Growing Minds Need Greener Spaces
It is not a secret that spending time outdoors is good for us.The more we learn about the benefits of being in nature, the more sense it makes to get outside.
1.New research suggests that kids may learn better when they are surrounded by greener spaces.Green spaces are spaces filled with Vegetation-like trees,flowers and other plants.
But these days,outdoor time is competing for a child’s attention with indoor activities.Children may find it difficult to resist computers,television and electronic games.2.All these indoor activities can hurt a child’s physical and mental health.
Doctor Payam Dadvand and his team at the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology in Barcelona study the environment effects on health and learning.
The researchers used information from satellites to learn how much green space surrounded each school.Over one year, the children took computerized tests for four times.3.They found that the children with higher contact with green space had better ability to memorize.They were also more attentive.4.More trees means less air pollution.
5.Lisa Freund is an expert in child psychology for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.She says more studies are needed to learn the Health and Human Development.She says more studies are needed to learn the reasons that vegetation in and around schools improves mental ability.
A.They measured memory and attention span.
B.This could be especially important for school children.
C.Approximately one half of the world population lives in cities.
D.The question of why green spaces affect learning is a new one.
E.The research suggests good air quality is the main reason for the results.
F.So, in many pans of the world children are spending less and less time outdoors.
G.The researchers created mathematical models to compare the amount of vegetation.
The Internet can be a great way to connect with people.The latest web craze is social networking on websites such as MySpace.More than 65 million young people use online social networking sites.
That cyberspace（网络空间）trend is causing problems in school,however.In a recent survey,nearly 36 percent of school administrators said that social networking sites troubled learning in their districts.Should school districts ban sites like MySpace?
Teachers are worried that some students use social networking to post personal information and to cyber bully（恐吓）other students.One of the biggest dangers comes from people who find out kid’s personal information.
Many districts have blocked students from accessing or using social networking sites from school computers,and some have suspended（暂缓）students for posting harmful material on those sites from their home computers.Nearly two-thirds of US kids have computers in their homes,according to the US Census Bureau.
It is important to keep in mind that just blocking access to social web sites at school is not the end of the story,” warns NSBA executive director Anne Bryant,“Most of the misuse of these sites takes place at home but still affects the classroom.”
Some educators aren’t as quick to pull the plug on social networking.They say the main problem with sites like MySpace is that students don’t understand the dangers involved in using them.“Many students are posting personal information about themselves without regard to who has access to that information,”Jim Hirsch said,“Schools should focus on educating their students and their parents on how to be safe online.”
Experts argue that too many schools are forbidding students to use social networking web sites without thinking about their educational benefits.“Social networking web sites can help connect students in the United States to their peers in other countries, providing invaluable lessons in foreign cultures,”explains Hirsch.
1.Where do students usually misuse social networking sites?
A. At the teacher’s office. B. At the net bar.
C. At the classroom. D. At home.
2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 may mean .
A. some educators are in favor of students’ using social networking sites
B. some educators can’t block students from accessing social networking sites
C. some educators can’t connect social networking sites easily
D. some educators find it difficult to close social networking sites
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. The Internet can’t be a good bridge to get along well with students.
B. There are some students threatening other students by using social networking.
C. Most of the misuse of these social web sites takes place at school and affects the home.
D. Too many schools allow students to use social networking sites without Question.
4.What might be the most suitable title for the passage?
A. Lessons Online? B. Friendship Online?
C. Dangers Online? D. Information Online?
You may have heard of the book Moby Dick(《白鲸记》),written by the American author Herman Melville.You may also know that Moby Dick is considered one of the greatest novels ever written.However,it might surprise you to find out Herman Melville was not always a highly regarded author.
Melville’s first two novels,Typee and Omoo,were widely read and financially successfully.They were both exciting tales of adventures at sea and experiences with people in foreign lands.Melville became quite famous.However,upon the publication of his third book,Mardi,Melville’s popularity began to weaken.He was no longer interested in telling tales of pure adventure,and his writing took on a style that alienated（使疏远）the general reading public of his time.
Melville published Moby Dick in October of 1851 it was an original novel,combining aspects of sociology and philosophy,which confused readers by its complex symbolism.The book sold poorly.
Melville’s next book,Pierre,was almost completely disregarded by the public.Debt frustration and ill health finally forced Melville to take a low-paying job as a customs inspector.Eventually,Melville abandoned prose（散文）and began to write poetry.
The Civil War is the main subject of Melville’s poetry.He and his brother made a trip to the front line,and he published a book of poems,Battle-Pieces and Aspects of War,based on this experience.
Melville died in 1891 at the age of 72 at this point,his work had been completely forgotten by the public.His talent was to go unrecognized for the next thirty years.Then,in 1920s, his reputation began to improve as critics and readers rediscovered his work.Today Moby Dick is one of the best-known novels ever penned by an American author.
1.What were Melville’s first two novels mainly about?
A. His travel experience.
B. His successful communication skills.
C. Adventurous experiences in the front line.
D. Adventurous voyages and foreign experiences.
2.We can learn from the text that Moby Dick .
A. sold a little better than Pierre. B. was Melville’s favorite novel.
C. was copied from other books. D. made Melville popular again.
3.The text may be taken from .
