Every day 25 million U.S. children ride school buses. The safety record for these buses is much better than for passenger cars; but nevertheless, about 10 children are killed each year riding on large school buses, and nearly four times that number are killed outside buses in the loading zones. By and large, however, the nation’s school children are transported to and from school safely.
Even though the number of school bus accidents is not large, the safety of children is always of intense public concern. While everyone wants to see children transported safely, people are divided about what needs to be done-particularly whether seat belts should be compulsory.
People in favor of seat belts on school buses-many of them parents and medical organizations-argue that seat belts are necessary not only to reduce fatality and injury, but also to teach children lessons about the importance of using them routinely in any moving vehicle. A side benefit, they point out, is that seat belts help keep children in their seats, away from the bus driver.
People who object to seat belt installation suggest that children are already well protected by the school buses that follow the Nation Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) safety requirements set in 1977. They also believe that many children won’t wear seat belts anyway, and that may damage the belts or use them as weapons to hurt other children.
A new research council report on school bus safety suggest that there are alternate safety devices and procedures that may be more effective and less expensive. For example, the study committee suggested that raising seat backs four inches may have the same safety effectiveness as seat belts.
The report sponsored by the Department of transportation at the request of Congress, reviews seat belts extensively while taking a broader look at safety in and around school buses.According to the passage, the “school bus” is _________.
| A．the bus offered by the school and different from the public bus |
| B．the bus that has no difference from the public bus |
| C．the bus that is driven by the students |
| D．the bus that is not safe |
According to the passage, who has the greatest degree of control of the school buses “safety”?
| A．A new Research Council. |
| B．The Department of Transportation. |
| C．The Medical Organization. |
| D．National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. |
It may be inferred from this passage that __________.
| A．many of the opponents(反对者) of seat belt installation are parents and officials of the Department of Transportation |
| B．proposals of seat belts on school buses would be seriously considered |
| C．an alternate safety device (raising seat backs four inches) may be taken into consideration |
| D．The Department of Transportation may either take the idea of seat belts or other measures when it reviews the whole situation |
The title below which best expresses the idea of the passage is“_______”.
| A．Making School Buses Even Safer for Children |
| B．Seat Belts Needed on School Buses |
| C．Alternate Safety Devices and Procedures |
| D．Safety in and around School Buses |
What is the writer’ s attitude towards the safety of the school bus is _______.
| A．Critical | B．Negative | C．Objective | D．Indifferent |
A lady named Mary from California flew to Japan, in her favourite jeans and a casual jacket, to give her first speech. Fourteen hours later, four perfectly dressed Japanese gentlemen greeted her at the airport. Smiling and bowing low, they handed her their business cards. With her bag in one hand, Mary took their cards with the other. She thanked them, glanced briefly at the cards, and put them into her jeans pocket quickly.
When the five of them arrived at the hotel, they invited Mary to tea in the lobby (大厅). While sipping tea, the gentlemen presented her with a small gift which she eagerly opened. She was thrilled with the gift and shouted excitedly, “Oh, it's beautiful！”
At this point, the four Japanese gentlemen stood up and, bowing only very slightly, said “Sayonara” and left immediately. Poor Mary was left astonished. What did she do wrong?
Everything! Her jeans were the first gaffe. Even if you're coming off a bicycle in Japan, you do not meet clients (客人) casually dressed. The second mistake was Mary's handling of their business cards rudely. In Japan, the business card is one of the most important communicative tools. It is always presented and accepted respectfully with both hands. However, Mary put their cards away much too quickly. In Japan, people use business cards as a conversation starter. You chat about each other's cards and work and do not put theirs away until they gently and respectfully place yours in safe keeping. Putting it carelessly into her jeans pocket was the ultimate disrespect.
Then, the fourth horror of horrors was that Mary should not have opened the gift in front of her clients. In a land where saving face is critical, it would be embarrassing to discover the gift they gave was not as nice as the one they received. What is worse, Mary hadn't even given them a gift!Why did the four Japanese gentlemen leave Mary suddenly?
| A．Because they had finished the task. |
| B．Because Mary had something more important to do. |
| C．Because they couldn't bear Mary 's behavior any longer. |
| D．Because Mary felt embarrassed. |
What does the underlined word “gaffe” in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
| A．ignorance | B．carelessness |
| C．sadness | D．mistake |
The third mistake Mary made was that she ________.
| A．kept her clients' cards in a wrong place |
| B．took her clients' cards with one hand |
| C．met her clients in jeans |
| D．used her own card as a conversation starter |
What lesson can we draw from this story?
| A．Think twice before you take any action. |
| B．When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
| C．To save time is to lengthen life. |
| D．One false move may lose the game. |
If you are interested to find a part-time job or learn something different during your spare time, you can have a look at the following jobs offered by the DC Public Library.
