CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? Every one of us gets so used to punctuation marks that not many of us give them a second thought. Actually, the ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc. The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They • put • something • that • can • separate • words • in • a • sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a dot.
When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The spaces separated words while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma (逗号).
Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark (感叹号) comes from the Latin word io. It means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word questio, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question.
Punctuation even keeps changing nowadays. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example the “interrobang”. This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what?” or “How much did you pay for that dress?” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized yet, but its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.From the first paragraph, we can know that _______.
| A．good readers had trouble reading without punctuation marks |
| B．a sentence always read from left to right in ancient Greece |
| C．ancient Greeks switched the direction of punctuation marks |
| D．the use of punctuation marks can date back to ancient times |
The passage is developed _______.
| A．by time | B．by space |
| C．by comparison | D．by importance |
We can learn from the passage that _______.
| A．ancient Romans didn’t use any punctuation marks |
| B．exclamation and question marks came from Latin |
| C．spaces and slashes were already used before the 5th century |
| D．Aldus Manutius first started to use commas |
What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
| A．The combination of two marks will not work. |
| B．It takes time for people to accept new punctuation marks. |
| C．Old punctuation marks need to be standardized. |
| D．Punctuation marks are still changing today. |
Roslyn Hing School on long Island recently started a pilot program using iPads in some classrooms.
A growing number of schools across the U.S.are multimedia,history through gamse and math with step-by -step animation(动画）of complex problems.
As part of a pilot program,Roslyn High School handed out 47 iPads on Dec.20,2010 to the students and teachers in two humanities(人文学科）classes. The school district hopes to provide iPads eventually to all 1,100 of its students.
The iPads are to be used in class and at hom during the school year to replace texbooks,allow students to correspond with teachers and tum in papers and homework tasks,and preserve a rocord of student work in digital files.
“It allows us to extend the classes beyond these four walls.”said larry Reiff,an English teacher at Roslyn who now posts all his course mateials online.
But educators are still divided over whether practices to give every student a laptop have made a difference academically.
“Thre is very little evidence that kids learn more,faster of better by using these machines,”said Larry Cuban,a retried professor of eduction at Staford University.“IPads are excellent tools to attract kids,but then the fieshness wears off and you eget int hard-core problems of teaching and learning.”
But school leaders say the iPad is not just a cool new toy but rather a powerful and multifunctional tool with a number of applications,including thousands with educational uses.
“If there isn't an application that does something I need ,there will be sooner or later,”said Mr.Reiff,who said he now used an application that includes all of Shakespare's plays.The program of using iPads in class is .
| A．widely accepted by most schools in the United States |
| B．only an experimental one carried out in some schools |
| C．a compulsory one carried out by the U.S government |
| D．encouraged and organized by the iPad company |
The underlined part “these four walls”in paragraph 5 refers to .
| A．school dormitory | B．school campus |
| C．teacher's office | D．school classroom |
We can use iPads to do the following at school except .
| A．replace the school textbooks | B．keep digital record of homework |
| C．judge the teachers'teaching | D．communicate with teachers |
The school leaders tink highly of the iPad mainly because it is .
| A．cool and interesting | B．powerful and helpful |
| C．multifunctional and expensive | D．attractive and vivid |
We can infer from the passage that .
| A．most old teachers are against the pilot program |
| B．students have achieved a lot after using iPads |
| C．teaching will become less important with the help of ipads |
| D．iPads will be used is more and more schools in the US |
Ants have a reputation for strength,organization and teamwork.But researchers have now discovered that a key secret to the success of ants is their ability to identify the importance of age in the work place.
A study of Gentral American leaf-cutter ants has shown that the younger and stronger members are give the toughest job of cutting therough the leaves they harvest.Their sharp youn teeth do this job effectively,but as they get older their teeth become relatively worn and blunt.
But rather than being retired or abandoned by the group,the ageing ants are given a new role more suyted to their physical abilities.They become carriers and teansport the leaves back to the kingdom where they are harvested for food.
The findings by researchers from the University of Oregon and the Oregong State University support previous research showin the survival of a leaf-cutter kingdom depends on the efficiency(效率）of is workers.
