A sandstorm is a kind of strong wind that blows over the desert. It raises sand and dust into the air and makes it difficult to see the sun and it reduces visibility of most to zero. It is also known as a dust storm. Some storms are usually the result of convection currents（对流气流）caused by the strong heating of the ground. Then wind is usually strong enough to move a small hill of sand. It can make travel very difficult and can even destroy roads in flat dry areas such as those in the United States.
The Simoom is the strong hot wind that comes across the Sahara and Arabian desert. This wind is the reason for much of the dust in the air over Europe. Evidence（证据）of the dust from Simoom wind has also been found at the bottom of the sea at a long distance from the shore.
Alasksi is the strongest sandstorm. It can destroy all the things in his way. It is very dangerous. It has killed more than one hundred people in the area. The Haboob is a sandstorm that often happens in the area of Sudan around Khartoum. Sandstorms, the height as 5,000 ft (1,525m), also happened, although not often in the United States. It is stronger than the Simoom. One that appeared near Tucson, Arizona, on July 16, 1971, was widely proved by meteorologists.（天文学家）。Which of the following is not a name of sandstorm?
A. Simoom
B. Haboob
C. KhartoumThe underlined word "visibility" may mean_______ in Chinese.
A. 模糊度
B. 能见度
C. 对流度Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Sandstorms carry lots of sand and dust.
B. Sandstorms are also known as rainstorms
C. Sandstorms are usually the result of wind._____shows the right picture of the three sandstorms in the correct way.
What is the main idea of the passage?
A. When sandstorms happen
B. Where sandstorms happen
C. What sandstorms are
You are given many chances in life to choose to be a victim(受害者) or creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and difficult place. “They” did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering. “They” are wrong and bad, and life is terrible as long as “they” are around. Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, then internalizing(内化)your victimization. The truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame yourself or others.
Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently. They know there are persons who might like to control their lives, but they don’t let this get in the way. They know they have their weaknesses, yet they don’t blame themselves when they fail. Whatever happens, they have choice in the matter. They believe their dance with each sacred(神圣的)moment of life is a gift and that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for emotional and spiritual growth.
Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same problems, yet their experience of life is different worlds. Victims are easy to be in anger, guilt, and other emotions that cause others--and even themselves--to feel like victims, too. Creators choose love, inspiration, and other qualities which inspire（鼓舞）not only themselves, but all around them. Both victims and creators always have choice to decide the direction of their lives.
In fact, all of us play the victim or the creator at different points in our lives. One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and go into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime. Another with the same experience may choose to first experience the sadness, then accept the loss and soon move on to be a powerful creative strength in his life.
In every moment and every situation, you can choose to have fuller, richer life by setting a clear goal to change the victim within, and by inviting into your life the powerful creator that you are. What does the word “they” in Paragraph 1 probably refer to?
| A．People and things around you. | B．Chances and problems. |
| C．Creators and their choices. | D．Victims and their sufferings. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Creators have the ability to predict future life. |
| B．Creators deal with ups and downs of life wisely. |
| C．Victims can influence more people than creators. |
| D．Victims and creators face quite different things in life. |
The examples mentioned in Paragraph 4 show that ________.
| A．strong feelings of sufferings in life pull people into victims. |
| B．people need family support to deal with sufferings in life. |
| C．it takes creators quite a long time to clear out their pains. |
| D．one’s experiences decide his attitude toward his life. |
What is the writer’s purpose in writing this passage?
| A．To describe victims and creators. |
| B．To compare victims with creators. |
| C．To suggest changing from victims to creators. |
| D．To explain the relation between victims and creators. |
The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smart phone, writing by hand has become something of old skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful--both in school and in life.
Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology(心理学) at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children learn the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her workmates carried out a study that looked at the ability of students to complete different writing tasks---both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, people wrote longer articles and more complete sentences.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us get our vocabulary, word meaning and ideas. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe(转换) “those words in the mind into written symbols(标志) on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to notice spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the choices given by the computer.”Which of the following best shows the role of spelling?
| A．Spelling improves one’s memory of words. |
| B．Spelling ability is closely tied to writing ability. |
| C．Spelling benefits the translation from words into ideas. |
| D．Spelling slows down finding exact words to express ideas. |
What does “mind’s eye” in paragraph 5 mean?
| A．Window. | B．Emotion. |
| C．Picture. | D．Imagination. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Computers can help people with their choice of words. |
| B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching. |
| C．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms. |
| D．Spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade. |
Before I started school, people felt that I was not going to be successful．At the age of four I started speech lessons because I could not speak well enough for anyone to understand me.
