阅读下面的短文并用英语回答
[1] Nowadays the cost of a new car has fallen in real terms so that it is cheaper than ever to own one, and better road conditions have also attracted more drivers. The result is overcrowding on the road system, which is one of the problems the local governments are faced with.
[2] When people travel to other towns, the problem might be relieved by getting them to park outside the town. Buses could be provided to take them into the centre. These Park and Ride projects are increasingly popular in the UK. At Southerton, for example, a council-funded project led to a 15% drop in city centre traffic over five months.
[3] What the council found, though, was that the project proved somewhat unpopular with shop owners in the area outside the centre. Many of their shops relied on passing car drivers for some of their trade. As the number of people driving past dropped, so did their incomes.
[4] Making car driving expensive is another way of ____________. Road taxes tend to mean that people use their cars less. Fining drivers who are in areas where cars have been banned can also tend to encourage them to leave their cars behind.
[5] However, one thing has to be got right for any solution to succeed. If we expect people to give up the habit of driving, we must give them an alternative they can rely on. Constant delays, unannounced changes to the timetable and sudden cancellations all discourage people from using public transport. People will only see it as a real choice if the buses and trains are on time.
What causes overcrowding on the road system according to Paragraph 1? (no more than 12 words)
What should people do when traveling to other towns according to the Park and Ride projects? (no more than 10 words)
Why were some shop owners unhappy about the project? (no more than 10 words)
Fill in the blank in Paragraph 4. ( no more than 8 words)
Why are people unwilling to use public transport according to Paragraph 5? (no more than 8 words)
Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community, then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?
In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.
Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greed and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating（拥护）any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to behave in a different way due to outside influences.
Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer, either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a friendly relationship.
In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a friendly relationship with others.
Are modern people becoming more selfish?
| Main comparisons |
Contexts |
| In the past people put caring, sharing and generosity in the first |
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| Nowadays, people seem to be more |
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| People in the past appeared to be modest and self-effacing(谦让的). |
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| People may strive to achieve their own |
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| The author’s understanding |
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| Fierce |
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| The author’s |
A |
Kids in the Kitchen
Some experts serve up some of the factors that make cooking with kids a pleasure rather than a struggle． ．
For obvious reasons, a grown-up needs to be in charge of the stove, sharp knives and electrical equipment．Dr．Colker advises parents to be watchful, even when their kids are involved in relatively safe tasks．The bottom line is to stay close by, and teach your kids to respect basic safety rules．
Leave Time When kids help, you’ll need extra time to teach them some skills．When you're in a hurry, give your kids tasks that don't require much guidance．As they get older and develop more skills, they will become wonderful helpers and even save your time!
Go for Variety
Our experts agree that children can enjoy more than the usual "kid food", such as chicken nuggets and pizza． Sandra K. Nissenberg suggests exploring the produce passage in the supermarket and talking about the unusual fruits and vegetables you find．
Involve Kids in Clean-up and Table-setting
Dr．Laura Colker reminds parents that preschoolers are eager to deal with grown-up tasks．They actually "enjoy the clean-up and table-setting activities", she says．
They may also enjoy setting the table and counting the spoons．
Make Cooking a Learning Adventure
Cooking helps kids develop a healthy interest in the lifelong challenge of eating nourishing （有营养的） , delicious meals．Kids learn about science when they heat or cool a mixture and observe how it changes． And as they wait for the timer to ring, they develop a better understanding of the concept of time．
| A．Most young children can easily handle simple kitchen equipment． |
| B．Cooking with young children requires patience． |
| C．Measuring ingredients teaches kids about fractions （分数）． |
| D．Kids can and should help wash and dry the pots and pans． |
E．Keep an Eye on Safety
F．Stay Equipped
G．To introduce new foods, involve your kids in menu planning and shopping.
Pay Attention to the Organization of an Article.
Check Your Understanding.
Lightning Speed Exercise
Set Aside Time Each Day.
