The population of the world continues to increase， but in some areas the population is falling．This is true in Europe and especially in Eastern Europe． In Russia， the population is going down by about 100 people EVERY HOUR! Russia's population could fall by ONE THIRD by the year 2050! And in Poland （波兰）the population is also going down because people are leaving to work in other countries．
One of the main reasons is a change of lifestyle． All over Europe people， especially educated women， have a different attitude （态度）to children than their parents．"I have one child and she is enough for me， "said Galina Tereschkova， a doctor from Moscow． "My husband and I both work full﹣time． We can't imagine having more than one child． "Many women decide to have children later in life or not to have children at all． "I don't want to have any children until I have worked for at least 10 years， "said 19﹣year﹣old student Hana Markova from Prague． Her opinion is typical of 18﹣24 year old women everywhere in Europe．
In Poland， the population is going down for a different reason． A lot of people，usually aged between 20 and 30， are leaving the country to work abroad． Poland joined the European Union in 2005 and since then more than half a million people have moved to Britain， Germany， Spain and Italy． Even so， the population of those four countries and many other countries in West Europe is also going down．
Many governments are now encouraging people to have larger families． In France，women now receive nearly 1，000 a month for a year if they have a third child．Austrian women receive 700 a month for three years when they have their first child．
（1）Where in the world is the population getting smaller？
（2）How many children does Galina Tereschkova want to have？
（3）What does Hana Markova want to do before she has children？
（4）Why is the population in Poland going down？
（5）How does the French government encourage people to have larger families now？
Dear editor,
My English teacher is very strict with us. Several days ago, when we were in class, Tom asked me a question. But my English teacher thought we were speaking in class. She asked us to stand at the back of the classroom for a few minutes. This made me unfair. After that, I feel nervous in her class, so I don’t like her class. However, I really want to learn English well. What should I do?
Yours,
Mike
Dear Mike,
I am sorry you are having difficulty with your English class. Every teacher wants his or her students to study hard. So I think you should have a talk with your English teacher and tell her what you were doing with Tom that day. If she knows your worries, maybe she will help you with your English. And she will be pleased to hear you want to learn English well. Of course, you should know that what your teacher did was good for you. When you are not trying as hard as you can, she has to stop it and try to help you. Wish you have a better life!
Yours,
Editor
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。What’s wrong with Mike?
| A．He doesn’t like learning English. |
| B．He meets trouble with his English teacher. |
| C．He doesn’t know how to get on well with his English teacher. |
| D．He doesn’t like English any longer. |
Mike feels nervous in English classes because ____.
| A．he doesn’t like his English teacher |
| B．he can’t speak in class |
| C．his English teacher punished(惩罚) him |
| D．his English is poor |
In the editor’s opinion, the English teacher asked Mike to stand for a while because _____.
| A．she didn’t like him |
| B．she didn’t think Mike was learning English hard at that time |
| C．Mike was bad at English |
| D．Mike was making much noise |
The teacher will _____ if Mike has a talk with her.
| A．be even angrier | B．ask him to stand for some time once again |
| C．be pleased | D．say sorry to him |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to(根据) the passage?
| A．Mike dislikes English classes, but he wants to learn English well. |
| B．Mike wants the editor to tell his English teacher the truth. |
| C．The editor gave Mike some advice, but it didn’t work. |
| D．The teacher hates Mike much more than before. |
Anger is a kind of feeling. Many things can make you angry. When your teacher gives you too much homework, when your team loses an important game, when a friend borrows your favorite thing and then breaks it, you may get really angry.
Usually, your body will tell you when you are angry. For example, you breathe faster, your face turns red, and you may want to break something or hit(打) someone, but sometimes, you hide(隐藏) your anger. For example, you may hide it in your heart. The problem is that if you do this, you may get a headache or your stomach may hurt.
In fact, it’s not good to hide your anger, and it’s normal for you to get angry sometimes. But anger must be let out in the right way, without hurting others or yourself.
