Life for Cathy Taylor’s three children is very busy. Their school days are busy enough. However, after school Cathy takes the two boys from football to basketball. Then she has to take her daughter to piano lessons. The tired children don’t get home until 7 pm. They have a quick supper, and then it’s time for homework.
The Taylors are like many American and British parents. They take their children from activity to activity. Doctors say many children are under too much pressure. Teachers complain about teaching tired kids in the classroom.
Most children take part in after-school clubs. Activities include sports, language learning, music, and math classes. Now parents seem to push their children a lot more. They see other children doing a lot of things, and they feel their own children should do the same.
Linda Miller, a mother of three in London, knows all about such pressure. “In some families, competition starts from a very young age,” She says. “ Mothers send their kids to all kinds of classes when they are very young. And they are always comparing them with other children. It’s crazy. People shouldn’t push their kids so hard.
Dr Alice Green agrees. She also says that these children may find it hard to think for themselves when they are older. “ Parents are trying to plan their kids’ lives for them. When these kids are adults, they might find it difficult to plan things for themselves.” Parents should learn to give their kids a bit more time to themselves. On the one hand, children need organized activities. On the other hand, they also need time and freedom to relax, and they need time to do things by themselves.When do Cathy Taylor’s three children got home every day?
_________________________________________________.What is the result(结果) of thinking too many activities to kids?
_________________________________________________.Why do the parents make their children take part in all kinds of after-school clubs?
_________________________________________________.Does Linda Miller agree to push kids so hard?
_________________________________________________.Why should parents learn to give their kids a bit more time to themselves?
_________________________________________________.
Next time you’re in a public place, take a look around you, and count how many people are using their phones. I can tell you that it is probably more than half, whether you’re in a bus, in a café or simply walking down the street.
I’m not saying that I am not an example of this, but I wonder how people can spend so much time on their phones without actually talking to anyone in particular. We can now do almost anything with a phone. But has it gone too far? We spend too much time on our mobiles but not enough time talking to people in real life.
Last time I visited London, I traveled by subway. I noticed that almost everybody else
was on their phones except those who were asleep. People were playing games, reading articles and listening to music.
Recently, my smart phone broke and I had to use an old basic phone just to keep in touch with my family and friends. I could only send text messages, make calls and play one game with it. And I loved it. I loved being free from the Internet, and I really didn’t mind what my friends were doing or what the latest news was. I could enjoy my time watching the people around me and seeing what was going on.
However, I knew that as soon as I got my smart phone back, I would be one of those people once again.
The writer finds that _________ people are using their phones in public places.
| A．most | B．few | C．half | D．all |
Which of the following cannot be done on a phone?
| A．Playing games. | B．Sending text messages. |
| C．Listening to music. | D．Having meals. |
The writer could use his old basic phone to __________.
| A．surf the Internet |
| B．watch the people around him |
| C．play one game |
| D．look through the latest news |
What didn’t the writer see on the subway when he visited London?
| A．People were sleeping. |
| B．People were talking with each other. |
| C．People were playing games. |
| D．People were using their phones. |
From this article, we know that __________.
| A．everybody was on their phones when the writer traveled in London by subway |
| B．most people spend enough time talking to people in real life |
| C．the writer enjoyed his time without his smart phone |
| D．the writer won’t use his smart phone any more |
One day Frank was walking with his mother when they came to a pretty garden. Frank looked in, and saw that it had clean gravel (碎石) walks and beautiful flowers. He called to his mother and said, “Mum, come and look at this pretty garden. I wish I might open the gate, and walk in．”The gardener (园丁) heard what Frank said, and kindly invited him and his mother to come into the garden．
Frank’s mother thanked the man．Then she said to her son, “Frank, if I take you to walk in this garden, you must take care not to meddle(乱动)with anything in it.”Frank walked along the tidy gravel walks, and looked at everything, but touched nothing that he saw. He did not step on any of the borders（草坪边的狭长花坛），and was careful that his clothes should not brush the tops of the flowers so that he might not break them．
The gardener was much pleased（满意的）with Frank, because he was so careful to behave well．He showed him the seeds, and told him the name of many of the flowers and plants．
While Frank was admiring the beauty of a flower,a little boy came to the gate, and finding it locked, he shook it hard．But it would not open．Then he said, “Let me in．Let me in．Will you not let me in this garden?”
