My name is Chelsea Chowderhead. A chowder is a kind of soup. I was laughed at because of my last name as soon as I started school. So when my family moved to South Carolina, I asked my dad if I could change my name.
“You shouldn’t change who you are. Let people get to know you first and your name later. When you meet someone new, ask them a good question, something you’re really interested in. Once people start talking about themselves, they don’t judge(评价) you.”
Two days later I headed to my new school for the first day of class. At lunch, I noticed that there were twin brothers who were talking to each other. I remembered my dad’s advice, so I decided to try.
I noticed that their lunchboxes were identical. “What’s it like being a twin?” I asked.
They looked surprised. Then one said, “No one has ever asked us that!”
“Most of the time it’s good,” the other said. “When you’re a twin you always have someone to talk to and have lunch with.”
In no time we were laughing and talking. Then one of the brothers said, “I’m Nicholas, and this is my brother, Nathaniel. What’s your name?”
I took a deep breath and said, “I’m Chelsea Chowderhead.”
“Chowder? Like the soup?” asked Nathaniel.
“Yes,” I replied, looking down.
“Hey, cool! Do you want to come over after school and play basketball with us?” Nathaniel asked. I nodded.
And that is how I became friends with the twin brothers.Why did the writer want to change his name?
| A．People made fun of it. |
| B．He wanted to make more friends. |
| C．It was hard to remember. |
| D．He wanted to be cool in the new school. |
The writer’s father advised him to ____________.
| A．move to a new class | B．say hello to others |
| C．share his interests | D．ask good questions |
The underlined word “identical” in Paragraph 4 probably means _____________.
| A．same | B．beautiful | C．big | D．full |
When the twin brothers asked his name, the writer felt ________________.
| A．surprised | B．angry | C．nervous | D．proud |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．One can order a chowder in some restaurants. |
| B．The twins said hello to the writer first. |
| C．The twins also didn’t like the writer’s name. |
| D．At last the writer changed his name. |
A
Though the Web is becoming increasingly popular, the TV never fails to attract people．Do you know which television network is the largest in America? It is not ABC, CBS, or Fox．Nor is it one of the cable net-works such as CNN, which carries only news and news stories．It is not ESPN, the all-sports cable net-work, or even MTV, which is famous for its music videos．Rather it is PBS, Public Broadcasting System, a non-profit public broadcasting TV service．PBS has 349 member television stations in the U．S．and some member stations by cable in Canada．
PBS only attracts a minority of all TV viewers, about 2 percent．The industry leader, NBC, however, attracts 11 percent of viewers．But the growth of public television in the past two decades has been dramatic．This is especially noteworthy （值科关注） when one considers that public television stations must often survive on very limited budgets, on viewers' donations, and on private foundations and some governmental funding．
The level of quality of PBS programs, whether in national and international news, entertainment, or education, is excellent．Almost a whole generation of children throughout the world is familiar with Sesame Street and the characters of The Muppet Show．PBS is especially well known for the quality of its many educational TV programs．Over 95 percent of all public television stations have tale-courses．These courses are accepted and supported by more than 1,800 colleges and universities throughout the US．Each year, over a quarter of a million students take courses this way．
According to this article, PBS received part of its funding from___．
| A．the audience |
| B．public schools |
| C．advertising agencies |
| D．other television stations |
What is PBS most famous for?
| A．Cable services． |
| B．Generous donations． |
| C．Tele-courses． |
| D．Live news broadcasts． |
Which of the following is TRUE about public television stations ?
| A．The majority of their viewers are minority people． |
| B．Ninety-five percent of their programs are tele-courses． |
| C．They are shrinking in number because they make no profits． |
| D．Their courses are accepted by many universities in America． |
Which of the following has the highest percentage of viewers?
| A．ABC | B．PBS |
| C．NBC | D．Fox |
Bright blue Citi Bikes are becoming a fine sight in the New Yorker street. New Yorkers are gradually getting used to more pedaling（骑车的) passengers on those blue Citi Bikes. But what about local bike shops ? Is City Bike booming at their expense? At Gotham Bikes in Tribeca, a manager who gave his name as "Ben W." said the shop has seen an increase in its overall sales due to the bike-share program. "It's getting more people on the road, more people learning about the sport and getting involved," he said. An employee at Danny's Cycles in Gramercy said Citi Bike is a good option for people in a city famed for its traffic jams and aggressive drivers. "They can try out a bike without buying one:' James Ryan said.
