At first glance, there is little in Horton to attract people. The other nearby towns have much more to offer: Bradfield has its river and historic buildings, while Newtown has shops and entertainment. The buildings of Horton look dirty and unloved. For shops, there is a small supermarket, a few bargain shops, a bakery which, strangely, does not sell bread and a florist which has one stand of sad-looking flowers. Even so, Horton has several advantages over its neighbouring towns.
Firstly, it has a country park. Four thousand years ago, this was an important fort. There are no historic remains here now, but there are wonderful views over the countryside. On sunny weekends you can often see kids out with their parents, kicking balls or flying kites.
There aren’t many job opportunities in Horton, and the roads to nearby cities aren’t really fast, but there are excellent rail links. You can be in London in an hour and a half, and other cities are less than an hour away. That means that parents can earn a good salary and still get home in time to spend the evenings with their families. Houses in Horton aren’t pretty, but they’re functional and cheap. The streets are quiet and safe, and there are plenty of parks and playgrounds. It has a library, three primary schools and a secondary school, St. Mark’s. It is friendly and offers a wide range of subjects and activities to children of all abilities and backgrounds. The town also has a swimming and a sports centre, and the community halls hold regular clubs and events for people of all ages.What is the writer’s main purpose?
| A．To explain what tourists can do in Horton. |
| B．To explain why Horton is a good place to live in. |
| C．To explain why Horton is not as pleasant as other towns. |
| D．To describe the history of Horton. |
Which part of Horton does the writer find disappointing?
| A．the shops | B．country park |
| C．transport links | D．the schools |
Which of the following is NOT the advantage of Horton?
| A．plenty of parks and playgrounds |
| B．historical buildings |
| C．the quiet and safe streets |
| D．functional and cheap houses |
What advantages does Horton bring to workers?
| A．There are plenty of jobs available in the town. |
| B．You can drive to nearby cities in a short time. |
| C．You can get to several cities quickly by train. |
| D．Working conditions are better here than in other towns. |
It was such an extremely freezing day that I decided to get a cup of hot drinking first after work. As my colleague, Ricky, and I were making our way to a coffee shop, I noticed an old gentleman rather poorly dressed sitting on a bench nearby. Obviously he was frozen, seemingly one of the homeless or someone like that.
We joined the line and waited to be served. Ricky handed the server a twenty-dollar bill, ordered three cups of hot coffee, and gestured the sever to give one to the old gentleman outside on the bench as a favour. The server looked at Ricky, a little perplexed, without full comprehension of the request. Afterwards, there was a wonderful exchange between the server and the old man in need of some attention. I only wished I had taken a photo of the smiles on the both faces.
As I was thinking about this event later on, I wondered to myself why Ricky didn’t perform this act of kindness himself. I suspect that deep down in his heart he was hoping that this act of kindness might inspire others to do something for this old man as well. Absolutely beautiful!
There are many ways of thinking when we met someone as the old man in need of kindness and attention. Perhaps he needs a little helping hand and thanks God for my colleague who inspired the others to goodness as well. Oh, by the way, the last words Ricky told the server was,
“There go I, but for the Grace of God.”What was the author’s impression of the old gentleman?
| A．He was a greedy man |
| B．He took on a sign of poor manners. |
| C．He was in poor health. |
| D．He needed some kind of human care. |
The underlined word “perplexed” in the second paragraph probably means “ ”.
| A．annoyed | B．confused |
| C．embarrassed | D．determined |
Why didn’t Ricky give the favour to the old gentleman himself?
| A．He didn’t know the old gentleman. |
| B．He was too shy to speak to strangers. |
| C．He tried to influence others to be kind. |
| D．He feared the old man would refuse his help. |
What the author really thinks absolutely beautiful is that .
| A．an act of kindness could go widespread |
| B．a cup of coffee could warm the old man |
| C．the server was very kind to customers |
| D．Ricky had created a good impression |
Across Britain, burnt toast will be served to mothers in bed this morning as older sons and daughters rush to deliver their supermarket bunches of flowers. But, according to a new study, we should be placing a higher value on motherhood all year.
Mothers have long known that their home workload was just as heavy as paid work. Now, the new study has shown that if they were paid for their parental labours, they would earn as much as £172,000 a year.
