Bluebirds looking secretly from nest boxes. Tadpoles swimming in a pond. Tiger swallowtails flying quickly around a butterfly bush. And over here, a class of students watching it all. A field trip to a nature center? No, it’s a schoolyard. With some work on your part, it could even be your schoolyard.
Interested in building a schoolyard habitat? Here’s how to get started.
Gather a Team
Students can do a lot on their own, but you’ll need adults for a project this big. Get teachers, parents, and even the headmaster interested. Don’t forget the maintenance(维修)staff—they know more about your school’s yard than anyone else and can give you lots of help. Also, ask around your neighborhood for gardeners, naturalists, and others willing to give advice.
Map Your Site
Which part of the schoolyard can you turn into a habitat? Is there an unused corner of the playground? Part of a lawn or field you could let go wild? You’ll need to make a map of the area showing what’s there now. Then you can figure out how you want to change it. For that, you need a plan.
Plan a Habitat
Here’s what you’ll need to make your area attractive to wildlife.
Food: Plant flowers, bushes, and trees. These provide seeds, berries, leaves, flowers, and sweet liquids. And all of these feed birds, and insects. You can also add some feeders for squirrels and birds. Where possible, stick with native plants—wild plants that grow naturally in your area. They need less care, which means less work for you.
Water: A small pond, birdbath, or even a shallow dish of clean water in the ground will attract birds. Other small animals like insects may visit as well.
Shelter: Bushes and trees make great escapes for birds. Tall grass and “weeds” are home to grasshoppers, garter snakes, and some ground-nesting birds. You can also add stone piles and brush piles.
Places to Raise Young: Butterflies need special plants to lay their eggs on. Frogs and toads lay eggs only in shallow water. Many birds use birdhouses; others nest in trees and bushes. In fact, nearly all your shelters may become homes for wild young.
Put It on Paper
Using the map you made of your area, draw in the changes you want to make. Mark where the plants, nest boxes, and other items will go. Remember, this is a long-term plan—you don’t have to do everything this spring. Maybe you could put up a few birdhouses and plant some butterfly bushes now and save the trees and bushes for next year. Even a small start is a big step for wildlife.
Reach for Resources
To make the habitat happen, you’ll need lots of plants, seeds, and other supplies. You’ll also need to buy or borrow tools and maybe even some heavy equipment. Now’s the time to reach out for donations. Start by asking your parent-teacher organization. Then go to garden clubs, garden stores (they might give you a discount), local government agencies, and businesses. If they can’t donate supplies or money, ask if they can donate workers!
The workers can help build the habitat. You’ll also need people to help maintain it. Some schools ask their students’ families to take turns during the summer. Each family maintains the habitat for a couple of weeks.
Build Your Design
Now you can dig in. Set a date, and get growing!What is this article mostly about?
| A．How to start a wildlife habitat. |
| B．Making a place where animals can hide. |
| C．How to gather food for a wildlife habitat. |
| D．Creating places for people to plant gardens. |
The section “Plan a Habitat” is mostly about___________.
| A．finding a place to use for the habitat |
| B．how to raise money for the habitat |
| C．finding people to work on the habitat |
| D．how to attract wildlife to the habitat |
The main purpose for creating a nature habitat at school would be to___________.
| A．improve the school’s appearance |
| B．raise money for other school projects |
| C．teach students more about nature |
| D．convince people to work as volunteers |
How has the author organized the article?
| A．By giving step-by-step instructions. |
| B．By listing both sides of an argument. |
| C．By telling a story, from beginning to end. |
| D．By listing facts, from most to least important. |
When you are far away from home for the first time and have a lot to adjust to，you can't do it alone. However independent you are，it is good to have a roommate during your first year.
Living with someone helps ease your loneliness. Sure it may seem appealing to be able to play your music and turn up your TV as loud as you want, but coming home to an empty room every day can be depressing. If you have a bad day, you may want to talk to someone.
Friends are great sources of venting (宣泄), but friends can't always be there. Even worse, they may be selfcentered and show no interest in your problem. It's not that roommates aren't like this, but even just small talk can help you feel better.
