–What do you thing of the movie last night?
--It was . I really enjoyed it.
A. boring B. strange C. wonderful D. terrible
—Did you do last month?
--No. I Just stayed at home most of the time.
A. special something B. something special
C. special anything D. anything special
—How many syllables are there in the word “crowded”?
--There are .
A. one B. two C. three D. four
Have you ever wondered what goes through your mind when you choose where to sit in a new classroom? Or in a waiting room full of strangers? Or on a bus? Researchers have found out some interesting facts.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, we prefer to sit closer to people like ourselves. Girls sit by girls and boys sit by boys. Adults sit together and young people choose another young person to sit near. But it goes further than this. We even choose to sit near someone who looks like us. People with glasses are more likely to sit near other people with glasses. People with long hair sit closer to other people with long hair.
We seem to believe that people with similar habits or hobbies will share similar attitude and we are more likely to be accepted by people like ourselves or even, we think we may be safer with people who look like us. Sometimes that’s true but it's a pity if we always stick to the same people, the same group. The danger in always staying in our comfort zone (舒适区)is that we just recycle the same opinions, the same tastes and the same ideas. We lose the chance to learn something new, find out about interesting things, hear funny stories and discover difference.
When we always stick to the same people, how can we ever break down the barriers which prevent us from getting to know people with different ideas? And how can we avoid the ignorance (无知),which too often leads to prejudice (偏见) and even fear? If instead you want to live in a society that opens to changes and new things and different opinions, be the cat among the pigeons.
Move out of your comfort zone. Go and sit next to someone different. And don't just sit there in silence. Say hello. Ask a question. Start a conversation. That’s how we make friends. That’s how we learn about people. That’s how we open our minds to new ideas. That's how we live an exciting life.
1.From the passage, we know that people prefer sitting by someone who
A. is like themselves B. has a sense of humor
C. is open-minded D. lives an exciting life
2.People like staying in their comfort zone because they may
A. remain comfortable and special B. be accepted easily and feel safe
C. find out more interesting things D. discover differences among themselves
3.The underlined word “barriers” in Paragraph 4 means .
A. doors B. difficulties C. ideas D. rules
4.Why does the writer ask us to meet people of different kinds?
A. Because we feel safer and share similar tastes and ideas.
B. Because we can enjoy an interesting and different ideas.
C. Because we can say hello and ask them questions.
D. Because we want to live in a society full of humour.
5.What is the title of this passage?
A. Just to be ourselves B. Learn more about the foreign countries
C. Live an exciting life D. Jump out of the comfort zone
| Monday |
8—10 a. m. | TECHNOLOGY Information Technology (IT )—Using the Internet In this lesson, students learn how to surf the internet safely and effectively. There will also be information about using different search engines. Finally, this lesson teaches students about the best websites to use to continue their education online. |
10—12 a. m | ARTS |
10:00 a. m. | DRAMA Students learn the play that the teacher gave before class. During this lesson, students will have the chance to act out roles with other students. |
11:00 a. m. | PAINTING WITH WATERCOLOURS For most of this term, students learn how to use watercolours properly to make pictures. If the weather is good, the lesson may take place outdoors. |
| LUNCH |
1—2 p. m. | SCIENCES Biology/Chemistry Students can choose which class to attend In biology this week, the topic is Human Body. Students will learn about how it works. Alternatively, students can study chemistry. This class takes place in the science lab, and this week students learn about H2 and O2 |
2—4 p. m. | SPORTS |
2:00 p. m. | SIKLLS Students learn about the skills in a certain sport. We use video to see real action from past games. |
3:00 p. m. | PRACTICE After we have picked teams, students will play a short match lasting 45 minutes. This week, the sports are football(for boys) and tennis (for girls). |
| HOMEWORK IT—the teacher will give students websites to look up at home (about 30minutes) Drama –students have to learn a part for the next lesson (about 40 minutes) Biology/Chemistry—students have to write a short report of the lesson (about 20 minutes) |
1.At __________, students are having a painting lesson.
A. 9:30 a. m. B. 11:35 a. m. C. 1:30 p. m. D. 2:15 p. m.
2.Students should prepare a new part of _____ ahead of time as their homework.
A. Technology B. Biology C. Drama D. Chemistry
3.Students can learn how to __________ according to the information in the table.
A. make a video B. write a report on Drama
C. play basketball D. surf the Internet safely
4.An average student need about __________ minutes to finish his homework.
A. 30 B. 40 C. 90 D. 110
5.The information in the table is mainly for students to __________.
A. take classes B. do their homework
C. choose teachers D. organize hobby groups
Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Italy. He is best known as an artist today. One of his famous paintings is called Mona Lisa. However, Leonardo had many other natural abilities. He was also a great inventor. Many of his inventions have become important in modern day life. Although Leonardo hated war, he invented many different machines used for wars. His most special invention was the machine gun, which was produced and used in war many years later.
By watching the way birds fly, Leonardo tried to find out the secret of f lying. Among his sketches we can see several objects. We consider them as modern flying machines.
Leonardo spent many hours thinking about how to make good use of time. He developed ideas for labor-saving machines like cutting machines.
Leonardo was a strange man. He didn't eat any meat, which was unusual in those times. He never published his ideas and scientific discoveries. He usually used mirror writing, which looks like writing in a mirror, starting from the right side of the page and moving to the left.
We have very little of his work today. Leonardo finished only a few of his paintings. He left many unfinished because he thought they were not perfect. No one in his life time knew how great Leonardo was. We now believe, however, that he was one of the cleverest men the world has ever known.
1.According to the passage, Leonardo was not only an artist but also .
A. a musician B. an inventor C. a writer D. an engineer
2.Was Leonardo’s most special invention.
A. The mirror writing B. The cutting machine
C. The machine gun D. The flying machine
3.Which of the following statements is true about Leonardo?
A. He usually wrote in a mirror. B. He didn’t eat any meat.
C. He liked to publish his discoveries. D. He enjoyed drawing flying machines.
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To let us know more about Leonardo. B. To introduce Leonardo’s great inventions.
C. To discuss Leonardo’s famous paintings. D. To introduce a great artist to us.
5.Where is the passage probably from?
A. A science story. B. A picture book. C. An encyclopedia. D. A travel booklet.
