Tears came into this mothers eyes when she talked about waking up her son． Every morning， her ten﹣year﹣old boy puts up one finger with his eyes still closed， begging for one more minute to sleep．
Why is he so sleepy？ Because， like thousands of student "early birds"in China， he has to get up before 6：00a．m． every morning．
School students usually need eight to ten hours' sleep a night． But in China， it's reported that 90% of the students do not get enough sleep And studies show that without a good nights sleep， students seem to be weaker than they should be． They can't pay attention to their lessons or the traffic around them， and become upset as a result．
Li Ming， a student of a middle school in Linhe， said， "I usually go to bed after 11： 00 p．m But when I have exams coming up， I have to stay up as late as midnight． "This"night bird lifestyle has made many students nod off（打瞌睡） in class． Li Ming said， "It is during afternoon classes that I feel most sleepy． My parents are usually happy to see me studying so late． They think I work very hard and they make me cups of coffee．
So far， the officials of the Educational Bureau of Bayannao'er City have aken many measures to reduce the students'pressure． One is known as putting off （推迟） the time for going to school． It has worked well in increasing the students'sleeping time． Thanks to the policy， the students have enough time to sleep now． However， some people doubt the correctness of it．The problem of the students' pressure is still serious in our area， We still have a long way to go．
（1）Although the ten﹣year﹣old boy was____，his mother had to wake him up before 6： 00a．m．
| A． |
angry |
| B． |
lazy |
| C． |
sleepy |
| D． |
ill |
（2）．School students usually need to sleep for____a night．
| A． |
at least eight hours |
| B． |
six to eight hours |
| C． |
less than eight hours |
| D． |
more than ten hours |
（3）Without enough sleep， the school students will become____．
| A． |
upset |
| B． |
weak |
| C． |
sleepy in class |
| D． |
all the above |
（4）Li Ming's mother is____to see him studying late．
| A． |
sorry |
| B． |
angry |
| C． |
happy |
| D． |
worried |
（5）Which one is True according to the passage？____
| A． |
All the parents hope their children stay up． |
| B． |
All the students don't think that they are short of sleep． |
| C． |
The students dont have learning pressure now． |
| D． |
The officials of the Educational Bureau care about the students' health． |
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Learning English Your online space for English study for English study |
|
Lily |
Hey， everybody． I'm Lily， your online English learning adviser． Do you have any questions with learning English？ What are your biggest problems？ |
|
Helen |
English is my favourite subject． I'm good at reading and writing， but I don't do well in speaking and I'm having a lot of trouble with my listening． Any advice？ |
|
Sam |
My English is better now． But my handwriting sill isn't very good． I've still got some work to do on that． |
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Mary |
I am outgoing and like outdoor activities．But the virus has made this more dangerous．I have to stay at home all day long． It's boring． |
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Mike |
When saying "Open the window!"， I have to think about who I' m talking to and then decide whether to say，"Open the window，please!" or "Could you open the window，please？" or even longer "Would you mind opening the window，please？" That's really hard． |
|
Jack |
For me， vocabulary is my biggest problem﹣ there are just so MANY new words! I can't keep all the new vocabulary in my head． HELP! |
（1）The topic of the forum（论坛） is ．
A． Doing Sports
B． Keeping Healthy
C． Making Friends
D．Learning English
（2）Mike's problem is how to ．
A． improve handwriting
B． use English properly
C． pronounce beautifully
D． remember new words
（3）Whose reply is not about the topic？
A． Helen's．
B． Sam's．
C． Mary's．
D． Jack's．
（1） Air Jordan（飞人乔丹） shoes are very popular and expensive． The first Air Jordan shoes were made in 1985． The next Air Jordan shoes came out in 1986． These shoes were special for basketball shoes， because they were made in Italy in 1990， which gave them a luxury （奢侈的） feel． Two years later， the third Air Jordan shoes were produced．
（2） If you want to make your shoes look new， first， get out a toothbrush and some cleaning oil． Second， spray （喷） the oil on the shoes． Third， wash the dirt off with the toothbrush repeatedly while you are scrubbing （擦）． Finally， scrub the shoes with a paper towel or clean cloth． If you did a good job，your shoes should look as nice as when you first got them．
（3） If you go to a dance party， you'll need to wear dress shoes． However， wearing dress shoes for a few minutes can be really painful． To solve the problem， you can bring a box of band﹣aids （创口贴） with you． When your feet hurt， put on those band﹣aids． The band﹣aids will create something that will reduce pain．
（4） When playing golf and bowling （保龄球）， people need to wear special shoes． Golf shoes have sharp metal spikes （鞋钉）， while bowling shoes have almost no spikes at all． Both these shoes help players perform． Besides looking silly， golf shoes and bowling shoes do not have soles （鞋底） that are fit for street use．
（5） Are you wearing shoes？ Why？ People wear shoes for many reasons． The first and most important reason is to protect their feet． Shoes keep people from hurting their feet while walking on hard roads． Some people wear special shoes designed to help them play a game．Some people wear expensive shoes to look fashionable．And a lot of other people wear shoes so that their feet won't stink（发臭）up the room．
Long long ago， there lived a man and a woman who had seven sons． The couple wanted a daughter， very much， and finally， they had a girl． She was very pretty and her parents loved her very much． One day the father needed water for the child， so he sent the seven brothers to a well（井） in the forest to get it． Once there， though， the boys began to fight and the water jug （壶） fell into the well． The boys looked into the well and thought of their father． They were afraid to go home．
Hours passed． "Where are those boys？" shouted the angry father．"They are probably playing a game and have forgotten about the water． I wish they were all turned into ravens （乌鸦） !" And when he looked up， he saw seven black birds flying away． The father was shocked．"What have I done？" he thought． But it was too late． He could not take back his words．
