One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. TV and computer games are leading to a serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Without having a nature experience, kids, can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment of their lives. That contributes to everything from their physical health and mental health, to stress levels, creativity and cognitive (认知的) skills. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents---and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component(成份) and that play in nature develop leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest. Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more.
Kids are not to blame. They are overprotected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time, but much stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood process of passage.
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that strengthen love, respect and need for landscape. As parents, we should devote some of our energies to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.
1.According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will______
A．keep a high sense of wonder
B．be over-protected by their parents
C．be less healthy both physically and mentally
D．change wild places and creatures for the better
2.According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is_____
A．the fault on the part of their parents
B．the natural experience in their growing up
C．the result of their own carelessness in play
D．the effect of their repetitive stress from computers
3.In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to______
A．blame children for getting lost in computer games
B．encourage children to protect parks from encroachment
C．show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature
D．inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around
Mike Maietta was eating lunch when he got a text message from his mom.
“Notre Dame,” it said. “Big envelope!”
Mike, a senior at a Californian high school, shouted with joy. The big envelope meant that the excellent university in Indiana had offered him a place in its Class of 2013. But the $51,300 annual fee is a big trouble. So Mike and his parents are considering offers from several other colleges and are figuring out the costs of tuition, housing and holiday trips home.
This year, money is the driving factor(因素) for a growing number of high school seniors, who have to decide what colleges to attend this fall. Less jobs and house prices have changed family spending.
“We’re excited that Mike got into eight great schools,” said Mike’s father, an engineer at Microsoft. “But if you consider going to school out of state, you’ve got to think about all of the other costs: moving, flying back and forth for the holidays. You’re looking at about $3,000 a year, just for travel.”
As families weigh their choices, some are going back to financial aid offices hoping help packages can be increased.
Rachel Brown was happy to get a thick envelope from New York University (NYU). Although she has always wanted to live in Manhattan, she is seriously considering the University of California San Diego (UCSD), because of the high cost in New York.
“The tuition for NYU is twice as much as UCSD,” said Rachel, 17. “My mom doesn’t want me to have a big debt when I graduate, and I don’t want that either. I’d have to take out a loan of $15,000. I’ll check and see if there’s any way that NYU can offer me any financial aid.”
More than 7.6 million American students have filled out the Free Application for Students Aid, 19.9 percent increase over last year.
This month the Federal Department of Education urged college financial aid officers to give more help to certain families. A record 30,428 students applied for 2,300 places at Stanford, partly because the university increased financial aid for families earning below $10,000.
1.Mike may give up Notre Dame because of ______.
A．travel fees
B．financial concerns
C．poor exam results
D．worries about living far away from home
2.The phrase “Big envelope” in paragraph 2 probably refers to“______”.
A．A text message B．A large gift package
C．An admission letter D．A scholarship letter
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A．The number of American senior students applying for financial aid is increasing.
B．Rachel Brown has given up NYU because of its high tuition and big debts.
C．It is inevitably hard for college students to borrow money to cover costs.
D．An interest-free loan for students helps more students apply for Stanford.
4.The passage mainly focuses on ______
A．the calculation of different costs including tuition
B．the extremely hard financial situation in America
C．the excitement of students’ being able to enter ideal colleges
D．the financial crisis of families over college entrance
Adventure Vacations
People like different kinds of vacations. Some go camping. They swim, fish, cook over a fire and sleep outside. Others like to stay at a hotel in an exciting city. They go shopping all day and go dancing all night. Or maybe they go sightseeing to places such as Disneyland, the Tai Mahan or the Louver.
Some people are bored with sightseeing trips. They don’t want to be “tourists”. They want to have an adventure--a surprising and exciting trip. They want to learn something and maybe help people too. How can they do this? Some travel companies and environmental groups are planning special adventures. Sometimes these trips are difficult and full of hardships, but they’re a lot of fun. One organization, Earth watch, sends small groups of volunteers to different parts of the world. Some volunteers spend two weeks and study the environment. Others work with animals. Others learn about people of the past.
Would you like an adventure in the Far North? A team of volunteers is leaving from Mormons, Russia. The leader of this trip is a professor from Alaska. He’s worried about chemicals from factories. He and the volunteers will study this pollution in the environment. If you like exercise and cold weather, this is a good trip for you. Volunteers need ski sixteen kilometers every day.
Do you enjoy ocean animals? You can spend two to four weeks in Hawaii. There, you can teach language to dolphins. Dolphins can follow orders such as “Bring me the large ball.” They also understand opposites. How much more can they understand? It will be exciting to learn about these intelligent animals. Another study trip goes to Washington State and follows orcas. We call orcas “killer Whale”, but they’re really dolphins—the largest kind of dolphin. This beautiful animal travels together in family groups. They move through the ocean with their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Ocean pollution is chasing their lives. Earth watch is studying how this happens.
Are you interested in history? Then Greece is the place for your adventure. Thirty-five hundred years ago a volcano exploded there, on Santorum. This explosion was more terrible than Karate or Mount Saint Helens. But today we know a lot about the way of life of the people from that time. There are houses, kitchens, and paintings as interesting as those in Pompeii. Today teams of volunteers are learning more about people from the past.
