The Labrador (拉布拉多猎犬) has won the honor of the most popular breed (品种) for the past eighteen years. It has been described as gentle, clever and friendly. Yet not all Labs are the same.
John Grogan discovered this after he and his wife adopted a Labrador that they named Marley. The dog caused Mr. Grogan a lot of trouble, but it also provided many stories for his newspaper articles. Later, he wrote a best-selling book, “Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog.”
Marley was happy and fun-loving. But he was also extremely large and difficult to control. He bit anything that he could find around the house, including plastic, clothing and jewelry. And he had a great fear of loud noises, especially thunderstorms. Unfortunately, the Grogans lived in Florida where many thunderstorms develop. Marley would attack the furniture, walls and doors until his feet bled if he was left alone in the house during a thunderstorm. Marley almost damaged their home several times.
John Grogan said that at first he considered that probably his dog could be trained to be a show champion. But he soon realized that was impossible. Marley didn’t like to learn skills that didn’t belong to dogs, and he was driven out of the dog training school for causing troubles for other dogs. He didn’t want to hide his emotions. He would show his anger and tiredness if he felt them.
Even if that, Marley still had earned a place in the Grogans’. He didn’t know how to dance, and he didn’t know how to walk on its two legs, but he was what he was. He would never be a Lassie or a Benji or an old Yeller for he would never like to take part in a dog show, but the Grogans accepted him and loved him very much.The underlined word “this” in the second paragraph refers to the fact that ____.
| A．not all dogs won the honor of the most popular breed |
| B．not all Labs are gentle, clever and friendly |
| C．Marley caused the Grogans a few troubles |
| D．Marley provided many stories for the newspaper articles |
We can infer when John Grogan wrote the book “Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog.”, he was very ____.
| A．angry | B．disappointed |
| C．happy | D．frightened |
What made Marley attack the furniture when he was left alone in the house during a thunderstorm?
| A．The fear of hearing loud noises. |
| B．The anger of being left alone. |
| C．The unhappiness of having no toys. |
| D．The disappointment of getting nothing to eat. |
Marley was driven out of the dog training school because he ____.
| A．didn’t like to learn skills that didn’t belong to dogs |
| B．made it difficult for other dogs to get trained |
| C．liked to attack the trainers when getting angry |
| D．didn’t know how to hide his emotions |
From the passage we can know ____.
| A．every dog in America attends the dog training school |
| B．a Lassie should be a troublesome dog just like Marley |
| C．Marley often lost his temper and bit other dogs |
| D．Marley led a life full of love in the Grogans’ |
A quarrel at home may result in you falling ill. Don’t laugh, it’s true. Family matters including living habits and even the way we speak have a big effect on our health, doctors say.
Wang Xiaoyu, a Senior 2 girl from Xichang, Sichuan Province, fainted (晕倒) in class when she heard her classmates quarrel at the top of their voices. Quarrels between her parents also put the girl into a coma. It is because she is suffering from depression (抑郁症), caused by bad relations at home, doctors explained.
“We don’t get sick or stay well by ourselves,” says Dr Robert Ferrer from the US. Ferrer shows that family forces may explain up to a quarter of health problems, in his recent research.
The genes you get from your family may cause illness. If one of your parents has a heart attack, your risk of being affected may double. But effects on health are not only written in our DNA.
Unrelated people who live under the same roof also get similar problems. Diet, lifestyle and environment affect our health, too.
Ferrer’s research also found that if teenagers feel they are ignored or unimportant at home they are more likely to get sick.
We may never fully understand all the effects that families have on our health. But just as individual (个别的) problems can have effects on others, a small improvement can have big benefits, Ferrer said.Which of the following can best explain why Wang Xiaoyu fainted in class?
| A．Because her classmates often quarreled in class. |
| B．Because her parents used to quarrel. |
| C．Because of her depression caused by bad family relations. |
| D．Because her classmates shouted loudly at her. |
According to Dr Ferrer, which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．We get sick or stay well by ourselves. |
| B．Only the genes we get from our family have a big effect on our health. |
| C．Our health has nothing to do with diet, lifestyle and environment. |
| D．Teenagers who are ignored at home get sick more easily than those who are not. |
The underlined word “coma” in Paragraph2 probably means ________.
| A．embarrassment | B．faint | C．tiredness | D．sadness |
The best title for this passage is ________.
| A． Family relations. | B．The reasons why we get sick. |
| C． Happy family makes you healthy. | D．A research about teenagers’ health. |
Many people go to school for an education. They learn languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry and mathematics. Others go to school to learn a skill so that they can make a living. School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher, no matter how much he knows, cannot teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So, much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.
