Eyesight problems are common among all ages and if they are left untreated, they can cause serious headaches or other problems. The good news is that most eyesight problems can easily be sorted out by wearing glasses.
Regular eye tests are important for everyone. Children and teenagers, under the age of 16 and up to the age of 19 for those full-time education, have the right to have eye tests for free in Britain. As the eye test is free, theres no excuse for not having a regular eye test. Doctors suggest that its better to have an eye test about once a year.
Wearing glasses isnt always regarded as all that cool and teens who suddenly need to wear glasses may find it difficult to accept. If theyve grown up wearing glasses, then they may be more used to it. However, if your eyes are in poor health, not wearing glasses can put even more pressure on your eyes and could make them even worse.
Thankfully, the days of little choice of glasses frames (框架) for teenagers are gone and there’s now a wide selection of frames. If a teen does need to wear glasses, then it’s good to let him or her choose the type, as he or she will be able to choose something he or she feels comfortable. Dont forget to be guided by the experts on glasses too.According to the text, teens in the UK ______.
| A．have few eyesight problems |
| B．can design their own glasses |
| C．change their glasses very often |
| D．can check their eyes without paying |
How often do doctors suggest teens to have an eye test?
| A．Once a month. |
| B．Once every six months. |
| C．Once a year. |
| D．Twice a year. |
It can be learned from the text that teens ______.
| A．find it difficult to buy comfortable glasses |
| B．prefer to wear cool glasses at an early age |
| C．are advised to wear glasses if their eyesight is poor |
| D．think they are much cooler when wearing glasses |
In the past, teens who wanted to buy glasses ______.
| A．were unable to find the right glasses |
| B．only had a few styles to choose from |
| C．could not find an expert to ask for advice |
| D．were worried about the quality of glasses |
What makes a house a home?
Not size, of course．I’ve been in some of the grandest houses in America, and it’s readily apparent no one lives there．Earlier this year, I had dinner in a mud hut in Ethiopia, where we sat on chairs next to the hostess’ bed -- a home that had more warmth than any house I’ve been in since．
Now John Edwards is exploring what makes a house a home in his just-released Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives．There Edwards writes, " This is a book about homes, the values they rest on, the dreams they are filled with, and the people they have shaped．The houses and circumstances are different, but much of what you find inside will be familiar．"
Whether you’re sitting in an airport right now, waiting to fly to your childhood home for Thanksgiving, or in your own home waiting for the relatives to arrive, you know what he’s talking about．
We’ve lived in our townhouse for 21 years．The loose windows that make noise in the wind．The fireplace so shallow it holds only one log．The kitchen window that offers a view of the world passing by．It’s where friends sit on the kitchen counter drinking wine while dinner is being fixed．I lived there for only 18, but it will always be my true home．Even the lamp in the west living room window, which I could see far down the road when driving home late at night, still shines．
While all this talk about childhood memories can be warm and comforting, home is whom you’re with, not where you are．As Edwards writes, "Home is family．Home is safety．Home is faith．"
Happy homecoming．What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Home Means Everything | B．What’s Inside Makes Us Feel at Home |
| C．Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives | D．The Importance of the Home |
The purpose of the second paragraph is to __
| A．mean the author likes living in grandest houses |
| B．prove the author got along well with the hostess |
| C．mean the feeling of home isn’t related to the size |
| D．show the author’s different feelings about houses |
About the book Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives, we know that __
| A．it was the description of Edwards’ houses |
| B．it is mainly about houses |
| C．it helps us understand the concept of home |
| D．it was written by the author of the text |
What did the author mainly mean when he mentioned the loose windows and the shallow fireplace ?
| A．His house was too old to live in． | B．He missed the feelings of home． |
| C．He hated living there． | D．He missed his old friends too much． |
It can be inferred according to the text that __
| A．the author’s family were very rich | B．every happy home is the same |
| C．the author has been living a hard life | D．the author and Edwards hold similar ideas |
WHAT happens to a teenage kid when the world he thought he knew suddenly changes? Find out in Little Brother by American author Cory Doctorow．It is a fascinating book for a new generation of sci-fi readers．
Marcus Yallow, 17, from San Francisco is much more comfortable in front of a computer than obeying the rules of society．Smart, fast and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting （骗过） his high school’s monitoring system．This way he and his friends get to head off to play a popular online game in real life．
While they are playing, a bomb explodes on the Bay Bridge．Marcus stops a military vehicle to get help for his injured friend, but this simple act throws him into a Department of Homeland Security （DHS） secret prison．There he is treated as a possible terrorist．He is eventually let go after four days, but his injured friend disappears．
When he returns, Marcus discovers that there are many "security measures" in place and that now all citizens are treated like potential terrorists．While some consider this government action necessary for public safety, Marcus sees this as a complete destruction of the rights he is supposed to have as a citizen．
He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him with only one thing to do: to take down the DHS himself．He helps organize a large network called Xnet to spread the truth, anonymously （匿名地）．
The book presents a young man who is irresponsible, but learns about himself, and grows, in the course of the story．As part of this learning and growing he becomes aware of very serious issues about his society．What kind of article does this passage belong to?
| A．A fascinating story | B．A book review |
| C．A News report | D．A TV programme |
The underlined word “destruction” in the passage means．
| A．damage | B．reward | C．ruin | D．protection |
Marcus Yallow was sent to prison because．
| A．he killed his friend |
| B．he bombed a military vehicle |
| C．he did something that a possible terrorist could do |
| D．his injured friend disappeared |
From the second paragraph we can infer that．
| A．Marcus Yallow is much more comfortable obeying the rules of society |
| B．Marcus Yallow is smart, fast and wise in real life |
| C．Marcus Yallow always plays online games in real life |
| D．Marcus Yallow is expert at the network world |
At the end of the book, Marcus Yallow．
| A．is supposed to be more irresponsible |
| B．becomes aware of very serious issues about his society |
| C．presents a young man who is irresponsible |
| D．plays a popular online game in real life |
Winners Club
You choose to be a winner!