Teens of Distinction Program
The DC Public Library offers part-time jobs for teens through the Teens of Distinction Program. Teens work 10-12 hours per week all year long, helping the library with important tasks and projects. The Teens of Distinction Program is now hiring! To apply, you have to：
● be a DC resident
● have and maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average
● be 16 to 18 years old
● be able to work 10-12 hours per week
● be able to work for DCPL for at least 9 months
Oh, and of course you have to impress us with your wonderful personality!
Teen Volunteer Opportunities
If you want to earn community service hours for school, Youth202 is a good choice.
Youth202 is a radio program created by youth and for youth. You can learn radio production skills, interview people around you, and help keep other teens to learn news, events, and anything else you think is important.
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
Every summer, teens can work here to help library customers organize books and learn lots of new skills, such as program planning, writing and media production.
On Friday, January 25 at 12:15 pm, the application for the 2014 SYEP will be open to teens between the ages of 14 and 21.
Applications will be processed on a firstcome, firstserved basis. Space is limited this year, so teens are encouraged to apply early, and remember not to miss the deadline, Saturday, February 16.Working for the Teens of Distinction Program, teenagers will ________．
①become a DC resident
②work 10-12 hours per week
③work for DCPL for at least 9 months
④have a wonderful personality
| A．③④ | B．②③ | C．①②③ | D．①③④ |
Who has the biggest chance to work for the 2014 SYEP?
| A．A teenager who applies early. |
| B．A teenager who is popular. |
| C．A teenager who is smart. |
| D．A teenager who gets high grades in exams. |
The aim of text is to ________．
| A．introduce the DC Public Library |
| B．describe the job of library workers |
| C．offer teenager part-time jobs in the DC Public Library |
| D．teach how to apply for part-time jobs |
Cheerleading is the fastest growing girls' sport, yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport. Actually, competitive cheerleading is a sport.
A sport is a “physical activity against/with an opponent, governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared, and the primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants. "Because cheerleading follows these guidelines, it is a sport.
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activities. Like gymnasts, cheerleaders must learn to tumble (翻滚) . They perform lifts and tosses. This is where the "flied' are thrown in the air, held by "bases" in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates.
Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play, so does competitive cheerleading. The whole routine has to be completed in less than 3 minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area.
Competitive cheerleaders' goal is to be the best. Just like gymnasts, they are awarded points for difficulty, creativity and sharpness. The more difficult a mount, the sharper the motions, the better the score. Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation, first place is out of reach.
Cheerleading is the number-one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number of those for any other sport, partially because they do not wear protective gear. While many athletes are equipped with hip pads or helmets, smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates. The fliersmust remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely. Also, because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools, neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety. Instead, the girls use whatever space is available. More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries.
So why do many Americans not think cheerleading is a sport? Some people argue that cheerleaders are just "flirts in skirts" with their only job to entertain the crowd, but cheerleaders today work just as hard as other athletes.
Hopefully, cheerleading will become as well-known a sport as football and basketball, and even appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports.What does the underlined word "bases" in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Strength and cooperation. |
| B．Lifts and tosses. |
| C．Supporting teammates. |
| D．Physical activities |
Gymnasts are mentioned in the passage to _
| A． explain the dangers of cheerleading |
| B．show their similarities with cheerleaders |
| C．suggest cheerleaders learn to do gymnastics |
| D．present the guidelines of gymnastic movements |
It can be learned from the passage that cheerleading
| A．is a good sport for all people |
| B．lacks necessary guidelines to follow |
| C．is more than a form of entertainment |
| D．enjoys greater popularity than other sports |
This passage is written mainly to
A attract more girls to cheerleading
B draw people's attention to cheerleading
C call for more recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport
D criticize some Americans who do not think cheerleading as a sport
Being bored can encourage people's creativity-partly to escape the horrible, frustrated. And meaningless feeling of boredom-recent studies find. It could even be true at work.
Psychologists at the University of Central Lancashire had participants copy numbers out of the telephone book for 15 minutes,while others went straight into a standard creativity task.
Both groups were asked to come up with as many different uses as they could for a plastic cup. The group that felt more bored came up with more uses.
