To Friend or Not To Friend
We all love our parents and turn to them when we’re in need, but would you like them to hear the conversations you have with your friends on the school playground or lunch queue? Social networking sites have become extensions of the school hallways, so would you add your parents as “friends” and allow them to view your online activities and conversations with friends?
In the past the generation gap included a technology gap, where children were up to date with latest technology and parents were left behind, content to continue their day to day lives as they always had because they had no need to know more about technology. However, more and more parents are beginning to realize just how important social networks are in their lives. This realization has given many parents the motivation to education themselves about social networking sites.
These days many people are attracted to social networking sites because they can choose who they have around them; there’s also a certain amount of control over privacy that we don’t get in real life. Sometimes we feel that privacy is violated when we must accept a “friend” request from a parent or family member.
It’s a difficult choice whether or not to allow a parent to become a part of our online lives. On the one hand we don’t want to “reject” their request because that might hurt their feelings or make them feel you have something to hide. On the other hand if you do accept, then you could have a sense of being watched and no longer feel free to comment or communicate the way you did before.
A recent survey suggested that parents shouldn’t take it personally if their child ignores their request, “When a teen ignores a parent’s friend request, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are hiding something, but it could mean that this is one part of their life where they want to be independent.”
Perhaps talking with parents and giving explanations would help soften the blow if you do choose not to add them to your friends list. From Paragraph 2, we learn that _______.
| A．parents feel secure about their privacy online |
| B．social networks successfully fill the generation gap |
| C．parents have realized the importance of social networks |
| D．social networks offer a platform for parents to communicate |
Teenagers may refuse a parent’s friend request because _______.
| A．they hide something from their parents |
| B．they are unwilling to be watched by parents |
| C．their parents tend to fall behind in technology |
| D．their parents make negative comments on them |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．privacy online |
| B．social networks |
| C．the generation gap |
| D．parents’ friend requests |
The passage is written mainly for _______.
| A．parents | B．teenagers |
| C．teachers | D．researchers |
How cool can libraries be in an era（时代）of iPods and Kindles? More than you think．Only if you know where to go．
Central Library: Seattle, Washington, United States
The Central Library in Seattle is modern and fashionable and has tourists from around the world paying visits and taking tours．It was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and American designer Joshua Ramus．Tours began in 2006, two years after its opening．The library holds various art exhibitions, book signings and other events, while visitors can stop by the Chocolate cart for a coffee and scan through the gift shop anytime
Trinity College Library: Dublin, Ireland
The Trinity College Library in Dublin is the oldest library in Ireland, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I．It is the largest single library in the world, also known as the Long Room, which contains more than 200,000 0fthe library's oldest books．The Long Room houses one of the oldest harps（竖琴） in Ireland．Dating to the 15th century, the old harp is the model for the symbol foreland．
Geisel Library, University of California: San Diego, United States
At first glance, it looks like a spaceship．Architect William Pereira, who helped design actual space launch facilities at Cape Canaveral in Houston, Texas, designed the library in 1970．It has been featured in sci-fi films, short stories and novels．The library hosts "Dinner in the Library," which invites readers for cocktails, and also a special speech from distinguished authors．
TU Delft Library: The Netherlands
The library at the Delft University of Technology was constructed in 1997 and has more than 862,000 books, 16,000 magazine subscriptions and its own museum．The building itself exists beneath the ground, so you can't really see the actual Library．What makes it interesting is the roof, which is a grassy hill．The roof covers 5,500 square meters．And it has become one of the most striking and greenest structures in the area．Which of the four libraries has the longest history?
| A．Central Library． |
| B．Trinity College Library． |
| C．Geisel Library． |
| D．TU Delft Library． |
What makes Geisel Library different from the others is that
| A．famous writers often deliver speeches there |
| B．it has a reoffer grassy hill |
| C．Queen Elizabeth I founded the library |
| D．it is the largest single library in the world |
In Central Library, you can
| A．buy souvenirs |
| B．drink cocktails |
| C．enjoy sci-fi films |
| D．see the old harp |
When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores in certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or anxious situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.
For example, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn’t sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And, if he can’t make things work out right, he doesn’t feel ashamed that he fails; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook(人生观) on life, special feeling about life, and knows how he fits into it.
If you look at children, you’ll see great difference between what we call “bright” children and “not bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out more about life --- he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．What’s real meaning of intelligence |
| B．What’s the “bright” children’s behavior |
| C．What’s a special outlook on life |
| D．How to live and behave in a new situation |
In the author’s opinion the biggest difference between “bright” children and “not bright” children lies in ____________.
| A．the amount of intelligence |
| B．the different situations they face |
| C．the different attitudes to life |
| D．the background of life |
What might the author continue to talk about in the passage that follows?
| A．how to determine what intelligence is |
| B．How an unintelligent person should be taught |
| C．how to judge whether a person is intelligent |
| D．how education should be changed |
If you have a chance to go to Finland, you will probably be surprised to find how “foolish” the Finnish people are.
Take the taxi drivers for example. Taxis in Finland are mostly high-class Benz with a fare of two US dollars a kilometer. You can go anywhere in one, tell the driver to drop you at any place, say that you have some business to attend to, and then walk off without paying your fare. The driver would not show the least sign of anxiety.
The dining rooms in all big hotels not only serve their guests, but also serve outside diners. Hotel guests have their meals free, so they naturally go to the free dining rooms to have their meals. The most they would do to show their good faith is to wave their registration card to the waiter. With such a loose check, you can easily use any old registration card to take a couple of friends to dine free of charge.
