Children are losing the ability to play properly because they are being given too many toys and games, according to new research.
The studies show that children, especially those under five, are often overwhelmed and actually play less than those with fewer toys. It may even harm their development. The studies show that giving children too many toys or toys of the wrong type can actually be doing them harm. They get overwhelmed and cannot concentrate on anything long enough to learn from it.
The conclusions have been backed up by British research looking at children with relatively fewer toys, whose parents spend more
time reading, singing or playing with them. It showed such children surpass(胜过) youngsters from richer backgrounds, even those who could use computers.
Some parents notice the ill effect early. Orhan Ismail, a researcher saw a change for the worse in Cameron, his 10-month-old son, after he was given a lot of toys last Christmas.
Ismail said, “ If there are too many toys in front of him, he will just keep flitting around them and then end up going off and finding something like a slipper to play with. Now we just get out one or two toys and hide the rest in a box.”
Alexander and her husband also decided to limit the toys their 6 daughters play with. She believed many toys restrict children’s imaginations. She said, “ A Barbie can only work as a Barbie. But a cardboard box can become anything. The only limitations are in the child’s mind.”
Experts hesitate to put a figure on the number of toys children should have, but
many believe two dozen is enough for children of preschool age. In the writer’s opinion, a Barbie _____.
| A．can attract more attention from children than a cardboard box |
| B．can work more than a Barbie |
| C．may become anything else such as a cardboard |
| D．may keep children from further imaginations |
Which of the following is TRUE about toys given to children?
| A．too many toys will help children develop wide interests. |
| B．One or two toys at a time will help children concentrate. |
| C．Only wrong types of toys do harm to children. |
| D．The proper number of toys given to the children depends on their ages. |
It may NOT be a good idea to ____.
| A．spend more time reading or playing with children |
| B．choose right types of toys for children |
| C．ask experts for the exact number of necessary toys |
| D．put out one or two toys and hide the rest |
Between ten and midnight the United States is politically leaderless—there is no center of information anywhere in the nation except in the New York headquarters of the great broadcasting companies and two wire services. No candidate and no party can afford the investment on election night to match the news-gathering resources of the mass media; and so as every citizen sits in his home watching his TV set or listening to his radio, he is the equal of any other in knowledge. There is nothing that can be done in these hours, for no one can longer direct the great strike for America’s power; the polls have closed. Good or bad, whatever the decision, America will accept the decision—and cut down any man who goes against it, even though for millions the decision runs contrary to their own votes. The general vote is an expression of national will, the only substitute for violence and blood. Its decision is to be defended as one defends civilization itself.
There is nothing like this American expression of will in England or France, India or Russia. Only one other major nation in modern history has tried to elect its leader directly by mass, free, popular vote. This was the Weiman Republic of Germany, which modeled its unitary vote for national leaders on the American practice. Out of its experiment with the system it got Hitler. Americans have had Lincoln, Wilson and two Roosevelts. Nothing can be done when the voting returns are flooding in; the White House and its power will move to one or another of the two candidates, and all will know about it in the morning. But for these hours history stops.Between ten P.M. and midnight the United States is politically leaderless because ________.
| A．the president has been murdered |
| B．the general strike for power has ended |
| C．the government has resigned |
| D．the general vote is being held |
“The great strike for America’s power” in Paragraph 1 refers to ________.
| A．the strike of the government members |
| B．the great vote |
| C．the election campaign |
| D．the strike of the government employees |
The author believes that the decision at the polls will ________.
| A．lead to a civil war | B．result in a general strike |
| C．cause violence and blood | D．be defended by all Americans |
Without the general vote, the author implies ________.
| A．there would be a civil war | B．there would be a general strike |
| C．there would be an election campaign | D．there would be a fierce debate |
What happens to mother-daughter relationships when girls become teenagers. It seems that girls go from playing “dress up”, to arguing with their mothers about how they should dress.
When a girl is 3-4 years old they love to “dress up” in their mothers’ clothes, put on their mothers’ makeup, cook, and do whatever else their mother does. This is the time when she can be classified as being a mama’s girl.
How come girls change so much from childhood to the teenage years? Many parents seek the answer when their daughter becomes a teen. Often when a girl enters high school her behavior changes as well as her physical appearance.
