Peanuts to This
Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes． Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher． Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself． “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”
Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task． This was the first real talk I received in my new school． It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington． Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before． As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America． I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant． I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip （掷） a coin． Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy． Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver．
Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost． Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong． As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution．” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?
Obviously, my grade was awful． Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around． I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade． I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance． Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year． Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation． I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade． Justice is sweet!What did the author’s classmates think about his report?
| A．Controversial． | B．Ridiculous． | C．Boring． | D．Puzzling． |
Why was the author confused about the task?
| A．He was unfamiliar with American history． |
| B．He followed the advice and flipped a coin． |
| C．He forgot his teacher’s instruction． |
| D．He was new at the school． |
The underlined word “burning” in Para． 3 probably means _______．
| A．annoyed | B．ashamed | C．ready | D．eager |
In the end, the author turned things around _______．
| A．by redoing his task |
| B．through his own efforts |
| C．with the help of his grandfather |
| D．under the guidance of his headmaster |
Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap．Some call it the summer learning setback．Simply speaking，it means the longer kids are out of 'school，the more they forget．The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar with winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation．Some schools follow a year-round calendar．They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time，with a few weeks off in between．The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than 3,000 such schools at last count．They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school．Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said，“Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback．They simply spread it out across the year.
Across the country，research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students．Experts say this can be prevented．They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them “summer school” could be a problem．The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins，Ron Fairchild，said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term “summer school”．In American culture，the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood．The parents welcomed other terms like “summer camp,” “extra time” and “hands-on learning.”According to the first paragraph，the summer learning gap ____
| A．helps children to gain weight |
| B．leads children to work harder |
| C．improves children's memories |
| D．affects children's regular studies |
Compared to traditional schools，students in the year-round ones _____
| A．perform better and have more learning gains |
| B．have much less time for relaxation every year |
| C．have generally the same number of class days |
| D．hold more classes with more free weeks off |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Students from poor families often fall behind after the vocation. |
| B．Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap. |
| C．There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar． |
| D．Nothing can help the students who fall behind after the vocation. |
Why did almost all parents dislike the term “summer school”?
| A．They cherish the children's rights of freedom very much. |
| B．They are worried about the quality of the “summer school”． |
| C．They want their children to be forced to make up the gap. |
| D．They can't afford to the further study during the vacation. |
What would be the best title of this passage?
| A．Opening Summer Camps |
| B．Forbidding Summer Schools |
| C．Spreading Year-Round Education |
| D．Minding the Summer Learning Cap |
Secondhand smoke isn’t just a health threat to people．It can also hurt dogs and cats，veterinarians say．
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，more than 126 million Americans who don't smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes，vehicles，workplaces，and public places．This exposure causes thousands of lung cancer and heart disease deaths among nonsmokers every year，according to the California Environmental Protection Agency．
“Making the leap from the effects of secondhand smoke on humans to their effects on pets isn't a big one,” says veterinarian （兽医专家） Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University．
“There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets,” MacAllister said．“Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats，lung and nasal cancer in dogs，as well as lung cancer in birds.”
Studies have also shown that dogs living in a smoking household are susceptible to cancers of the nose and sinus area，particularly if they are a long-nosed breed，because their noses have a greater surface area that is exposed to carcinogens and a greater area for them to accumulate．Dogs affected with nasal cancer normally don't survive for more than one year．
“Short and medium-nosed dogs are more susceptible to lung cancer，because their shorter nasal passage aren't as effective at accumulating the inhaled secondhand smoke carcinogens,” MacAllister said．“This results in more carcinogens （致癌物质） reaching the lungs.”
Birds are also at risk for lung cancer，as well as pneumonia，because their respiratory systems are hypersensitive to any type of air pollutant．
To help prevent animals from being adversely affected by smoking，pet owners who smoke should have a designated smoking area that is separated from the home or stop smoking altogether，MacAllister said． From the passage，we can see secondhand smoke maybe not harmful to _______．
| A．smokers | B．non-smokers | C．pets | D．trees |
What can be suggested according to the passage?
| A．Smokers can smoke anywhere. |
| B．Smokers can smoke at any time. |
| C．Smokers should smoke in the designated place. |
| D．Smokers must give up smoking at once. |
What kind of dogs are likely to suffer from nasal cancer?
| A．Long-nosed dogs | B．Short-nosed dogs |
| C．Medium-nosed dogs | D．Dogs without noses |
The best title of the passage is __________.
| A．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in People |
| B．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Birds |
| C．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Pets |
| D．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Cats |
What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “are susceptible to”?