Later， the girl grew up and discovered she had brothers． The story of their bad luck influenced her deeply， and she decided to find them． For years， she searched and did not stop． She made up her mind to find them． Finally， she found their home．To enter，she needed a special key made from a chicken bone，which she did not have．The girl thought for a moment，and then took a knife and cut off one of her fingers． With it， she opened the front door and went inside． On a table， there were seven plates and seven cups． She ate and drank a little from each of them． In the last cup， she accidentally dropped a ring that her parents had given her．
Later that day， the ravens returned for their meal． The girl hid behind the door and watched． When the seventh raven drank from his cup， something hit his mouth． The raven recognized it at once﹣it was his parents' ring．"I wish our sister were here，" he said， "and then we could be free．" At that moment， their sister ran to them， and suddenly the ravens were human again．The brothers kissed their sister，and all eight of them went home together happily．
（1）Why were the seven brothers afraid to go home at first？
A． They lost their father' s ring．
B． They threw away the water jug．
C． They didn't get back any water．
D． Seven black ravens shocked them．
（2）What can we infer （推断） from the underlined sentence in Para． 2？
A． The father regretted what he had said．
B． The father was no pleased with his life．
C． The father was worried about his little girl．
D． The father was angry with what his sons had done．
（3）What was the first thing the girl did after she entered the raven's house？
A． She ate and drank
B． She hid behind a door．
C． She took out a knife．
D． She sat and waited for the ravens．
（4）How did the ravens become human again？
A． They ate a magic ring．
B． One raven made a wish after seeing the ring．
C． Their sister kissed them．
D． They drank with a special cup from their father．
（5）What lesson can we learn from the story？
A． Don't talk to strange people．
B． Work hard and you will be happy．
C． Your parents always know best．
D． Think carefully about what to say．
In the future， people may travel to Mars （火星） by water﹣powered spaceship! Today's spaceships are fine for getting things into space， but they are not so good at travelling long distances． These spaceships burn chemical fuels （燃料）， and they are very expensive． Scientists say that a water﹣powered spaceship could make the trip to Mars much cheaper． The idea is just in the planning stages now， but scientists think such a spaceship could be developed soon．
The key to the water﹣powered spaceship is the engine （发动机）． Regular engines push spaceships by burning fuel． The water engine will use steam， created by solar panels （太阳能板） that heat water to a high temperature． Of course， the spaceship will have to carry a lot of water for the long trip to Mars． Today's spaceships could not carry that much water．But scientists think that a spaceship blown up like a balloon will be able to．
One US company has already developed a spaceship like this． These spaceships are made of a strong material． Two of them have already been sent up into space， using rockets and then later filled with air．"Balloon" spaceships could be very large and carry enough water for a long trip． With the "Balloon" spaceships， enough water could be carried to power the engines and grow food during the trip． And the people on the spaceship might even get to take a hot bath!
Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost． The "Balloon" spaceship uses water to push it through space and costs about one thirtieth of a normal spaceship． Such savings naturally encourage continued research into balloon spaceships and w after engines． If these scientists are correct， we may soon be on our way to Mars in a spaceship powered by water．
（1）Which sentence best describes the main idea of the passage above？
A． The key to the water﹣powered spaceship is the engine．
B． In the future， people may travel to Mars by water powered spaceship．
C． One US company has already developed a spaceship like this．
D． Scientists say the biggest advantage of such a spaceship would be cost．
（2）What do you think is omitted（省略） at the end of the underlined sentence？
A． use steam
B． push spaceships
C． heat water
D． carry that much water
（3）Besides growing food， what else might astronauts do with the rest of the water？
A． Take a hot bath．
B． Freeze dangerous things．
C． Blow up a balloon．
D． Change the surface of Mars．
（4）On which website can we probably read this passage？
A． www．freedictionary．com/power
B． www．mooc．cn/music
C． www．chinadaily com． cn/culture
D． www．space． com/spaceflight
Robots Are Now Teaching English!
Get ready． Robots are about to invade our classroom． From Korea to Japan to the United States， schools are putting English﹣speaking robots in front of their students． In Korea， robots are the new teaching assistants in a number of preschools and kindergartens． The young students say that the robots are fun， but are these children really learning anything？
I don't think a computer will ever be able to do what a teacher does． A teacher has to be able to respond to students as individuals （个体）．__▲__and a teacher has to change his or her teaching style to fit the needs of the student． I seriously doubt that a computer will ever be able to do this even though the big data （数据）is widely used in the world．
4 Comments on "Robots Are Now Teaching English!"
Sara says：
In my opinion， schools should spend money training human teachers rather than buying robots． Research shows that children learn more from real speakers than from recorded conversations．
Keiko says：
I don't think you can learn a language without real human interaction．After all， robots cannot think as humans do．
Hassan says：
Robots might be able to help people lean a language， but I don't think they should replace teachers because robots are just machines without human feelings．
Nancy says：
I think robots might be very helpful in the classroom． A child might be less afraid to make a mistake in front of a robot than in front of a real person．
Add a comment
（1）The underlined word "invade" in Para.1 probably means ．
A． enter
B． leave
C． accept
D． fight
（2）Which of the following can be best put in___▲___in Para． 2？ ．
A． Each teacher is different
B． Each student is different
C． AIl teachers are helpful
D． All students are fun
（3）Of the 4 comments， thinks that robots could give lots of help to learners in class．
A． Sara
B． Keiko
C． Hassan
D． Nancy
（4）What's the writer's attitude （态度）towards robots' teaching English？
A． Uncaring．
B． Supportive．
C． Doubtful．
D． Agreeable．