Check Your Progress through Pacing
Speed up When Necessary.______
Most of us can find 15 minutes or half an hour each day for some specific regular activity. For example, one famous surgeon always made it a rule to spend at least 15 minutes on general reading before he went to sleep each day. Whether he went to bed at 10 p.m. or 2:30 a.m. made no difference.______
Nearly all ‘speed reading’ courses have a ‘pacing’ element---some timing device which lets the students know how many words a minutes he is reading. You can do this simply by looking at your watch every 5 or 10 minutes and noting down the page number you have reached.______
Obviously there is little point in increasing your reading speed if you do not understand what you are reading. If you find you have lost the thread of the story, or you can’t remember clearly the details of what was said, re-read the section or chapter.______
Take four or five pages of an interesting book you happen to be reading at the time. Read them as fast as you possibly can. Do not bother about whether you understand or not. After a ‘lightning speed’ of reading, you will usually find that your ‘normal’ speed has increased.______
Most paragraphs in an article have a ‘topic sentence’ which expresses the central ideas. The opening paragraph often suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while paragraphs that follow expand or support the first. The closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence(实质) of what has been said.
请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。请将答案写在答题纸上的相应位置。（每空1词）
The Chinese are very generous(慷慨大方的) when it comes to educating their children. Some parents send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the US or Australia, regardless of how much this costs. Many also want their children to take extra-curriculum activities where they either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is, so parents often spend unreasonable amount of money on education. Even poor couples buy a computer for their son or daughter.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best education they can give their children is usually very cheap. Parents can see that their children's skills vary; they will usually be skilled in some areas while poor in others. What most parents fail to realize though, is that today's children lack self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study effectively. They are not teaching them the most important skills they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can help achieve this by teaching their children practical skills like cooking, sewing and other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need later in life. Cooking demands patience and time. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. The result, a well-cooked dinner, will give a child a lot of satisfaction and confidence.
An old machine such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child as a toy may make him curious and arouse his interest. If he will spend hours looking at it, and try to mend it; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. Such activities do more than teach a child to read a book; but rather they teach them to think, and to use their minds. This is much more important than learning by reading a book.
| Title |
How Chinese Parents Should |
| Common practice |
Being Sending them to the best schools or Taking extra-curriculum activities so as to Spending more money than they can afford on education. |
| Bad results |
Children's lacking in self-respect and |
| Suggested |
Teaching their children practical skills, which are of the greatest Cooking. Sewing. Other housework. |
| To make the children hardworking and confident. To enable them to |
阅读下列短文，根据所读内容在短文后的表格中填入恰当的单词。注意：表格的每个空格只填一个单词。
Educating girls quite possibly yields a higher rate of return than any other investment （投资）available in the developing world. Women's education may be unusual territory for economists（经济学家）, but enhancing women's contribution to development is actually as much an economic as a social issue. And economics（经济因素）, with its emphasis on incentives, provides guideposts that point to an explanation for why so many girls are deprived（剥夺）of an education.
Parents in low-income countries fail to invest（投资）in their daughters because they do not expect them to make an economic contribution to the family: girls grow up only to marry into somebody else's family and bear children. Girls are thus seen as less valuable than boys and art kept at home to do housework while their brothers are sent to school - the prophecy （预言) becomes self- fulfilling, trapping women in a vicious circle (恶性循环) of neglect.
An educated mother, on the other hand, has greater earning abilities outside the home and faces an entirely different set of choices. She is likely to have fewer but healthier children and can insist on the development of all her children, ensuring that her daughters are given a fair chance. The education of her daughters then makes it much more likely that the next generation of girls, as well as of boys, will be educated and healthy.
Few will dispute that educating women has great social benefits. But it has enormous economic advantages as well. Most obviously, there is the direct effect of education on the wages of female workers. Wages rise by 10 to 20 per cent for each additional year of schooling. Such big returns are impressive by the standard of other available investments, but they are just the beginning. Educating women also has a significant impact on health practices, including family planning.
Topic: The significance of female in developing countries
| Opinion |
Educating girls in more |
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| Families |
From low-income families |
From educated mothers’ families |
| Attitudes |
Girls are of less than boys. |
Development should be for all . |
| There is Girls are made to may at home, housework. |
Girls and boys have chances. |
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| Significance |
Educating girls |
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| Educating girls in developing countries is important and rewarding. |
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