Do you know that in some parts of the world，people build temporary（暂时的）hotels made of snow and blocks（大块）of ice？These are known as ice hotels．
Unlike usual hotels，all the rooms in the ice hotels are made of ice．In some ice hotels，even the glasses for drinks are made of ice blocks．So they only serve cold drinks．Also，hot food is not served in the ice hotels，but guests can eat hot food at places nearby．
To keep warm，guests sleep in comfortable sleeping bags on ice blocks that are covered by mattresses（床垫）and reindeer skins（驯鹿皮）．
There are some places in the ice hotels that are heated，such as the bathrooms．This is because，even though it is not as cold in the ice hotels as it is outdoors（在户外），indoor temperatures are still very low．
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the ice hotels is that they are rebuilt every year．They can be used only during the winter months．The ice hotels melt（融化）away when spring arrives．The ice blocks used to build these hotels are from nearby rivers．So，when the ice hotels melt away，they melt back into the rivers．
56．According to the passage，ice hotels ．
| A． |
are found everywhere |
| B． |
do business in summer |
| C． |
are made of glass |
| D． |
are made of snow and ice |
57．Which of the following about the ice hotels is true？
| A． |
They are just like usual hotels． |
| B． |
The glasses are made of wood． |
| C． |
They serve cold drinks． |
| D． |
The rooms are made of bamboo． |
58．You can't see in the ice hotels．
| A． |
hot food |
| B． |
reindeer skins |
| C． |
sleeping bag |
| D． |
mattresses |
59．Why are bathrooms heated in the ice hotels？
| A． |
Guests want to eat in them． |
| B． |
Indoor temperature are very low． |
| C． |
Guests ask the hotels to do that． |
| D． |
It is as cold indoors as it is outdoors． |
60．What happens to the ice hotels in spring？
| A． |
They melt away． |
| B． |
They are rebuilt． |
| C． |
They are repaired． |
| D． |
They need more ice． |
"Earworms", some people call them. Songs that get stuck in your head go round and round, sometimes for days, sometimes for months. For no clear reason you cannot help yourself from humming or singing a tune by Lady Gaga.
To a psychologist, the most interesting thing about earworms is that they show a part of our mind that is clearly outside of our control. Earworms arrive without permission and refuse to leave when we tell them to. They are parasites (寄生虫) living in a part of our minds.
If you have got an earworm you can suffer an attack of it simply by someone mentioning the tune, without having to hear it. This proves that earworms are a part of long-term memory. Humans have an "inner ear", for remembering phone numbers, for instance. When it gets infected with earworms, rather than review our plans for the day, or lists of things to remember, the inner ear gets stuck on a few short bars of music or a couple of phrases from a song. A part of us that we normally do not have to think about, that should just do what we ask, has been turned against us, upsetting us with a request that we never asked for. The mind is an inner world which we do not have complete knowledge of, or have control over.
Fortunately psychology can provide some advice on how to deal with an uncontrollable mind. Consider the famous "don’t think of a white bear" problem, which tells you to try not to think about white bears, or to do something else, to avoid both thinking of the white bear and not thinking of the white bear. For earworms, the solution may be the same. Our inner ear has become infected with an earworm. This is a part not under our control, so just sending in instructions to "shut up" is unlikely to be of much help (and has been shown to make it worse). Much better is to employ the inner ear in another task. If your mind is poisoned by Brittany Spears’ Toxic, for instance, then try singing Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out Of My Head. Let me know if it works!According to the passage, earworms are ______.
| A．songs that keep going round in our mind |
| B．worms that live in a part of our brain |
| C．tunes by pop singers like Lady Gaga |
| D．parasites clearly under our control |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Singing songs may get earworms out of your head. |
| B．Earworms are used for keeping long-term memory. |
| C．Humans do not have complete control over their mind. |
| D．You won’t suffer from earworms unless you hear the song. |
What does “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．The instruction to shut up your mind. |
| B．“Don’t think of the white bear” problem. |
| C．Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out Of My Head. |
| D．Using the earworm-infected inner ear in another task. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The causes and influences of earworms. |
| B．What earworms are and how to deal with them. |
| C．How to clear earworms out of your head. |
| D．The relation between earworms and popular songs. |
What would happen if you tried to blow a soap bubble in freezing weather? Would it freeze solid(固体) and fall to the ground? Would you have to hit it to break it? These questions happened to me on a cold winter day. It was too cold to play in the snow, but it was a perfect time to experiment with blowing frozen bubbles.
To blow frozen bubbles, I used dishwashing soap and a drop of glycerin（甘油） to make it even better. I chose a place out of the wind, and blew bubbles the same way I always do. I watched to see what would happen. Here’s what I learned.
If the temperature is low enough, the skin of the bubbles frosts over (结霜), becoming cloudy instead of clear. And what about those rainbow swirls（旋转） you see in soap bubbles? The rainbow colors stay even when the bubbles frost, but they don’t swirl anymore. The bubbles still stay in the air. They don’t fall to the ground any faster than they would on a warm summer day.
When these frozen bubbles break, they don’t turn into small water drops as summer bubbles do. They turn into flashing rainbow confetti（碎屑） and move slowly to the ground. Sometimes a frozen bubble will roll across the snow without breaking. If nothing disturbs the bubble, it may stay there for a long time. Sometimes I could catch a bubble and hold it until the heat of my hand made it pop.
