Teachers’ Day is, interestingly, not celebrated on the same day all over the world. In some countries it is marked by a holiday, in others it is a working day.
International Teachers’ Day is celebrated on October 5. Being held ever since 1994, it is in honor of teachers' organizations worldwide. Its aim is to encourage supports for teachers and to meet the needs of students.
China―In 1939, Teachers’ Day was set for August 27, Confucius' birthday. In1951, the celebration was stopped. However, it was founded again in 1985, and the day was changed to September 10.
India―Teachers’ Day is celebrated on September 5 in honour of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of India, whose birthday falls on that day.
Russia―In Russia, Teachers’ Day was celebrated on the first Sunday of October between 1965 and 1994. Since 1994, the day is observed on October 5, just the same day as World Teachers’ Day.
The US―In the US, Teachers’ Day is non-official holiday. It is celebrated on the Tuesday of the first full week of May. A number of activities are organized in schools to honor teachers. The celebrations can continue for the whole week of May.
Thailand―In Thailand, National Teachers’ Day is celebrated every year on January 16. The first Teachers’ Day was held in 1957. The day is a holiday in schools.What country celebrates Teachers’ Day in October?
| A．India. | B．The US. | C．India. | D．Russia. |
Which of the following has the same meaning as the underlined word “observed”?
| A．stopped | B．celebrated | C．held | D．fell |
Which of the following is possibly true?
| A．China has celebrated Teachers’ Day since the year 1931. |
| B．Teachers’ Day is an official holiday in the United States. |
| C．Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s birthday is in September. |
| D．Teachers’ Day is a working day in schools of Thailand. |
From the passage we can learn that ________.
| A．The first Teachers’ Day was held in 1965 in Thailand. |
| B．Teachers’ Day falls on Confucius' birthday in China. |
| C．International Teachers’ Day aims to benefit the students. |
| D．Teachers’ Day is celebrated on the same day all over the world. |
It seems that people are gradually losing their smartness as smartphones become increasingly important assistants in their lives. As we rely too much on technology instead of our brains, many people have lost three basic abilities.
The first skill many people have lost is remembering phone numbers. Because phone numbers are stored in smartphone contacts, there's now no need to dial a number or look at it again. This is fine until you need to call someone for help, only to find your phone is not around.
And some people may also have lost their sense of direction because navigation apps can guide people anywhere they want. People get so dependent on them that when they can't use their smartphones, they get lost and anxious.
But the worst lost skills may be social ones, meaning that some people are becoming socially inept(无能的)People often bury themselves in their smartphones. As we're too absent-minded by what's happening in the virtual(虚拟的)world, some of us have lost conversational skills and sometimes can't even distinguish whether a person is happy or not.
Last August, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, studied 51 students aged 11 and 12 who had over five hours' screen time every day. Their task was to tell the emotions of 48 pictures of faces that were happy, sad, angry or scared.
The children made an average of 14.02 mistakes at the beginning. But after a five-day camp without electronic products, they made only 9.41 mistakes on average.
Luckily, people still have a chance to get these abilities back. You should try to keep your parents' numbers in mind for emergencies. You should also pay more attention to street signs and stores , which will help you to draw a mind map and stop you from getting lost. And the easiest solution to social skill loss is to take a break from electronic products. The underlined sentence in the second paragraph implies that__________.
| A．you are unable to contact others without your smart phone |
| B．others are able to call you anytime and anywhere |
| C．others are unable to get in touch with you by smartphone |
| D．you are able to turn to others for help |
Overusing smartphones, people will probably_______ according to the passage.
| A．find their destination without difficulty |
| B．have no sense of numbers |
| C．weaken their senses of hearing and sight |
| D．lose face-to-face communication skills |
The passage mainly tells us that many people are__________.
| A．becoming no smarter than smartphones |
| B．benefiting from smartphones' intelligence |
| C．losing some basic abilities because of using samrtphones |
| D．trying hard to break away from smartphones’ intelligence |
The writer’s attitude towards electronic products is__________.
| A．supportive | B．sympathetic |
| C．critical | D．optimistic |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd,” Gray told the BBC. “They are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants(新进入者) to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A．try to keep a distance from other people |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．turn around and greet one another |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?
