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Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment—to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.
His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be？One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. And so the discussion went—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.
When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.
Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.
In fact, people might not always say “thanks”. But they’ll remember the hand that reaches out.What’s the purpose of the assignment the teacher gave her students?
| A．To celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
| B．To show gratitude for others. |
| C．To improve students’ art level. |
| D．To make the festival fun. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The teacher thought students couldn’t focus their art on turkey and other traditional goodies. |
| B．Douglas would often join in his classmates and played with them happily. |
| C．The picture was really different for there was nothing but a hand. |
| D．The boy told his teacher the content of the picture actively. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “capture”?
| A．affect | B．reflect | C．conquer | D．arouse |
What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Words speak louder than actions. |
| B．Lost time is never found again. |
| C．Time tries all. |
| D．Love me, love my dog. |
Selena Gomez and I are scheduled to meet at a low-key coffee shop in Encino. Not wanting to keep the superstar waiting, I arrived at nine, 20 minutes early. As I was catching up on e-mails, Selena quietly scooted into the seat next to me. No bodyguard. Not even a drop of makeup. She was ten minutes early and so inconspicuous that no one else in the restaurant looked up so much. Selena was wearing Bebe shorts. She had a baby face and ordered a hot chocolate.
After making small talk about what she wore for the shoot, she dived into the subject of her career. Selena declared 2012 the year of movies. She filmed three: Spring Breakers, a drama; The Getaway, an action flick; and Hotel Transylvania, a comedy. Each is a marked move away from the teen style that made her a household name.
Now that her Disney days are behind her, Selena is at that unstable point in a child star’s career where she is trying to grow up---both as a person(she turned 20 in July)and as an artist. “Being part of the Disney Channel was such a blessing, and I’m super happy with what my show accomplished, but acting is something I would like to take on more seriously.” She continued, “I don’t necessarily feel accomplished. I want to creat a whole different persona when it comes to acting.”
Selena has been working fulltime since she was seven years old and scored a role on Barney&Friends. In 2007, when she was offered the lead in Wizards of Waverly Place, Selena, her mother, and her stepfather uprooted from Grand Prairie, Texas, to LA, where they are settling now.When was it that Selena arrived at the low-key coffee shop?
| A．At ten. |
| B．At ten to nine. |
| C．At ten past nine. |
| D．At thirty past nine. |
Which of the following statements is ture according to the second paragraph?
| A．Selena went into her film career as soon as we met in the coffee shop. |
| B．Three famous films filmed in 2012 have shown her teen style. |
| C．The film Hotel Transylvania is an action flick filmed in 2012 |
| D．Each of the three films marks Selena’s move away from her teen style. |
How did Selena think of Disney days which were behind her?
| A．She thought of playing in Disney a blessing. |
| B．She didn’t feel very satisfied with her show in Disney. |
| C．She found her not accomplished in her performance in Disney. |
| D．She believed her being part in Disney Channel a blessing. |
The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means “ _______”.
| A．moved | B．picked | C．changed | D．informed |
Sure, it’s good to get along with your teacher because it makes that time you spend in the classroom more pleasant. And yes, it’s good to get along with your teacher because, in general, it’s smart to learn how to relate to the different types of people you’ll meet throughout your life.
But really, there’s one super-important reason why you should get along with your teacher. Kids who get along with their teachers not only learn more, but they’re more comfortable asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier to understand new material and do your best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school issues, such as bullying.
As a kid in elementary or middle school, you’re at a wonderful stage in your life. You’re able to take in lots of new and exciting information. Apart from that, you’re able to think about all this information in new ways. Your teacher knows that, and in most cases, he or she is thrilled to be the person who’s giving you all that material and helping you put it together. Remember, teachers are people, too, and they feel great if you’re open to what they’re teaching you. That’s why they wanted to be teachers in the first place to teach!
Some kids may be able to learn in any situation, whether they like the teacher or not. But most kids are sensitive to the way they get along with the teacher, and if things aren’t going well, they won’t learn as well and won’t enjoy being in class.Paragraph 2 mainly talks about_______.
| A．new materials learned from teachers |
| B．ways to develop relationship with teachers |
| C．benefits in getting along with teachers |
| D．avoiding problems happening around kids |
What’s the writer’s attitude towards getting along with teachers?
| A．Doubtful. | B．Objective. |
| C．Uncaring. | D．Favorable. |
What can we know from the passage?
| A．Kids are unable to understand lots of exciting information. |
| B．Kids are bullied while communicating with others in schools. |
| C．Kids will leave the class when not doing quite well with their teachers. |
| D．Kids will leave the class when not satisfied with teachers’ teaching methods. |
The passage is most probably taken from______.
| A．children’s literature | B．an education magazine |
| C．a science report | D．an advertisement |
Since the 1970s，scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Braincomputer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently，two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne，Switzerland，demonstrated (展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts.
In the laboratory，Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thougts.
