In many countries, schools have long summer holidays, with shorter holidays in between.However, a new report suggests shortening school holidays to stop children forgetting what they have learnt during the long summer break.Instead of three school terms, it says, there should be five eight-week terms.And there should be just four weeks off in the summer, with a two-week break between the other terms.
Sonia Montero has two children at primary school and works full-time.She supports the idea.“The kids,” she says, “ have much longer holidays then and I can’t afford to take several weeks off work, so I need someone to take care of them.But nobody wants the work in the summer holidays — they all have holidays of their own.
Not surprisingly, some young people disagree.Student Jason Panos says , “It’s a stupid idea.I would hate staying at school in the summer.It’s unfair, too.The people who suggest this had long school holidays when they were young, but now they want to stop us enjoying the summer.The kids in Spain and American have much longer holidays than here, but they don’t forget everything they’ve learnt in a few months.”
Nadia Salib agrees.“Sure,” she says, “the first week at school after the summer is never easy, but you soon get back into it.The real problem round here is that kids get bored after so many weeks out of school, and then some of them start causing trouble.But the answer is to give them something to do, not make everyone stay in school longer.”Why is Sonia in support of shorter school holidays?
| A．She doesn’t get any summer holidays in her jobs. |
| B．She is worried that her children will forget what they’ve learnt. |
| C．She can’t afford to pay someone to look after her children. |
| D．She can’t get anyone to look after her children in summer. |
What does Jason say about long summer holidays?
| A．They can help children forget about school. |
| B．Schools in other countries don’t have long holidays. |
| C．These days many older people suggest having long holidays. |
| D．They do no harm to children’s education. |
What does Nadia say about young people on summer holidays?
| A．They would like to spend more time at school. |
| B．Long holidays are very bad for their education. |
| C．They need something to do to enrich themselves. |
| D．Long holidays should be shortened to stop them causing trouble. |
Which of the following statements best explains the text?
| A．It has been decided that summer holidays should be shortened. |
| B．Students are angry that school holidays have been changed. |
| C．Not everyone agrees to change school holidays. |
| D．Teenagers are worried about that they will be busy during summer holidays. |
Home stay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Home stays are located in London mainly in Zones2,3 and of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones3 and 4often offer larger accommodation in a less crowned area. It is very convenient to travel in London by Underground.
Meal Plans Available
♢ Continental Breakfast
♢ Breakfast and Dinner
♢ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal（谷物类食品），bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally
part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit. You must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary home stay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much.The passage is probably written for ____________.
| A．host willing to receive foreign students |
| B．foreigners hoping to build British culture |
| C．travellers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to like in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning. | B．Medical care. |
| C．Free transport. | D．Physical training. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph3?
Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2
B. The business centre of London is in Zone.
C. Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre.
D. Zone 2 is more crowded than Zone 4. According to the passage. What does continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee | B．Fruit and vegetables. |
| C．bread and fruit juice | D．Centre and cold meat. |
Usually, when your teacher asks a question, there is only one correct answer. But there is one question that has millions of current answers. That question is “What’s your name?” Everyone gives a different answer, but everyone is correct.
Have you ever wondered about people’s names? Where do they come from? What do they mean?
People’s first names, or given names, are chosen by their parents. Sometimes the name of a grandparent or other member of the family is used. Some parents choose the name of a well-known person. A boy could be named George Washington Smith; a girl could be named Helen Keller Jones.
Some people give their children names that mean good things. Clara means “bright”; Beatrice means “one who gives happiness”; Donald means “world ruler”; Leonard means “as brave as a lion”.
The earliest last names, or surnames, were taken from place names. A family with the name Brook or Brooks probably lived near brook(小溪)；someone who was called Longstreet probably lived on a long, paved road. The Greenwood family lived in or near a leafy forest.
Other early surnames came from people’s occupations. The most common occupational name is Smith, which means a person who makes things with iron or other metals. In the past, smiths were very important workers in every town and village. Some other occupational names are: Carter — a person who owned or drove a cart; Potter —a person who made pots and pans.
The ancestors of the Baker family probably baked bread for their neighbors in their native village. The Carpenter’s great-great-great-grandfather probably built houses and furniture.
Sometimes people were known for the color of their hair or skin, or their size, or their special abilities. When there were two men who were named John in the same village, the John with the gray hair probably became John Gray. Or the John was very tall could call himself John Tallman. John Fish was probably an excellent swimmer and John Lightfoot was probably a fast runner or a good dancer.
Some family names were made by adding something to the father’s name. English-speaking people added –s or –son. The Johnsons are descendants of John; the Roberts family’s ancestor was Robert. Irish and Scottish people added Mac or Mc or O. Perhaps all of the MacDonnells and the MacDonnells and the O’Donnells are descendants of the same Donnell.Which of the following aspects do the surnames in the passage NOT cover?
| A．Places where people lived. |
| B．People’s characters. |
| C．Talents that people possessed. |
| D．People’s occupations. |
According to the passage, the ancestors of the Potter family most probably _______.
| A．owned or drove a cart |
| B．made things with metals |
| C．made kitchen tools or contains |
| D．built houses and furniture |
Suppose and English couple whose ancestors lived near a leafy forest wanted their new-born son to become a world leader, the baby might be named _______.
| A．Beatrice Smith | B．Leonard Carter |
| C．George Longstreet | D．Donald Greenwood |
The underlined word “descendants” in the last paragraph means a person’s _____
| A．later generations | B．friends and relatives |
| C．colleagues and partners | D．later sponsors |
What can help you make a fortune in the future? Graduating from a top university might not be enough. A new study from the University of Essex in Britain has shown that the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn later.
The idea that popularity could have a serious impact on one's earning potential shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The researchers noted that if you want to get ahead in life, social skills and networking are easily as powerful as talent and hard work.
