We live in a town with three beaches.There are two parks less than 10 minutes'walk from
home where neighborhood children gather to play.However,what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen-any screen- and stare at it for hours.They are not alone.Today'schildren spend an average of four and a half hours a day looking at screens,split between watching television and using the Internet.
In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend.A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children,then aged five and three,were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say"chocolate" into his three-year-old son's ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself"marketing director fro Nature".He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to
be marketed to young people.The result was Project Wild T hing,a film which charts the birth
of the World Network,a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.
"Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference,"David Bond says."There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven,then being outdoors will be a habit for life."His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: "We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while."
Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it.Let us get them out and let them play.
What is the problem with the author's children?
| A． |
They often annoy the neighbours. |
B． |
They are tired of doing their homework. |
| C． |
They have no friends to play with |
D． |
They stay in front of screens for too long. |
5. How did David Bond advocate his idea?
| A． |
By making a documentary film. |
B． |
By organizing outdoor activities. |
| C． |
By advertising in London media. |
D． |
By creating a network of friends. |
6.Which of the following can replace the underlined word "charts" in paragraph 2?
| A． |
records |
B． |
predicts |
C． |
delays |
D． |
confirms |
7.What can be a suitable title for thetext?
| A． |
Let Children Have Fun |
B． |
Young Children Need More Free Time |
| C． |
Market Nature to Children |
D． |
David Bond:A Role Model for Children |
Here is a true story about a famous man who worked in the White House and a criminal. They once faced the same thing: their mother gave them apples when they were young.
The criminal said: one day, my mother brought some apples and asked my brother and me: “Which do you want?” “The reddest and biggest one,” my little brother said. My mother stared at him and said to him angrily: “You should learn to give the good things to others; you shouldn’t always think of yourself.” Seeing this, I suddenly changed my idea and then said to my mother: “Mum, please give me the smaller one and give the bigger one to my little brother.” Hearing my words, my mother was very happy. She kissed me on my face and gave the reddest and biggest apple to me as a prize. From then on, I learned to tell lies, fight, steal and rob. In order to get what I wanted, I played hard. As a result, I was sent into prison.
The famous man from the White House said: One day, my mother brought some apples. She said to my brother and me: “You all want the reddest and biggest one, right? Well, let’s have a competition. Now I divide the grassland in front of the gate into two and I will give one to each of you and you must shear(修剪) it well. And I will give the reddest and biggest apple to him who does it the most quickly and best.”
After the competition, I won and I got the biggest apple. In our family, as long as you want to get the best things, you must take part in competition. I think it is fair. No matter what you want, you must pay lots of efforts.The criminal got the reddest and biggest apple because .
| A．he told the truth that he wanted a smaller one |
| B．his mother loved him more than she loved the younger brother |
| C．elder brother should of course have the bigger one |
| D．he knew how to make his mother happy from her answer |
We can conclude from the passage that .
| A．it’s important to make children aware that no matter what they want, they must pay work |
| B．it’s wrong to ask children to choose apples when they are not old enough |
| C．it’s wrong to ask children not to always think of themselves |
| D．it’s always necessary to have a competition when we give children apple |
The writer tells the story by .
| A．organizing it in the order of time |
| B．making a comparison between two men |
| C．providing some scientific information |
| D．describing it in the order of space |
It is implied in the passage that .
| A．we should always try to win competitions which can bring us a lot |
| B．in order to get what we want, we should play hard |
| C．giving children apples will lead them to become criminals |
| D．a mother’s educational method has a great influence on a child’s growing |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
“I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”
“I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”
But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”
I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame (责怪) others, and you play the role of victim (受害者), chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.
This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard (标准) for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．How to make friendship last for ever |
| C．You are who your friends are |
| D．Friends are the most important in one’s success |
The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll push you ahead |
| B．they’ll influence you |
| C．they’ll cover your shortcomings |
| D．they’ll help you achieve your goal |
The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.
| A．the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor |
| B．people have poor taste in music |
| C．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
| D．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.
| A．improve a lot in making more friends |
| B．come to the right way of making friends |
| C．develop a better relationship with your friends |
| D．arrange the time with your friends properly |
The passage is mainly written for ______.
| A．musicians | B．managers |
| C．negative people | D．people wanting to succeed |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home! The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport | B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home | D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time | B．serious with time |
| C．careful with time | D．willing to spend time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
Teaching materials for learning Chinese are provided here. There are sites where you may find interesting instructions suitable for you. Here are some sites to begin your surfing.