It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to memorize (记住) some facts or a formula (公式). It is usually quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a maths problem. Great scientists, such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo didn’t get everything from school. But they were all so successful. They invented so many things for mankind. Above all, they knew how to use their brains. Whether he is more ________or less, a teacher can’t teach his students everything they want to know.
| A．important | B．useful | C．difficulty | D．knowledgeable (有知识的) |
A teacher’s job is mainly to train his students to master the ability of __________.
| A．learning by themselves | B．making a living |
| C．reading and thinking | D．studying all the subjects |
The reason for scientists’ success is that _______.
| A．they read books that were not taught at school | B．they worked all their lives |
| C．they wasted not a single moment | D．they knew how to use their brains |
Tired of telling students to ask questions and to think about what they were doing, Damien Hynes, a high school geography teacher in Australia, decided to do an experiment to test what he had long been thinking．He wrote some well-organized nonsense （something untrue） on the blackboard．The students simply copied it but very few asked any questions．This shows that students are willing to believe anything given by teachers．The story is repeated in support of the Project for Enhancing Effective Learning （PEEL）．
PEEL was carried out by some teachers and researchers in Melbourne who had concluded that normal teaching methods seldom achieve their intended goals; what the teachers think they are teaching is one thing and what the students actually learn is something else．Students’ lack of an over-all view of learning goals and their concentration on test scores make them see each lesson as a separate activity．
Researchers realized that many students do not come into class empty-headed but have their own explanations of how the world works．Their own ideas can remain important to them even when they differ from scientific explanations that are learned later．In fact such ideas are hardly affected by traditional teaching．Students accept the teacher’s scientific explanation, but do not drop their own．They simply keep both and use them practically: in a class test, they copy the teacher’s idea, but in real life they use their own．
Clearly what was needed was to make students understand their learning process（过程）, and this is what the PEEL teachers set out to deal with．On the surface,（表面） a class being taught by PEEL methods only differs from an ordinary class in being a little noisier, because more people are talking．But there are some meaningful changes．Students are given much more time to express their views, and teachers don’t make immediate judgment．The students are allowed to guide what is done in class and their own ideas are always respected．This draws their attention to the actual learning process, and they become responsible for their own progress．The aim of Hynes’ experiment was to ______．
| A．show that students didn’t think about what they learnt |
| B．prove the effectiveness of the project known as PEEL |
| C．test students’ general knowledge about geography |
| D．encourage students to ask more questions in class |
Why did some teachers and researchers carry out PEEL?
| A．To ensure teachers do scientific work． |
| B．To help students get higher test scores． |
| C．To find the differences between what is taught and learnt． |
| D．To help normal teaching methods achieve their goals． |
An important difference between PEEL and non-PEEL classes is that in the PEEL classes ______．
| A．the teacher does not give the usual scientific explanations |
| B．students always have their own knowledge of the subject |
| C．more attention is paid to the students’ own ideas |
| D．the best explanations are given by the students |
What is Damien Hynes？
| A．He is a teacher who teaches geography in a high school in Australia |
| B．He is a geography teacher and a researcher in Australia |
| C．He is a teacher teaching geography in a high school in Austria |
| D．He is a high school geography teacher in Austria． |
This is time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents．Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help．
Littleton Children’s Home
We don’t want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes in good condition would be very welcome．
Also, we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests．You have so much—will you share it?
Phone Sister Thomas on 55671．
Children’s Hospice
We look after a small number of very sick children．This important work needs skill and love．We cannot continue without gifts of money to pay for more nursing staff．We also need story books and toys suitable for quiet games．
Please contact The Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road．
Street Food
In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless．It’s even worse if you’re hungry．We give hot food to at least fifty people every night．It’s hard work, but necessary．Can you come and help? If not, can you find a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we badly need some new saucepans．Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed．
Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way, Littleton．Phone 27713．
Littleton Youth Club
Have you got an unwanted chair?—a record player?—a pot of paint?
Because we can use them!
We want to get to work on our meeting room!
Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us．
Thank you!
The Night Shelter
We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go．We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street．Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money．Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help．
Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton．Please make check payable to Night Shelter．Reading the passage, you might like to help these organizations which work for
| A．homeless and sick children |
| B．less fortunate members of our society |
| C．hungry people who have no beds to sleep in |
| D．friendly members of our society to help others |
We can infer that．
| A．there are too many social problems in this country |
| B．people are very poor during the time for giving presents |
| C．warm-hearted people like to give away money |
| D．this passage is taken from a local newspaper |
If your child has grown up, you may take the child’s things to．
| A．Children’s Home and Children’s Hospice |
| B．Youth Club and Children’s Home |
| C．Children’s Hospice and Night Shelter |
| D．Youth Club and Night Shelter |
Sarah Williams went to a boarding school．Here is one of the letters she wrote to her parents from the school:
Wentworth Girls’ school
Beachside
July 20th
Dearest Mom and Dad,
I’m afraid I have some very surprising news for you．I have been very naughty and the school headmaster is very angry with me．She is going to write to you．You must come and take me away from here．She does not want me in the school any longer．
The trouble started last night when I was smoking in bed．This is against the rules, of course．We are not supposed to smoke at all．
As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room．I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away．
Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket, which caught fire．
There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket which caught fire, too．Soon the whole room was burning．
The headmaster phoned the fire department．The school is a long way from the town and by the time the fire department arrived, the whole school was on fire．Many of the girls are in hospital．
The headmaster says that the fire was all my fault and you must pay for the damage．She will send you a bill for about a million dollars．
I’m very sorry about this．
Much love,
Sarah
P．S．None of the above is true, but I have failed my exams．I just want you to know how bad things could have been．Why did Sarah tell her parents the story about the fire?
| A．She wanted to worry them |
| B．She wanted to make them laugh |
| C．She wanted to make them less angry at the real news |
| D．She wanted to warn them about what the headmaster was going to do |
The letter before the P．S．was __________．
| A．mostly true | B．partly true |
| C．all true | D．completely untrue |
Sarah said the headmaster was angry because________
| A．she had failed her exams | B．it was her fault that had caused the fire |
| C．he had not made the phone call in time | D．she had been caught smoking in bed |