Dr. Sandi Mann, one of the study's authors said. " Boredom at work has always been seen as
something to he removed. hut perhaps we should be welcoming it in order to encourage our creativity. What we want LO do next is to see what the practical implications of this finding are. Do people who are bored at work become more creative in other areas of their work-or do they go homeand write novels?"
In a later study, Dr. Sandi Mann found that creativity was reduced when people were still bored but didn't have the chance to daydream.
While we tend to think of boredom as something; that certainly leads to trouble-drinking, gambling. and antisocial behavior, this research suggests differer possibilities.
More than anything, the feeling of boredom is a 8trong signal that we are stuck in some kind of rut and we need to seek out new goals. In the study above, this research led participants to new ideas.
Usually people will do anything to avoid being bored. as it's such an aversive experience. But creative people, like writers, sometimes talk ahout seeking out boredom.
Here is the comedy writer Graham Linehan talking about boredom Lo The Cuardian. "I have to use all these programs that cut off the Internet,force me to be bored, because being bored is an essential part of writing, and the Internet has made it very hard to be bored. The creative process requires a period of boredom ,of being stuck. That's actually a very uncomfortable period that a lot of people mistake for writer's block, but it's actually just part of a long process. "
So, when you start to feel bored , instead of g7ancing at your smartphone.,try being bored for a bit. Who knows what creative thought might come of it?From the study of Dr. Sandi Mann, we can learn that__ .
| A．boring tasks make people creative |
| B．daydreaming may increase creativity |
| C．plastic cups can be used very creatively |
| D．copying numbers might be very interesting |
The underlined word "aversive" in Paragraph 8 probably means _
| A．common. | B．unpleasant |
| C．unusual | D．personal |
According to Craham Linehan. .
| A．glancing at a smartphone is a solulion. |
| B．he is forced to feel bored by the Internet |
| C．the boredom period is a block for writers |
| D．being stuck for a period benefits him a lot |
What is the author's attitude towards boredom?
| A．Critical. | B．Cautious. |
| C．Positive | D．Unclear. |
In the last few years the popularity of eBooks has exploded. The advantages are clear: You can carry as many hooks with you as you want. You can simply download ever7 book you like and instantly start reading instead of having to wait for the book to arrive by mail.
However, one thing hadn't changed. If you wanted to rent a book you were still forced to use hardcopy hooks. Until now that is. Amazon. com recently announced the start of a new program where you can rent eBooks.
Where to rent eBooks?
As mentioned before, Amazon. com is the first and currently the only retailer (零售商) that has a program in place for renting eBooks. Luckily, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the
world and their eBook assortment (分类) is massive. They are also the producer of the Kindle, the most popular eReader, which means you can be sure that the eBooks you rent will work.
You can currently only rent eTextbooks. But this is likely to change as soon as the word gets out
that you can save money by renting eBooks.
Why rent eBooks at Amazon?
~ Save money: Save up t0 80% of the normal price of the eBook.
~ Decide how long you rent: From 30 days t0 360 days, you decide how long you want it. You
can extend the time by as little as a day. Or simply buy the eBook if you want to keep it after all.
~ Use any device: If you rent an eBook from Amazon, you can read it on your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android device, Windows Phone 7. Blackberry. or Kindle. .
~ Keep your notes: Do you like to keep annotations (注释) and highlights in your eBooks? Don't worry. You can always revisit your notes and highlights through Amazon. com.
How to rent eBooks?
Simply search for the eBook you want to rent on Amazon. com and select the "Rent eBooks" option. After that, a new page will open where you can select how long you’d like to rent the eBook. You can read eBooks for a period of 30 t0 360 days.
You decide how long you need the eBook. 1f you later find out you need it for longer. you can simply extend the time. Or buy it for the normal price whenever you want.
Once you've chosen the Lime you want to rent the eBook, you simply go to checkout. Or you can use the "Rent now" button.According to the passage, _
| A．eBooks will be changed into other types by Amazon. com |
| B．eBooks will replace hardcover hooks in the next few years |
| C．readers get a discount of at least 20% of the normal price |
| D．readers are able to rent eBooks only at Amazon. com now |
To rent an eBook online, which of the following goes last?
| A．open a new page |
| B．select the "Rent eBooks" option |
| C．choose a rental date |
| D．press "Rent now" button |
The main purpose of the passage is to _ .
| A．inform and explain |
| B．discuss and assess |
| C．compare and evaluate |
| D．describe and argue |
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