You may start with these pages from this website — just to get a little taste of it without working too hard.
● A Is For Love
Flash cards for learning a few Chinese words
● Listening to the sound of Chinese
Play a few words of Chinese on your computer.
● A few Chinese words
Each word is enlarged for easy study.
If you are studying Chinese, these tools can help.
● Zhongwen site
More than a dictionary!
● Clavis Sinica
Excellent program by Professor David Porter. It displays a whole document in Chinese [GB] or [BIG5], and gives individual word’s definition, pronunciation as well as much more information when you click on that word. If you are studying Chinese, this is a very useful tool.
● Chinese Character Visual Dictionary
If you like to know more, go to the following sites on the Internet.
● The Chinese Outpost
Pronunciation, Character and Grammar By Mark Andrew Baker. The best. A must-visit site.
● Learn Cantonese / Mandarin Online
● Internet Based Chinese Teaching and Learning
● Rainland Kids discover Chinese — Site is in Germany
If you want to have a better understanding of China, go to this one.
● Wanfang Data
As an affiliate (分支) of Chinese Ministry of Science && Technology, Wanfang Data has been the leading information provider in China since 1950s. With a wide range of database resources and value-added services, Wanfang Data has become a gateway to understanding Chinese culture, medicine, business, science, etc.The underlined lines are probably some ______.
| A．books | B．websites |
| C．tips for learning Chinese | D．dictionaries for learning Chinese |
This passage is most probably from ______.
| A．a TV programme | B．a teacher’s lecture |
| C．a newspaper | D．the Internet |
If you want to know each Chinese character’s definition, pronunciation and much more information, you’d better surf ______.
| A．Zhongwen site | B．A Is For Love |
| C．Clavis Sinica | D．A few Chinese words |
If you want to know China about its culture, medicine, business, science, you’d better surf ______.
| A．Learn Mandarin online | B．Wanfang Data |
| C．Rainland kids discover Chinese | D．The Chinese Outpost |
The underlined word “gateway” in the last paragraph probably refers to ______.
| A．an opening in a wall that can be closed by a gate |
| B．a place through which you can go to another place |
| C．the space when a door is open |
| D．a means of getting or achieving something |
Norm Pethrick, a 36-year-old man in Australia’s northern city Darwin, was praised on Thursday for jumping onto a crocodile’s back to save his wife Wendy at Litchfield National Park, a popular tourist spot southwest of Darwin, a local newspaper reported.
Ms Pethrick was standing on a river bank Wednesday afternoon when the saltwater crocodile lunged (扑), locking its jaws on both her legs as it tried to drag her underwater.
Norm Pethrick, who with his wife had been collecting water, immediately went to help her. He jumped onto the back, poked (戳) the eyes of the crocodile and finally got his wife free.
Ms Pethrick was later taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for a medical treatment. The doctors said she was suffering eight puncture wounds (伤口) in her right leg, a puncture wound in her left leg and a serious cut to one of her fingers.
“This could have been a fatal and tragic situation,” said the general manager of Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH), Dr Len Notaras, according to a local report.
He said Ms Pethrick was saved by her husband’s “quick and diligent actions”.
Dr Notaras also said she would remain in hospital for three to four days and have an operation to clean the wounds, which are easy to get infected because of bacteria (细菌) on the teeth of the crocodile.This passage is most likely to be found in _____.
| A．a travel guide | B．a newspaper |
| C．a textbook | D．a novel |
The crocodile attacked Ms Pethrick when she was ______.
| A．swimming in the river | B．standing on the river bank |
| C．watching the crocodile | D．fishing in the water |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Ms Pethrick?
| A．Her eyes were badly poked. |
| B．She had eight wounds altogether. |
| C．One of her fingers also got hurt. |
| D．One of the crocodile’s teeth was found in her leg. |
According to the passage, Norm Pethrick can be described as following EXCEPT ______.
| A．brave | B．diligent |
| C．quick | D．humorous |
Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．The husband should save the wife |
| B．A man saves wife’s life from crocodile’s jaws |
| C．A crocodile is not so dangerous as people imagine |
| D．Human beings can beat crocodiles sometimes |