The Finnish workers are paid by the hour. They are very much on their own as soon as they have agreed with the boss on the rate(价钱). From then on, they just say how many hours they have worked and they will be paid accordingly(相应地).
With so many loopholes(漏洞) in everyday life, surely Finland must be a heaven to those who love to take “petty advantages”. But the strange thing is, all the taxi passengers would always come back to pay their fare after they have attended to their business; not a single outsider has ever been found in the free hotel dining rooms. And workers always give an honest account of the exact hours they put in. As the Finns always act on good faith in everything they do, living in such a society has turned everyone into a real “gentleman”.
In a society of such high moral practice, what need is there for people to be on guard against others?While taking a taxi in Finland, _____.
| A．a passenger can go anywhere without having to pay the driver |
| B．a passenger pays two US dollars for a taxi ride |
| C．a passenger can never be turned down by the taxi driver wherever he wants to go |
| D．a passenger needs to provide good faith demonstration (证明) before leaving without paying |
We know from the passage that big hotels in Finland ________.
| A．are mostly poorly managed |
| B．provide meals for any diners |
| C．provide free wine and charge for food |
| D．provide meal for only those who live in the hotels |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The workers in Finland are paid by the hour. |
| B．The workers are always honest with their working hours. |
| C．The workers and their bosses will make an agreement in advance about the pay. |
| D．The bosses in Finland are too busy to check the working hours of their employees. |
The word “those” in the last but one paragraph probably refers to _____.
| A．people who are dishonest |
| B．people who often have meals in big hotels |
| C．people who often take taxis |
| D．people who are worthy of trust |
My husband, my four-month-old daughter and I set out on a five-day driving journey from California to Washington. We had to stop frequently because our little child needed to stretch from the car seat.
One of our stops, once we crossed the Oregon border, was at a Black Bear Diner. Walking towards the front door we noticed a gentleman standing at one side. He was clearly untidy, without shoes and wearing worn clothing. We passed right by him and opened the restaurant door. Then something told me to go back.
Holding my daughter, I turned around and said to the gentleman, “Sir. Are you hungry?” He said, “Yes.” I then asked, “May we buy you something to eat?” He responded with, “Sure, I can order something myself.”
My husband opened the door and the gentleman went straight to the counter. I told him to order whatever he wanted. The manager of the restaurant came over quite quickly and looked frightened. I spoke before he had an opportunity to. “This gentleman will have lunch with us today,” I said. “Please add his order to our bill.” The manager said with a frown(皱眉), “Okay.” We turned to our table and the gentleman said, loudly and quickly, “Thank You!” We were seated and upon completing our meal we were handed our bill. I asked my husband what the gentleman had ordered. One fresh orange juice, one coffee, one breakfast combination with a side of hash browns.
When we left the restaurant I looked for the gentleman but didn’t see him, but that very small act just made my day. I hope in some small way we were able to add some joy to his life, even if only for a few minutes.From the appearance of the gentleman, we can guess he was probably a(n) _____.
| A．waiter | B．actor | C．beggar | D．worker |
The manager of the restaurant looked frightened because _____.
| A．the man was not friendly |
| B．the man had stolen something from the restaurant |
| C．he had fired the man before |
| D．he was afraid the man wouldn’t afford to pay the food |
From the passage, we can infer the man _____.
| A．was thankful for their kind act |
| B．felt ashamed and slipped away |
| C．was hungry and ate a lot of food |
| D．was too proud to accept their offer |
The phrase “made my day” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．wasted my money | B．made me very happy |
| C．made me feel sorry | D．moved me deeply |
As the father of a student, I have experienced first hand what a great teacher is. My son was in the 4th grade last year, and he had a teacher called Miss Green. I believe that when he is an adult he will surely look back on her as the best teacher he has ever had.
My son has attention deficit disorder(注意力缺损症) that makes it a little more difficult for him to learn. She was able to change her teaching methods for him so that he could keep up with the rest of the class. As a result, he got straight As on many subjects. She regarded her class as a family and they even had their own class song. She would often have them sing it to encourage them and develop a team spirit for them. When she saw that they were no longer listening carefully to what she was teaching, she would have them close their textbooks, stand up all around the room and throw around a small football. This helped them clear their minds and then focus on the lesson again. Besides, she was quick to reply to any phone calls or emails from us and got rid of our worries about children quickly.
When my son went to the 5th grade this year, we happened to pass her classroom. When she saw my son, she smiled, and she came out and hugged him. She generally loves all of the children in her classroom and that love really shows. I can only pray that my son will continue to get teachers just like her for the rest of his school years.With the teacher’s help, the writer’s son ______.
| A．became the best student in his class |
| B．was interested in singing songs |
| C．quickly finished his 4th grade lessons |
| D．improved his grades greatly |
Which of the following is NOT true about Miss Green?
| A．She regarded the students as members of a family. |
| B．She had special ways to help students study. |
| C．She was good at teaching football and music. |
| D．She usually made a quick reply to parents’ emails. |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．Miss Green didn’t teach the writer’s son in the 5th grade |
| B．Miss Green was the best teacher at the school |
| C．all the students in the school liked Miss Green |
| D．the writer’s son had many teachers like Miss Green |
In the passage, the writer mainly tells us ______.
| A．what his son studied at school |
| B．his son once had a good teacher |
| C．how to be a good and popular teacher |
| D．a teacher who liked playing with students |
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