While I was in my 4th month of pregnancy（妊娠期）with my second child，we were preparing for a trip to Louisiana，where Marshall’s family live，to celebrate Jane’s 2nd birthday．Two days before we were to leave，we got the shocking news that I was going to lose the baby．Not knowing when this would happen，we decided to continue with our trip．
Since Marshall’s family lives on a 600-acre cattle farm，you often find that you have a lot of time to yourself to think when you are there．That is precisely what I did not want to do at this time．I told Marshall that I needed to get a good book to get lost in while I was there．I told him I heard the Harry Potter books were good，so he went out and got the first one for me．
During that trip，I totally got lost in the book，which was of great help during a time when I needed a distraction to forget about the sadness．In the book，I noticed the name “Seamus”．I vaguely remembered it was pronounced “Shamus” and I liked the sound of that．I mentioned it to Marshall and he liked it too．Toward the end of the trip，I had just 5 chapters left and I knew I was about to finish the first book，which I was pretty excited about．
Soon after we put Jane down to bed，I had started labor（分娩），so I was unable to read．The labor lasted 5 and 1/2 hours，but Marshall stayed there with me，sitting beside me and reading aloud the last 5 chapters of Harry Potter．I can never fully explain how much that helped me through the experience．And ever since then，Marshall and I both have been fans of the Harry Potter books．We remember how they helped us get through that time of our lives．
We were sad to have lost the baby，but the name Seamus started our journey toward adoption．And we gave this name to our adopted son．Though our Seamus doesn’t have a drop of Irish blood in him，the name fits him perfectly．Why did the writer want a good book during the trip?
| A．Because the trip to Louisiana would take a long time． |
| B．Because she didn’t want to think of losing her baby． |
| C．Because she had nothing else to do except reading． |
| D．Because a good book could help her enjoy her trip． |
According to the story，we can know that the Harry Potter books _________________．
| A．made the family’s trip more exciting |
| B．include five books all together |
| C．have someone called Seamus in them |
| D．can help people deal with their problems |
The writer named her son Seamus because ___________________．
| A．she wanted to keep her trip in memory |
| B．she loved this name very much |
| C．her son doesn’t have Irish blood |
| D．it is a perfect name for a boy |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Funny Stories of My Family |
| B．Seamus And Harry Potter |
| C．How We Got To Louisiana |
| D．How My Son Got His Name |
Russian tradition orders that men should kiss each other three times on the cheeks at official functions. Now, a new ruling in Moscow is calling for politicians in the capital to stick to the old handshake. According to Britain's The Telegraph newspaper, politicians in Moscow have been told to stop kissing each other when they meet because the “kissing ceremony” takes so long.
Leonid Brezhnev, the general secretary of the Communist Party from 1964 to 1982, was famous for treating male colleagues to a full lip-lock. One photograph of him kissing Erich Honecker, the leader of the Democratic Republic of Germany, was used for a protest painting on the Berlin Wall with the caption: "Oh, God, help me survive this deadly love".
Kissing three times on the cheeks at official occasions is a Russian tradition. The practice has been revived among high-ranking officials in past years. In the distant past, a kiss from the tsar (emperor) was the highest sign of recognition. The Moscow ruling, however, has prompted authorities in other cities to consider banning the practice.
Alexei Kleshko, a parliament member in Siberia, said: “Single-sex kisses should be avoided, including at official meetings. It's enough to shake hands. Of course, if one is talking about a long friendship or fatherly relations, it might be OK to embrace. But that's the maximum that should be allowed.”
Another MP Vladimir Gorlov, said he only allowed himself to kiss the hand of a woman at work: "There are informal relations and there are meetings governed by protocol," he said. “When a man is kissing another man at an official event, I have a negative attitude towards it. There are rules of decency.
5. Moscow is calling for politicians to stick to handshake because ________.
A. it is popular at home and abroad B. it is their tradition
C. it saves time D. Russian women have a strong love of it
6. By mentioning Brezhnev, the author ________.
A. wants to show his respect to Brezhner
B. admires Brezhnev for his skills at kissing
C. just shows the media made fun of pictures of politicians kissing
D. praises Brezhnev’s good relation with Honecker
7. If the tsar kissed a Russian woman, she would feel ________.
A. nervous B. proud C. shameful D. curious
8. We can infer from the last two paragraphs that ________.
A. Kleshko is strongly against any kind of kiss
B. Kleshko is a man out of date
C. Gorlove shares the same view with Kleshko is single-sex kisses
D. Gorlove won’t kiss any man in any form
It is not unusual to see your desk-mate yawn (打呵欠) as he complains that he didn't have a good sleep the night before. Many teens don't get enough sleep because they have too much homework, which keeps them up at night. Some teens cannot sleep at night even when they want to.