“If a person has lots of friends, it means that he or she has the ability to get along with others in all kinds of different situations," said XuYanchun, 17, from Nantou High School in Shenzhen, who totally agreed with the recent finding. "Also, friends always help each other. They not only create wider social circles for you but lift your mood when you occasionally feel depressed," said Xu. She believed that all this helps you "earn a higher salary”.
Maybe that's why some people think the younger generations are in the age of Friendalholism (交友狂症). A woman even complained that the networking website Face book's 5,000-friend limit was too low for her large reserve of social contacts.
But what does a friend mean? Should friends be regarded as a form of currency?
“Call me uncoil, but I think of a friend as an actual person with whom I have an actual history and whom I enjoy actually seeing. It seems, however, that this is no longer the definition (定义) of ‘friend',” said Meghan Daum, who works with The Los Angeles Times in the US.The new study from the University of Essex in Britain shows that _________.
| A．if you have more friends you will not live happily. |
| B．the more friends you have in school, the more money you'll earn in your late life. |
| C．the less friends you have, the poor lives you will live. |
| D．friends can make more money for you. |
According to Xu Yanchun, when you have lots of friends, it means_____
| A．You have the ability to earn more money. |
| B．You will not feel lonely. |
| C．You are quite content with your life. |
| D．You have the ability to get along with others in various situations. |
What’s the main idea of the passage ?
| A．The passage mainly tells us something about the friendship. |
| B．Friends plays an more important part in our daily life than anything else. |
| C．Friends are currency. |
| D．Friends give you success. |
We can learn from the passage that _________.
| A．If you have more friends, you can make a fortune in the future. |
| B．Graduating from college means that you can make a fortune in the future. |
| C．Friends means a form of currency. |
| D．Friends can make you wider social circle and make you feel better when you feel depressed. |
In recent years, temperatures in the polar areas are rising faster than anywhere else on Earth. As a result, the ice and the snow are melting at record-setting rates. One result is that sea levels are rising around the world, putting animals and people at risk.
A sheet of ice acts like a huge mirror, reflecting the sun’s energy. But ocean water, which is darker than ice, absorbs a lot of it. This causes the ocean to warm, which in turn speeds up ice melting and which leads to even more open waters. The cycle continues until all the ice is gone.
“As the ice melts, water flows into the oceans, making them less salty. That, along with warmer water temperatures, can harm the creatures that live in, under, and near the ice,” says zoologist Michael Stoddard. “Cold-adapted animals — including polar bears, foxes, hares, and seals — also need ice for travel and survival.”
“Most species of fish, sea spiders, and many other animals and plants that live in the waters of Antarctica don’t live anywhere else,” Stoddard says. “Many of them have special proteins in their bodies keeping them from freezing to death and have other adaptation to the cold that has yet to be explored.”
Therefore, experts are urging us to reconsider the way we live. The fuels that we burn in cars, power stations, and factories are largely to blame for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are trapping overmuch heat in our atmosphere. If we can produce fewer of these gases, we can help save the polar ice. “Even small things would make a difference, if everyone did them.” Michael Stoddard says, “That’s what we have to figure out in the near future to help save the polar ice and thus protect the oceans and us.”The passage is mainly written to _____.
| A．introduce the present situation of the polar areas |
| B．warn people against extreme weather |
| C．call on people to protect the oceans and humans |
| D．advertise for volunteers to protect the environment |
Paragraph 2 mainly tells us about _______.
| A．the ice’s functions |
| B．ocean’s quick growing |
| C．the cause of sea level rising |
| D．the ways of more waters |
From the passage, we can know that _______.
| A．most polar animals prefer to live in less salty water |
| B．some of the cold-adapted animals mainly feed on ice |
| C．many polar creatures have special proteins to keep alive |
| D．scientists still don’t know how polar creatures have adapted to the cold |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Polar bears are expanding at a high speed. |
| B．Experts advise people not to use fuels at all. |
| C．Wildlife worldwide is in the process of dying out. |
| D．Global warm is putting animals and humans at risk. |
“Image is everything.” An entire industry has been built upon the concept that image is everything, but an appealing image isn’t enough when there’s no substance behind it.
First of all, one should consider how important image is in selling products and services. Advertising agencies have raised the art of creating an image to a state of near perfection. But if the product or service doesn’t live up to it, customers will be very dissatisfied. The recent scandal (丑闻) about the Arthur Andersen accounting firm showed that behind that image, it had unfair business practices under the table. Despite the previous positive image, the firm is being accused of criminal actions. Although the image had been nearly perfect, the reality behind the image has led to its downfall.
Similarly, personal consultants(顾问) can build up a very positive public image for politicians and movie stars in the view of the general commons. But once again, history is filled with examples of both that fell from grace (体面) like the story of the Hollywood actor giving in to the pressures of fame and fortune. With people, just as with products and services, image is certainly important, but without positive substance behind it, failure is close.
To conclude, it’s clear that an appealing image is extremely important to success, whether that image is related to selling a product or service or to the “selling” of a person. But image is only half of the equation(等式). What lies behind that image is every bit as important as the image itself — the person or product must live up to that image or there’s little chance for long-term success.The downfall of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm is due to ______.
| A．its dishonesty in business |
| B．its bad management |
| C．its previous images |
| D．its poor service |
Some famous people fall from grace because _____.
| A．their images were not well built up |
| B．they failed to live up to their images |
| C．they felt much pressure from the public |
| D．they paid little attention to fame and fortune |
The structure of the passage is probably .
(A: Argument P: Point C: Conclusion)The author might support that______.
| A．image is the basis of everything |
| B．truth and image are equally important |
| C．truth goes hand in hand with image |
| D．image holds the key to success |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号