The study looked at the range of jobs mothers do, as well as the hours they are working, to determine the figure. This would make their yearly income £30,000 more than the Prime Minister earns.
By analyzing the numbers, it found the average mother works 119 hours a week, 40 of which would usually be paid at a standard rate 79 hours as overtime. After questioning 1,000 mothers with children under 18, it found that, on most days, mums started their routine work at 7 am and finished at around 11 pm.
To calculate just how much mothers would earn from that labour, it suggested some of the roles that mums could take on, including housekeeper, part-time lawyer, personal trainer and entertainer. Being a part-time lawyer, at £48,98 an hour, would prove to be the most profitable of the “mum jobs”, with psychologist(心理学家) a close second.
It also asked mothers about the challenges they face, with 80 per cent making emotional(情感的) demand as the hardest thing about motherhood.
Over a third of mums felt they needed more training and around half said they missed going out with friends.
The study shows mothers matter all year long and not just on Mother’s Day. The emotional, physical and mental energy mothers devote to their children can be never-ending, but children are also sources of great joy and happiness. Investing(投入) in time for parenting and raising relationships is money well spent.How much would a mother earn a year if working as the Prime Minister?
A. £30,000. B. £142,000.
C. £172,000. C. £202,000.The biggest challenge for most mothers is from .
| A．emotional demand |
| B．low pay for work |
| C．heavy workload |
| D．lack of training |
What is stressed in the last paragraph?
| A．mothers’ importance shows in family all year long. |
| B．The sacrifices mothers make are huge but worthwhile. |
| C．Mothers’ devotion to children can hardly be calculated. |
| D．Investing time in parenting would bring a financial return. |
What can we conclude from the study?
| A．Mothers’ working hours should be largely reduced. |
| B．Mothers should balance their time for work and rest. |
| C．Mothers’ labour is of a higher value than it is realized. |
| D．Mothers should be freed from housework for social life. |
A
Welcome to the Electronic Village to explore new ways of language teaching and learning.
| Electronic Village Program (Thursday, June 18,2015) |
|
| Nearpod ◇ 9:00 am to 10:00 am ◇ Room 501 Nearpod is a software program that creates a rich context(语境) for students to learn vocabulary. The presenter will show how to use it. |
TEO ◇ 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm ◇ Room 502 Our students come from different backgrounds but have the same desire to learn on-line. The presenter will use examples from his first on-line class to explain how any teacher can begin teaching on-line with TEO. |
| Kahoot ◇ 10:30 am to 11:00 am ◇ Room 601 Kahoot software can be used to create grammar tests which can be graded on a network. It can provide students with instant feedback(反馈), including reports about their strengths and weaknesses. |
Prezi ◇ 3:00 pm to 4:20 pm ◇ Room 602 Uses of Prezi in listening and speaking courses draw students’ attention to speaking more fluently. The presenter will show how students can use Prezi to confidently present on a variety of topics, including introducing family, friends, and hobbies. |
Nearpod can be used to .
| A．offer grammar tests |
| B．teach listening on-line |
| C．help vocabulary learning |
| D．gain fluency in speaking |
If you want to improve your speaking skills, you can go to .
| A．Room 501 | B．Room 502 |
| C．Room 601 | D．Room 602 |
Which of the following can assess your grammar learning?
| A．Nearpod. | B．Kahoot |
| C．TEO. | D．Prezi. |
A teacher who wants to learn on-line teaching is expected to arrive by .