When you get angry, you can talk about it with other people. It’s helpful to talk about your anger with an adult, such as parents, a teacher, etc. When you talk about anger, those bad feelings can start to go away. Here are some other things you can do when you start to feel angry: talk to a good friend; count from 1 to 100; give someone a hug(拥抱); go for a bike ride; think about good things, etc.
Remember that how you act when you are angry can make everything better or worse. Don’t let your anger control you.
根据短文内容，选择最佳答案。You may not get angry when ____.
| A．there is too much homework on this weekend |
| B．your favorite basketball team wins the game |
| C．a friend breaks your favorite thing |
| D．your parents don’t let you watch TV |
____ shows that you’re not angry.
| A．Taking a faster breath |
| B．Getting a headache |
| C．Getting a stomachache |
| D．Wanting to protect someone |
According to the passage, you can do everything when you get angry except(除了) ____.
| A．go for a bike ride |
| B．think about good things |
| C．talk to a good friend |
| D．say bad things to the people around you |
The underlined word “control” in the last paragraph means ____ in Chinese.
| A．控制 | B．连接 | C．帮助 | D．失去 |
This passage is mainly about ____.
| A．anger | B．excitement | C．happiness | D．sadness |
Plants are flowering faster than scientists predicted（预测）in reaction to climate change, which could have long damaging effects on food chains and ecosystems.
Global warming is having a great effect on hundreds of plant and animal species around the world, changing some living patterns, scientists say.
Increased carbon dioxide（CO2）in the air from burning coal and oil can have an effect on how plants produce oxygen, while higher temperatures and changeable rainfall patterns can change their patterns of growth.
“Predicting species’ reaction to climate change is a major challenge in ecology,” said the researches of several U.S. universities. They said plants had been the key object of study because their reaction to climate change could have an effect on food chains and ecosystem services.
The study, published on the Nature website, uses the findings from plant life cycle studies and experiments across four continents and 1,634 species. It found that some experiments had underestimated（低估）the speed of flowering by 8.5 times and leafing by 4 times.
“Across all species, the experiments under-predicted the speed of the advance — for both leafing and flowering — that results from temperature increases,” the study said.
The design of future experiments may need to be improved to better predict how plants will react to climate change, it said.
Plants are necessary for life on the Earth. They are the base of the food chain, using photosynthesis（光合作用）to produce sugar from carbon dioxide and water. They let out oxygen which is needed by nearly every organism on the planet.
Scientists believe the world’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8℃since 1900, and nearly 0.2℃ every ten years since 1979.
So far, efforts to cut emissions（排放）of planet-warming greenhouse gases are not seen as enough to prevent the Earth heating up beyond 2℃ this century — a point scientists say will bring the danger of a changeable climate in which weather extremes are common, leading to drought, floods, crop failures and rising sea levels.What is the key information the author wants to give in Paragraph 1?
| A．Plants’ reaction to weather could have damaging effects on ecosystem. |
| B．The increasing speed of flowering is beyond scientists’ expectation. |
| C．Climate change leads to the change of food production patterns. |
| D．Food chains have been seriously damaged because of weather. |
We can learn from the study published on the Nature website that ______.
| A．plants’ flowering is 8.5 times faster than leafing |
| B．there are 1,634 plant species on the four continents |
| C．scientists should improve the design of the experiments |
| D．the experiments failed to predict how plants react to climate change |
Scientists pay special attention to the study of plants because _______.
| A．they can prove the climate change clearly |
| B．they are very important in the food chains |
| C．they play a leading role in reducing global warming |
| D．they are growing and flowering much faster than before |
What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs about the world’s temperature?
| A．It has risen nearly 0.2℃ since 1979. |
| B．Its change will lead to weather extremes. |
| C．It is 0.8℃ higher in 1979 than that of 1990. |
| D．It needs to be controlled within 2℃ in this century. |
Wang Jiaming from Beijing Chenjinglun High School says he is a lucky boy. He’s happy that he’s sitting the senior high school entrance exam (中考) in 2014 instead of 2016.
On Oct 22, Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (北京市教委) announced that, from 2016, the English scores in the senior high school entrance exam will be reduced from 120 to 100. Of the 100 points, the listening ability scores will increase to 50. Meanwhile, the points for Chinese will increase from 120 to 150.
