He slept in my arms last night, with his little head on my shoulder. I stayed awake listening to his breathing. He smiled in his sleep, and I wondered what could be funny to a one-year-old baby. I could sense the safety he felt.
However, my home life is completely different from the scene that greets me each morning at work. As a lawyer at Eastlake Juvenile Court (少年法庭), I always see kids that society has labeled the worst of the worst, the “thief”, the “robber”, the list goes on. But they are still children. As I sit across from them, I have a chance to talk to them about their lives, homes, and dreams. I sit through tears, anger, but mostly hurt. I see their parents, most of whom sit in the hallways day after day wanting to take their kids home. I also see parents that come to the court ready to walk away from their children forever. Each day I see hope destroyed.
I have come to realize that these children are our future, even if we don’t want to admit it. They also want to sleep on a mother’s shoulder at night, they also had dreams
and smiled in their sleep when they were babies. But then something terrible happened, which robbed (剥夺) them of that youth, that hope, and that joy. I hope one day we can find how to put back the destroyed childhoods and ruined lives.
Every day when I go home, I hold my children tightly in my arms and say “I love you” over and over again. And as I am filled with hope, I cannot forget those children I leave behind. I live in two worlds, one of promise, one of tragedy(悲剧). No matter what they are accused (指控) of, what crimes (罪行) they have carried out and what society thinks of them, they are children, they are our children and our future.The author mentions her son in Paragraph 1 mainly to tell readers _____.
| A．her son is lovely |
| B．it’s hard to raise a child |
| C．what leads children to break laws |
| D．children should be taken good care of |
The underlined word “labeled” in Paragraph 2 can best be replaced by _____.
| A．praised | B．chosen | C．designed | D．described |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the children who break laws?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Hopeful. | C．Angry. | D．Relaxed. |
What’s the author’s purpose in writing the text?
| A．To accuse those parents who ruin their children’s life. |
| B．To show the difficulty of her work as a lawyer. |
| C．To win support for problem children. |
| D．To show her deep love for her child. |
Honesty is the best policy, as the English saying goes. Unfortunately, honesty often leaves us when no one is watching, British psychologists reported last week.
Researchers at UK’s Newcastle University set up an experiment in their psychology department’s coffee room.
They set a kettle, with tea, coffee and milk on the counter and hung up a sign listing the price for drinks. People helping themselves to a cup of tea were supposed to put a few cents in the box nearby.
The scientists hung a poster above the money box, and changed each week between pictures of gazing eyes and pictures of flowers. The researchers found that staff paid 2.76 times more for their drinks when the image of the eyes was hung.
“We were shocked by the size of the effect,” said Gilbert Roberts, one of the researchers.
Eyes are known to be a powerful perceptual (知觉的) signal for humans, scientists say.
“Even though the eyes were not real, they still seemed to make people behave more honestly,” said Melissa Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study.
Researchers believe the effect throws light on our evolutionary past. It may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed when early humans formed social groups to strengthen their chances of survival. For social groups to work, individuals had to co-operate, rather than act selfishly. “There’s an argument that if nobody is watching us, it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we’re being watched we should behave better. So people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us,” Bateson said.
The new finding indicates that people have a striking response to eyes. That might be because eyes and faces send a strong biological signal we have evolved to respond to, Bateson said.
The finding could be put to practical use. For example, images of eyes could ensure ticket sales on public transport and improve surveillance(监视) systems to deter anti-social behavior.In the experiment, a poster was hung above the money box to ________．
| A．give a harmonious atmosphere |
| B．remind people the drinks were not free |
| C．prove the actual effect of different pictures |
| D．see how honest people are in different situations |
From the result of the experiment, we can conclude that ________．
| A．people might pay more for the drinks at the image of gazing eyes |
| B．people may be dishonest when no one is watching them |
| C．no one would pay for the drink unless they are told to |
| D．just a image of flowers is not enough to remind people to pay for a drink |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．You're being watched! |
| B．Pay for your drink, please! |
| C．Mind your behavior in public! |
| D．Look out for electronic surveillance equipment! |
Which of the following English proverbs can be best used at the beginning of the passage?
