Dear Mom and Dad,
I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school master is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer. The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed. As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room .I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away. Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste-paper basket. It caught fire.
There was a curtain near the waste-paper basket. It caught fire too. Soon the whole room was burning. The master phoned the fire brigade. The school is a long way from the town and before the fire brigade arrived, the whole school was on fire. The master said that the fire was all my fault and I must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.
I'm very sorry for this.
Much love
Sarah Why did Sarah write to his parents?
| A．He missed them very much for they hadn’t seen each other for a long time. |
| B．He told his parents what he had done in school. |
| C．He was tired of studying, and wanted to leave school. |
D．He thought he was old enough to help the m do something. |
Where did Sarah smoke?
| A．In the classroom | B．In the Dinning hall |
| C．In the street | D．In the dormitory |
Why was the school master angry with him?
| A．Because he was too naughty |
| B．Because he was too lazy |
| C．Because he caused a big fire |
| D．Because he stole something from the school |
According to the passage, what should the students not do?
| A．They should not smoke, because smoking is dangerous to them |
| B．They should not dance, because dancing would waste a lot of money |
| C．They should not make friends, because making friends would take them absent |
| D．They should not wear expensive clothes because they would waste a lot of money |
You're not doomed to toss and turn every night. Although you might not be able to control all of the factors that relate to your sleep, you can adopt habits that encourage better sleep. Start with these simple sleep tips.
No. 1: Stick to a sleep schedule
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, holidays and days off. Being consistent reinforces （加强） your body's sleep-wake cycle and helps promote better sleep at night. If you don't fall asleep within about 15 minutes, get up and do something relaxing. Go back to bed when you're tired.
No. 2: Pay attention to what you eat and drink
Don't go to bed either hungry or stuffed. Your discomfort might keep you up. Also limit how much you drink before bed, to prevent disruptive middle-of-the-night trips to the toilet. Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine — which take hours to wear off — can ruin quality sleep.
No. 3: Create a bedtime ritual
Do the same things each night to tell your body it's time to wind down. This might include taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or listening to light music. Be careful of using the TV or other electronic devices as part of your bedtime ritual. Some research suggests that screen time or other media use before bedtime has impact on sleep.
No. 4: Get comfortable
Create a room that's ideal for sleeping. Often, this means cool, dark and quiet. Consider using room-darkening shades, earplugs, a fan or other devices to create an environment that suits your needs.
Your mattress and pillow can contribute to better sleep, too. Since the features of good bedding are subjective, choose what feels most comfortable to you. If you have children or pets, set limits on how often they sleep with you — or insist on separate sleeping quarters.
No. 5: Limit daytime naps
Long daytime naps can affect nighttime sleep — especially if you're struggling with poor sleep quality at night. If you choose to nap during the day, limit yourself to about 10 to 30 minutes and make it during the mid-afternoon.
If you work nights, you'll need to make an exception to the rules about daytime sleeping. In this case, keep your window coverings closed so that sunlight — which adjusts your internal clock — doesn't interrupt your daytime sleep.
No. 6: Include physical activity in your daily routine
Regular physical activity can promote better sleep, helping you to fall asleep faster and to enjoy deeper sleep. Timing is important, though. If you exercise too close to bedtime, you might be too energized to fall asleep. If this seems to be an issue for you, exercise earlier in the day.
No. 7: Manage stress
When you have too much to do — and too much to think about — your sleep is likely to suffer. To help restore peace to your life, consider healthy ways to manage stress. Start with the basics, such as getting organized, setting priorities and dividing tasks. Give yourself permission to take a break when you need one. Share a good laugh with an old friend.
Nearly everyone has an occasional sleepless night — but if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.Which of the following is helpful to have quality sleep at night?
| A．listening to light music before bed |
| B．working out in the gym only in the day time |
| C．using expensive pillows that sell well |
| D．drinking lots of water instead of coffee before bed |
Which of the following sleep tips is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Control your daytime sleep time. |
| B．Adopt healthy ways to handle stress. |
| C．Follow a flexible sleep timetable. |
| D．Schedule your daily physical activities. |
According to the passage, in what situation do you need to contact your doctor?
| A．You can not nap in the day time. |
| B．You frequently have trouble sleeping. |
| C．You do not fall asleep within 15 minutes. |
| D．You have too much to think about before bed. |
What’s the purpose of this passage?
| A．To provide advice on promoting better sleep at night. |
| B．To inform readers of different sleep habits before bed. |
| C．To offer tips on various relaxing activities before bed. |
| D．To convince readers of the importance of quality sleep at night. |
Tens of thousands of ancient pictures carved into the rocks at one of France’s most important tourist sites are being gradually destroyed. Scientists and researchers fear that the 36,000 drawings on rocks in Mont Bego in the French Alps are being damaged so rapidly that they will not survive for future generations.