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells.These send signals through the spinal cord(脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles，” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof.Millan，the team leader，says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories：communication，and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients，so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?
| A．By controlling his muscles. |
| B．By talking to the machine. |
| C．By moving his hand. |
| D．By using his mind. |
Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?
| A．scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair |
| B．computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair |
| C．scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair |
| D．cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Switzerland，the BCI Research Center |
| B．New Findings about How the Human Brain Works |
| C．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled |
| D．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries |
Last month, Justin Valdez, a college student, was shot in a subway station in San Francisco. The surveillance video(监控录像) showed that before Justin was killed, the killer pulled out his gun several times, and even wiped his nose with it. However, nobody noticed the killer. The surrounding passengers all focused on their cell phones.
We may see the same scene everywhere in our life: in subway stations, restaurants, elevators and so on, people are watching their cell phones. From a family reunion to a date with a friend, people couldn’t stop checking their twitter and facebook on the cell phones and ignoring the persons in front completely, Phubbing(低头症) not only involves young people, but also the elderly and kids.
“Phubbing” is a new term which comes from the words “phone’’ and “snub(冷落)”. It describes the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a cell phone. The word “phubbing” was included in the Australian National Dictionary in 2012. Obviously, the indifference冷漠) and rudeness of the information age are spreading globally. A Stop Phubbing campaign website has been set up. You can find the slogan of the website as follows: “stop twittering, stop posting photos…enjoy your food, enjoy the music and respect others.”
Phubbing appears harmless. However, it does influence our life. Jimmy, an epicure(美食家), wrote in his blog: “I can no longer focus on what I am eating since I started twittering. My skill of food photography has improved very fast, while my interest in food drops as a result.”
Let us put down our cell phones and re-enjoy the real taste of our food and the warmth of interpersonal communication.The case of Justin Valdez is given in the first paragraph to show .
| A．gun violence happens easily in the US |
| B．phubbing may lead to terrible disasters |
| C．the killer didn’t mean to kill him |
| D．the killer had made a careful plan |
What will probably happen when you ask a phubbing person for help?
| A．He will give you an immediate reply. |
| B．He will stop looking at his cell phone. |
| C．He will pay no attention to you. |
| D．He will be very angry with you. |
Jimmy’s words suggest that .
| A．phubbing is actually harmless |
| B．phubbing stops people enjoying their life |
| C．phubbing affects people’s eating habits the most |
| D．phubbing helps people improve their photographic skills |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．How the word “phubbing” came into being. |
| B．The popular campaign of stop phubbing. |
| C．The meaning of the word “phubbing”. |
| D．The great harm of phubbing. |
Alibaba started taking the lead in China, simply enough, by connecting big Chinese manufacturers(制造商)with big buyers across the world. Its business-to-business site, Alibaba.com allowed business to buy almost everything. Alibaba’s advantage wasn’t hard to identify size. Alibaba is just big, even by Chinese standards. Its marketplaces attract 231 million active buyers, 8 million sellers, 11.3 billion orders a year—and Alibaba is just the middleman. It encourages people to use its markets—not charging small sellers a percentage of the sale.
If you want a quick look into the influence of Alibaba on daily Chinese life, take my experience. I moved to Beijing almost a year ago and quickly got tired of visiting small stores across the crowded, polluted city of 20 million people in search of new electronics, bathroom furnishings, and anything else my wife wanted. “You’re looking for what exactly? Why not try it? ” my Chinese teacher asked me one day. With that, my wonderful new relationship with Alibaba began.
Alibaba’s original business-to-business model now is secondary to consumer buying. Chinese retail（零售）buying makes up 80% of Alibaba’s profit, and leading that group is Taobao, with 800 million items for sale and the most unbelievable selection of things you’ll ever find. TMall.com is Alibaba’s other big site, where you can find brand name goods from Nike and Unilever near the lowest prices.
What I have a hard time explaining to friends and family back in the U.S. is how China has gone beyond traditional shopping—big-box retailers especially —in favor of online purchases on Taobao and a few other sites. In smaller towns than Beijing, where big retailers have not yet traveled, shopping online is shopping, and shopping is Taobao.
I have a list of some of my recent purchases on Taobao for a sense of how extensive the marketplace is. Almost everything arrived a day or two after ordering with free shopping. I’m not even a big buyer, because I need friends to help me search the Chinese-language site. When I was searching my purchase history on my Chinese teacher’s iPad, which helps me buy goods, I looked through with great difficulty about 10 of her purchases for every one of mine.Alibaba’s advantage mainly lies in ___________.
| A．its big size |
| B．its business-to-business service |
| C．its not charging small sellers |
| D．its low price |
What can we learn from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．Alibaba is of middle size among all the online sites |
| B．Alibaba will continue to develop. |
| C．Alibaba stands out as the best online site. |
| D．Alibaba acts as a bridge between the buyers and sellers. |
What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．a new store | B．Alibaba |
| C．a business | D．a foreign website |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author’s Chinese teacher is also an online purchase lover. |
| B．Taobao has no obvious advantage over other similar online sites. |
| C．Alibaba’s business-to-business service earns more money than retail now. |
| D．TMall.com provides more profit than Taobao. |
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