| A．9:00 am | B．10:30 am |
| C．2:00 pm | D．3:30 pm |
Everyone has done experiments in high school laboratories，but have you ever thought about designing a satellite to explore space？
On Nov．19，a team of students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the US awed peers and even scientists by successfully launching a satellite．
The first satellite designed and built by high school students was sent up into space along with a record setting．28 other small ones on a rocket were sent from a NASA center in Virginia，CNN reported．It took the students seven years to build．
The students call their tiny satellite TJ3Sat，which is named after their school．It is just 10x10x12 centimeters and weighs only 0．89 kilograms，according to Orbital Sciences，a company which developed the rocket and supported the students’ project．It can be controlled with a smartphone．
Like most satellites，TJ3Sat can send and receive data．The small spacecraft is equipped with a voice synthesizer (合成器)，which can switch text to voice and transmit those sounds back to Earth over radio waves，said Orbital officials．In this case，anyone can give it a try via the project’s website (school website) by submitting (提交) a text．The texts that get approved will be sent to the satellite，changed to voice and then broadcast back to Earth via radio waves．
“I can say ‘Go Colonials’on our ground station and when it is on the other side of the world，in India，someone can hear‘Go Colonials’over the radio，”the team explains on the website．
The satellite will stay in space for at least three months．
School principal Evan Glazer told The Washington Post that the project started in 2006 as an activity in the spare time．Later it became a research project for a select group of seniors．
At a time when American students are busy with SATs，the launch of the satellite shows what diligent teenagers can achieve when allowed to pursue their own curiosities，Glazer said．
“It used to be that kids growing up wanted to be an astronaut,” Andrew Petro，program executive (主管) for small spacecraft technology at NASA，said in a statement．“I think we might be seeing kids saying what they want to do is build a spacecraft．The idea here is that they really can do that．”The underlined word “awed” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to _____．
| A．influenced |
| B．amazed |
| C．delighted |
| D．inspired |
Which of the following statements about TJ3Sat is TRUE according to the article？
| A．It took a group of students about a decade to build the satellite． |
| B．Besides TJ3Sat，28 other small satellites were built by the students． |
| C．TJ3Sat can receive text messages that the students send into space，which can be changed to voice messages and broadcast back to Earth． |
| D．TJ3Sat is expected to stay in orbit for the next year，sending out messages together with information about its position in space． |
According to the article，the launch of the satellite _______．
| A．is evidence of the advance of spacecraft technology |
| B．proves that hard working teenagers can achieve a lot |
| C．shows the importance of extracurricular activities at school |
| D．has inspired many people to take an interest in space travel |
Whether you’re eating at a fancy restaurant or dining in someone’s home，proper table manners are likely to help you make a good impression．According to a US expert，Emily Post，“All rules of table manners are made to avoid ugliness．”
While Henry Hitchings of the Los Angeles Times admits that good manners can reduce social conflict，he points out that mostly their purpose is protective – they turn our natural warrior like selves into more elegant ones．
So where did table manners come from？
In medieval England，a writer named Petrus Alfonsi took the lead to urge people not to speak with their mouths full．And King David I of Scotland also proposed that any of his people who learned to eat more neatly be given a tax deduction (减除)．
Disappointingly，that idea never caught on．It was during the Renaissance，when there were real technical developments，opinions of correct behavior changed for good．“None of these was more significant than the introduction of the table fork,” wrote Hitchings．“Gradually，as forks became popular，they brought the new way of eating，making it possible，for instance，to consume berries without making one’s fingers dirty．”
Forks were introduced to Britain in 1608 and 25 years later，the first table fork reached America．Yet while most of the essentials (基本要素) are the same on both sides of the Atlantic，there are a few clear differences between what’s normal in the US and what holds true in the UK．For example，in the US，when food needs cutting with a knife，people generally cut a bite，then lay aside the knife and switch the fork to their right hand．Then they pick up one bite at a time．By contrast，Britons keep the fork in the left hand and don’t lay the knife down．
Though globalization has developed a new，simpler international standard of table manners，some people still stick with the American cut and switch method．The Los Angeles Times noted，“They are hanging on to a form of behavior that favors manners above efficiency．”What does the story mainly talk about？
| A．The importance of proper table manners． |
| B．The development of table manners in Western countries． |
| C．Some unwritten rules of table manners in the US and UK． |
| D．Differences between American and British table manners． |
The underlined phrase “caught on” in the passage probably means ______．
| A．worked in practice |
| B．became popular |
| C．drew attention |
| D．had a positive effect |
Which of the following events influenced people’s table manners most according to the article？
| A．The introduction of forks． |
| B．The tax deduction policy． |
| C．The rise of the Renaissance． |
| D．Petrus Alfonsi’s efforts in promoting table manners． |
What can we conclude from the article？
| A．British and American table manners are completely different from each other． |
| B．American people pay more attention to their table manners than British people do． |
| C．With globalization，the American cut and switch method has been abandoned in the US． |
| D．British people’s way of using a knife and fork may be more efficient than American people’s． |