“Cuting leaves is hard work,”said Dr.Robert Schofield,who led the research team.“Much of the cutting is done with a V-shaped blade(刀片）between teeth on their jaws.This blade starts out as sharp as the sharpest razor blade that humans have developed.”But over rime the teeth become blunter and the cutting job slows down.The team estimated that,because of this age-related wear,a colony(蚁群)spent twice the energy cutting leaves than it would if all the ants had sharp blades.Its findings support the idea that wear and break can be significant problems for insects as well as largre animals.
Like humans,leaf-cuttre ant recognize that older members of the group can still make a worhwhile contribution to society.“This study shows an advantage of social living that we are familiar with,”said Dr.Schofield.The younger and stronger ants do the toughest job because .
| A．they can teansport the leaves effectively |
| B．they have a sharp blade to cut leaves |
| C．other members are busy with other work |
| D．they can finish the job in a better organized way |
The undrelined word“blunt”in the second paragraph can be replaced by .
| A．quite loose | B．less sharp |
| C．quite fragile | D．more dirty |
What happens to the ants when they become old?
| A．They no longer hve work to do. |
| B．They keep doing the same work. |
| C．They have to leave and live on themselves. |
| D．They are given a new worthwhile job. |
It can be learned from the passage that .
| A．Dr.Schofield is the first to research leaf-cuttre ants |
| B．older ants are more powerful in carrying leaves |
| C．large animals can also suffer from some kind of wear |
| D．leaf-cutter ants are the most lever ants in the world |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The key secret to the success of ants |
| B．The developed structure of ant colony |
| C．The most challenging job for leaf-cutter ants |
| D．No V-shaped blade,no success of ants |
Become a professional dog trainer, dog walker or pet sitter with our expert education adn lifetime business support.
Top Dog Trainers School will teach you everything you need to know about running your new business. A diploma from Top Dog Trainers School will take you into an enjoyable careet with animals.
◆ We help you create a profitable and successful business from the bottom up with little overhead costs.
◆ We have 10 years lf animal care experience.
◆ We run a Dog Training business making over$150,00per year.
◆ You will leam how to rank your website at the top of search engines.
◆ Hands-on experience with animals and customer relations.
◆ We guide you through business insurance,taxes,licenses,and more.
Dog Trainers Course
In this 2 week course you will be taught how to run a profitable and enjoyable dog training business.
You will have hands on experience training and caring for at least 12 dogs ofall sorts ranging in size from a toy poodle to an Anatolian Shepherd.
You will leam about all available training techniques and equipment so you can provide personalized training for four customers.
We will train you how to run classes and private in-home lessons.
How to run a safe and secure kennel(狗舍）including advance animal health care.
Dog Walkers and Pet Sitters Course
In this 1 week course you will have experience caring for over a dozen dogs,parrots,chickens, ducks,cats,and horses.
We will teach you the secrets of successful dog walkers with hours of dog ,parrots,chickens,ducks,cats,and horses.
We will teach you the secrets of successful dog walkers with hours of walking experience.
We will teach you how to wash dogs and horses.
We will teach you how to properly care for cats and birds.Top Dog Trainer School aims to .
| A．help people to be excellent experienced walkers |
| B．teach people how to do business successfully |
| C．help people to start a career related with animals |
| D．eam some money by giving diplomas to its leamers |
We can infer from the passage that the Anatolian Shepherd,compared with a toy poodbl,is .
| A．much more expensive to buy | B．much smaller in size |
| C．more difficult to care for | D．more troblesome in training |
Which of the following is not a peomise made by the dog trainer school?
| A．To start your ownbusiness with affordable money. |
| B．To make a fortune after the training in the school. |
| C．To have wide experience in animal care. |
| D．To find a satisfactory job in this school. |
Through the courses you will learn .
| A．the secrets of how to train the horses |
| B．how to take care of some pets and birds |
| C．how to search for business chanses on the internet |
| D．how to keep your customers'houses clean and healthy |
We can resd the passage in the part of a newspaper.
| A．entertainment | B．advertisement | C．science | D．business |
The next morning Alex was waiting in the FMA president’s suite when Jerome Patterton arrived. Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. Then he said, “I want you to give an order to the trust department to sell every share of Supranational we’re holding.”