Rentals are not a big part of the business at either Gotham Bikes or Danny's Cycles. But for Frank's Bike Shop, a small business on Grand St., the bike-share program has been bad news. Owner Frank Arroyo said that his rental business has decreased by 90% since Citi Bike was launched last month. Arroyo's main rental customers are European tourists, who have since been drawn away by Citi Bikes.
However, Ben said the bike-share is good for bike sales at his shop. "People have used the bike-share and realized how great it is to bike in the city, then decide that they want something nicer for themselves," he noted.
Christian Farrell of Waterfront Bicycle Shop, on West St. said at first he was concerned about bike-share, though, he admitted, "I was happy to see people on bikes."
Farrell's early concerns were repeated by Andrew Crooks, owner of NYC Velo, at 64 Second Ave. "It seemed like a great idea, but one that would be difficult to put into use:' Crooks said of Citi Bike. He said he worried about inexperienced riders' lack of awareness of biking rules and strong negative reaction from non-cyclists. However, he said, it's still too early to tell if his business has been impacted (影响) .
While it's possible bike-share will cause a drop in business, Crooks agreed that the idea is a positive step forward for New York City.What is the author's chief concern about the increasing use of Citi Bikes in New York?
| A．Whether local bike shops will suffer. |
| B．How non-cyclists will respond to it. |
| C．Whether local bike businesses will oppose it. |
| D．How the safety of bike riders can be ensured. |
What happened to Gotham Bikes as a result of the bike-share program?
| A．It found its bike sales unaffected. |
| B．It changed its business to rentals. |
| C．It saw its bike sales on the rise. |
| D．It rented more bikes to tourists. |
Why is the bike-share program bad news for Frank's Bike Shop?
| A．Its customers have been drawn away by Citi Bikes. |
| B．It cannot meet the demand of the bike-share program. |
| C．Its bike prices have to be lowered again and again. |
| D．It has to compete with the city's bike rental shops. |
What is the general attitude of the local bike shops towards Citi Bike?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Negative. |
| C．Uninterested. | D．Approving. |
Teamwork is all about working together to achieve a common goal or purpose. Is teamwork out of date? Why is it so hard to effectively conduct teamwork in those things?
One way we employ teamwork in everyday lives is by becoming a parent. It is a parent's job to teach their children and the basic skills and give them the knowledge they need to be successful in life. For example, the mother teaches her children manners and good health skills, while the father teaches them how to catch a ball or drive a car. However, in today's society, we find that more and more parents are experiencing that the teamwork is a one-sided thing. According to a report, there are 13.7 million single parents raising their children in the US and this could be due to the fact that parents don't take responsibility for their children, so they leave one parent to do it alone. This is a sad fact, but it reflects that effective teamwork is losing ground in the parenting aspect of our everyday lives.
Another place where teamwork affects us greatly is in our jobs. It doesn't matter if you are a small or large company; if you have at least one employee and yourself, then teamwork will be present. I have noticed that with the current economic recession（衰退期）, people are racing to grab jobs but the quality of people's work has gone down greatly. It just appears to me that people do not take pride in their work any more. They want to get to work as fast as they can, just to receive the paycheck, but their quality standards fly right out the window. So I think teamwork is losing its ground in the workforce. There are too many people who want to work independently and forget they are a part of a team.
As you can see, we run into the aspects of teamwork in just about everything we do. Do you believe teamwork is really losing ground in today's society? I think it is.
