Naturally, American schoolchildren love holidays. And they get a lot of them each year.
Besides having national holidays such as Thanksgiving and Presidents’ Day off from school, students get longer breaks in the spring and during the summer holidays .In fact, kids in US only go to school for about 180 days a year .To students, holidays are perfect .However, parents think there are advantages and disadvantages.
On the one hand, school holidays allow families to spend time together. Many American parents take time off from work during June ,July or August to travel with their children on vacation either in US or a foreign country. On the other hand, schoolchildren get much more time off school than parents get vacation time. This means that parents with young children may have to pay more in babysitting or daycare costs. As well, the long summer holidays mean that students sometimes get bored .
Besides going on trips with their parents, American students enjoy taking part in different kinds of activities during the holidays. For example, some kids enjoy summer camps and outdoor adventure(冒险) holidays. Such trips are great for adventurous students. They also have a lot to offer students who aren’t usually interested in traditional PE activities. You can do courses in survival(生存) skills, for example. Students learn how to make a camp in the forest, which wild food they can eat and how to find their way back to the center.
Students who are not excited about summer camps and outdoor adventure may take part in courses in computer game design, filmmaking and photography during the holidays. Finally, the traditional school trip to foreign countries is always popular. Students can practice their foreign language skills and experience everyday life in a different culture.How long are kids in the US at school every year?
| A．About 180 days . | B．About 280 days . |
| C．About 200 days . | D．About 300 days . |
What does the underlined word “They” refer to in the third paragraph?
| A．Some kids. | B．Different traditional PE activities |
| C．Parents | D．Summer camps and outdoor adventure. |
Which of the following is ture ?
| A．Both parents and students think school holidays are perfect. |
| B．Parents can take care of their young children during all the holidays. |
| C．Students enjoy taking part in different kinds of activities during holidays. |
| D．Students don’t like to have school trips to foreign countries during holidays. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．School Trips in the US. | B．School Holidays in the US. |
| C．School activities in the US. | D．Outdoor Adventure in the US |
Every year on my birthday, from the time I turned 12,a white gardenia（栀子花）was sent to my house. No card came with it．Calls to the flower shops were not helpful at all. After a while I stopped trying to discover the sender's name and was just very pleased with the beautiful white flower in soft pink paper.
But I never stopped imagining who the giver might be, Some of my happiest moments were spent daydreaming about the sender. My mother encouraged this imagining. She'd ask me if there was someone for whom I had done a special kindness. Perhaps it was the old man who I looked after when he was ill. As a girl, I had more fun imagining that it might be a boy.
One month before my graduation, my father died. I felt very sad and didn't want to go to the coming graduation dance at all. And I didn't care whether I had a new dress or not. But my mother, in her own sadness, would not let me miss any of those things. She wanted her children to feel loved and lovable. In truth, my mother wanted her children to see themselves much like the gardenia-lovely, strong and perfect with perhaps a bit of mystery.
My mother died ten days after I was married. I was 22. That was the year the gardenia stopped coming.
Which statement is true according to the passage?
| A．The author found the sender by calling the flower shops. |
| B．In fact, the flower was sent by a boy. |
| C．It was a pleasant moment for the girl to imagine the sender. |
| D．The author got a gardenia every year after she was married. |
The mother let her daughter go to the graduation dance because_______.
| A．She hoped she would miss her father. |
| B．She thought education was most important. |
| C．She hoped she would find a friend. |
| D．She wanted her to be happy and strong. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．A Childhood Dream. | B．A Mother's Love. |
| C．A Graduation Party. | D．A Special Birthday. |
One day when some workers were rebuilding a barn(谷仓), they found a mouse hole in a corner and used smoke to force(迫使) the mice inside the hole to come out. A while later, they saw mice running out, one after another. Then, everyone thought that all the mice had ran away. But just as they began to clean up, they saw two mice squeezing（挤）out at the mouth of the hole. With some efforts, the mice finally got out. However, it was strange that after they came out of the hole, they did not run away at once. Instead, one ran after the other near the mouth of the hole. It seemed that one was trying to bite(咬) the tail of the other.
Everyone was puzzled, so they stepped nearer to take a look. They realized that one of the mice was blind and could not see anything, and the other was trying to allow the blind mouse to bite on his tail so that he could pull the blind one with him to escape.
After seeing what happened, everyone was speechless and lost in thought. During the meal time, the group of people sat down in a circle and started to chat about what happened to the two mice.
One serious American man said: “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of king and guard.” The others thought for a while and said: “That was why!”
A smart French said: “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of husband and wife.” Again the others thought for a while, and all felt it made sense.
A Japanese said: “I think the relationship between those two mice was that of mother and son.” Once again the others thought for a while, and felt this was more reasonable(合理的). So they expressed agreement another time.
At that moment, one Chinese asked: “Why did those two mice have to have a certain relationship?”
Suddenly, the group looked back at the Chinese and remained(保持) speechless. The American official, the French and the Japanese who had spoken earlier all lowered their heads in shame, and did not dare to answer.
In fact, the true love is not built on friendship, loyalty(忠诚) or blood relationship. Instead, it is based on no relationship. Neither of the two mice ran away at once because ______.
| A．one was biting the other |
| B．the mouth of the hole was too small |
| C．they were not afraid of smoke |
| D．one was trying to help the blind one |
It is clear that ______.
| A．all the mice came out of the hole easily |
| B．each of the people understood the relationship differently |
| C．the people wanted to kill the mice with smoke |
| D．the people knew one of the mice was blind at first sight |
“it made sense” probably means ______.
| A．it was correct | B．it was strange |
| C．it was funny | D．it was sweet |
The best title for the passage is ______.
| A．TWO LOVELY MICE | B．HELP PRODUCES LOVE |
| C．FRIENDS IN NEED | D．LOVE IS ALL |
There are some stories behind English words.