| A．Once a thief, always a thief |
| B．Lies have short legs |
| C．Honest is the best policy |
| D．An honest look covers many faults |
A new study of 8,000 young people in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior shows that although love can make adults live healthily and happily, it is a bad thing for young people. Puppy love (早恋) may bring stress for young people and can lead to depression. The study shows that girls become more depressed than boys, and younger girls are the worst of all.
The possible reason for the connection between love and higher risk of depression for girls is “loss of self”. According to the study, even though boys would say “lose themselves in a romantic relationship”, this “loss of self” is much more likely to lead to depression when it happens to girls. Young girls who have romantic relationships usually like hiding their feelings and opinions. They won’t tell that to their parents.
Dr Marian Kaufman, an expert on young people problems, says 15% to 20% young people will have depression during their growing. Trying romance often causes the depression. She advises kids not to jump into romance too early. During growing up, it is important for young people to build strong friendships and a strong sense of self. She also suggests the parents should encourage their kids to keep close to their friends, attend more interesting school activities and spend enough time with family.
Parents should watch for signs of depression -- eating or mood changes -- and if they see signs from their daughters or sons, they need to give help. The good news is that the connection between romance and depression seems to become weak with age. Love will always make us feel young, but only maturity (成熟) gives us a chance to avoid its bad side effects. Which of the following is more likely to have depression?
| A．Young people who have a strong sense of selfishness. |
| B．Young girls who always hide their feelings and opinions. |
| C．Young boys whose parents watch for their behavior. |
| D．Careless parents whose children are deep in love. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The older a woman is，the less likely she seems to lose herself in romance. |
| B．Lacking love can lead young people to grow up more quickly. |
| C．Early love makes young people keep close to their friends and parents. |
| D．Parents should help their children to be aware of the signs of depression. |
What’s the author’s attitude towards puppy love?
| A．Confused | B．Disinterested |
| C．Scared | D．Disapproving |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Puppy love may bring young people depression. |
| B．Parents should forbid their children’s love. |
| C．Romance is a two edged sword for adults. |
| D．Romance is good for young people. |
People typically wash their hands seven times a day in the United States, but they do it at a far higher temperature than is necessary to kill germs (病菌) , a new study says. The energy waste is equivalent to the fuel use of a small country.
Amanda R. Carrico, a research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment in Tennessee, told National Geographic that hand washing is often “a case where people act in ways that they think are in their best interest, but they in fact have inaccurate beliefs or outdated perceptions.”
Carrico said, “It’s certainly true that heat kills bacteria, but if you were going to use hot water to kill them it would have to be way too hot for you to tolerate.”
Carrico said that after a review of the scientific literature, her team found “no evidence that using hot water that a person could stand would have any benefit in killing bacteria.” Even water as cold as 40°F (4.4°C) appeared to reduce bacteria as well as hotter water, if hands were scrubbed, rinsed（冲洗）and dried properly.
Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment. According to her research, people use warm or hot water 64 percent of the time when they wash their hands. Using that number, Carrico’s team calculated a significant impact on the planet.
“Although the choice of water temperature during a single hand wash may appear unimportant, when multiplied by the nearly 800 billion hand washes performed by Americans each year, this practice results in more than 6 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions annually,” she said.