Having a roommate teaches you how to get along with people and settle conflict. You two should set up rules immediately and discuss what to do when there is conflict. If you two don't like each other，you still study，relax，and sleep in the same room. You must find a way to get along.
Finally，having a roommate exposes (使接触) you to different ways of living. Your roommate may come from a different city，and have different living habits. He or she also has different interests and personalities. You don't have to end up liking the same things your roommate does，but try to learn something different. You will be surrounded by many different people in college and have the chance to try things you never have before. Why not start learning from your roommate？
Having a roommate gives you the skills and personal background you will need to utilize (利用) when you are out on your own. Make the most of living with a stranger and besides，there will be plenty of opportunities for you to have your own room later in your college years.Who are probably the intended readers of the passage？
| A．University teachers. |
| B．Students who are not independent. |
| C．Students in the first year of college. |
| D．Students who will graduate from college soon. |
From the passage，we can learn that .
| A．roommates will become good friends in the end |
| B．there may be disagreements between roommates |
| C．students can choose those they like as their roommates |
| D．those with similar interests can become roommates |
How is the passage organized？
The purpose of the passage is to .
| A．tell the importance of friends |
| B．compare friends with roommates |
| C．encourage students to find a roommate |
| D．state the different ways of living |
Negative （消极的）self talk and negative energy can affect you in many ways and cause you additional stress. Because of this，developing more Positive self talk is an important way to reduce stress in your life. You can help yourself keep a positive frame of mind 一which will help with positive self talk一by surrounding yourself with positive energy in your life. You can get that by adding some elements to your life.
Listening to music that not only has a soothing melody，but an uplifting(令人振奋的) message，can be great for developing positive self talk. Have you ever had a song “stuck in your head” for a few hours or days，the lyrics(歌词) repeating themselves in your mind?’’ If those lyrics were positive and inspirational，that would be a good thing. It’s a much better mental soundtrack to have than a running stream of complaints，criticisms of self-limiting thoughts，or even songs that had more depressing or sad lyrics.
Books on strength, personal power, enlightenment, or self help can be good resources to help you change your outlook and the things you say to yourself. Rather than bringing habitual self-defeating thoughts，you can find yourself thinking of new can-do concepts when times get tough.
One of the most important ways you can get and keep positive energy in your life is with the company you keep. Do your friends uplift you，or bring you down? Are they critical，or complementary? Ideal friendships provide support when you’re down, fun when you’re up，wisdom when you’re lost，and positive regard. Good friends can inspire you to reach greater heights，and see your strengths even when you don’t always. Pay attention to how your friends make you feel，and if they’re less than supportive，start putting your energy and time toward people who are better suited to be your friend.
In addition，positive affirmations （肯定） can certainly change your self talk from negative to positive. Now，why not begin working positive affirmations into your life in some creative ways? What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Reducing stress by surrounding yourself with positive energy. |
| B．Adding some elements to your life. |
| C．Getting positive energy from the company you keep. |
| D．Changing your self talk with positive affirmation. |
How many ways does the author suggest to keep a positive frame of mind?
| A．3. | B．4. | C．5. | D．6. |
According to the passage，your best company should be those who __________.
| A．uplift you or bring you down | B．provide fun when you’re down |
| C．encourage you to do things even better | D．are less than supportive |
What will probably be talked about in the following paragraph?
| A．How negative self talk influences a person. |
| B．How positive self talk reduces stress in one’s life. |
| C．Some great ways of making great friends. |
| D．Some creative ways of practicing affirmation. |
China news, Beijing, July 29 --- Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(控制) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered. What is the average housing price per square meter in China?
| A．8000 yuan. | B．10000 yuan. | C．7000 yuan. | D．Not mentioned. |
Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?
| A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. |
| B．American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. |
| C．The population who need houses in China is larger than in the United States. |
| D．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. |
How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The housing price in China is so high that the government should do something useful to prevent it. |
| B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market. |
| C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States. |
| D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. |
You may know your mother, but how well do you really know Mother’s Day? Cards, flowers, sales, TV specials, and a day off for someone who really deserves it ---- those are what probably come to mind for many people when they think of Mother’s Day. But there’s more to the story.