You've spent a lot of time studying how to use English in a proper way. But have you ever wondered why English speakers say some of the things they say? For example, why do they say "an easy task" is "a piece of cake"? Why do the two letters "OK" means "all right"?
Many English words and phrases have stories behind them. Sometimes these stories can help us look back into old western history. Let's take a look at a few of the original * common English words and phrases: OK
"OK" was an American who lived in the 19th century. His name was "Old Kinderhook". In one year he was trying to take the place of the leader of his town. His supporters went around the town shouting " OK \ OK \" The supporters thought their future leader was " all right". The expression caught on, and now if something is "all right" , people like to say "OK|"
Boss*
Is your boss nice to you? If not, just be glad you weren't living in the old times. Back to that time, bosses could do anything bad to their men and could even beat* them! That explains why the word "boss" comes from an old German word meaning "to beat".
A piece of cake
A famous American writer named Ogden Nash lived in the 1930s. Many readers enjoyed his poems and wrote them down in their notebooks. In one of his poems, Nash wrote, " Her picture's in the papers now, and life's a piece of cake. " His readers found these words interesting and quickly wrote them down. They thought that if one picture in a newspaper could make you famous, wouldn't life be easy?
For nearly 70 years, "a piece of cake" has meant any task or activity that is easy.
Some of English words can tell us stories about_________.
| A．how people learned English |
| B．how English speakers create the words |
| C．how people spoke English |
| D．how people taught others to speak English |
The word "boss" in old German means "_________".
| A．to work | B．to help |
| C．to beat | D．to kill |
"OK" comes from "_________".
| A．Old King | B．Old Kindman |
| C．Old Kinderhook | D．Old Mcdonald |
In this passage "a piece of cake" means "_________".
| A．an easy task or activity |
| B．a difficult task or activity |
| C．a simple newspaper to read |
| D．a famous picture in a newspaper |
There was once a man called Mr. Flowers, and flowers were his only joy in life. He spent all his free time in one of his four glass-houses and grew flowers of every color, with long and difficult names, for competitions (比赛). He tried to grow a rose of a new color to win the silver cup (银杯) for the Rose of the Year.
Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses were very near to a middle school. Boys of around thirteen of age were often tempted (引诱) to throw a stone or two at one of Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses. So Mr. Flowers did his best to be in or near his glass-houses at the beginning and end of the school day.
But it was not always possible to be on watch at those times. Mr. Flowers had tried in many ways to protect his glass, but nothing that he had done had been useful. He had been to school to report to the headmaster; but this had not done any good. He had tried to drive away the boy that threw stones into his garden; but the boys could run faster than he could, and they laughed at him from far away. He had even picked up all the stones that he could find around his garden so that the boys would have nothing to throw; but they soon found others.
At last Mr. Flowers had a good idea. He put up a large notice (布告) made of good, strong wood some meters away from the glass-houses. On it he had written the words: DO NOT THROW STONES AT THIS NOTICE. After this, Mr. Flowers had no further trouble; the boys were much more tempted to throw stones at the notice than at the glass-houses.
It was Mr. Flowers’ hope to ________.
| A．build glass-houses in his free time |
| B．grow the Rose of the Year in a silver cup |
| C．win a silver cup for growing a rose of a new color |
| D．grow a rose with the longest name |
Boys were often tempted to ________.
| A．throw stones at Mr. Flowers’ glass-house |
| B．throw stones at Mr. Flowers from their school |
| C．be in or near by Mr. Flowers’ glass-houses |
| D．play with Mr. Flowers near his glass-houses |
Mr. Flowers stayed in or near by his glass-houses _______.
| A．at times when school-boys were walking near them |
| B．all the school day when there were no boys about |
| C．where he could not be seen by the boys passing |
| D．in his free time at the beginning and end of the school day |
Mr. Flowers had tried to ______ to protect his glass.
| A．be on watch in his free time |
| B．ask the headmaster for help |
| C．pick up all the stones around his garden |
| D．do all the above |
King’s College Summer School
King’s College Summer School is an annual(每年的) training program for high school students at all levels who want to improve their English. Courses are given by the teachers of King’s College and other colleges in New York. Trips to museums and culture centers are also organized. This year’s summer school will be from July 25 to August 15.
More information is as follows:
| Application (申请) date Students in New York should send their applications before July 18, 2012. Students of other cities should send their applications before July 16, 2012. Foreign students should send their applications before July 10, 2012. |
Courses English Language Spoken English: 22 hours Reading and Writing: 10 hours American History: 16 hours American Culture: 16 hours |
| Steps A letter of self-introduction A letter of recommendation ﹡ The letters should be written in English with all the necessary information. |
Cost Daily lessons: $200 Sports and activities: $100 Travels: $200 Hotel service: $400 ﹡You may choose to live with your friends or relatives in the same city. |
| Please write to: Thompson, Sanders 1026 King’s Street New York, NY 10016, USA E-mail: KC-Summer-School@ yahoo, com |
Which of the following is true about King’s College Summer School?
| A．Only top students can take part in the program. |
| B．King’s College Summer School is run every other year. |
| C．Visits to museums and culture centers are part of the program. |
| D．Only the teachers of King’ s College give courses. |
If you are to live with your relatives in New York, you will have to pay the school _____.
| A．$200 | B．$400 | C．$500 | D．$900 |
What information can you get from the text?
| A．The program will last two months. |
| B．You can write to Thompson only in English. |
| C．As a Chinese student, you can send your application on July 14, 2012. |
| D．You can get in touch with the school by e-mail or by telephone. |
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