This Monday, the nation will start to celebrate Presidents’ Day, just seven days before George Washington’s birthday. Everyone agrees that day is a holiday, but is it just to celebrate George Washington’s Birthday? What about Abraham Lincoln? Some government offices call it Presidents’ Day. Others say the holiday is officially Washington’s Birthday. Confused yet?
George Washington was elected the country’s first President on April 30, 1789. Soon after, Americans began publicly celebrating his birthday. Presidential historians say the actual date of George Washington’s birth is February 11, 1732. But a change in the calendar system 20 years later shifted all dates，making Washington’s birthday February 22, which is now well accepted. In 1879, Congress made Washington’s birthday an official federal holiday. It was the first federal holiday to celebrate an individual’s birthday. In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act, which moved the holiday to the third Monday in February. The new law did not change the holiday’s name. It was still called Washington’s Birthday, even though some lawmakers wanted to call it Presidents’ Day to include Abraham Lincoln, whose actual birthday is February 12.
Many people argue that the holiday should celebrate all past Presidents. They feel Lincoln should be honored for his role in preserving the nation during the Civil War and helping to free slaves. Others feel the holiday should only honor Washington, the country’s first President. They say shifting the focus away from Washington would mean future generations of kids would not know about the Father of Our Country.
Laws have been introduced in Congress over the years to require use of the term ＂George Washington’s Birthday.＂but none of those laws have been passed. Meanwhile, many state governments and school districts now use the term ＂Presidents’ Day.＂Many stoles also use it to promote holiday sales.
Should the holiday honor Washington, Washington and Lincoln, or all past Presidents? Write to emailbag@timeforkids.com and tell us what you think.
1.The President’s Day was originally designed to honor____________.
A. George Washington B. Abraham Lincoln
C. all presidents D. the Civil War
2.What can we infer from the passage?
A. Washington’s Birthday is the same as Lincoln’s.
B. The change in the calendar system was not wise.
C. The new act changed the holiday’s name.
D. This Monday is the third one of this February.
3.What’s the main argument about this holiday?
A. When to celebrate the holiday.
B. How to celebrate the holiday.
C. Which president to honor.
D. Where to celebrate the holiday.
4.What’s the best title for this passage?
A. Why people celebrate President Day
B. The history and debate behind Presidents’ Day
C. To celebrate Presidents’ Day or not
D. Colorful activities on Presidents’ Day
Humans and many other mammals have unusually efficient internal temperature regulating systems that automatically maintain stable core body temperatures（核心体温）in cold winters and warm summers. In addition, people have developed cultural patterns and technologies that help them adjust to extremes of temperature and humidity（湿度）.
In very cold climates, there is a constant danger of developing hypothermia（低体温）, which is a life threatening drop in core body temperature to below normal levels. The normal temperature for humans is about 37.0°C. However, differences in persons and even the time of day can cause it to be as much as 6°C higher or lower in healthy individuals. It is also normal for core body temperature to be lower in elderly people. Hypothermia begins to occur when the core body temperature drops to 34.4°C. Below 29.4°C, the body cools more rapidly because its natural temperature regulating system usually fails. The rapid decline in core body temperature is likely to result in death. However, there have been rare cases in which people have been saved after their temperatures had dropped to 13.9—15.6°C. This happened in 1999 to a Swedish woman who was trapped under an ice sheet in freezing water for 80 minutes. She was found unconscious, not breathing, and her heart had stopped beating, yet she was eventually saved despite the fact that her temperature had dropped to 13.7°C.
In extremely hot climates or as a result of uncontrollable infections, core body temperatures can rise to equally dangerous levels. This is hyperthermia. Life threatening hyperthermia typically starts in humans when their temperatures rise to 40.6—41.7°C. Only a few days at this extraordinarily high temperature level is likely to result in the worsening of internal organs and death.
1.Why can humans keep stable body temperatures in different seasons?
A. Because their bodies are unusually efficient.
B. Because they experience different climates.
C. Because they can adjust to cultural patterns and technologies.
D. Because they have internal temperature regulating systems.
2.What does Paragraph 2 mainly discuss?
A. The dangerous effects of hypothermia.
B. The change of body temperature.
C. The survival of the Swedish woman.
D. The regulating systems of natural temperature.
3.People are unlikely to survive under the body temperature .
A. higher than 34.4°C B. lower than 29.4°C
C. between 40.6—41.7°C D. between 34.4—37°C
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Surviving in an ice trap
B. Getting to know hypothermia
C. Adapting to climate extremes
D. Changing core body temperature
New York Time — A gunman killed eight people at a mall in Omaha this afternoon and then killed himself, setting off panic among holiday shoppers, the police said.