The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations were held during spring in ancient Greece. The celebrations honored Rhea, the Mother of the gods. During the 1600’s, England celebrated a day called Mothering Sunday. On this day even servants were given the day off to spend with their families. A mothering cake was even served with the family meal.
In the US, Mother’s Day began in 1872 when Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the famous song The Battle Hymn of the Republic, suggested it as a day devoted to peace. But it didn’t really become popular until 1907 when Anna Jarvis stared a campaign to honor mothers. She believed that mothers could help people get over the pain they experienced during the Civil
War. The US isn’t alone in devoting a day to mothers. Many other countries including Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Japan, and Belgium also honor their mothers in May. Other countries honor their mothers at different times of the year.
Learning more about Mother’s Day and celebrating Mother’s Day are important, but probably not as important as understanding what your own mother, or grandmother, or aunt has really done for you. And that will certainly be appreciated more than one day in a year.What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The reason why people celebrate Mother’s Day. | B．The ways people honor mothers. |
| C．The history of Mother’s Day. | D．The great contribution of mothers. |
Where was the earliest Mother’s Day celebrated?
| A．In ancient Greece. | B．In the US. | C．In England. | D．In Italy. |
We can learn from the passage that _____.
| A．Rhea is the mother of a king in ancient Greece |
| B．not all the countries celebrate Mother’s Day in May |
| C．only mothers were given a day off on Mothering Sunday |
| D．it was in 1872 that Mother’s Day really came into being |
The last paragraph tells us that _____.
| A．all the people should celebrate Mother’s Day |
| B．only mothers are honored on Mother’s Day |
| C．understanding mothers’ work is more important than just celebrating Mother’s Day |
| D．people should celebrate Mother’s Day every day |
What is most likely to affect your success at school or at a job? The ability to read. And that goes for your kids too. The declining literacy(读写能力的下降) of our society has been a main concern of educators for a while now, and yet things are not getting better.
In most cases, how well we learn to read will depend largely on our exposure（接触） to language as children. If we hear people around us talking about all kinds of subjects as children, we naturally pick up the words and phrases they use. If we pick up a lot of words, we will learn to read better.
Much of the traditional advice to struggling readers, theses days, seems to include developing “cognitive strategies”（认知策略）. In this way, readers are asked to centre more, to think, to be interested and ask questions, to analyze, to predict, to reason, and to check their understanding, or worse still to answer questions of what they have read. In other words they are asked to become self-conscious（有自我意识的） readers. I do not agree with this approach.
Here are my several strategies for reading improvement.
Read about things that interest you. If you are interested in what you are reading about, the words will come alive, and you will understand better. The more you read, the better you will become at reading. Just get started and it will become a habit, as long as you are interested in what you are reading.
Read material that is at your level or just a little difficult for you. Read material that you find easy to read, or just a little challenging. Looking up many unknown words in a dictionary is dull, and the results of the dictionary search are quickly forgotten.
_____ If you can hear the new words and phrases that you are reading, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering them. Hearing the rhythm of someone reading a text will help your own reading.
Don’t worry about what you don’t understand. Most of your reading should be for pleasure. You can still enjoy reading without understanding all of what you read. You may even understand some things in your own personal way.
Unfortunately not all reading is just for pleasure. When you are reading a textbook or report or other material for school, you may need to underline, take notes and read some parts over again. However, if you have developed the habit of reading for pleasure, you will find that the skills you need will come naturally, and that you will understand a lot better than before.In Paragraph 2, the author tells us the importance of _____.
| A．hearing people around as children | B．talking ability as children |
| C．contacting different people | D．learning different languages |
Which sentence is best to be filled in the blank in the passage?
| A．Listen as much as possible. | B．Try to use your imagination. |
| C．Great works need to be read out loud. | D．Listen first if you have trouble reading. |
It can be learned from the last paragraph that _____.
| A．you should find pleasure from reading a textbook |
| B．the habit of reading for pleasure is important |
| C．reading for school is helpful for reading for pleasure |
| D．reading for school requires different skills from reading for pleasure |
What is the purpose of the author in writing the passage?
| A．To tell us some ways to improve reading ability. |
| B．To show that poor literacy has been a big problem. |
| C．To teach us how to look for fun in reading. |
| D．To tell us some ways to pick up new words and phrases. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号