Studies show that during your teenage years, the body's biological clock is reset, telling you to sleep later at night and wake up later in the morning.
But changes in the body clock aren't the only reason teens lose sleep. Lots of people have insomnia (失眠). The most common cause of insomnia is stress. But all sorts of things can lead to insomnia. These include physical discomfort, emotional troubles and even sleeping environment. It's common for everyone to have insomnia from time to time. But if it lasts for a month or more go and see a doctor.
Some people have a condition that causes stomach acid (酸) to move backward towards the chest. This produces the uncomfortable, burning feeling called heartburn. So even if the person doesn't notice the feelings of heartburn because he is sleeping, he may feel tired the next day.
Most teens have nightmares sometimes. But, if they are frequent, a person's sleep pattern can be seriously affected. The most common cause of nightmares is emotional problems, such as stress (压力) or anxiety. If you have them a lot, it's a good idea to talk to a doctor.
Doctors encourage teens to make lifestyle changes to develop good sleeping habits. You probably know that coffee can keep you awake, but did you know that playing video games or watching TV does the same?
1. The main idea of the first paragraph is ________.
A. There is a problem that teenagers can’t get enough sleep.
B. Sleeping problems have different causes.
C. Yawning is a good way to get rid of sleep.
D. Teenagers care too much for homework.
2. The Teenagers’ biological clock ________.
A. easily makes teenagers lead to insomnia
B. is the origin of their insomnia
C. provides them with plenty of time at night
D. is helpful to improve their concentration(注意力)
3. What does the writer say about “nightmares”?
A. It is nothing and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
B. It can release their stress or anxiety.
C. Emotional problems are the only way to form nightmares.
D. People will suffer from sleep if frequent.
4. Which way can help to get rid of insomnia?
A. Drinking some coffee before going to bed.
B. Playing video game or watching TV from time to time.
C. Turning to a doctor for help.
D. Eating much medicine for insomnia.
Half of all bosses say a lack of sleep makes them irritable (易怒的) and prone to(有……倾向的) shout at their staff, a study said.
One in five managers also said being kept awake at night meant they were more likely to make mistakes, the Mori poll of 1,006 people revealed(显示).
Some 48% of people aged 35 to 44 said they did not get enough sleep compared to a national average 39%.
Among that age group, people with young children and managerial (管理的) jobs were most likely to suffer.
The report, commissioned (委托) by the think tank Demos and Ikea, said the issue of sleep had been forgotten in the work / life balance debate.
Report author Charles Leadbeater said, "On any working day, a quarter of all managers in Britain are likely to be in a bad mood because they have not slept well. "
"These sleep-deprived and shouty managers with a tendency to make mistakes are responsible for millions of British workers. It’s hardly a recipe for good management. "
And Mr. Leadbeater called on the government and employers to take action.
A small loss of sleep is likely to have a big impact on people who lead stressful lives.
"Stressed out parents are already not sleeping enough. They are the people most likely to have their sleep disrupted and they are least able to recover."
Apart from children keeping their parents awake, worrying about work is the biggest cause of wakefulness at night among managers.
Women are five times more likely than men to lose sleep because their partners snore (打呼噜).
The report predicted that there was likely to be a growing market of sleep-deprived people, with an increase in "public napping".
Opportunities to take a nap at work are also likely to increase, and the report recommended that employers take their responsibility for ensuring employees were well slept more seriously.
Peter Jelkeby, marketing manager at Ikea, said the research confirmed suspicions Britons were not getting enough sleep.
And he added: "This is having a detrimental effect on our society as a whole. "
9. Which of following is true according to the text?
A. Half of the people say a lack of sleep makes them irritable.
B. 20% managers said being kept awake at night meant they were more likely to make mistakes.
C. Some 48% of people said they did not get enough sleep.
D. People with young children and managerial jobs were most likely to suffer.
10. What does the underlined word "detrimental" mean?
A 良好的. B.有害的 C.片面的 D.致命的
11. Who that suffered sleep disrupted are least able to recover?
A. The bosses. B. Managers.
C. People aged 35 to 44.D. Stressed out parents.
12. Apart from children keeping: their parents awake, ________is the biggest cause of wakefulness at night among managers.