The underlined phrase “size up” in Paragraph 7 is closest in meaning to _____.
| A．ignore | B．make the best of |
| C．put up with | D．judge |
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A．someone’s odd behaviors |
| B．their unfamiliarity with one another |
| C．the lack of space |
| D．their eye contact with one another |
Modeled after US hot website Groupon.com, group buying websites are now popular in China. These websites use the power of group buying to get competitive discounts (打折)for a daily deal on some best stuff（物品，东西，活儿） to do, see, eat and buy in the cities across China. Discounts are available within just one click. Zhao lei, a software engineer in Beijing, loves the one-hour lunch break at noon, as it is the best time for him to check “today’s special” at his favorite group buying websites . Sometimes he searches for great deals at directory sites devoted to the new shopping space. Zhao spends around 800 yuan ($117.65) on group buying every month, mostly to buy food coupons (优惠劵)for eating at some nice restaurants and occasionally to find something fun to do. ‘‘I love group buying. In addition to the competitive discounts it offers, it helps me get something fun, exciting and new, and such surprises give me a reason to try something new,” he said. When he finds a really good bargain, he will send the link to friends or colleagues through MSN,QQ, or e-mail, or share the information at some social networking websites. In doing so, he often gets a certain cut off the price. At some sites, buyers are invited to leave notes about what they want to buy and the website will consider it if similar applications(申请)reach a certain number. That is how Zuo got her digital camera after waiting for two months. “It is cool. I want to buy a new digital camera for my trip to Switzerland this winter, but I never expected such cheap prices!” Zuo said.We can learn from the passage that________.
| A．China is the first country to start group buying |
| B．the price of group buying depends on the market |
| C．you can’t get the best you need through group buying |
| D．group buying is becoming popular in China |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Zhao Lei’s online purchasing life. |
| B．Group buying |
| C．The US hot websites |
| D．A new digital camera |
Zhao Lei succeeded in getting a certain cut off the price by__________.
| A．bargaining face to face |
| B．discussing with the sellers |
| C．providing the link to others |
| D．inviting others to talk about the price |
Respect your teachers
First of all, students should respect the teachers. They should pay attention in the classes. That means to salute him, to stand from his chair when the teacher enters the classroom etc. Attend any lesson attentively. In class of a certain subject or teacher you don’t like very much, if it’s total anarchy(混乱), how can we talk about respect?
Play by the rules
If your teacher wants you to use wide-lined paper—do it! If she tells you to sharpen your pencils only before class starts, listen to her. If she doesn’t accept late homework, do yours on time. Sometimes classroom rules seem strict or even silly, but most teachers know what’s necessary to make things run smoothly, what it takes to let the learning begin. And the better the learning environment, the smarter you’ll be!
Expect her/him to like you.
Teachers are teachers because they like kids. Given the chance, most teachers want to be your friends too. Respect your teacher, but don’t be afraid of her/him. She/He wants you to have a great school year just as much as you want to have!
Put first things first.
Friends are a fun part of school. But they’re not the most important part. When your teacher is teaching, give her/him your full attention. Even when it’s hard to do -- recess will come soon enough, and that’s the time for playing with your friends.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Advice Before You Go to School |
| B．What You Should Do at School |
| C．How to Get Along With Your Teacher |
| D．How to Plan Your Time at School |
What do you think the title of the second paragraph “play by the rules” mean?
| A．Don’t play if you haven’t completed your homework. |
| B．Follow what the teacher says. |
| C．Work is work and play is play. |
| D．Make the learning environment as good as possible. |
According to the last paragraph, what do you think the first thing is?
| A．The teacher. | B．The teacher’s lecture. |
| C．The students | D．Friends. |
The underlined word “recess” most probably means “____”.
| A．break | B．play | C．parents | D．news |
What is language for? Some people seem to think it's for practicing grammar rules and earning lists of words—the longer the lists，the better．That's wrong．Language is for the exchange（交流）of ideas and information．It's meaningless knowing all about a language if you can't use it freely．Many students I have met know hundreds of grammar rules, but they can't speak correctly or fluently（流利地）．They are afraid of making mistakes．One shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes when speaking a foreign language．Native speakers make mistakes and break rules, too．Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"But the mistakes that native speakers make are different from those that Chinese students make．They're English mistakes in the English language．And if enough native speakers break a rule, it is no longer a rule．What used to be wrong becomes right．People not only make history, they also make language．But a people can only make its own language．It can't make another people's language．So Chinese students of English should pay attention to grammar, but they shouldn't overdo（做过头）it．They should put communication（交际）first.Language is used to ________.
A. express oneself
B. practise grammar rules
B. talk with foreigners only
D. learn lists of wordsGenerally, when an American or an Englishman speaks English, he ________.
| A．never makes mistakes | B．often makes mistakes |
| C．can't avoid making mistakes | D．always makes mistakes |
"Foreigners often speak English too correctly．"This sentence means that ________.
| A．foreigners speak correct English |
| B．foreigners speak incorrect English |
| C．foreigners speak English according to the grammar rules |
| D．foreigners never make mistakes when they speak English |