If you need glasses to read this, you are among the majority of Chinese students. That’s because most students in China are short-sighted which means they can only see things close up and distant things will be blurry. Four-fifths of high school students wear glasses and now more and more children in primary school need glasses, too.
This epidemic of poor eyesight has two very simple causes: too much time spent indoors studying and too little time spent outdoors playing. Reading and writing for hours and hours, sometimes in poorly lighted rooms, causes eyesight to weaken. But students have to do this because there is so much pressure on them to succeed in school. And because they spend so much time indoors at school and at home, they have less time to spend outdoors enjoying the sun.
The sun, as a consequence, is important in developing good eyesight. Exposure to daylight releases a chemical in the eyes that prevents, or at least delays, short-sightedness. According to a study by Ian Morgan of Australian National University, Australian children and Chinese children have the same level of eyesight before they start school, but once they enter primary school, Chinese children only spend about an hour a day outside, while Australian children spend three to four hours each day in the sunshine. The result is that while about 40 percent of Chinese primary school students need glasses, only three percent of Australian children do.
Wearing glasses may not seem like a big deal. For some, wearing glasses can even be an opportunity to make a fashion statement. But poor eyesight at a young age can have serious long term consequences. As you get older, your eyesight can worsen and lead to things like macular degeneration(黄斑变性), a condition of the eyes for which there is no cure and which can eventually lead to blindness.
With all that in mind, don’t you think it’s time to give your eyes a break? Try spending a little less time inside and go for a walk in the park, instead. It’s the healthy thing to do and your eyes will thank you for it.What does the underlined word “blurry” mean?
| A．unpopular. | B．unpleasant. |
| C．unclear. | D．unconscious. |
How should the students protect their eyesight according to the passage?
| A．They should study less and less. |
| B．They should stay longer outdoors. |
| C．They should wear sun-glasses. |
| D．They should have a longer rest in bed. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _____ is to blame for the poor eyesight of Chinese children.
| A．the ever-worsening bad weather |
| B．the ever-increasing burden of study |
| C．the ever-decreasing sunny days |
| D．the ever-decreasing period of study time |
What is the purpose of this article?
| A．To explain why Chinese students are poor-sighted. |
| B．To admire Australian children’s good eyesight. |
| C．To criticize the present education system. |
| D．To call on people to protect Chinese children’s eyesight |
I don't ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. There was a ti
me in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what
it's like to work in a field dominated by men. I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.
At 19, when I began studyi
ng astrophysics(天体物理学), it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom. But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as 3 post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. My every achievement—jobs, research papers, awards— was viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics. So were my failures. Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.
Then one day a few years ag
o, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I don't talk about that anymore. It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didn't want to deal with gender issues. Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? After all, I don't study sociology or political theory.
Today I research and teach at Barnard, a women's college in New York City. Recently, someone asked me how many of the 45 students in my class were women. You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer: 45. I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children. And I don't dismiss those concerns. Still, I don't tell them "war" stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments. And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And that's a sight worth talking about..
From Paragraph 2, we can infer that people would attribute(归因于) the author's failures to_____.
| A．the very fact that she is a woman |
| B．her involvement in gender politics |
| C．her over-confidence as a female astrophysicist |
| D．the burden she bears in a male-dominated society |
.
What did the author constantly fight against while doing her Ph.D. and post-doctoral research?
A. Lack of confidence in succeeding in space science.
B. Unfair accusations from both inside and outside her circle.
C. People's stereotyped attitude towards female scientists.
D. Widespread misconceptions about nature and nurture.
Why does the author feel great satisfaction when talking about her class?
| A．Female students no longer have to worry about gender issues. |
| B．Her students' performance has brought back her confidence. |
| C．Her female students can do just as well as male students. |
| D．More female students are pursuing science than before. |
.