I learned another thing about blowing frozen bubbles. It’s so interesting that I want to try it again next year. It is the perfect time to blow frozen bubbles on a ___________day.
| A．cold winter | B．warm spring | C．hot summer | D．sunny autumn |
When the frozen bubbles break, _________.
| A．they make a big sound | B．they turn into small drops |
| C．they fall to the ground like rain | D．they become rainbow confetti |
The purpose of the passage is _______.
| A．to learn how to do a science experiment |
| B．to show the experiment of blowing frozen bubbles |
| C．to discover games that are fun to play in the snow |
| D．to invent a new kind of soap that makes stronger bubbles |
| My Classroom Wheel Teachers 2012~2013 |
|
Welcome to My Art Class! My Classroom Mission(任务) We will learn about art history, artists and develop students’ talent. In order to learn, be creative and improve our painting skills, we will have a relaxing classroom. Name: Kathy Grady Email Address:kgrady@iss.k12.nc.us |
Welcome to Pope’s Computer Lab! My Classroom Mission Students will work together and actively take part in designing the computer programs.By doing this we will be able to use computer technology successfully in our lives. Name:Barbara Pope Email Address:bpope@iss.k12.nc.us |
Welcome toMyPE class! My Classroom Mission Be active in PE classes!You do not have to be an Olympic athlete to get an A in my class. Take part in our sports activities to keep a healthy body and mind. All students will be successful. Name: Sherry Cash Email Address:scash@iss.k12.nc.us |
Welcome to the Science Lab! My Classroom Mission This year we will learn about science by becoming a scientist. We will do experiments, observe, touch, listen, and ask questions about our world. We will learn to care for our world. We will never give up trying! Name: Denise Harris Email Address:dharris@iss.k12.nc.us |
In order to improve___________, the students will have a relaxing classroom.
| A．painting skills | B．computer programs | C．sports activities | D．science studies |
We can email at ________ to get more information about computer class.
| A．dharris@iss.k12.nc.us | B．kgrady@iss.k12.nc.us |
| C．bpope@iss.k12.nc.us | D．scash@iss.k12.nc.us |
Students should go to __________ class to learn to do experiment.
| A．Barbara Pope’s | B．Sherry Cash’s | C．Kathy Grady’s | D．Denise Harris’ |
Reading is the key to school success and, like any skill, it takes practice. A child learns to walk by practicing until he no longer has to think about how to put one foot in front of the other. An excellent sportsman practices until he can play quickly, correctly and without thinking. Educators call it “automaticity (自动性)”.
A child learns to read by sounding out the letters and finding the meaning of the words. With practice, he stumbles less and less, reading by the phrase (短语). With automaticity, he doesn't have to think about the meaning of words, so he can give all his attention to the meaning of the text.
It can begin as early as first grade. In a recent study of children in Illinois schools, Alan Rossman of Northwestern University found that automatic readers in the first grade not only read almost three times as fast as the others, but also got better results in exams.
According to Rossman, the key to automaticity is the amount (数量) of time a child spends reading, not his IQ. Any child who spends at least 3.5 to 4 hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers will probably reach automaticity. It can happen if a child turns off TV just one night for reading at home.
You can test yourself by reading something new which is suitable (适合) for your level. If you read aloud with expression, with a sense of the meaning of the sentences, you probably are an automatic reader. If you read brokenly, one word at a time, without expression or meaning, you need more practice.Children with “automaticity” can read faster because they don’t have to think about ________.
| A．how to read the words | B．the meaning of the words |
| C．reading by themselves | D．the meaning of the text |
Rossman tells that any child who ________will possibly be an automatic reader.
| A．turns off TV one night 4 weeks |
| B．reads books by the word quickly |
| C．spends an hour reading every day |
| D．gets the same grades as others in exams |
The underlined word “stumble” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.
| A．结结巴巴地读 | B．全神贯注地读 |
| C．心不在焉地读 | D．声情并茂地读 |
The best title for the passage is“________”.
| A．IQ Is the Key to the Automaticity |
| B．TV Is Bad for Children's Reading |
| C．Automaticity Depends on Practice |
| D．Automatic Reads Will Be Successful |
“Are you happy?” The simple question usually makes people confused (迷惑的). Even Mo Yan, who won a Nobel Prize, replied to it by saying, “I don’t know.”
When a migrant worker (农民工) was asked, “Are you happy? (Ni Xing Fu Ma?)” by a CCTV reporter, he looked confused before replying, “My family name is Zeng. (Wo Xing Zeng.)” This has become a joke. But his answer showed migrant workers and TV reporters live in different worlds and they cannot even communicate with each other.
Similarly, when asked, “Are you happy?” a 73-year-old man, collecting used plastic bottles in a street in Zhejiang, said, “The bottles can be sold for 0.1 yuan each.” Asked again, he said, “The government is good.” The reporter went on, “My question is ‘Are you happy?’” The old man answered, “My hearing is not good.”
The reporter probably tried to reach the same answer that the interviewees(被采访者) including the migrant worker and the old man are “happy”.
In fact, when the question is asked, we should learn about people’s true situation and their true wishes and opinions but their “Yes” or “No”.
Luckily, the government has paid more attention to the importance. Now there are many TV programs giving common people the chance to give their opinions.
“Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At last year’s National People’s Congress (人大), Wen Jiabao said and agreed that increasing happiness would be a top aim for the 12th five-year plan.Ten plastic bottles could be sold for ________ to the 73-year-old.
| A．0.1 yuan | B．1 yuan | C．10 yuan | D．20 yuan |
The government has paid more attention to the importance of ________.
| A．learning about people’s true wishes and opinions |
| B．people’s different replies to “Are you happy?” |
| C．improving migrant workers’ education |
| D．keeping the old people’s health |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The reporters wanted the people to say “Yes” when asked “Are you happy?” |
| B．Letting people live more happily is a top aim in the next five years. |
| C．The reporter asked the old man three different questions. |
| D．We can call the migrant worker Mr. Zeng. |
This passage is mainly about ________.
| A．the questions | B．the happiness |
| C．the popular songs | D．the education |