It is often said that you cannot “teach an old dog new tricks”, but three New Zealand dogs have decided to prove otherwise 
by learning a skill—driving a car!
What’s even more impressive is that the three who have become skilled in just eight weeks are not special dogs that belong to some rich owners, but abandoned ones at New Zealand’s SPCA.
To get their training started, 10-month-old Porter, 18-month-old Monty and one-year-old Ginny were selected from a pool of seven potential candidates and moved to Animal Q, a talent agency that teaches animals tricks for movies and television shows.
The driving classes began with teaching the dogs some basic driving techniques like turning the steering wheels(方向盘)and applying the brakes. After that the dogs practiced everything they had learnt behind the wheels of a motorized(装上发动机的)car. Then finally, it was time for the big test-driving a real car!
Human cars are not really built for four-legged animals, so the car they drove was adjusted so that the dogs could sit comfortably and easily reach the steering wheel with their paws.
Though they all seemed to do very well, the real test came on Monday night when Monty, the best driver of the three, showed his great driving skill on live television.
Why would the SPCA go through so much trouble to highlight the skills of homeless dogs? The reason is to show that adopting a dog from a shelter does not mean owners are getting a pet that is worse than one purchased from a keeper. The CEO of the SPCA is hoping that this unusual event will be enough to convince the residents of New Zealand to consider them, when searching for a pet. We surely hope so, meanwhile we are almost certain that these three pioneers have at least landed their names in the Guinness World Records, creating a category that probably does not even exist today! Who do the three dogs belong to?
| A． Some rich owners. | B． Animal Q. |
| C． A shelter. | D． A zoo. |
The car the dogs drove was adjusted .
| A． because it was too big for the dogs to drive |
| B． because it had no steering wheels and brakes |
| C． to ensure the dogs could sit comfortably and drive easily |
| D． to motorize the car and turn it to be a real one |
Why does the SPCA decide to teach the three dogs to learn to drive a car?
| A． To prove old dogs can learn new tricks. |
| B． To teach them performing tricks for movies and television shows. |
| C． To provide amusing performances for homeless children. |
| D． To encourage people to adopt the abandoned dogs. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A． A new Guinness category for driving dogs will probably be created. |
| B． Abandoned dogs are much cleverer than house-kept ones. |
| C． All the dogs at New Zealand’s SPCA will soon be adopted. |
| D． New Zealand has the most homeless dogs among all countries. |
Along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young .They build their homes about 4.6m above the river ,an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young. It is called the hoatzin.
In appearance，the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside .The head is small, with a large set of feathers on the top, bright red eyes, and blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the common birds, cuckoos. Its most striking feature ,though, is only found in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip .Using these four claws ,together with the beak(喙),they can climb about in the bushes, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. When the young hoatzins have learned to fly ,they lose their claws.
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons. |
| B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins. |
| C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon. |
| D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins. |
Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that ．
| A．they look like young cuckoos |
| B．they have claws on the wings |
| C．they eat a lot like a cow |
| D．they live on river banks |
What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?
| A．They had claws to help them climb. |
| B．They could fly long distances. |
| C．They had four wings like hoatzins. |
| D．They had a head with long feathers on the top. |
Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?
| A．To find more food. |
| B．To protect themselves better. |
| C．To keep themselves warm. |
| D．To produce their young. |
EDGEWOOD—Every morning at Dixie Heights High school, customers pour into a special experiment :the district’s first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries.
By closing time at 9.20 a.m. , the shop usually sells 90drinks.
“whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good, ”Christy McKinley , a second year student , announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school.
They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks , which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier’s first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition（营养）guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their lounge(休息室)in the morning. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups.
What is the text mainly about？
| A．A best-selling coffee. |
| B．A special educational program. |
| C．Government support for schools. |
| D．A new type of teacher-student relationship. |
The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to .
| A．raise money for school affairs |
| B．do some research on nutrition |
| C．develop students’ practical skills |
| D．supply teachers with drinks |
How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman’s opinion of the chi tea？
| A．She met her in the shop. |
| B．She heard her telling others. |
| C．She talked to her on the phone. |
| D．She went to her office to deliver the tea. |
We know from the text that Ginger Gray .
| A．manages the Dixie PIT program in Kenton County |
| B．sees that the drinks meet health standards |
| C．teaches at Dixie Heights High School |
| D．owns the school’s coffee shop |
| ADMISSION: Adult ￡4.90 Child ￡2.20 Family ￡12.0 (2 adults +up to 3 children) |
Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World
Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and where he grew up. The property(房产)remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806.The House has welcomed visitors traveling from all over the word ,for over 250 years.
