calendar, which celebrated the occasion on August 23. Nicola was still excited to read about the Chinese love story after having it translated.
“I really do hope that it is from China but even it is from nearer to home, it’s still a lovely gesture and an inspiring find. It’s a love story regardless of where it came from. Nicola, who runs a beach art business in Portobello, added: “I’m always at the beach looking for bits of driftwood but I’ve never come across anything like this before. We knew it was Chinese, but we had no idea what it said.’
Unable to read the Mandarin text, Nicola turned to the internet and her Australian friend, Julie Gould, whose daughter attended a Chinese school in Sydney.
Several hours later Julie returned with the news that it was in fact a love letter.
The translated letter reads: “Da Hai(Ocean), I hope no-one will get this bottle, as we just wish you can hear our voice, and get your blessing. Today is the Chinese Valentine’s Day, we pray that our relationship will last forever and we will have a long happy life together…”
Nicola said: “It sounds to me like the couple are in love but cannot be together so they have sent the message to tell the world of their love.”When did Nicola and her daughter come across the message-in-bottle?
| A．On July 15, 2012. | B．On August 29, 2012. |
| C．On August 31, 2012. | D．On September 2, 2012. |
What were Nicola and her daughter probably doing when they found the bottle?
| A．They were walking on the beach. |
| B．They were washing hands and feet. |
| C．They were looking for the driftwoods. |
| D．They were lying on the beach resting. |
The underlined word “Mandarin” probably means “” .
| A．Scottish | B．British |
| C．English | D．Chinese |
We can learn from the passage that Nicola__________.
| A．thinks the letter was written to show love |
| B．had expected to get something unusual |
| C．knows a little Chinese |
| D．found the bottle was from a nearby place |
President Abraham Lincoln often visited hospitals to talk with wounded soldiers during the Civil War.Once，Lincoln went over to the bedside of a young dying soldier.
“Is there anything I can do for you？”asked the President. The soldier obviously didn't recognize Lincoln, and with some effort he was able to whisper, “Would you please write a letter to my mother？”
So the President carefully began writing down the soldier's words，“My dearest mother, I was badly hurt while doing my duty. I'm afraid I'm not going to recover. Don't grieve too much for me, please. Kiss my sister Mary for me.May God bless you and Father.”
The soldier was too weak to continue, so Lincoln signed the letter for him and added, “Written for your son by Abraham Lincoln.”The young man asked to see the note and was astonished when he discovered who had written it.“Are you really the President？”he asked. “Yes, I am，”replied Lincoln quietly.Then he asked if there was anything else he could do.“Would you please hold my hand？”asked the soldier.“It will help to see me through to the end.”
In the quiet room, the tall gaunt (憔悴的)President took the soldier's hand and spoke warm words of encouragement until death came.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The dying soldier was filled with love. |
| B．Lincoln only signed his name in the letter instead of the soldier's. |
| C．The soldier was the only child in his family. |
| D．Lincoln often wrote letters for the wounded. |
When the soldier's mother read the letter, she would probably be________.
| A．sad but feel greatly relieved |
| B．apologetic but grateful |
| C．calm and thankful |
| D．sorry and feel it unexpected |
The underlined word “grieve” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by“________”．
| A．feel worried | B．feel sad | C．cry | D．miss |
In writing the passage，the author intends to________.
| A．tell us war is cruel |
| B．make us laugh |
| C．draw our attention |
| D．tell us Lincoln was great |
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town. But it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the snow. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking the baskets with him.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked: “Are these yours?” “Yes, sir.” the farmer answered timidly(胆怯地)。”Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” the farmer said in a hurry.” When did you see the dead man?” ”About seven last evening.” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, Sir.” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” ”No, Sir.’ The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and send him into prison.
That evening the officer went on trying .Pointing to the knife, he asked again,” Have you seen it yet?” ”Yes, Sir.” The officer was happy and asked,” When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”The farmer decided to sell the vegetables to.
| A．buy some food for his family |
| B．buy some medicine for his wife |
| C．go to see a doctor |
| D．go to the cinema |
The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because.
| A．they were too bad |
| B．they were very expensive |
| C．it rained hard that morning |
| D．few people liked to go out on such a bad day |
As, the farmer decided to help the person to stand up.
| A．he wanted to get some money from him. |
| B．the person was one of his friends |
| C．he thought the person would thank him. |
| D．he thought the person had drunk too much |
The farmer ran away quickly because.
| A．the policemen were coming towards him. |
| B．his wife was waiting for him at home |
| C．he was afraid to see a dead man. |
| D．it was so late that he couldn’t stay there any longer. |