The mountain, believed to have once been a site for prayer, is scattered (散布) with 4,000-year-old drawings cut into bare rock. They include pictures of cows with horns, cultivated fields (耕地) and various gods and goddesses. But as the popularity of the site increases, the pictures are being ruined by thoughtless graffiti (涂鸦).
Jean Clottes is the chairman of the International Committee on Rock Art. He says, “People think that because the pictures have been there so long they will always continue to be there. But if the damage continues at this rate there will be nothing left in 50 years.”
He describes seeing tourists stamping on the drawings, wearing away the rock and definition (清晰) of the artwork as they do so. Some visitors, he says, even cut off parts to take home as souvenirs. “When people think they can’t take a good enough photograph, they rub the drawings to get a clearer picture,” he said. “The drawings are polished by the weather, and if the sun is shining and the visitors can’t see them properly they simply rub them to make them look fresher.” Other researchers describe how people arrive carrying long sticks with sharp ends to scratch (刮) their own drawings, or even their names, in the rocks.
But experts are divided over the best way to preserve the drawings. Henry de Lumley, director of the Museum of Natural History in Paris, believes that the only way to save the site is to turn the whole mountain into a “no-go” area, preventing the public from going there except on guided tours. Otherwise, he says, not only will the site be completely destroyed but important research work will be reduced.
Clottes disagrees, “The measure suggested by Henry de Lumley is the most severe, and while it is the most effective, it is also certain to bring about protests from people who live there,” he said. “The site was classified as a historic monument years ago by the Ministry of Culture, and we must do as much as possible to save what is there.”
David Lavergne, the regional architect, also wants to avoid closing the site. “Henry de Lumley’s idea isn’t ideal,” he said. “Our department feels that the best solution is to let people look at the site, but because the area is very big it is difficult to prevent visitors from damaging it. I would prefer that everyone was able to look at it, but the main problem is money. We do not have the funds to employ the necessary number of guards. We may have to consider charging a fee. It doesn’t seem to be possible to get the government support.”
In Nice, Annie Echassoux, who also worked on researching the site, is alarmed that as the mountain becomes easier to reach — tourists can now avoid the three-and-a-half-hour walk by hiring vehicles — the damage will increase rapidly. She thinks that the only solution is to rope off the area and provide guides. “You can’t say the plan can’t go ahead because there is no money,” she said. “That is not good enough. Money must be provided because the Ministry of Culture has classified this area as a historic site. If we don’t take steps, we will be responsible for losing the drawings for the next generation.”Jean Clottes says that people who visit the mountain____.
| A．do not believe the drawings are old. |
| B．believe they are allowed to paint there |
| C．think the drawings should be left alone |
| D．think the drawings will not disappear |
According to Jean Clottes, some of the visitors to the area have____.
| A．helped to clean the drawings |
| B．taken bits of the rock home |
| C．been unable to take photographs |
| D．misunderstood what the pictures mean |
Henry de Lumley is eager to ____.
| A．set up research projects |
| B．protect public rights |
| C．keep out individual visitors |
| D．ban traffic in the area |
Which word best describes Annie Echassoux’s attitude towards saving the historic site?
| A．Supportive. | B．Disappointed. |
| C．Worried. | D．Hesitant. |
This passage has been written about Mont Bego to ____.
| A．advertise the closing of the site |
| B．warn visitors about the dangers of the site |
| C．encourage scientists to visit the site |
| D．describe fears for the future of the site |
In 2009, the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers were invited to perform in Belgium, France, Germany, and Luxemburg. In 2011, they were voted as one of the world’s top five performance groups by audiences of Japan Broadcasting Corporation’s Amazing Voice program.
Thinking back the group’s first tour in Europe, Camake Valaule, a physical education teacher and the founder of the Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers, admitted that he felt very nervous. He was worried that the audience would fall asleep since most of the 75-minute performance was a cappella, that is, singing without instrumental sound. Surprisingly, the audience listened with full focus and high spirits. Camake said, “They told me afterward that through our performance, they had a vision of our country, our village, without having to visit it. This experience greatly increased our confidence.”
According to Camake Valaule, singing traditional ballads has helped students and their parents to re-understand their culture. “It used to be that the only ones who could sing these songs were tribal elders aged between 50 and 60. Now with the children performing the pieces, parents are beginning to ask, ‘Why do we not know how to sing these ballads?’ Many times nowadays, it is the children who teach the songs to their parents, putting back the pieces of a blurred memory.”