When I was young I always liked playing “dress up”. It made me feel older and more like my mother. Even when I entered middle school, I still depended a lot on my mother to choose and buy my clothes. Once I entered high school there was a big change. To me, my mother’s clothes were no longer “in fashion”, and neither was her opinion. I started becoming interested in boys and tried to improve the way I looked. It was not that I wanted to look cool, I just wanted to look my age.
This is the time that the mother-daughter relationship can take a turn. It’s difficult for a mother to know that her daughter is no longer totally dependent on her.
When the daughter starts wearing revealing clothing, dating, and just wanting to be more independent, a mother starts to feel left out, or not needed. The number of arguments increases, and the number of times when the mother and daughter get along happily decreases.
When these things start to happen, it is a sign that the daughter wants her independence and the freedom to grow up.
When you notice how much your relationship had changed, try to believe positive things come out of the change. Put all the negatives aside and concentrate on what your mother is feeling instead of just on what you’re feeling.
When it seems too hard to handle, take some quiet time and write out your feelings. Maybe at another time, you can share them with your mother and try to find a way to better your relationship as mother and daughter. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your feelings, at least write them down so you can get them out. It’s better than keeping them bottled up inside.The girls would argue with their mothers because ________.
| A．they need more independence |
| B．mothers want daughters to be mama’s girls again |
| C．they think their mothers’ clothes are no longer in fashion |
| D．all of the above |
From the passage, we know that ________.
| A．the teenage period is a sensitive part in human life |
| B．the parents can’t get the answer why their daughters change a lot |
| C．they can get on well only in talking, no matter what mothers or daughters do |
| D．mothers should concentrate on their own feelings |
A “mama’s girl” will Not________.
| A．dress up in her mother’s clothes |
| B．depend a lot on her mother to choose and buy her clothes |
| C．like wearing revealing clothing |
| D．think her mother’s clothes are in fashion |
When the daughter starts wanting to be more independent, ________.
| A．a mother starts to feel left out |
| B．it is the time when mother and daughter get on joyfully increases |
| C．she wants to look cool |
| D．All of the above |
I feel very excited at the thought that in another week I shall be with you again on holiday. I have enjoyed my stay in England very much indeed. Mr Brown and classmates are nice to me, but, as they say in England, “There’s no place like home.” and I think you feel this above all at Christmas time.
I am leaving here early on Thursday, the 23rd, and I shall arrive in Basle on Friday morning, so I shall be home somewhere about lunchtime. Can you meet me at the station, as I shall have a lot of luggage?
In some of my earlier letters I have told you all about the other students here. Well, I want to ask my Polish friend Jan to come and spend Christmas with us. Will that be all right? His father and mother died last year, he can go home for Christmas, and he has no friend in England except the Browns. He is a nice boy. I know you all like him, and I feel sure he will enjoy Christmas with us. It is very short notice, but you are always pleased, I know, if we bring our friends home. however, I have not yet invited him, as I thought it was better to ask you first. Please let me know as soon as possible if it will be all right.The writer was very excited at the thought that ________.
| A．she would be back home with her new friend |
| B．she would be with her parents in another week |
| C．her parents wanted to see her very much |
| D．she would go on staying in England |
She wanted some one to meet her because ________.
| A．she was told to do so | B．she would be tired out after the trip |
| C．she would carry a pile of things | D．she didn’t know where the station was |
The underlined sentence “There’s no place like home” means ________.
| A．There is not a place that the writer likes |
| B．There is no place that the writer can live in |
| C．The writer’s home is not in London in fact |
| D．East and west, home is best |
These paragraphs are taken out of a ________.
| A．magazine | B．letter | C．book | D．newspaper |
We have all experienced days when everything goes wrong. A day may begin well enough, but suddenly everything seems to get out of control. It seems as if a single unimportant event may cause a number of things to happen. Let us suppose that you are preparing a meal and keeping an eye on the baby at the same time. The telephone rings and this means your troubles are beginning. While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table, destroying your prepared meal. You hang up hurriedly and attend to your baby. Meanwhile, the meal gets burnt. As if these were not enough to bring you to tears, your husband arrives unexpectedly bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can go wrong on-a number of people on the road. During the rush hour one evening, two cars hit each other and both drivers began to argue. The woman driver behind the two cars happened to be a learner. She suddenly went into a panic and stopped her car. This made the driver following her stop suddenly. His wife was sitting beside him holding a large cake. As she was thrown forward, the cake went right through the window and landed on the road’. Seeing a cake-flying through the air, a truck driver had to stop his truck all of a sudden. The truck was carrying empty beer bottles and hundreds of them slid off the back of the truck and fell onto the road. This led to yet another angry argument. Meanwhile, the traffic piled up behind. It took the police nearly an hour to get the traffic to move again. In the meanwhile, the truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles. Only two dogs were enjoying themselves from the accident; for they were happily having what was left of the cake. It was just one of those days.What does the writer mainly tell us?