The first grade was a struggle (挣扎)．I had difficulty speaking, I also couldn’t learn to read．The second grade was not much better．I still struggled with the inability to read．In the third grade a new school was built. It was near my home. I went there with my parents and helped to get the school ready so that we could move to the new one. However, things didn’t get better for the next two years.
It was in the fifth grade．Mrs．Wakefield was my teacher, and she was a good teacher．She did not make me feel unconfident. Instead, she did her best to let me know that I could be whatever I wanted to be．And that is just what I did．
For the past 22 years, I have been a fifth grade teacher．Because of Mrs．Wakefield's influence on my life, I am now encouraging students who have had difficulties in their lives to believe that they can deal with any difficulty successfully and become someone．I have won many awards(奖项) up to now, such as Teacher of the Year．I think I should thank my fifth grade teacher. She believed in me and helped me to be all that I could be．The writer started speech lessons at the age of four because_________.
| A．he could not speak well | B．he could not read |
| C．he wanted to be a good teacher | D．he wanted to go to a new school |
The writer ______ when he was in the third grade．
| A．did better in reading | B．met a good teacher |
| C．received a high award | D．went to a new school |
We can know that the writer ______．
| A．has taught speech lessons |
| B．thinks teaching is a good job |
| C．is a very successful teacher now |
| D．works in the same school with Mrs. Wakefield |
School activities for kids
| Secret of the Dragon Time： Monday, July 1, 2014, 10:30 am Cost： Adult: $ 8 Children (under 15): half Tel ： 3403 2578. Address：Brisbane Botanic Gardens Note： Secret of the Dragon is a magical story about two children who ride a dragon to the space. |
The Search for Life: Time： Thursday, July 4, 2014, 2:00 pm Cost： Adult: $ 14 Children (under 15): $ 7 Tel ： 3403 7689. Address：Brisbane Botanic Gardens Note： Are we truly alone in space? Is there any life out there? These are the questions asked in this show. |
| Magic Class Time： Friday, July 12, 2014, 10:00 am Cost： Free Tel： 3403 8470. Address：Centenary Community Club Note： Would you like to be a magician? Then join David to learn about real magic with playing cards and coins and be able to become the life of the party. |
Science with Me: Time： Saturday, July 20, 2014, 3:00 pm Cost： Free Tel: 3403 1226. Address: 10, Egginton Close Note: Do you want to make a guitar with Katy and her mom? Science with Me is going to be with you. Please remember to bring all the things you need with you. |
John, a 10-year-old boy, should pay ______ if he watches Secret of the Dragon.
| A．$14 | B．$ 8 | C．$ 7 | D．$ 4 |
Alec is interested in space life. He may go to _______.
| A．The Search for Life | B．Science with Me |
| C．Magic Class | D．Secret of the Dragon |
You can go to Centenary Community Club on _____ if you want to learn about magic.
| A．July 1, 2014 | B．July 12, 2014 |
| C．July 4, 2014 | D．July 20, 2014 |
Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today. People didn’t have modern machines. Life today has brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Water pollution has made our rivers and lakes dirty. It kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us talk louder and become angry more easily. Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution. It’s bad to all living things in the world.
Polluted air from cars, planes and factories is so thick that it is like a quilt(被子) over a city. This kind of quilt is called smog(烟雾). Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. Factories must now clean their water before it is thrown away. And they mustn’t blow dirty smoke into the air. We need to do many other things. We can put waste things in the dustbin and not throw it on the ground. We can go to work by bus or with our friends in the same car. If there are fewer people driving, there will be less pollution.Rules are not enough, every person must help to fight pollution.
Hundreds of years ago, life was much harder than it is today because _____.
| A．there were fewer modern machines at that time than today |
| B．people didn’t like to use modern medicines |
| C．there were no modern machines at all |
| D．there was no pollution at all |
What is the biggest problem in today’s life?
| A．Dirty water. | B．Pollution. |
| C．Noise. | D．Too crowded |
The most serious kind of pollution is ______.
| A．noise pollution | B．air pollution |
| C．water pollution | D．waste paper |
Factories must clean their water ______.
| A．before they use it | B．when they use it |
| C．before it is thrown away | D．whenever they use it |
From the passage we know that ____.
| A．a few years ago, there was no smog at all |
| B．today people don’t have to talk to each other in a loud voice |
| C．people are making rules in order to fight pollution |
| D．people can only use rules to fight pollution |