Why does teamwork disappear in the parenting aspect of our daily life?
| A．Parents have no time to spare with their children. |
| B．Parents have no chances to teach their children about it. |
| C．Many children are often brought up by a single parent. |
| D．Many children are independent to deal with their matters. |
Teamwork is losing ground in workforce mainly because -
| A．workers don't like to work together with others |
| B．workers' sense is affected by economic recession |
| C．workers want to prove they are more capable |
| D．fewer workers are employed to save money |
The author wants us to believe his opinion by_ _．
| A．listing some data |
| B．giving some examples |
| C．asking some questions |
| D．analyzing some cases |
The underlined phrase "fly right out the window" in Paragraph 3 means_______ .
| A．disappear | B．improve |
| C．increase | D．matter |
The weather predictions for Asia in 2050 read like a script from a doomsday movie, which has aroused more experts' concern about this serious problem.
Many climatologists and green groups fear they will come true unless there is a concerted global effort to rein in greenhouse gas emission 排放).
In the decades to come, Asia --- home to more than half the world's 6.3 billion people – will lurch (突然倾斜) from one climate extreme to another, with poor farmers battling droughts, floods, disease, food shortages and rising sea levels.
"It's not a pretty picture:' said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam. Global warming and changes to weather patterns are already occurring and there is enough excess carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come.
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come, Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration (移民)and widespread humanitarian crises.
According to predictions, glaciers will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to be abandoned or build sea defenses, storms will become more violent and insect and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms.
All this comes on top of rising populations and increasing demand for food, water and other resources. Experts say environmental degradation(退化)such as deforestation and pollution will likely increase the influences of climate change.
In what could be a foretaste of the future, Japan was hit by a record 10 typhoons and tropical storms in this year, while two-thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill. The year before, a winter cold snap and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India.
In the passage, the author indicates that the weather predictions for Asia are _ _
| A．frightening | B．exciting |
| C．surprising | D．satisfying |
Which of the following is NOT included in the weather prediction?
| A．Some Pacific islands will have to build sea defenses. |
| B．Storms will become stronger. |
| C．The diseases spread by water will move into new areas. |
| D．Two-third of Bangladesh will be flooded. |
The passage is intended to_ _ .
| A．tell people not to believe in the weather prediction for Asia |
| B．inform people of natural disasters that happened in Asia |
| C．increase people's awareness of the severe consequence of gas emissions |
| D．introduce a movie to environmental experts |
The passage is probably taken from__ _ .
| A．a newspaper | B．a trade journal |
| C．a biology book | D．a fashion magazine |
◆Walking tall, and safely
Some women simply refuse to give up high heels, despite slush ( 雪泥) , ice and snow. Now there's Winter Trax for them, designed to fit over high-heel boots and make their walk on the wild side a little more safe. Metal coils (圈 ) wrap around rubber at the front end of the shoe, with the heel end open.
◆Snow skirt steps up into fashion
Down with snow pants. Up with snow skirts! Montreal's Fantasy Wolrd Heroes has created these skirts to layer over minis and jeans as the snow season sets in. In a range of colors and available in wool, lends and quiltings, they come in four sizes and adjustable.
◆
Doc Martens, those army-inspired leather boots, are back. They were last popular when Kurt Cobain was all the rage(风靡一时 ). So far, just a few teens and fashion people have been spotted wearing the slight fat boots, but they have already appeared on stylish models like Irina Lazareanu and Agyness Deyn.
Neon stores sold Doc Martens 15 years ago and its owner Irving Tajfel wasn't sure at first if he was ready to relive the trend.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Doc Martens at a fashion fair in Barcelona last year. Then I saw all the cool fashion kids wearing them in Paris. That got me thinking that it was about time Doc Martens came back in style here." Tajfel said.
We can know from the passage that WinterTrax .
| A．makes women like Doc Martens more |
| B．protects the back end of high-heel boots |
| C．makes women enjoy high-heel:boots in winter |
| D．protects women from being robbed |
When in Barcelona last year, Irving Tajfel probably_ .
| A．wore a pair of Doc Martens |
| B．found Doc Martens was put on show |
| C．placed an order for Doc Martens |
| D．saw fashion kids wearing Doc Martens |
Which of the following can be used to fill in the blank?
| A．Leather boots are popular again |
| B．Kurt Cobain and its music |
| C．How to choose high-quality boots |
| D．Doc Martens make a brave return |
What is this passage mainly about?
| A．High-heel boots. | B．Seasons. |
| C．Clothes fashion. | D．Weather. |
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