You may have never heard of Lanthanum, Cerium or Neodymium, but these elements (元素) and others known as “rare earth” play a major role in modern technology. They can actually be found in many places on the earth, but not in quantities that can be mined. Only a few countries — China, America, India, Australia, Brazil and Malaysia have any that can be mined enough to be traded.
Even though some of these elements such as Cerium are as abundant as Copper, they are not found in concentrated amounts on the earth’s surface. They are often mixed together with other metals, which makes extraction (提取) of these elements an expensive and an environmentally messy process. It was due to this reason that the term “rare earth” was invented.
Rare earth metals are used widely in our life. Rechargeable car batteries, computers, iPhones, DVD players, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, glass polishing, and superconductors all use quantities of rare earth metals. Also, with the advancement in “green” technology like solar panels, these shiny materials are becoming more important than ever. An average electric car uses 10 pounds of Lanthanum for its rechargeable battery!
America has large deposits (存储量) of rare earths and has one of the first mines. It was openedin Southern California in 1940. The element “Europium” was the first metal to be separated in quantity for use in color televisions. However, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, as China started producing these elements in Inner Mongolia, the mines in America and elsewhere could not keep pace. The mine in Mountain Pass, California also failed environmental regulations and shut down in 2002.
Now, recognizing the importance of having more than one supplier of this important resource, other rare earth owning countries like India and Australia are either dusting off their rare earth mines or speeding up their production. It is believed that the debate over rare earths will become louder in the coming months and years.
1.What can we learn about rare earths?
A. They are actually as abundant as Copper.
B. They can be mined easily as other metals.
C. They can only be found in a few countries.
D. They are not really as rare as they are named.
2.Compared with China, America .
A. paid more attention to Europium
B. has larger deposits of rare earths
C. started producing rare earths earlier
D. has more rare earth mines
3.It can be inferred from the text that rare earths .
A. are now in great demand
B. can now be used in few fields
C. are harmful to the environment
D. will soon be replaced by other metals
Children’s lives have changed greatly over the last 50 years. But do they have a happier childhood than you or I did?
It’s difficult to look back on one’s own childhood without some element of nostalgia (怀旧的). I have four brothers and sisters, and my memories are all about being with them. Playing board games on the living room floor, or spending days in the street with the other neighborhood children, racing up and down on our bikes, or exploring the nearby woods. My parents scarcely appear in these memories, except as providers either of meals or of severe blame after some particularly risky adventure.
These days, in the UK at least, the nature of childhood has changed dramatically. Firstly, families are smaller, and there are far more only children. It is common for both parents to work outside the home and there is the feeling that there just isn’t time to bring up a large family, or that no one could possibly afford to have more than one child. As a result, today’s boys and girls spend much of their time alone. Another major change is that youngsters today tend to spend a huge amount of their free time at home, inside. More than anything this is due to the fact that parents worry far more than they used to about real or imagined dangers, so they wouldn’t dream of letting their children play outside by themselves.
Finally, the kind of toys children have and the way they play is totally different. Computer and video games have replaced the board games and more interesting activities of my childhood. The irony (令人啼笑皆非的事情) is that so many ways of playing games are called “interactive”. The fact that you can play electronic games on your own further increases the sense of loneliness felt by many young people today.
Do these changes mean that children today have a less relaxing childhood than I had? I personally believe that they do, but perhaps every generation feels exactly the same.
1.What is the purpose of the direct question given in the first paragraph?
A. To get people’s attention and lead in the topic
B. To gather people’s opinions on childhood
C. To show who the passage is written for
D. To compare the childhood lives of two generations
2.Which is NOT a reason for the changes?
A. Families are smaller today
B. Parents worried too much about their children
C. Toys can be played by children alone at home
D. It’s too dangerous to play outside
3.What has the writer focused on in the fourth paragraph?
A. Young people today shouldn’t play electronic games
B. Some games that young people play today aren’t really good
C. Computer and video games have replaced the board games
D. Board games are much more interesting than computer games
4.The writer’s attitude towards the childhood changing is .
A. approving B. unconcerned
C. objective D. optimistic
Nearly 19 percent of teachers of color (有色人种教师) left their jobs after the 2014-2015 school year. Some left for personal reasons like taking care of their families. But 50 percent said they left because they were dissatisfied with their employment situation, such as poor working conditions, student discipline problems and large class sizes. Thus, taking immediate measures to improve it is our top priority.
For years, researchers have proved the benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools, especially as our public school system has turned to one that is made up mostly of minority students. Teachers of color, who are more likely than their white counterparts to choose to work in racially diverse (多种多样的) schools, offer particular benefits to their students. Graduation rates increase among minority students when they are taught by racially similar educators, research shows. They can also serve as positive role models, and their presence reduces the chance of racial discrimination at school.
The Shanker Institute report suggests that the rate of minority teacher hiring is not the whole problem. The problem is what happens after these teachers enter the classroom. These teachers often work in high-poverty rural schools. They are more likely to have less-desirable working conditions.
Diversity is a key component to equality and opportunity. Where there’s a diverse teaching workforce, all kids thrive. So solutions must be found at once to turn this trend around. Firstly, schools should develop mentorship programs that support minority teachers once they are in the classroom. Secondly, more money should be spent in improving working conditions in these schools. Of course, school headmasters should also be evaluated on their ability to retain teachers of color.
1.Among teachers of color leaving their jobs, half of them quit because .
A. they had to take care of their children
B. they had to move to other places
C. they eventually found better-paid jobs
D. their employment situation was unsatisfactory
2.Which of the following is the main idea of the second paragraph?
A. The solutions to increasing graduation rates among minority students.
B. The benefits of increasing the share of minority teachers in schools.
C. The reasons for teachers of color leaving their jobs in many schools.
D. The ways to decrease the possibility of racial discrimination at school.
3.How did the author feel when writing the passage?
A. He felt angry about the government.
B. He was satisfied with the present situation.
C. He felt it urgent to solve the problem.
D. He didn’t care about diverse teaching workforce.
假定你是李华，你和父母在职业选择上意见不一，于是写信给你的外国朋友John倾诉你的苦恼并请他给你提些建议。要点如下：
1.你和父母双方的想法；
2.你的苦恼；
3.希望得到John的意见。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.开头语和结尾已为你写好。
Dear John,
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号∧，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线\划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
There is not doubt that to study abroad give you an excellent opportunity to learn things which are very helpful in your career building. Today Canada has earned a good name in providing their students quality education and healthy environment. That is because more than 130,000 international students enroll every year in famous Canadian university. It is an ideal education destination and gives students an unique experience of education and its culture. Canada spends a lot on education and is ranked on the highest in G-8 countries.
To study in Canada is much cheap. Its universities are affordable comparing with other universities in the world such as in the US, New Zealand and the UK where the cost of education and living is very high.
We high school students do have some growing pains,1. we can get rid of them correctly and wisely. First, some of us are upset 2. their body styles and looks. It’s unnecessary and it’s not important at all. We needn’t care about it. It is one’s inner beauty 3. matters. Second, we sometimes seem to be misunderstood by our teachers, parents and classmates.4. (face) with this, we can find 5. proper time to have a heart-to-heart talk with them, trying to remove the 6. (understand). Some of us have fewer in ends. I think being open-minded and friendly 7. (do) you good. Third, we may fall behind others,8. makes us stressed. Actually we can encourage 9. to work efficiently, full of determination. Lastly, some of us don’t have much pocket money, so they feel unhappy. Isn’t it strange? So long as we have some, that’s enough. And we can learn 10. to spend money.
