In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become “twins” with a sister-city relationship.
The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away.
Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany.
Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town!
Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin towns in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan(巴尔干半岛的) country!
Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skill, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations.Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Town Twinning | B．Friendly Towns |
| C．Exchanging Teachers and Students | D．Peace and Understanding |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Twin towns exchange newspapers and stamps. |
| B．Twin towns exchange business skill. |
| C．Schools in twin towns exchange classes for a period of time. |
| D．Ordinary people travel to the twin town. |
Twin towns develop ____________.
| A．between European countries and China |
| B．in the English-speaking countries only |
| C．in the same country |
| D．between different countries |
How many countries are mentioned in this passage?
| A．7 | B．6. | C．5 | D．4 |
One of the advantages of town twinning is to ________.
| A．earn more money |
| B．set up schools |
| C．improve students’ language skills |
| D．develop industry and agriculture |
Money and Happiness
A Guide to Living the good life
Author: Laura Rowley
Publisher: Wiley (March 1, 2005)
Laura Rowley makes us all understand the money-happiness connection in our own lives so that we spend our time and our efforts wisely. She offers insight that every reader can use to make smarter decisions that will lead to living a rich life in every possible definition of the term.
The Happiness Makeover
How to Teach Yourself to Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day
Author: M. J. Ryan
Publisher: Broadway (May 10, 2005)
Ryan’s own desire to be happier first led(引领) her to study what is known about happiness from brain science, psychology, and the wisdom traditions of the world. The Happiness Makeover draws on this wide-ranging knowledge and presents a plan that will help you:
Clear away happiness hindrances(障碍物) like worry, fear, envy, and grudges
Discover happiness boosters like meaningful work, challenge, and gratitude
Learn to think optimistically(乐观地)（it is really possible!）
Find daily ways to truly enjoy, even relish, the moments of your life Happiness
The Science Behind Your Smile
Author: Daniel Nettle
Publisher: Oxford University Press (July 1, 2005)
This is the first book to look thoroughly at what happiness is and how it works. Nettle examines whether people are basically happy or unhappy, whether success can make us happy, why some people are happier than others, and much more.
Hormones（荷尔蒙）, health, and Happiness
Author: Steven F. Hotze
Publisher: Forrest Publishing (April, 2005)
Dr Steven Hotze is leading a wellness revolution that advances a new model of health care. In Hormones, Health, and Happiness you are shown how to reach and maintain optional cell, tissue(身体组织), and organ（器官） functioning so that you can enjoy a better quality of life.At least how many books are written by women according to the passage above?
| A．4 | B．3 | C．2 | D．1 |
Whose model will possibly help readers obtain health naturally(自然地)?
| A．Laura Rowley | B．Ryan’s | C．Daniel Nettle’s | D．Steven F. Hotze’s |
Which book is the result of the author’s own need to know more about happiness?
| A．Hormones, health, and Happiness |
| B．Money and Happines |
| C．The Happiness Makeover |
| D．The Science Behind Your Smile |
What does the word “home” mean to you? How do you say the word in French? In Spanish? In your language? Although people usually know what the word means, it often has no exact translation. It’s not surprising really, because the idea of home differs from country to country, and from person to person. A home is more than a roof and four walls. It’s the cooking, eating, talking, playing and family living that go on inside, which are important as well. And at home you usually feel safe and relaxed.
But it’s not just that homes look different in different countries, they also contain different things and reveal（显示） different attitudes and needs. For example, in cold northern Europe, there’s a fire in the living room or kitchen and all the chairs face it. In the south, where the sun shines a lot and it’s more important to keep the heat out, there are small windows, cool stone floors and often no carpets. We asked some people about their homes.
How often do people move house in your country?
“In my country many people don’t stay in one place for a very long time. They often move every ten years or so.”
Cheryl, Boston, USA
What are typical features of homes in your country?
“In Britain, even in town there’s always a garden and sometimes a cellar（地下室）. We have separate bedrooms and living rooms. But we don’t often have balconies (阳台). The weather isn’t warm enough!”
— Pat, Exeter, EnglandWhich one is true according to the passage?
| A．People in Britain seldom have balconies because it’s so hot outside. |
| B．“Home” is a place where you feel safe and relaxed. |
| C．Although homes look different in different countries, they have the same needs. |
| D．Houses in northern Europe always have big windows and cool stone floors. |
The word “home” has no exact translation because ______.
| A．people can’t find this word in the dictionary |
| B．no one knows what it is |
| C．it has different meanings in different countries |
| D．people can’t understand each other very well |
You can ______ at home according to the passage.
| A．eat, play, and teach students | B．cook, talk, and play games |
| C．swim, eat, and make friends | D．do nothing |
Why is it important to keep the heat out of the houses in southern Europe?
| A．Because they want to breathe fresh air outside. |
| B．Because there’s a fire in the living room. |
| C．Because they wear heavy clothing all day long. |
| D．Because the sun there shines a lot. |
Long ago there were two people--- a young father and an old neighbor. One day the young father was visiting the old neighbor. They were standing in the old man’s garden, talking about children. The young man said, “How strict should parents be with their children?”
The old man pointed to a string（绳子）between a big strong tree and a thin young one．“Please untie（解开）that string，” he said．The young man untied it, and the young tree bent over to one side. “Now tie it again，please,” said the old man, “but first pull the string tight so that the young tree is straight again.”