A. worrying about work B. their partners’ snoring
C. the relationship D. working conditions
Land, unlike labor and capital, has a special feature: It is in strictly fixed supply in total. Because of this, we say that its price is demand-determined. In other words, the price of land is determined completely by what families and firms are willing to pay for it. But not all the land is the same. Some land is more valuable than other land. The value of land to a potential user may depend upon the characteristics of the land itself or upon its location.
Consider the potential uses of a piece of land in a suburb of Kansas City, Allan wants to build a clothing store in that place. He estimates that he can earn economic profits of $ 10,000 per year there because of the land’s excellent location. Bella, another person interested in buying the comer, believes that she can earn $ 35,000 in economic profits if she builds a drug store there. Clearly, Bella will be more likely to get the land.
Because location is often the key to profits, ‘landowners are frequently able to squeeze their renters. One of the most popular locations in the Boston area, for example, is Harvard Square. There are dozens of restaurants in and around the square, and most of them are full most of the time. Despite this seeming success, most Harvard Square restaurant owners are not getting rich, because they must pay very high rents for the locations of their restaurants. A large part of the restaurant’s revenues goes to rent the land.
Although the supply of land is generally perfectly fixed, the supply of land in a given use may not be so. As the population of a city grows, housing developers find themselves willing to pay more and more for land. As land becomes more valuable for development, some farmers sell out, and the supply of land that can be used for development increases.
5. What’s the difference between land and other resources?
A. Land’s supply is strictly fixed. B. The prices of other resources are lower.
C. Land can’t be used up. D. Land is more useful.
6. Which of the following can’t determine the price of a piece of land?
A. Its location. B. Its purchasers’ purpose.
C. The total amount of its supply for general use. D. Its features.
7. Which of the following is wrong according to the passage?
A. The price of a piece of land is changeable.
B. The profit of a shop is often determined by its location.
C. Most Harvard Square restaurant owners would be getting rich, if they paid lower rents for the locations of their restaurants.
D. The supply of land for development might fall down.
8. Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A. The Use of Land B. The Natural Resources
C. The Land Market D. The Land Development
Within fifteen years Britain and other nations should be well on with the building of huge industrial complexes (结合)for the recycling of waste. The word "rubbish" could lose its meaning because everything that goes into the dumps would be made into something useful. Even the most dangerous and unpleasant wastes would provide energy if nothing else.
The latest project is to take a city of around half a million inhabitants and discover exactly what raw materials go into it and what go out. The aim is to find out how much of these raw materials could be provided if a plant for recycling waste were built just outside the city. This plant would recycle not only metal such as steel, lead and copper, but also paper and rubber.
Another new project is being set up to discover the best ways of sorting and separating the rubbish. When this project is complete, the rubbish will be processed like this: first, it will pass through sharp metal bars which will tear open the plastic bags in which rubbish is usually packed; then it will pass through a powerful fan to separate the lightest elements from the heavy solids; after that grounders and rollers break up everything that can be broken. Finally the rubbish will pass under magnets, which will remove the bits of iron and steel; the rubber and plastic will then be sorted out in the final stage.
The first full-scale giant recycling plants are, perhaps, fifteen years away. Indeed, with the growing cost of transporting rubbish to more distant dumps, some big cities will be forced to build their own recycling plants before long.
1. The main purpose of the passage is ________.
A. to show us a future way of recycling wastes B. to tell the importance of recycling wastes
C. to warn people the danger of some wastes D. to introduce a new recycling plant
2. How many stages are there in the recycling process?
A. 3. B. 4. C. 5. D. 6.
3. What is the main reason for big cities to build their own recycling plants?
A. To deal with wastes in a better way. B. It’s a good way to gain profits.
C. It’s more economical than to dump wastes in some distant places.
D. Energy can be got at a lower price.
4. The first full-scale huge recycling plants ________.
A. have been in existence for 15 years B. takes 15 years to build
C. can’t be built until 15 years later D. will remain functioning for 15 years