“I won’t!” Patterton’s voice rose. “Who do you think you are, giving orders-----“ “I’ll tell you who I am, Jerome. I’m the guy who warned the board against in-depth involvement with SuNatCo. I fought against heavy trust department buying of the stock, but no one-----including you -----would listen. Now Supranational is caving in.” Alex leaned across the desk and slammed a fist down hard. “Don’t you understand? Supranational can bring this bank down with it.”
Patterton was shaken. “But is SuNatCo in real trouble? Are you sure?”
“If I weren’t, do you think I’d be here? I’m giving you a chance to salvage something at least.” He pointed to his wristwatch. “It’s an hour since the New York stock market opened. Jerome, get on the phone and give that order!”
Muscles around the bank president’s mouth twitched nervously. Never decisive, strong influence often swayed him. He hesitated, then picked up the telephone.
“Get me Mitchell in the trust department… Mitch? This is Jerome. Listen carefully. I want you to give a sell order immediately on all the Supranational stock we hold… Yes, sell every share.” Patterton listened, then said impatiently, “Yes, I know what it’ll do to the market. And I know it’s irregular.” His eyes sought Alex’s for reassurance. The hand holding the telephone trembled as he said, “There’s no time to hold meetings. So do it! Yes, I accept responsibility.”
He hung up and reached for a glass of water. “The stock is already down. Our selling will depress it more. We’ll be taking a big beating.”
“It’s our clients-----people who trusted us-----who will take the beating. And they’d have taken a bigger one still, if we’d waited. Even now we’re not out of the woods. A week from now the SEC may disallow those sales. They may rule we had inside knowledge that Supranational was about to be bankrupt, which we should have reported and which would have halted trading in the stock. Alex filled him in quickly on the Jax report. The sentence means:
| A．He filled his name on the Jax report quickly. |
| B．Alex signed his name to the Jax report quickly. |
| C．He offered the FMA president the Jax report smartly. |
| D．He prepared the Jax report for Patterton to sign smartly. |
From the context we can infer that ________.
| A．SuNatCo would bring the stock market down if it sold all the Supranational stock they held. |
| B．The president was stubborn and would never listen to others. |
| C．Alex will take the place of Patterton in the future. |
| D．the clients would take a bigger beating than the bank |
The New York stock market is the place where_____.
| A．the old stock can be bought and sold |
| B．shares can be bought and sold |
| C．paper stock can be bought and sold |
| D．some of the stock can be taken without being paid for |
In the sentence “Even now we’re not out the woods.” The phrase “out of the woods” means _____.
| A．free from danger | B．short of wood |
| C．running out of wood | D．set free |
In the writer’s opinion, the president is _____.
| A．good leader of the U.S.A | B．a good manager of a company |
| C．headmaster | D．banker, an indecisive sort of person |
One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister. On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girl friend. I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children. Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with.
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out. I called home with this happy news. But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing.
It was, I should point out, after 10 p.m., when the two younger children should have been in bed. and when the two older children should have been answering the phone. “I’ll give him a lesson,” I said. I decided they must be outside. Why they might be outside at 10∶30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with.
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house. After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered. “Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here.”
He came on the phone. I was not my usual calm, rational(理智的)self. After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers. “Where are the children?” I said. He said they were with him. They had done nothing wrong. My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake. This was too good to be believed. Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it. It was only part of the truth.
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents home, celebrating my birthday. My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts. Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions. They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend. The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because________________. .
| A．she knew that her eldest son was a good baby-sitter |
| B．she thought it no hard work to take care of the younger ones |
| C．she believed he could do well with his girlfriend’s help |
| D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night |
When the author called home that evening, she found that _______________.
| A．two younger children had already been in bed |
| B．the children were preparing a birthday gift for her |
| C．her son was quarrelling with his girlfriend |
| D．there was no one answering the telephone |
What can you learn from the underlined sentence in the fifth paragraph?
| A．The author didn’t believe what her son had told her. |
| B．The author had complete confidence in her son. |
| C．The author believed her son was telling the truth. |
| D．The author was moved by what her children had done. |
What might the children do that evening?
| A．They had a birthday party. |
| B．They framed some photographs. |
| C．They had their pictures taken. |
| D．They made some beautiful clothes. |
What does the author intend to tell us by the story?
| A．Modem teenagers are not worth trusting. |
| B．It is no easy job to look after young children. |
| C．It’s no good to have a girlfriend at an early age. |
| D．Her children have a caring and tender heart. |
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