Did you have a very strict teacher at school? I did. I'll never forget 'Mr. Strict'. If you didn't get your geography right, you would wish to run to the end of the earth to be far away from him. That tall man with a very loud voice knew how to frighten you and put the fear of God into you. Nobody dared to be late for his class. No one dared to chat in his class no matter how boring the subject was. And not even the naughtiest pupil would dream of cheating in his tests.
I thought about my old teacher when I read about a new government program in England to train former soldiers with no degrees to become a teacher. They can act either as secondary school subject teachers or as primary teachers. From next January those selected for the program will earn a salary and train on-the-job four days a week and one day at university. In two years they will be considered 'newly qualified teachers'.
Education Minister David Laws said: "We know that our highly-skilled soldiers can inspire young people." He believes that values in the army such as leadership, discipline(纪律), energy and teamwork would benefit children.
But not everybody is happy with the government plans. Brian Lightman, from an organisation called the Association of School and College Leaders, thinks the training offered to the former soldiers who want to be teachers is not enough.
Christine Blower, of the National Union of Teachers, believes that teachers need to understand how children develop. According to her, teachers need a high level of education themselves and thorough teacher training before they can educate the young.
I'm not sure how much 'Mr. Strict' knew about child development. What I know is how happy he was when we did well. I'll never forget the broad smile on his face when I got a very high mark. My teacher was a soldier, but to me his smile was a medal for bravery in our war against ignorance(无知)!Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
| A．Students would still fall asleep in the class of “Mr. Strict”. |
| B．Only the naughty students would talk with each other in the class of “Mr. Strict”. |
| C．“Mr. Strict” often played tricks on his students in a very loud voice. |
| D．If Mr. Strict’s class was boring, his students would still listen to him carefully. |
What does the new government program in England want to do?
| A．To train more excellent soldiers. |
| B．To change former soldiers into teachers. |
| C．To train teachers to teach better |
| D．To increase the employment rate |
Who supports the new government program in England?
| A．Mr. Strict | B．David Laws |
| C．The author himself | D．Brian Lightman |
According to Christine Blower, ____.
| A．the English government should stop the program. |
| B．teachers should often receive regular training |
| C．teachers should know about child development |
| D．only those who receive high education can be teachers |
Strange Baby-Naming Laws
Germany
Parents are banned by law from using last names and the names of objects and products as first names. A child’s first name must clearly show his or her sex, and all names must be approved by the office of vital statistics(人口统计) in the area in which the child was born.
Iceland
The country’s naming committee consults the National Register of Persons to determine if a name is acceptable. If parents prefer a name which is not on the list, they must apply for approval and pay a fee, and the name must contain only letters in the Icelandic alphabet.
New Zealand
The country’s Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act of 1995 doesn’t allow parents to choose a name that “might cause offense to a reasonable person; is unreasonably long; or is, includes, or is similar to an official title or rank,” including, apparently, Adolf Hitler and Yeah Detroit—both names recently rejected.
Denmark
If Danish parents prefer a name not on the list of 7,000 preapproved baby names, they must get permission from local church and government officials. 15 to 20 percent of the 1,100 reviewed names—including creative spellings of common names, last names as first names, and unusual names—are rejected each year.You can tell whether a baby is a girl or a boy according to the first name in ________.
| A．Germany | B．New Zealand |
| C．Iceland | D．Denmark |
In Iceland, the names should ________.
| A．be on the name list without exception |
| B．be paid a large amount of money for |
| C．contain only letters in the Roman alphabet |
| D．be accepted by the National Register of Persons |
In New Zealand the naming law ________.
| A．used to forbid the use of the name of Adolf Hitler |
| B．allows names similar to an official title or rank |
| C．is considerate as to how other people feel about the names |
| D．doesn’t allow using last names as first names |
It can be learned from the text that ________.
| A．each year about 160-220 reviewed names are rejected in Denmark |
| B．babies’ names should be allowed by the office of vital statistics in Iceland |
| C．Adolf Hitler is a name that is banned in all the European countries |
| D．parents must give up babies’ names if the names are not on the list in Ireland |
A fierce earthquake struck Haiti onJanuary 12, 2010, causing a crowded hospital to fall down and countless houses and buildings were destroyed.