“The change won’t affect me. I feel so lucky because English is my strongest subject,” said Wang.
Why such a change? It places the importance on Chinese in our study, and reduces students’ stress, said Li Yi, spokesman of the commission.
“The change will also push us to pay attention to the practical usage (运用) of English,” said Li. “Students will be encouraged to learn to understand English menus and read English news on mobile phones.”
There isn’t news that other cities will have the same change. But several places are making changes to English tests in the college entrance exams. For example, Shandong is considering taking out the listening part of the English exam in its college entrance exams.
But, “being tested for less points doesn’t mean the subject can be taken lightly,” Bai Ping wrote in China Daily.
English has long been the world’s most commonly used language. Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji once said: “In a globalizing economy (全球经济), if you cannot communicate with foreigners, how can one be part of the world economy?”
Wang Jiaming said he understood the change.
“Chinese, not English, is our mother tongue (母语),” he said. “But still, I think English is both interesting and useful.”In the Beijing senior high school entrance exam of 2016, _____.
| A．the English scores will be cut down to 100 |
| B．the English listening ability scores will be lowered |
| C．the points for Chinese will be reduced by 30 points |
| D．the points for chemistry will increase by 20 points |
The underlined phrase “can be taken lightly” in this sentence “being tested for less points doesn’t mean the subject can be taken lightly,” is closest in meaning to “_____________”.
| A．can be taken out |
| B．can be paid less attention to |
| C．can be taken a close look at |
| D．can take the place of Chinese |
What is the main purpose of the change?
| A．To encourage students to learn how to order meals in English. |
| B．To make students learn to read English news on mobile phones. |
| C．To ask students to prepare for the college entrance exam. |
| D．To make students pay more attention to learning Chinese. |
What does Bai Ping think of the reforms (改革)?
| A．They make students spend less time on English. |
| B．They make it harder to get a high score. |
| C．Studying English is still important for the students. |
| D．English is both interesting and useful. |
This is Yoga! (瑜伽) Experience this for yourself.
How do you feel when you leave a yoga class? Do you feel relaxed, full of energy, prepared and ready to face anything and everything? Do you feel better than when you walked in? If you have answered “No”’ to these questions then you are NOT doing yoga.
After walking out of the class, do you feel that you have been pushed through, that theclass was hard，that you have less energy at the end of the class, that you have not got any energy, or that you are still tight and full of stress? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, you are NOT doing yoga.
Are you forced (被迫) into positions(姿势) beyond what you can? Do you know why you are doing the actions in the “yoga” class you attend?
Satyananda Yoga Center teaches YOGA. We know and understand yoga and YOU. We teach yoga with this knowledge and understanding.
You are not forced into positions not suitable for you, or too early for you. You will leave Satyananda Yoga Center yoga classes feeing relaxed, free from stress,energized, and ready for whatever life brings to you.
With regular attendance and practice, the quality of your life improves with betterhealth, and stress-free mind.Your family and friends will notice the difference. You will feel the difference forbetter. This is because you are doing yoga.
Yoga for Everyone!
Yoga is a science. You are the scientist, and you are the one in the science of yoga.
New Saturday morning class from September — 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Asian American Cultural Center, 11713 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas.
To sign up, call:2669862, or email: keepfitwithyoga@yahoo.comAt which time can people learn yoga according to this passage?
| A．At 10:00 on Sunday in September. |
| B．At 22:00 on the first Saturday in October. |
| C．At 9:00 on Saturday in September. |
| D．On everey Saturday afternoon in September. |
The passage suggests but doesn’t tell directly (直接地) that ______________.
| A．only Satyananda Yoga Center teaches yoga |
| B．there’s no better place to learn yoga than Satyananda Yoga Center |
| C．some yoga centers are not teaching yoga in the right way |
| D．you have to be a scientist before you take up yoga |
Which is NOT true if people follow the right ways to do yoga?
| A．In the class you will practise some positions. |
| B．You will feel very different after practising once. |
| C．You will feel new and fresh after practising yoga. |
| D．You will feel great if you keep on practising it for a few months. |