The young man did so．Then the old man said，“There，it is the same with children. You must be strict with them, but sometimes you must untie the string to know how they are getting on．If they are not yet able to stand alone，you must tie the string tight again. But when you find that they are ready to stand alone，you can take the string away.”The story is about ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．how the young father should get on with his old neighbor |
| B．how to tie and untie the string |
| C．how to take care of young trees |
| D．how strict parents should be with their children. |
The young man untied the string ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．only to find that the thinner one bent over to one side |
| B．in order to let the old man teach him |
| C．in order to throw it away |
| D．so that both of the trees would grow straight |
When can the string be taken away？＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A．When the young man has untied it next time |
| B．When the young tree grows strong enough |
| C．When the old man has left |
| D．After you have untied it |
At last the old man told the young man ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ ．
| A． that he should be strict with his children if they could not yet stand alone |
| B．that he should be hard on them |
| C． that he should tie his children until they are ready to stand alone |
| D．that he should always be strict with his children |
I am a psychologist. I first met Timothy, a quiet, overweight eleven-year-old boy, when his mother brought him to me to discuss his declining grades. A few minutes with Timothy were enough to confirm that his self-esteem(自尊) and general happiness were falling right along with them. I asked about Timothy’s typical day. He awoke every morning at six thirty so he could reach his school by eight and arrived home around four thirty each afternoon. He then had a quick snack, followed by either a piano lesson or a lesson with his math tutor. He finished dinner at 7 pm, and then he sat down to do homework for two to three hours. Quickly doing the math in my head, I found that Timothy spent an average of thirteen hours a day at a writing desk.
What if Timothy spent thirteen hours a day at a sewing machine instead of a desk? We would immediately be shocked, because that would be called children being horribly mistreated. Timothy was far from being mistreated, but the mountain of homework he faced daily resulted in a similar consequence —he was being robbed of his childhood. In fact, Timothy had no time to do anything he truly enjoyed, such as playing video games, watching movies, or playing board games with his friends.
Play, however, is a crucial part of healthy child development. It affects children’s creativity, their social skills, and even their brain development. The absence of play, physical exercise, and freefrom social interaction takes a serious toll on many children. It can also cause significant health problems like childhood obesity, sleep problems and depression.
Experts in the field recommend the minutes children spend on their homework should be no more than ten times the number of their grade level. As a fifthgrader, Timothy should have no more than fifty minutes a day of homework (instead of three times that amount). Having an extra two hours an evening to play, relax, or see a friend would soundly benefit any child’s life quality.What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph probably refer to?
| A．Timothy’s parents. | B．Timothy’s grades. |
| C．Psychologists. | D．The students. |
What did the writer think of Timothy after learning about his typical day?
| A．Timothy was very hardworking. |
| B．Timothy was being mistreated. |
| C．Timothy had a heavy burden. |
| D．Timothy was enjoying his childhood. |
Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s opinion?
| A．Children should be allowed enough time to play. |
| B．Playing board games works better than playing video games. |
| C．The more they play, the more creative children will become. |
| D．The depression caused by homework makes children unwilling to play. |
According to the passage, how long should a thirdgrader spend a day doing homework?
| A．About ten minutes. |
| B．No more than twenty minutes. |
| C．No more than thirty minutes. |
| D．About fifty minutes. |
Cast your mind back to the past twenty years and hardly did anyone have their own email account. The Internet had just taken off in 1991 and people were only using office and PCbased email exchanges.
In the mid 1990s external email providers appeared. The most famous of these was Hotmail, the first free email provider and webbased email service. Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith launched Hotmail on July 4, 1996. And Microsoft took note of and bought Hotmail for $400 million on December 30, 1997, a nice birthday present for Bhatia who turned 29 that day. It was relaunched as MSN Hotmail and in 2007 was relaunched again as Windows Live Hotmail.
Fast forward the present day and most of us have at least a personal webbased email account. It seems impossible to live without them. One of the biggest advantages of email is the fact that communication has become so much easier, especially with those across different time zones. Email takes seconds to send a message whereas letters, as we used to communicate by, could take weeks. Of course there was the fax, that beeping invention from the 1980s, but it wasn’t as secure as email and you never knew if the person on the other end had picked up your fax or if it had got lost somewhere in the office.
In conclusion, one of the best inventions from the 1990s has to be email. But sometimes people are too closely connected to their email and have a compulsion to check it several times a day. At work, people have become lazy and instead of going to speak to the person sitting next to them, they send an email，causing an in box to pile up with more time spent reading email and responding rather than working. Clearly, an invention that saved time because of its quick and speedy connection can now also cause us to waste a lot of time.The earliest web-based email came into being probably _______.
| A．in 1991 | B．in 1996 | C．in 1997 | D．in 2007 |
The author mentions “fax” in the third paragraph in order to tell us that _______.
| A．it is exactly as good as email |
| B．it is much better than email |
| C．it is less convenient than email |
| D．it is easier and faster than email |
The underlined word “compulsion” in Paragraph 4 probably means “_______”.
| A．strong desire | B．common sense | C．special curiosity | D．general idea |
Which is the main idea of the last paragraph?
| A．We should check email boxes frequently. |
| B．Lazy people like sending an email. |
| C．Email brings us great convenience. |
| D．Good inventions also cause problems. |