Winning international fame, however, was neither the original intention nor the main reason why Camake founded the group in 2006. The most important thing was to make children understand why they sing these songs and to preserve and pass on their culture. Referring to the relocation of Taiwu Elementary School and Taiwu Village following Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, Camake said, “We could not take the forest or our houses in the mountains with us; but we were able to bring our culture along. As long as the children are willing to sing, I will always be there for them, singing with them and leading them to experience the meaning of the ballads.”Which of the following is true about Taiwu Elementary School Folk Singers?
| A．The group was first established in 2009. |
| B．The group was founded by a PE teacher. |
| C．The singers usually sing popular folk songs. |
| D．The singers learn to sing from their parents. |
On his first trip to Europe, why did Camake think the audience might fall asleep?
| A．The average age of the audience was between fifty and sixty. |
| B．Most of the performance was not accompanied by any instrument. |
| C．Nobody could understand the language and the meaning of the songs. |
| D．The audience could not visualize the theme sung by the school children. |
What does the underlined part “the pieces of a blurred memory” in the third paragraph most likely refer to?
| A．The fading memories about old tribal people. |
| B．The children’s ignorance of their own tradition. |
| C．The broken pieces of knowledge taught at school. |
| D．The parents’ vague understanding of their own culture. |
What did Camake realize after the incident of Typhoon Morakot?
| A．The significance of the relocation of Taiwu Elementary School. |
| B．The need to respect nature to avoid being destroyed by it. |
| C．The importance of passing on the traditional culture. |
| D．The consequence of building houses in the forest. |
Of the several films Hirokazu has made about childhood and children, this one is the most modest, but no less pleasing for its delicate style and small setting. This wise and funny film works small miracles in describing such a moment when kids turn from the wishfulness of childhood into shaping the world for themselves.
The sweetly reflective hero, a sixth-grader named Koichi, starts out by wishing for a volcano to erupt. Not just any volcano, but the one that towers above his town, smoking heavily and giving off ash. An eruption would lead to a withdrawing, which would lead, at least in his mind, to a reunion with his father and kid brother, who’ve been living in Hakata while Koichi lives with his mother and retired grandparents in Kagoshima. The volcano, knowing nothing of this, refuses to erupt, but Koichi hears of another approach to realizing the desired miracle.
One of the pleasures of I Wish is watching how kids behave — how Koichi attacks his dinner, for example. Another pleasure is rediscovering how kids think. These kids can be logical and ever so tricky. But children’s thought processes can also be fancy. A boy wishes he could play baseball like one of baseball stars, who eats curry for breakfast; so he, too, starts eating curry for breakfast, instead of practicing on the field. Another boy tries to wish his dead dog, Marble, back to life. And what does Koichi finally wish for? I wish you’d see this delightful film to find out. Koichi wishes the volcano to erupt so that he can ______.
| A．enjoy the wonderful scene of a volcano |
| B．help those who suffer from the eruption |
| C．get together with his family members |
| D．work miracles during the disaster |
Which of the following statements is true of the film?
| A．It is set in a volcano eruption. |
| B．It is a serious science fiction movie. |
| C．It shows some dull and ridiculous behaviors. |
| D．It shows a lively and thoughtful world of children. |
What does the writer intend to do in this text?
| A．To recommend a film. |
| B．To make a review on a film. |
| C．To share pleasures of watching a film. |
| D．To discuss kids’ behavior and thoughts. |
Are you trying to learn a new language in a foreign land? You might be better off if you stopped looking at that picture of your family and friends.
New research from Columbia University found that prompting (提示) someone who is learning a new language with images and reminders of their own culture could temporarily ruin everything that the brain was trying to build.
When native Chinese students were asked to talk with a Caucasian avatar (白种人的虚拟头像) and a Chinese avatar, their English skills were so different. Simply exposing students to a Chinese person affected their ability to speak English. Subjects who talked with the Chinese version felt more comfortable in their speech, but they produced 11% fewer words per minute. They actually became less fluent speakers.
To make sure it wasn’t just the avatar, researchers also showed people random images of China while the participants told a story. When pictures of their homeland appeared, fluency dropped 16% and volunteers were 85% more likely to use a literal (照字面的) translation, for example, calling pistachios “happy nuts”, because that’s literally what the Chinese word for pistachio means.
When the students were shown pictures of fish with one swimming ahead of the others, their culture would change how they look at the photo. With Chinese prompt, like photos of the Great Wall or Chinese Dragon, etc. they saw more students thinking that the fish was being chased, while an American prompt, like pictures of Marilyn Monroe or Superman, saw those students believing that it was a leader fish.
The bottom line is: when attempting to learn a new culture it is far better to surround yourself with that culture than create an island of the old one.Why does the author use a question in the first paragraph?
| A．To raise a question. |
| B．To arouse readers’ awareness. |
| C．To introduce the topic. |
| D．To tell a story. |
The underlined word “pistachios” in the fourth paragraph refers to ______.
| A．pictures | B．volunteers |
| C．an image | D．a kind of food |
From the passage we can infer that ______.
| A．different images would change with different people |
| B．different cultures would affect how students look at the photo |
| C．with Chinese prompts, more students thought that it was a leader fish |
| D．with an American prompt, more students thought that the fish was being chased |
According to the research, which is a better way for a student in a foreign land to learn a new culture?
| A．To surround himself with that culture. |
| B．To create an island of the old one. |
| C．To see random images of China. |
| D．To talk with a Caucasian avatar. |
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