The researchers published their results in the July 2013 issue of International Journal of Consumer Studies. They recommended washing with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature, which they noted may be warmer in cold months and cooler in hot ones.What’s the meaning of what Carrico told National Geographic in the second paragraph?
| A．People are more concerned about their health and begin to wash their hands. |
| B．It’s important for people to wash their hands to keep healthy. |
| C．Generally, people’s hand washing behaviors and perceptions are not correct. |
| D．People like washing their hands very much. |
The figures in the sixth paragraph are used to show that __________.
| A．using hot water to wash hands has a bad influence on our planet. |
| B．air pollution has become more and more serious. |
| C．using hot water to wash hands is a waste of energy. |
| D．people should pay more attention to the environment around us. |
This passage is organized in the pattern of __________.
| A．fact and opinion | B．cause and effect |
| C．definition and classification | D．time and events |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．It’s necessary and useful for people to wash their hands frequently every day. |
| B．We can wash our hands with water that is at a “comfortable” temperature. |
| C．Using cold water to wash hands is necessary and much healthier. |
| D．Hot water can’t kill germs. |
“Selfie” (自拍) joins ranks of dictionary words.[来源Com]
In 2002, an Australian man went to his friend’s 21st birthday party. He got drunk, tripped on some steps and cut his lip. He took a picture of his injuries and shared it with his friends on an online forum. “And sorry about the focus,” he wrote, “it was a selfie.” That was the first recorded use of the word “selfie”, according to linguistic experts at Oxford Dictionaries.
On Nov 19, Oxford Dictionaries declared “selfie” Word of the Year for 2013, in honor of the term having taken over the world thanks to millions of smart phone self-portraits and the resulting shares on social media.
So what does the choice of the word say about our culture? Mary Elizabeth Williams, writing in Salon magazine, says the word reminds us that contemporary culture is defined by our narcissism(自恋).Megan Jackson from a local newspaper points out a selfie may only focus on appearance.
Selfies invite judgment based on appearance alone. What kind of cultural influence does this have on women? Erin Gloria Ryan on Jezebel says selfies teach young woman to obsess over their appearance and judge themselves on the basis of beauty rather than accomplishments. “They’re a reflection of the warped way we teach girls to see themselves as decorative,” said Ryan.
In Slate magazine, Rachel Simmons has the opposite view. She argues that selfies are an example of young women promoting themselves and taking control of their own self-presentation. Think of each one, she says, as “a tiny pulse of girl pride —a shout-out to the self”.Which of the following is true about the first use of “selfie”?
| A．The Australian man created it to celebrate his friend’s 21st birthday. |
| B．The Australian man created by chance when he got drunk and shared his photo online. |
| C．The Oxford Dictionary used it to thank the creation of smart phone. |
| D．The social media were so advanced that they made the word transmitted. |
The underlined word “tripped” in the first paragraph probably means “________”.
| A．traveled | B．stepped lightly |
| C．fell down | D．made mistakes |
Who holds a positive opinion towards selfie in the life of women?
| A．Mary Elizabeth. | B．Megan Jackson. |
| C．Erin Gloria Ryan. | D．Rachel Simmons. |
The text is mainly concerned with ________.
| A．the introduction of the word “selfie” |
| B．the choice of the word “selfie” |
| C．the history of the word “selfie” |
| D．the characteristics of the word “selfie” |
Tayka Hotel De Sal
Where: Tahua, Bolivia
How much: About $95 a night
Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses (床垫) and blankets).The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.
Green Magic Nature Resort
Where: Vythiri, India
How much: About $240 a night
Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.
Dog Bark Park Inn B&B
Where: Cottonwood, Idaho
How much: $92 a night
Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet. Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant outside.
Gamirasu Cave Hotel
Where: Ayvali, Turkey
How much: Between $130 and $475 a night.
Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉in summer.(Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)What is the similarity of the four hotels?
| A．Being expensive. | B．Being beautiful. |
| C．Being natural. | D．Being unique. |
What does the underlined part “Sweet Willy” refer to?
A. The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.
B. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.
C. The name of the hotel.
D. The name of the hotel owner.Which of the hotel makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?
| A．Tayka Hotel De Sal | B．Green Magic Nature Resort |
| C．Dog Bark Park Inn B&B | D．Gamirasu Cave Hotel |