What does the image the author presents to her students suggest?
| A．Women students needn't have the concerns of her generation. |
B． Women have more barriers on their way to academic success. |
| C．Women can balance a career in science and having a family. |
| D．Women now have fewer discrimination problems about science career. |
Job sharing refers to the situation in which two people divide the responsibility of one full-time job．The two people will
ingly act as part-time workers, enough hours between them to fulfill the duties of a full-time worker．If they each work half the job, for example, they each receive 50 per c
ent of the job's wages, its holidays and its other benefits．
Job sharing differs from conventional （常规的） part-time work in that it occurs mainly in the more highly skilled and professional areas, which require higher levels of responsibility and employee commitment． Job sharing should not be confused with the term work sharing, which refers to increasing the number of jobs by reducing the number of hours of each existing job, thus offering more positions to the growing number of unemployed people．Job sharing, by contrast, is not designed to address unemployment problems; its focus, rather, is to provide well-paid work for skilled workers and professionals who want more free time for other activities．
As would be expected, most job sharers are women．A survey carried out in 1988 by Britain's Equal Opportunities Commission showed that 78 per cent of sharers were female, the majority of whom were between 20 and 40 years of age．Subsequent studies have come up with similar results．Many of these women were re-entering the job market after having had children, but they chose not to seek part-time work because it would have meant lower status．Job sharing also offered an acceptable shift back into full-time work after a long absence．
The necessity of close cooperation when sharing a job with another person makes the actual work quite different from conventional one-position jobs．However, to ensure a greater chance that the partnership will succeed, each person needs to know the strengths, weaknesses and preferences of his or her partner before applying for a position．Moreover, there must be a fair division of both routine tasks and interesting ones．In sum, for a position to be job-shared well, the two individuals must be well matched and must treat each other as equals．.
In what way is work sharing different from job sharing?
| A．Work sharing requires more working hours． |
| B．Work sharing is aimed at creating more jobs． |
| C．Work sharing provides a more satisfactory salary． |
| D．Work sharing depends on the employer's decision． |
.
According to Paragraph 4, young mothers preferred job sharing to conventional part-time work mainly because _____．
| A．they sought higher social status |
| B．they were over ideal working ages |
| C．they had difficulty finding full-time jobs |
D．they had to take care of both work and family |
.
In jo
b sharing the partners should _____．
| A．enjoy equal social status |
| B．have similar work experience |
| C．keep in touch with each other |
| D．know each other very well |
.
The main purpose of the passage is to ______．
| A．describe job sharing in general |
| B．discuss how to provide more jobs |
| C．recommend job sharing to women |
| D．compare job sharing with work sharing |
阅读下列短文，从每小题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
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His mother came from Kansas. His father came from Kenya. He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia, far from the center of American politics. Few people had even heard of Brack Obama before 2004. Bt one powerful speech in Boston changed all that for the Illinois senator(参议员). In 2008, this inspiring leader ran for the country’s top job, President.
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Growing up, Danica Patrick dreamed of racing in the Indianapolis 500. In 2005, her dream came true. Danica finished the race in fourth place, the best ever result by a woman. Three years later, she became the first female to win an IndyCar race. As a woman competing in a sport dominated by men, Danica faced many obstacles. But she never stopped believing in herself, no matter what the difficulties.
Book 3: Ellen Ochoa
Grades: 3-5
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Some people dream of becoming stars. Ellen Ochoa dreamed of living among them! She worked hard to make her dream of becoming an astronaut come true. On April 8, 1993, she strapped (用带子系好)herself in for the ride of her life aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Ochoa aimed high and boldly went where no Hispanic woman had gone before. Find out about Ochoa’s amazing journey in her own words and photos from her personal collection!
Book 4: LeBron James
Grades: 3-5
Our Price: $ 8.95
Fans, teammates, and opponents know him as King James. Many people consider LeBron James to be the most talented basketball Player of his generation. But there is much more to his story. He overcame hard times as a kid and rose to national fame as a teenager. He then jumped right from high school to the pros. Along the way, LeBron never lost sight of where he came from or who he is..
What do the four books have in common according to the passage?
| A．Their prices are the same and they are all about famous leaders. |
| B．They are all about Africans and their contributions to society. |
| C．They are written for the same grades and their prices are the same. |
| D．They are for the same readers and printed by the same publisher. |
.