The earthquake, the worst in the region in more than 200 years, with a magnitude estimated at 7.0, struck just before 5 p.m. about 10 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, leaving the region nearly in ruins. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness. The electricity was out, telephones were not working and relief workers struggled to make their way through blocked streets.
In this earthquake, it was not possible for officials to determine how many people had been killed and injured. It was reported that the headquarters of the United Nations mission was seriously damaged and many employees were missing. Part of the national palace had fallen to the ground. A hospital was totally ruined in Pétionville, which is home to many diplomats（外交官） and wealthy Haitians. A New York reporter said that a wall at the front of the Hotel Oloffson had fallen, killing a passer-by. A number of nearby buildings was badly damaged, trapping people. People were screaming, calling for help from every corner.
Haiti sits on a large fault between the much larger North American plate to the north and the Caribbean plate to the south. The earthquake on Tuesday happened when what appears to be part of the southern fault zone broke. With many poor people living in tin-roof shacks(窝棚) and with many of the buildings in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in the country of questionable quality, it was expected that the quake caused major damage to buildings and great loss of life.What was the damage of the earthquake?
| A．The headquarters of the UN mission was totally destroyed. |
| B．Some of the national palace had fallen to the ground. |
| C．A hospital was partly ruined in Pétionville. |
| D．All the walls of the Hotel Oloffson had fallen. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．All the hospitals in Haiti were destroyed in the earthquake. |
| B．The earthquake was the worst in Haiti in less than two centuries. |
| C．After dark the city fell into darkness because of the earthquake. |
| D．Communication, electricity and transportation were all affected. |
It can be learned from the text that ________.
| A．fires broke out in the capital city due to the earthquake |
| B．Haiti covers the entire geographic plates of the earth |
| C．the earthquake caused the southern fault zone to break |
| D．a grand hotel was completely ruined in Pétionville |
In Haiti, one way to reduce losses in earthquakes is probably to ________.
| A．repair the Southern fault zone |
| B．move to the seaside |
| C．improve the quality of the buildings |
| D．live in tin-roof buildings |
MOOCs, short for “massive open online courses,” mark an important, possibly revolutionary, development in education. These courses are on line, free of charge, and open to anyone in the world who has a laptop and an Internet connection. Moreover, they are mainly offered by great universities like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard and Columbia.
The courses are arranged according to how difficult they are, enabling students to progress from beginners to the advanced. The courses cover not only a broad range of science subjects such as math and computer science, but also courses in social sciences and humanities. Though MOOCs are not offered for credit and degree, many students enroll(加入) in the courses for real skills or knowledge which they can put to some practical use.
The format(形式) seems better than the traditional school class. The average quality of the lecturers is much higher. Besides, students can learn back and forward－that is, they can go at their own learning speed, which they can’t do in a live lecture. And, more importantly, they don’t have to travel anywhere to attend an online lecture. There is a problem of asking questions of the lecturer in a class of ten thousand students, but some MOOCs have solved it by allowing students to post questions on line for a vote, and only the most popular questions are put to the lecturer.
In a knowledge age, lifelong learning is not confined to a traditional classroom. Students taking MOOCS are usually very clever, have work experience, and in many cases, have already developed a set of practical skills. Moreover, they also offer unique international perspectives(远景) that would be the envy of any school classroom.Which of the following statements is NOT true about MOOCs?
| A．The word “MOOCs” is short for “ massive open online campuses”. |
| B．Anyone who has a computer and an Internet connection can take MOOCs. |
| C．MOOCs are usually offered by first-class universities in the world. |
| D．MOOCs may be a breakthrough in the development of education. |
MOOCs seem to have an advantage over traditional school classes in that ________.
| A．there is a problem of asking questions in traditional classes |
| B．students enrolling in MOOCs can get credit and degree easily |
| C．students can learn at their own study pace |
| D．students can travel to many places when taking MOOCs |
The meaning of the underlined word “confined” means ________.
| A．extended | B．developed |
| C．limited | D．advanced |
The behaviour of a building’s users may be at least as important as its design when it comes to energy use, according to new research from the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The UK promises to reduce its carbon emissions (排放）by 80 percent by 2050, part of which will be achieved by all new homes being zero-carbon by 2016. But this report shows that sustainable building design on its own — though extremely important — is not enough to achieve such reductions: the behaviour of the people using the building has to change too.
The study suggests that the ways that people use and live in their homes have been largely ignored by existing efforts to improve energy efficiency，which instead focus on architectural and technological developments.
