DearSantaClaus,MynameisAmy.Iam-优题课

While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “Empty Nest Syndrome”（空巢综合症）.
In order to seek better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”.
According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by _________.

A．their earlier experience of feeling lonely

B．the unfavorable living conditions in their native countries

C．the common worry about their income

D．the geographical distance between parents and children

Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to _________.

A．live in the countries with more money

B．seek a better place for their aged parents

C．continue their studies abroad

D．realize their dreams in foreign countries

If young people go abroad, _________.

A．they do not hold to the value of duty at all

B．they can give some help to their parents back home

C．they cannot do what they should for their parents

D．they believe what they actually do is right

From the last paragraph, we can infer that _________.

A．the situations in the developed and developing countries are different

B．“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society

C．children will become independent as soon as they go abroad

D．the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”

If you walk slowly through downtown Helsinki during the day, taking in the splendid 19th century buildings, white boats and noise of passing trams（有轨电车）, you will start to understand why it is called a city of two colors: white and blue.
The sea is always present in Helsinki. When you take a walk over the great open space of the central square, you will hear seabirds screaming. When you take the tram, suddenly and unexpectedly, you are faced with a calm, shining blue sea. You may notice that people in Helsinki do not rush about as in other cities. Instead, they walk along the roads, politely letting other people by.
A usual way to see Helsinki for the first time is to start out by the boats. You will walk by the elderly women selling fish and vegetables in the market square and find yourself in front of a beautiful park. You may enjoy a pleasant walk in the park for a few hours and then take the tram. Trams are the perfect way to get around in Helsinki. Watching the old houses, parks, theatres, churches, shops, restaurants and people in the streets, you may have a slightly sad film feeling to it.
The pale summer nights are another wonder in the city. Following the waterfront of the city after sunset, you couldn’t help stopping and listening to the sweet silence, interrupted only by the screaming seabirds and leaving fishing boats.
However, in some way, Helsinki is also the most modern city in northern Europe. You will surely want to visit the white Glass Palace, the modern art museum, and all those extremely popular cafes and design stores.
Helsinki is called a city of two colors mainly because of the colors of its _________.

A．19th century buildings, boats and parks

B．19th century buildings, boats and seabirds

C．old houses, parks and trams

D．old buildings, boats and the sea

The best way to see most of Helsinki is to go _________.

A．by boat

B．by bus

C．by tram

D．on foot

The 19th century buildings, the white Glass Palace, popular cafes and design shops in Helsinki all show that Helsinki is _________.

A．both splendid and traditional	B．both quiet and noisy
C．both historical and modern	D．both old and new

This passage is most likely to be found in _________.

A．a story-book	B．a geography textbook
C．a research report	D．a travel magazine

One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decline in parks use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment（蚕食）?” asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That applies to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive（认知的）skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters（培养）leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time, but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite （仪式）of passage.
Everyone from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that cement（增强）love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.
The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that _________.

A．kids are missing the sense of wonder outdoors

B．parks are in danger of being gradually encroached

C．Richard Louv is the author of Last Child in the Woods

D．children are expected to develop into protectors of nature

According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will _________.

A．keep a high sense of wonder

B．be over-protected by their parents

C．be less healthy both physically and mentally

D．change wild places and creatures for the better

According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is _________.

A．the fault on the part of their parents

B．the natural experience in their growing up

C．the result of their own carelessness in play

D．the effect of their repetitive stress from computers

In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to _________.