“No,” said the gardener,“I will not let you in, Tom．When I let you in yesterday you meddled with my flowers, and pulled some of my fruit. I do not choose to let a boy into my garden who meddles with the plants. ”
Tom looked ashamed, and when he found that the gardener would not let him in, he wentawayslowly. Frank saw and felt how much happier a boy may be by not meddling with what does not belong to him．
He and his mother then continued their walk in the garden, and enjoyed the day very much. Before they left, the gardener gave each of them some pretty flowers．Frank couldn't see____in the garden．
| A．seeds | B．fruit | C．flowers | D．animals |
Tom did everything except______．
| A．meddling with the flowers |
| B．pulling some fruit |
| C．admiring the beauty of plants |
| D．shaking the door hard |
Which is NOT true about Frank?_________________．
| A．He touched nothing in the garden |
| B．He didn't step on the borders of the garden |
| C．He didn't have a good time in the garden |
| D．He tried not to brush the top of the flowers with his clothes |
The gardener didn't______________．
| A．show Frank any seeds |
| B．let Tom in the garden a second time |
| C．give Frank and his mother any flowers |
| D．tell Frank the names of many of the flowers |
We can learn from the story that____________．
| A．it is bad manners to break flowers |
| B．you'll be happy if you're friendly to others |
| C．no one wants to make friends with selfish(自私的)people |
| D．you may be happy if you don't meddle with the things of others |
| J&M Music Store • Rock, pop and country music • Buy CDs new or used • Listen before you buy • Guitar lessons offered |
Peth Market • Fresh fruit and vegetables • Open Friday to Sunday mornings • Free ice cream for children under 12 |
| Times Coffee Shop • The best coffee in town • Sandwiches, cakes, pies •Open 10:00a.m__11:00 p.m.daily •Jazz music( Wednesday to Sunday) |
Macon's B&B • Feel like home when you're away from • We have different kinds of rooms • Delicious home-made breakfast |
You can________ at J&M Music Store.
| A．receive guitar lessons |
| B．borrow new or used CDs |
| C．learn pop music history |
| D．buy all kinds of music books |
You can go to Times Coffee Shop to have coffee and pies at_______.
| A．8:30 a.m. | B．9:30 a.m. |
| C．10:30 p.m. | D．11:30 p.m. |
If your friend is coming for a visit, where will he stay for a night?
A. In J&M Music Store. B. In Peth Market
C. At Times Coffee Shop. D. At Macon's B&B.
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．There is no breakfast at Macon's B&B |
| B．You can't listen to the CD before you buy it. |
| C．Times Coffee Shop offers Jazz music every day. |
| D．Kids under 12 can get free ice cream in Peth Market |
Where is the passage probably from?
| A．A dictionary. | B．A newspaper. |
| C．A story book. | D．A science report. |
Do you know that a fast reader can get the ideas better than a slow reader can? Of course, you save time by reading fast, but this is not the main reason for fast reading. The main reason is that you understand better what you are reading when you read fast.
As your eyes move along the line of point, they make fixations (固定) or pauses (暂停). It is important that you see several words at a fixation. It is also important that your eyes leave a group. The numbers of letters or words that you see at a fixation are called your eye span (视跨). Pay more attention to improving your rate of reading. With practice you can learn to read faster than you usually read.
The way in which you read always depends on (取决于) what you are reading and for what purpose. You should know the different ways of reading so that you can apply whatever method is necessary. Here are four ways of reading:
(1) Skimming is an important kind of reading. This method can be used when you wish to review something that you have forgotten. You can skim to get the main points.
(2) Rapid (快速) first reading and then rereading certain parts carefully is important. You may use this type of reading to study a science lesson or a history lesson.
(3) You need to do careful reading and rereading sometimes. This type of reading is necessary for making an intensive (细致的) study of your school subjects, solving maths problems or reading directions.
(4) Rapid reading is used when reading stories for enjoyment. You may also do rapid reading when reviewing materials that you already know well.The main reason for reading fast is that you can ________.
| A．get the ideas | B．save time |
| C．understand better | D．learn well |
The way of reading always depends on ________.
| A．the method that you like | B．your reading material |
| C．your reading purpose | D．both B and C |
The word “skimming ” means “________”.
| A．reading the main points |
| B．reading carefully |
| C．reading very fast |
| D．reading some parts of the material |
Careful reading is an important kind of reading ________.
| A．when you review a lesson that you already know well |
| B．when you read the directions |
| C．when you read a story of enjoyment |
| D．when you study a history lesson |
What do you think of black cats? Are they unluckier than cats of other colors? Many people in Western countries think so. Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), did a study on cat colours and people’s understandings of cat personalities.
The study found that people do judge(判断) cat personalities by color. Scientists did a survey on the Internet. There were 49 statements (描述) matching five cat colorings with 10 personalities. People think orange and bi-coloured (双色的) cats are friendly, tri-coloured (三色的) cats are not generous, and white cats are calm, lazy and shy. As for black cats, people think they don’t have special personalities.
But why do so many people dislike keeping black cats as pets? People think black cats have less special personalities, which might be because of their bad reputation (口碑). They think black cats may bring bad luck, especially at Halloween. Movies and television shows also make people believe that.
Although people have these ideas, UC Berkeley scientists give another reason: people don’t think black cats are pretty enough. After all, nothing can show black cats are unluckier than other cats. “You can’t judge a cat by its colour, because it’s the personality of the cat, not the colour, that will let you know if the cat is right for you,” Cathy Marden, a scientist said.
Many people in Western countries may think black cats are .
| A．lovely animals | B．a sign of bad luck |
| C．a sign of good luck | D．unfriendly animals |
The main idea of paragraph 2 is that .
| A．people often complain about black cats on the Internet |
| B．people think cats of different colours have different personalities |
| C．black cats are less popular than other cats |
| D．the study is a great success |
According to the study, people think that .
| A．black cats have special personalities |
| B．orange and bi-coloured cats are generous |
| C．cats with three colours are friendly |
| D．white cats are calm, lazy and shy |
People don’t like black cats for the following reasons EXCEPT .
| A．black cats often appear in TV shows |
| B．black cats bring bad luck to people |
| C．black cats have bad reputations |
| D．they don’t think black cats are beautiful |
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