| A．Troubles always happen at the same time. |
| B．Everyone may have trouble every day. |
| C．A small matter can cause great trouble. |
| D．Only the lucky man won’t have any trouble every day. |
according to the passage, what should be the correct order?
(1) The woman driver stopped her car suddenly. •
(2) The driver’s wife dropped her cake on the road.
(3) Only two dogs were happy.
(4) Two cars hit each other.
(5) The truck driver had to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.
| A．(2)(3)(3)(5)(1) | B．(4)(1)(2)(5)(3) |
| C．(3)(5)(2)(4)(1) | D．(1)(4)(2)(3)(5) |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The woman’s husband brought three guests home to dinner unexpectedly. |
| B．The meal got burnt. |
| C．Her baby pulled the table-cloth off the table. |
| D．It is not strange to experience such accidents. |
What does the word "these" in the last sentence of the first paragraph refer to?
A. Your husband brings three guests to dinner unexpectedly.
B. The meal gets burnt.
C. The baby pulls the table-cloth off the table.
D. Both B and C.
Heading back to the room for dinner and a hot shower may sound like the act of a tired tourist ,but in a traditional Japanese inn ─ or ryokan ─ those activities can be as interesting as anything along the sightseeing trail.“People going looking for a sort of nostalgic(怀旧的),old-fashioned ,and traditional view of Japanese life will find it most easily in a ryokan,”said Peter Grilli, the president of Japan Society of Boston, Massachusetts.
Many ryokans sprang up in the 17th century to put up feudal lords traveling along the Tokaido highway to Edo(now Tokyo). Today tourists looking for a taste of the country’s historic lifestyle find varying levels of understated elegance in ryokans throughout the country.
A typical stay starts with a greeting from the inn’s staff and a change from street shoes into slippers .An attendant leads guests to their rooms, where slippers are removed before walking on the rice-straw flooring, called tatami. Walking slowly along behind a kimonoclad（身穿和服的）attendant on the creaky wood floors of Fukuzumiro ryokan,s hallways is like stepping back in time. The inn was established in 1890 by a former samurai（武士）.
Tim Paterson ,33, a banker living in Tokyo, has stayed at several ryokans. This New Zealand native leaves after a recent stay at Fukuzumiro. “I think it’s quite good mixing culture with history and not just going to see it ,but living in it, staying in it,”he said. Sliding glass doors line the inn’s rural hallways, bringing in the sound of tricking water and the quietness of the stone and tree-filled courtyards outside.From the first paragraph, we can see that_________________ .
| A．there is no dinner and a hot shower in the ryokan |
| B．such activities as dinner and shower in the ryokan can take you back in time |
| C．such activities as dinner and shower mean the same both in ordinary inns and traditional inns |
| D．such activities as dinner and shower are more important than the sightseeing for tourists |
What’s the purpose of building so many ryokans in the 17th century?
| A．Providing rooms for the noble when they traveled. |
| B．Keeping the Japanese traditional style of life. |
| C．Making people feel elegant in the ryokan. |
| D．Attracting more tourists to put up in the ryokan. |
Which of the following shows the right order of tourists entering the ryokan?
a. An attendant shows guests to their room;
b. The guests take off their shoes;
c. The staff greet the guests;
d. The guests walk on tatami;
e. The guests take off slippers;
f. The guests put on slippers.
A. b ; c ; d ; e ; f ; a B. c ; b ; f ; a ; e ; d
C. c ; a ; d ; b ; e ; f D b ; a ; d ; e ; c ; fFrom Tim Paterson’s words in the last paragraph ,we can infer that .
| A．he will never stay in such a ryokan again |
| B．he stays in such a ryokan just for its long history |
| C．he feels relaxed and culturally enriched after staying in such a ryokan |
| D．he would rather live in such a ryokan than go back home |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号