Do you want a very different vacation? Do you want to travel far, work hard and learn a lot? Then an Earth watch vacation is for you.
1.The Tai Mahan may be _______.
A．a shopping center B．a hotel
C．a dancing hall D．a place of interest
2.From the passage, on an adventure trip, people ______.
A．may not spend much time on sightseeing
B．won’t meet some difficulties or hardships
C．can’t enjoy them
D．can’t learn something
3.If you want to learn something about people of the past, you can _______.
A．join the team to Hawaii
B．join the team to the Far North
C．join the team to Washington
D．join the team to Greece
4.Which of the following is false?
A．Some people find sightseeing trips boring.
B．Earth watch is planning all these special adventures.
C．The number of orcas is decreasing.
D．3 volcano explosions in all broke out 3, 500 years ago in Greece.
Dear editor,
Mary is my friend and she is a very good-hearted girl. She’s always the first to help out others. But her habits make me mad sometimes and she just won’t change her ways. For most situations, that’s just fine with me, as I know it’s what make her who she is. However, sometimes it’s just so hard for me to bear her behavior. She has recently got a cellphone, but she often borrows mine to make calls. My phone has a chain with it. She always tries to open it like her own phone. I usually open it for her, but not always, as sometimes I’m driving my car, so she needs to get it out of my purse and open it herself.
This weekend we were at a party in a faraway village. She borrowed my cellphone. As it was cold outside, I let her take it outside without opening it. Now it’s broken because she didn’t open it properly. I wouldn’t be so mad, but over the weekend she also borrowed my car and never offered to pay for the gas, which made me very angry. She should have offered to pay for the gas. As I have mentioned, she’s the type to help out others when and where she can. Perhaps because of that, she thinks others should also do the same for her. Sometimes I just think she is very childish. I don’t want to hurt her, but I do want to let her know that not everyone can accept that. What should I do to let her know that?
Yours,
Lily
1.What is Lily’s purpose in writing this letter?
A．to advise us to be careful when making friends.
B．To tell others what kind of person Mary is.
C．To tell Mary what she thinks of her.
D．To ask for advice from an editor.
2.We can learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.
A．Mary doesn’t have a cellphone
B．Mary doesn’t have any good habits
C．Lily is sometimes not pleased with Mary’s behavior
D．Lily has asked Mary to change her ways.
3.What happened at the weekend party?
A．Mary lost Lily’s chain.
B．Mary left before the party was over.
C．Lily’s cellphone was broken.
D．Lily had a quarrel with Mary.
4.What kind of person is Mary?
A．Friendly and beautiful.
B．Kind and careful.
C．Careful and childish.
D．Warm-hearted but childish
On August 26, 1999, New York City was struck by a terrible rainstorm. The rain caused the streets to 36 and the subway system almost came to a stop.
Unfortunately, this happened during the morning rush hour. Many people who were going to work were 37 to go home. Some battled to 38 a taxi or to get on a bus. Still others faced the 39 bravely, walking miles to get to work.
I 40 to be one of people on the way to work that morning. I went from subway line to subway line only to find that most 41 had stopped. After making my way 42 crowds of people, I finally found a subway line that was 43. Unfortunately, there were so many people waiting to 44 the subway that I could not even get down the stairs to the 45 . So I took the train going in the opposite direction, and then switched back to the downtown train.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the train 46 my stop. Then I had to walk several blocks in the increasingly heavy rain. When I finally got to my office, I was 47 through, exhausted and 48 .
My co-workers and I spent most of the day drying off. When it was 5:00 pm, I was ready to go home. I was about to turn off my computer 49 I received an email from Garth, my Director:
I would like to thank all of you who made the effort and 50 went to work. It is always reassuring(令人欣慰), at times like these, when employees so clearly show their 51 to their jobs. Thank you.
Garth’s email was short, but I learned more from that 52 message than I ever did from a textbook. The email taught me that a few words of 53 can make a big difference. The rainstorm and the traffic 54 had made me tired and upset. But Garth’s words immediately 55 me and put a smile back on my face.
1. A．confusion B．flood C．sink D．crash
2. A．forced B．refused C．approached D．gathered
3. A．order B．pay C．call D．search
4. A．climate B．scenery C．storm D．burden
5. A．occurred B．promised C．deserved D．happened
6. A．practice B．travel C．process D．service
7. A．to B．through C．over D．for
8. A．running B．cycling C．turning D．rushing
9. A．get off B．take off C．take on D．get on
10. A．street B．ground C．floor D．platform
11. A．paused B．crossed C．reached D．parked
12. A．wet B．weak C．sick D．hurt
13. A．ashamed B．discouraged C．surprised D．helpless
14. A．while B．when C．where D．after
15. A．hardly B．definitely C．absolutely D．finally
16. A．devotion B．permission C．concern D．reaction
17. A．exact B．urgent C．brief D．humorous
18. A．promise B．appreciation C．admiration D．guidance
19. A．troubles B．signals C．rules D．signs
20. A．corrected B．supported C．amazed D．refreshed
--- Do you think our volleyball players played very well in yesterday’s match?
--- ____. They couldn’t have done better.
A．It’s up to you B．Not so bad C．It’s good news D．Absolutely