‘Technology is going to assist but it is not going to do everything,’ explains Katy Janda, a UKERC senior researcher, ‘consumption patterns of building users can defeat the most careful design.’ In other words, old habits die hard, even in the best-designed eco-home.
Another part of the problem is information. Households and bill-payers don’t have the knowledge they need to change their energy-use habits. Without specific information, it’s hard to estimate the costs and benefits of making different choices. Feedback (反馈） facilities, like smart meters and energy monitors，could help bridge this information gap by helping people see how changing their behaviour directly affects their energy use; some studies have shown that households can achieve up to 15 percent energy savings using smart meters.
Social science research has added a further dimension (方面），suggesting that individuals’ behaviour in the home can be personal and cannot be predicted —whether people throw open their windows rather than turn down the thermostat (恒温器) , for example.
Janda argues that education is the key. She calls for a focused programme to teach people about buildings and their own behaviour in them.As to energy use, the new research from UKERC stresses the importance of________.
| A．zero-carbon homes |
| B．the behaviour of building users |
| C．sustainable building design |
| D．the reduction of carbon emissions |
The underlined word “which” in Paragraph 2 refers to “________.”
| A．the ways | B．their homes |
| C．developments | D．existing efforts |
What are Katy Janda’s words mainly about?
| A．The importance of changing building users’ habits. |
| B．The necessity of making a careful building design. |
| C．The variety of consumption patterns of building users. |
| D．The role of technology in improving energy efficiency. |
The information gap in energy use _______.
| A．can be bridged by feedback facilities |
| B．affects the study on energy monitors |
| C．brings about problems for smart meters |
| D．will be caused by building users’ old habits |
What does the dimension added by social science research suggest?
| A．The social science research is to be furthered. |
| B．The education programme is under discussion. |
| C．The behaviour of building users is unpredictable. |
| D．The behaviour preference of building users is similar. |
CHICAGO ---- For working parents and heavily scheduled school kids, family mealtime is out of fashion. But supermarkets are trying to attract families back to the dinner table.
There is a cost if family members have meals apart: research shows that teenagers who don’t eat with their parents face a greater risk of drug and alcohol problems.
“The more often kids have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs,” said Joseph Califano Jr., head of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, which did the research.
Stores are familiar with the idea and will start telling shoppers about the findings and encouraging them to share meals together at home, instead of separately or at restaurants.
The food marketing Institute will give $25,000 to the center and help stores promote the center’s Family Day in September.
Many stores have grab-and-go dinners and recipe cards. Some have kiosks where people can taste a main dish, then pick out side dishes.
“Our members have worked hard to try to have easily prepared food either ready to eat or ready to take home,” said Tim Hammonds, the institute’s president and chief executive.
Los Angeles-based Contessa Premium Foods makes frozen delicious meals, which a family can heat in 10 minutes to 12 minutes. “That’s nearly as fast as a TV dinner,” said president and chief executive John Z. Blazevich, “but is healthier and makes people feel like they actually cooked.”
“The preparation is the hardest part, so we try to combine a variety of tastes and flavours from around the world and make it fast and easy,” he said.
“Eating at home helps keep meals healthy and teaches kids how to eat right. If we can get people back to having family dinners, parents back to being engaged with their kids, it will have a surprising impact,” he said.The reasons why family mealtime is out of fashion are the following EXCEPT __________.
| A．the parents are busy with work |
| B．the children have a little spare time |
| C．the children are not fond of family meal |
| D．it will take much time to cook and eat at home |
The underlined word “cost” in paragraph 2 can be explained as ___________.
| A．gains | B．a sum of money |
| C．advantage | D．something you lose |
According to the passage, stores are trying to attract families back to the dinner table by the following ways EXCEPT ________.
| A．telling the parents the disadvantages of having dinner separately. |
| B．offering various prepared food to make family cooking fast and easy. |
| C．taking part in Family Day activities in September. |
| D．helping housewives prepare their meals at home. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The efforts that are being made to get people back to having family dinners |
| B．The benefits of having family dinners together. |
| C．The changes in American family dinners. |
| D．A research done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Family Mealtime is out of Fashion |
| B．Family Day is Promoted in September |
| C．Parents should Cook Meals for Kids |
| D．Supermarkets Urges Families to Dinner Table |
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