◆ Enter though the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare’s World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work of Shakespeare.
◆ Stand in the rooms-where Shakespeare grew up.
◆ Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare’s period.
◆ Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in the poet’s works.
pThe Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks shown on the map; nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ walk).
The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its exhibition, and the garden
are accessible(可进入的)to wheelchair user.
| OPENING TIMES: 20 Mar to 19 Oct Mon to Sat: 9:00am to 5:00pm Sun:9:30am to 5:00pm 20 Oct to 19Mar Mon to Sat:9:30am to 4:00pm Sun:10:00am to 4:00pm |
The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).
How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children?
| A．＄9.80 | B．＄12.00 | C．＄14.20 | D．＄16.40 |
Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace?
| A．Behind the exhibition hall. |
| B．Opposite the Visitors’ Centre. |
| C．At Windsor street. |
| D．Near the Coffee House. |
A wheelchair user may need help to enter .
A . the House B the garden C the Visitor’s Centre D. the exhibition hall
It’s not easy being a teenager – nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager. You can make your child feel angry, hurt, or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself. It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while making him realize that you’ll still be there for him when be needs you.
Expect a lot from your child, just not everything. Except for health and safety problems, such as drug use or careless driving, consider everything else open do discussion, if your child is unwilling to discuss something, don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind. The more you insist, the more likely that he’ll clam up. Instead, let him attempt to solve (解决) things by himself, At the same time, remind him that you’re always there for him should he seek advice or help. Show respect for your teenager’s privacy(隐私). Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversations.
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long, tell him he can talk for 15 minutes, but then be must stay off the phone for at least an equal period of time. This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls, but teaches your teenager moderation(节制).Or if you are open to the idea, allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job. The main purpose of the text is to tell parents _________.
| A．how to get along with a teenager |
| B．how to respect a teenager |
| C．how to understand a teenager |
| D．how to help a teenager grow up |
what does the phrase “clamp up” in Paragraph 2 probably mean？
| A．become excited |
| B．show respect |
| C．refuse to talk |
| D．seek help |
What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text？
| A．Not allow him to learn driving or take drugs. |
| B．Give him advice only when necessary. |
| C．Let him have his own telephone. |
| D．Not talk about personal things with him. |
We have met the enemy, and he is ours. We bought him at a pet shop. When monkey-pox, a disease usually found in the African rain forest, suddenly turns up in children in the American Midwest, it’s hard not to wonder if the disease that comes from foreign animals is homing in on human beings. “Most of the infections (感染) we think of as human infections started in other animals, ” says Stephen Morse, director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Columbia University.
It’s not just that we’re going to where the animals are, we’re also bringing them closer to us. Popular foreign pets have brought a whole new disease to this country. A strange illness killed Isaksen’s pets, and she now thinks that keeping foreign pets is a bad idea. “I don’t think it’s fair to have them as pets when we have such a limited knowledge of them,” says Isaksen.
“Laws allowing these animals to be brought in from deep forest areas without stricter control need changing,” says Peter Schantz. Monkey-pox may be thewake-up call. Researchers believe infected animals may infect their owners. We know very little about these new diseases. A new bug (病毒) may be kind at first. But some strains (变异体) may become harmful. Monkey-pox doesn’t look a major infectious disease. But it is not impossible to pass the disease from person to person.We learn from Paragraph 1 that the pet sold at the shop may ________.
| A．come from Columbia |
| B．enjoy being with children |
| C．prevent us from being infected |
| D．suffer from monkey-pox |
Why did Isaksen advise people not to have foreign pets?
| A．They attack human beings. |
| B．We need to study native animals. |
| C．They can’t live out of the rain forest. |
| D．We do not know much about them yet. |
What does the phrase “the wake-up call ” in Paragraph 3 most probably mean?
| A．a new disease |
| B．a clear warning |
| C．a dangerous call |
| D．a morning call |
The text suggests that in the future we_____.
| A．may have to fight against more new diseases |
| B．may easily get infected by diseases from dogs. |
| C．should not be allowed to have pets |
| D．should stop buying pets form Africa. |
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