| A．are likely to be harmed by |
| B．are hard to be influenced by |
| C．are less to be effected by |
| D．are lucky to be caught by |
Three more cattle farms in Andong，North Gyeongsang Province，were found to have been infected with the deadly foot-and-mouth disease，Nov．2 2010，Thursday．People fear that livestock farms in other parts of the country could be hit by the virus soon．
On Monday，the disease was first detected on two pig farms in Andong，about half a year after the last disease broke out in Korea．A cattle farm in the area also fell victim to the animal disease the following day．
The Ministry for Food，Agriculture，Forestry and Fisheries made sure that three more cases of foot-and-mouth disease appeared on Thursday and decided to kill all the animals at the farms and others at nearby places to stop the spread of the virus to other regions．Over 800 cows and pigs within a 500 meter range of the infected farms were killed and buried underground．
“Three suspected cases were reported Wednesday，near the pig farms where the first outbreak was reported．The laboratory tests today showed that all three cattle farms were infected with the disease,” a ministry official said．Two newly infected cattle farms were less than 4 kilometers away from the two pig farms，while the third one was only 2．5 kilometers away．
The ministry also said another cattle farm in Andong reported suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease on its livestock Thursday，indicating the disease will likely continue to spread across the city and possibly beyond．
The government has culled more than 33,000 animals near the affected farms Monday alone under its disease prevention program．Additionally，all 84 livestock markets across the nation were closed Wednesday for a period to prevent spread of the disease．
No suspected cases have been reported outside of Andong，but the government Thursday decided to destroy an additional 22,000 pigs at two farms in Boryeong，South Chungcheong Province．Last time foot and mouth disease ．
| A．broke out in North cattle farms |
| B．was controlled as soon as possible |
| C．happened in June，2010 |
| D．destroyed almost all cattle in cattle farms |
How did the government deal with the disease?
| A．The government controlled only the two farms． |
| B．The government had more animals killed． |
| C．The government tried to cure the sick animals． |
| D．The government hated to kill animals． |
The underlined word “culled” has the same meaning as ．
| A．treated | B．killed | C．bought | D．sold |
From the last paragraph we can know that ．
| A．22,000 pigs have been infected with the disease |
| B．22,000 pigs will be moved to other farms |
| C．Boryeong is also an infected area |
| D．22,000 pigs will go down to their death |
In which part of a newspaper can you most probably read the passage?
| A．Today’s News | B．History and Culture |
| C．Entertainment | D．Science |
In the United States，train transportation is unpopular compared with cars and airplanes．Most people like traveling by car or by air.
Officials of the United States Department of Transportation made a study in 2001．The study is about how many miles Americans traveled by different means of transportation．They only studied trips longer than 50 miles．The study showed that fifty-six percent of all miles were traveled in personal vehicle．Forty-one percent were traveled in an airplane．Two percent were traveled in a bus．And less than one percent of miles were traveled in a train.
Amtrak is the national provider of train transportation in the United States．In the past ten years，the number of its passengers has increased by eighteen percent．Although the number of passengers has increased，it is still very small now．In countries such as France，Germany，or Japan，more people use trains．
There are several reasons why many people __________________________．
Firstly，Americans love to drive their own cars．On highways，cars can travel as fast as trains．These highways connect all major cities in America．Secondly，many travelers like to be independent．When they use their own cars they can decide when to travel．Thirdly，many buses travel between major cities．Bus travel is less costly than train travel.
In a huge country like the United States，cities are far away from each other．In some cases，travel from one city to another by train may take more than a day．Airplanes can carry passengers over long distances much faster．People who do not want to spend long time traveling by train decide to fly．For these people saving time is the most important thing.What is the best title of the passage? （Please answer within 10 words.）
Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
It’s convenient for people to decide the start-off time when they travel in their own cars.Please fill in the blank in the fourth paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.（Please answer within 10 words.）
What means of transportation do you like best when traveling，trains，cars，or planes? Why? （Please answer within 30 words）
Translate the underlined sentences in the last paragraph into Chinese.
New rules and behavior standards for middle school students came out in March. Middle school is going to use a new way to decide who the top students are. They will also be kids who don’t dye their hair, smoke or drink. The following are some of the new rules.
Tell the truth. Have you ever copied someone else’s work on an exam? That’s not something an honest student should do.
Do more at school. Good students love animal and care for other people. April is Bird-Loving Month in China. Is your school doing anything to celebrate it? You should join!
Be open to new ideas. Have you ever thought that people could live on the moon? Perhaps you’ll discover Earth II someday. Don’t look down on new ideas. You should welcome them.
Protect yourself. Has someone ever taken money from one of your classmates? Don't let it happen to you. If you have to go home late, you should let your parents know.
Use the Internet carefully. The Internet can be very useful for your studies. But some things on the Internet aren’t for kids, so try to look at web pages that are good for you.
| A．In that way, you can learn more about animals and how to protect them. |
| B．Students must only work and play alone. |
| C．The best students won’t only have high marks. |
| D．You can use the web for fun or homework. |
F. Students should not disagree with the teacher.
E. Everyone’s ideas are important.
G. Don’t do it again!
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