A. a writing guide B. a literary（文学的）journal.
C. a science magazine. D. a critical book on literature.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. The main works of Melville. B. The skills in Melville’s writing.
C. The ups and downs of Melville. D. The reason for Melville’s failure.
It’s such a happy-looking library,painted yellow,painted yellow,decorated with palm-tree stickers and sheltered from the Florida sun by its own roof.About the size of a microwave oven,it’s pedestrian-friendly,too,waiting for book lovers next to a sidewalk in Palm Beach Country Estates,along the northern boundary of Palm Beach Gardens.
It's a library built with love.
A year ago,shortly after Janey Henriksen saw a Brian Williams report about the Little Free Library organization,a Wisconsin-based nonprofit that aims to promote literacy and build a sense of community in a neighborhood by making books freely available,she announced to her family of four,“That’s what we’re going to do for our spring break!”
Son Austin,now a 10th-grader,didn’t see the point of building a library that resembles（与...相似）a mailbox.But Janey insisted and husband Peter unwillingly got to work.The 5-year-old owner of a ship supply company modified a small wooden house that he’d built years earlier for daughter Abbie’s toy horses,and made a door of glass.After adding the library’s final touches（装点）,the family hung a signboard on the front,instructing users to“take a book,return a book”,and making the Henriksen library,now one several hundred like it nationwide and among more than 2500 in the world,the only Little Free Library in Palm Beach County.
They stocked it with 20 or so books they’d already read,a mix of science fiction,reference.titles,novels and kids’ favorites.“I told them,keep in mind that you might not see it again,”said Janey,a stay-at-home mom.Since then,the collection keeps replenishing（补充）itself,thanks to ongoing donations from borrowers.The library now gets an average of five visits a day.
The project's best payoff,says Peter,are the thank-you notes left behind.“We had no idea in the beginning that it would be so popular.”
1.Janey got the idea to build a library from .
A. a visit to Brian Williams
B. a spring break with her family
C. a book sent by one of her neighbors
D. a report on a Wisconsin-based organization
2.The library was built .
A. by a ship supply company B. on the basis of toy horses
C. like a mailbox D. with glass
3.What can we infer about the signboard?
A. It was made by a user of the library.
B. It marked a final touch to the library.
C. It aimed at making the library last long.
D. It indicated the library was a family property.
4.The passage tells us that the users .
A. donate books to the library
B. get paid to collect books for the library
C. receive thank-you notes for using the library
D. visit the library over 5 times on average daily
Two of the hardest things to accomplish in this world are to acquire wealth by honest effort and,having gained it,to learn how to use it properly.Recently I walked into the locker room of a rather well known golf club after finishing a round.It was in the late afternoon and most of the members had left for their homes.But a half-dozen or so men past middle age were still seated at tables talking aimlessly and drinking more than was good for them.These same men can be found there day after day,and,strangely enough,each one of these men had been a man of affairs and wealth, successful in business and respected in the community.If material prosperity were the chief necessity for happiness, then each one should have been happy.Yet,it seemed to me,something very important was missing,else（否则）there would not have been the constant effort to escape the realities of life through scotch and soda.They knew,each one of them,that their productivity had ceased（停止）.When a fruit tree ceases to bear its fruit,it is dying.And it is even so with man.
What is the answer to a long and happy existence in this world of ours?I think I found it long ago in a passage from the book of Genesis which caught my eye while I was looking through my Bible.The words were few,but they became memorably impressed on my mind.“In the sweat of the face shall you eat the bread.”
To me,that has been a challenge from my earliest recollections(memories).In fact,the battle of life,of existence,is a challenge to everyone.The immortal words of St.Paul,too,have been and always will be a great inspiration to me.At the end of the road I want to be able to feel that I have fought a good fight,I have finished the course,I have kept the faith.
1.The underlined sentence “In the sweat of the face shall you eat the bread” means “ ”.
A. Bread tastes delicious when sweat pours off your face
B. Bread comes from the sweat on your face
C. Failure is the mother of success
D. No pains,no gains
2.We learn from the passage that the author .
A. was a wealthy person in the community
B. was fond of associating with celebrities（名人）
C. held a positive attitude towards an active life
D. kept a secret of the reason why he was so impressed
3.What is implied in the passage by the writer?
A. To use wealth properly,eat,drink and be merry.
B. If you cease to struggle,you cease to live.
C. As life is but like a dream,a man is like a fruit tree.
D. Where there is a will,there is a way.
近来，“中国式过马路”Chinese Style of Crossing Streets在网络上热炒。请结合下面表格写一篇短文谈谈你的看法。
现象 | 很多人过马路时不看红绿灯 |
|
原因 | 1.缺乏交通安全意识 2.匆忙赶时间 | |
措施 | 1.遵守交通规则 2.你自己的建议…… |
注意： 1. 文中不能出现自己的姓名和班级名称。
2. 开头已给出，不计入总词数。字数：120词左右，不可逐字翻译。
3. 参考词语：缺乏…意识 lack awareness of
Chinese Style of Crossing Streets
Chinese style of crossing streets has been a hot topic on the Internet recently.
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