Emma is dreaming of being a car racer. Who can be an example to her?
| A．Brack Obama | B． Danica Patrick | C．Ellen Ochoa | D．LeBron James |
.
If John wants to learn something about becoming a basketball player, which book should he read?
| A．Brack Obama | B． Danica Patrick | C．Ellen Ochoa | D．LeBron James |
.
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Obama was popular with most of the people in America before he ran for president. |
| B．In 2005, Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an IndyCar race. |
| C．Ochoa is the first Hispanic woman to have gone aboard the space shuttle Discovery for the ride. |
D．LeBron James is the most talented basketball p layer. |
A few days ago my wife sent me out to buy something. When I came home, I handed(交给) her a paper bag and said, “Here are the apples you wanted.” She looked in the bag, and then she looked at me. “I told you,” she said slowly, “to buy some eggs.”
I felt worried about my absent-mindedness, so I went to see a doctor. He was a very kind man. “I have seen many people like you. It’s nothing to worry about,” he said. “If you know you are absent-minded, you are all right. But if you do not know you’re absent-minded, you may be really in trouble.”
“Many famous people were absent-minded,” the doctor told me. “Thomas Edison(爱迪生)was standing in line(排队) one day to pay his taxes(税). When he arrived at the window, he found that he had forgotten his own name. He had to ask the man who was behind him to tell him who he was.”
I felt much better and got up to leave. “Thank you, doctor,” I said. “How much do I have to pay you?”
“Ten dollars for the check-up(检查),” the doctor said.
“But doctor, I did not have a check-up!”
For a moment the doctor looked puzzled. Then he said, “Oh, yes, it was the patient before you who had a check-up. How absent-minded I am!”It can be inferred from Paragraph 1 that when the author’s wife heard what her husband told her, she was ______.
| A．excited | B．surprised | C．sad | D．proud |
The doctor took Edison’s story for example ______.
| A．to show absent-mindedness is common among people |
| B．because he liked telling stories |
| C．to make the author laugh |
| D．to make fun of Edison |
The underlined word “absent-mindedness” in the second paragraph probably means ______.
| A．a feeling of anger |
| B．a feeling of sadness |
| C．an emotion (情绪) of excitement |
| D．a trouble in which people often forget this or that |
According to the passage, who was (were) absent-minded?
| A．Only the author. | B．The author’s wife. |
| C．The author and the doctor. | D．The doctor alone. |
The world is filled with many interesting sounds. Some are very pleasant to hear; others are unpleasant to our ears. In a day, you probably hear hundre
ds of different sounds.
All sounds are different. Some may be soft; others may be loud. Some sounds are high; others are low.
Some sounds are useful. Without sound we c
annot talk or listen to one another. The ringing alarm clock (闹钟)makes people wake up. The hooting of a horn (喇叭声) on the road warns careless people of danger.
We make sounds by making things move to and fro(来回地). This to-and-fro movement is called vibration (振动). It means moving up and down or forwards(向前地) and backwards(向后的) very fast. This makes sound waves(波).
We can make sounds in many ways, for example, by shouting, clapping our hands and striking the table. We can make sounds only by making things vibrate. We can talk because we can make our vocal cords (声带) vibrate. Our vocal cords are in a sound box or voice box. Two vocal cords vibrate when our lungs(肺) force the air through them. We can make sounds ______.
| A．by making things still |
| B．by making things vibrate |
| C．by making things jump up and down |
| D．by changing the positions of things |
Some sounds are useful because ______.
| A．they can wake people up |
| B．they can warn people to be careful when they are crossing the road |
| C．they make it possible for people to talk or listen to each other |
| D．all of the above |
When the air is through our vocal cords, it can make them ______.
| A．vibrate | B．breathe the air |
| C．talk to each other | D．move forward and backward |
Sounds are different because ______.
| A．different sounds have different vibrations |
| B．different sounds have different sound waves |
| C．different sounds have different vocal cords |
| D．both A and B |