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account (交易账户) where you receive a key – card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
It’s a club with impressive features for teenagers:
●No account keeping fees!
You’re no millionaire so we don’t expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
●Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits (储蓄) without taking them out in a month.
●Convenient
Teenagers are busy – we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet … You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part – time job!
●Mega magazine included
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key – card) but it is easy. We can’t want to hear from you. It’s the best way to choose to be a winner!The Winners Club is a bank account intended for .
| A．parents | B．teenagers | C．winners | D．adults |
Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
| A．Special gifts are ready for parents. |
| B．The bank opens only on work days. |
| C．Services are convenient for its members. |
| D．Fees are necessary for the account keeping. |
The Winners Club provides magazines which .
| A．encourage spending |
| B．are free to all teenagers |
| C．are full of adventure stories |
| D．help to make more of your money |
If you want to be a member of the Club, you must .
| A．be an Internet user |
| B．be permitted by your parent |
| C．have a big sum of money |
| D．be in your twenties |
What is the purpose of this text?
| A．To set up a club. |
| B．To provided part – time jobs. |
| C．To organize key – cards. |
| D．To introduce a new banking service. |
Christopher Thomas, 27, was a writer by night and a teacher by day when he noticed he was always tired and was losing weight fast. Diagnosed with diabetes(糖尿病), Thomas would need to inject himself with insulin(胰岛素) three times a day for the rest of his life or risk nerve damage, blindness, and even death. And if that weren’t bad enough, he had no health insurance.
After a month of feeling upset, Thomas decided he’d better find a way to fight back. He left Canton, Michigan for New York, got a job waiting tables, nicknamed himself the Diabetic Rockstar, and created diabeticrockstar.com, a free online community for diabetics and their loved ones—a place where over 1,100 people share personal stories, information, and resources.
Jason Swencki’s son, Kody, was diagnosed with type diabetes at six. Father and son visit the online children’s forums(论坛) together most evenings. "Kody gets so excited, writing to kids from all over," says Swencki, one of the site’s volunteers. "They know what he’s going through, so he doesn’t feel alone."
Kody is anything but alone: Diabetes is now the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, with 24 million diagnosed cases. And more people are being diagnosed at younger ages.
These days, Thomas’s main focus is his charity（慈善机构）, Fight It, which provides medicines and supplies to people—225 to date—who can’t afford a diabetic’s huge expenses. Fight-it.org has raised about $23,000—in products and in cash. In May, Thomas will hold the first annual Diabetic Rockstar Festival in the Caribbean.
Even with a staff of 22 volunteers, Thomas often devotes up to 50 hours a week to his cause, while still doing his full-time job waiting tables. "Of the diabetes charities out there, most are putting money into finding a cure," says Bentley Gubar, one of Rockstar’s original members. "But Christopher is the only person I know saying people need help now."Which of the following is true of Christopher Thomas?
| A．He needs to go to the doctor every day. |
| B．He studies the leading cause of diabetes |
| C．He has a positive attitude to this disease. |
| D．He encourages diabetics by writing articles. |
Diabeitcrockstar.com was created for _________.
| A．diabetics to communicate | B．volunteers to find jobs |
| C．children to amuse themselves | D．rock stars to share resources. |
According to the text, Kody ______.
| A．feel lonely because of his illness |
| B．benefits from diabeticrockstar.com |
| C．helps create the online kid’s forums |
| D．writes children’s stories online |
What can we learn about Fight It?
| A．It helps the diabetics in financial difficulties. |
| B．It organizes parties for volunteer once a year. |
| C．It offers less expensive medicine to diabetics. |
| D．It owns a well-known medical website. |
The last paragraph suggests that Thomas ______.
| A．works full-time in a diabetes charity |
| B．employs 22 people for his website |
| C．helps diabetics in his own way |
| D．ties to find a cure for diabetes |
If you look for a book as a present for a child, you will be spoiled for choice even in a year when there is no new Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling’s wizard is not alone: the past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and in turn led to increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings.
Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children. According to statistics, in 1997 23% said they didn’t like reading at all. In 2003, 35% did. And around 6% of children leave primary school each year unable to read properly.
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability（可利用性）of computer games. Maybe the books boom（繁荣）has affected only the top of the educational pile. Either way, Chancellor Gordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class. In his pre-budget（预算） report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most.
Reading Recovery is aimed at six-year-olds, who receive four months of individual daily half- hour classes with a specially trained teacher. An evaluation earlier this year reported that children on the scheme made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress, and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age.
International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school they read well, but read less – often for fun than those elsewhere. Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on（热衷） reading can expect lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator（指示物）of future educational success. According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage.Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?
| A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films. |
| B．Many high-quality children’s books have been published. |
| C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films. |
| D．The sales of presents for children have increased. |
Statistics suggested that ___.
| A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers. |
| B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading. |
| C．a minority of primary school children read properly. |
| D．a large percentage of children read regularly. |
What do we know about Reading Recovery?
| A．An education of it will be made sometime this year. |
| B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking. |
| C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading. |
| D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading. |
Reading for fun is important because book-loving children ____.
| A．takes greater advantage of the project. |
| B．shows the potential to enjoy a long life. |
| C．is likely to succeed in their education. |
| D．would make excellent future researchers. |
The aim of this text would probably be ____.
| A．to overcome primary school pupils’ reading difficulty. |
| B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books. |
| C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun. |
| D．to introduce a way to improve early childhood reading. |