A．blame children for getting lost in computer games

B．encourage children to protect parks from encroachment

C．show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature

D．inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around

I cry easily. I cried when a boy in the film suffered from an incurable disease. I cried when an athlete broke a world record.
One night my wife and I were going to dinner at a friend ' s．As we went towards the house, I noticed a car pulling out from the sidewalk．Just ahead, another car was waiting to back into the parking space．But before he could do so a yellow car came up from behind and sneaked into the space．
While my wife went ahead into our friend' s house, I stepped into the street．
“Hey,” I said, “this parking space belongs to that guy．” I gestured towards the man ahead, who was looking back angrily．At that moment I was feeling pretty manly．
“ Mind your own business!” the driver told me．
“No,” I said．“You don' t understand．That fellow was waiting to back into this space．”
Things quickly heated up, until finally he jumped out of the car．My God, he was extremely large．He grabbed me and shook his rock of a fist at me．I tasted blood．I was terrified．
Almost in a panic, I ran to my friend ' s front door．As a former Marine （海军） , as a man, I felt absolutely embarrassed as my wife and friends asked me what had happened．All I could say was that I had had an argument about a parking space．They were sensitive and let it go at that．
Perhaps half an hour later, the doorbell rang．For some reason I was sure that the huge man had returned for me．My blood ran cold．My hostess got up to answer it, but I stopped her．I knew I had to face up to my fear．
I opened the door．There he stood．“I came back to apologize,” he said in a low voice．“I am ashamed of myself．The Brooklyn Navy Yard where I've worked for ten years is closing．Today I got laid off．I' m not myself．I hope you’ ll accept my apology．”
I remembered that after I closed the door, I stood there for a few minutes alone with tears in my eyes．
What did the author do when a yellow car drove into the parking space?

A．He beat the driver．

B．He blamed the driver．

C．He asked the driver to apologize．

D．He ran to his friend' s house for help．

What do we know about the yellow car' s driver?

A．He was rude and liked fighting．

B．He was famous for his bad temper．

C．He lost his job and felt terrible that day．

D．He tried to get the author' s parking space．

What does the underlined sentence mean?

A．I became quite calm．

B．I felt extremely frightened．

C．I couldn't move with cold．

D．I was too angry to say anything．

What kind of person is the author?

A．Direct and serious．	B．Humorous and open - minded．
C．Honest and ambitious．	D．Warm - hearted and understanding

Hi guys! I’m Lucy the ladybird and while I’m very much of a lady, I’m not actually a bird but a glowing red bettle(甲虫)with decorative black spots.
I’m a friendly little bug, to be honest, and simply like to be close with my pals as long as they handle me very gently. I don’t bite humans but I do sink my teeth into aphids (蚜虫) which, unlike me, are very harmful to all the plants. I milk the aphids just like people do with cows and I milk them dry of all the sap (汁) they have got from your poor plants. I’m a real gardeners’ friend and love helping out around the place by pollinating (授粉) flowers, tidying up plants’ fallen leaves and helping to turn them into nice rich fertilizer to feed everything both above and below the soil, and naturally, being so attractive to look at, we are perfect living garden decorations.
One thing I can not tolerate is all that poisonous pollution from vehicles, garbage burning and other environmentally unfriendly acts that occur in the cities every single minute of the day and night. Pollution of any kind really chokes me to death, so these days, I only live in clean countryside areas, particularly cool ones where it rains and everything grows fresh and green from spring right through to autumn. In winter, when the weather is too cold for me to bear, then I find a nice place to sleep until the snow has gone and I can come back out to play.
Oh! I almost forgot to tell you that although I am not a bird I do have wings and can fly for short distances. So if you pick me up and let me run up and down your hands and arms, then please don’t frighten me by screaming if I suddenly decide to take off!
What makes Lucy the Ladybird suffer most?

A．Heavy rains.	B．Cold weather.
C．Air pollution.	D．Aphids.

Which aspects about the ladybird are talked about in the passage?
a. its appearance b. its influence on plantsw8G
c. its habitat d. its food
e. the origin of its name

A．a; c

B．a; b; c

C．a; b; d; e

D．a; b; c; d

What do we know about the ladybird?

A．It belongs to the insect family.

B．It does harm to all growing plants.

C．It lives on the liquid of plants.

D．It can fly a long distance.

This passage is probably _______.

A．a self –introduction by a lady named Lucy

B．description of a ladybird’life

C．letter of praise for a gardener

D．a

speech made by a woman on ladybirds