＂The person who we believe to be the shooter has died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds,＂ Sergeant Teresa Negron of the Omaha Police Department said at televised news.＂ We have been able to clear the mall,＂ she said. ＂We don’t believe we have any other shooters.＂ The police said that at least five other people had been injured in the shootings.
She did not give the shooter’s identity. ＂We are still conducting the investigation,＂ Sergeant Negron said, adding that the city's mayor, who was out of town, was on his way back to Omaha.
She said the police received a 911 call from someone inside the Westroads Mall on the west side of Omaha, and shots could be heard in the background. The first police officers arrived at the mall six minutes after the first call, she said but by then the shootings were over.
It is reported that the gunman left a suicide note that was found at his home by relatives. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity（匿名）said the note indicated that the gunman wanted to ＂go out in style.＂
The shootings broke the usually ordinary routine of holiday shopping. The gunman was said by some witnesses to have fired about 20 shots into a crowd. Some customers and workers ran screaming from the mall, while others dived into dressing rooms to hide from the shooter.
Shoppers and store workers were trapped inside the mall, which has roughly 135 stores. Others streamed out of mall exits with their hands raised. President Bush was in Omaha this morning to deliver a speech, but he had left the city by the time the shootings took place.
1.What do the underlined words ＂go out in style＂ probably mean?
A. To go out of the mall in particular clothes.
B. To walk in the mall with oneself focused on.
C. To stop his life in an impressive way.
D. To go to a social event by fashionable means.
2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Nobody knows why the shooter did so and nothing was found at his home.
B. The city’s mayor went to the site when the shooting took place.
C. Police arrived at the mall before the shooting was over and rescued customers.
D. The official who showed what the note meant wanted to keep himself from being known to the public.
3.Which of the following can be the best title of the news?
A. Bush Happened to Escape a Shot
B. Shoppers in Great Panic before the Holiday
C. Shooter Found Dead in a Mall on the west of Omaha
D. Gunman Killed 8 People, Then Himself at a Mall in Omaha
（题文）The Intelligent Transport team at Newcastle University have turned an electric car into a mobile laboratory named ＂DriveLAB＂ in order to understand the challenges faced by older drivers and to discover where the key stress points are.
Research shows that giving up driving is one of the key reasons for a fall in health and well-being among older people, leading to them becoming more isolated(隔绝) and inactive.
Led by Professor Phil Blythe, the Newcastle team are developing in-vehicle technologies for older drivers which they hope could help them to continue driving into later life.
These include custom-made navigation(导航) tools, night vision systems and intelligent speed adaptations. Phil Blythe explains: ＂For many older people, particularly those living alone or in the country, driving is important for preserving their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others.＂
＂But we all have to accept that as we get older our reactions slow down and this often results in people avoiding any potentially challenging driving conditions and losing confidence in their driving skills. The result is that people stop driving before they really need to.＂
Dr Amy Guo, the leading researcher on the older driver study, explains: ＂The DriveLAB is helping us to understand what the key points and difficulties are for older drivers and how we might use technology to address these problems.
＂For example, most of us would expect older drivers always go slower than everyone else but surprisingly, we found that in 30mph zones they struggled to keep at a constant speed and so were more likely to break the speed limit and be at risk of getting fined. We’re looking at the benefits of systems which control their speed as a way of preventing that. ＂
＂We hope that our work will help with technological solutions(解决方案) to ensure that older drivers stay safer behind the wheel.
What is the best title for the text?
A. A new Model Electric Car
B. A Solution to Traffic Problems
C. Driving Services for Elders
D. Keeping Older Drivers on the Road
Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its new flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle —named the Transition – has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. The Transition, which flew at 1,400 feet for eight minutes last month, can reach around 70 miles per hour on the road and 115 in the air. It flies using a 23-gallon tank of gas and burns 5 gallons per hour in the air. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon.
Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don’t expect it to show up in too many driveways. It’s expected to cost $279,000. And it won’t help if you’re stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.
Inventors have been trying to make flying cars since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry expert. But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already permitted the company to use special materials to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The Transition is now going through crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.
Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft, which are lower than those for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a requirement pilots would find relatively easy to meet.
What is the best title for the text?
A. Flying Car at Auto Show
B. The Transition’s First Flight
C. Pilots’ Dream Coming True
D. Flying Car Closer to Reality
Some of the world’s most famous musicians recently gathered in Paris and New Orleans to celebrate the first annual International Jazz Day. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) recently set April 30 as a day to raise awareness of jazz music, its significance, and its potential as a unifying(联合) voice across cultures.
Despite the celebrations, though, in the U.S. the jazz audience continues to shrink and grow older, and the music has failed to connect with younger generations.
It’s Jason Moran’s job to help change that. As the Kennedy Center’s artistic adviser for jazz, Moran hopes to widen the audience for jazz, make the music more accessible, and preserve its history and culture.
＂Jazz seems like it’s not really a part of the American appetite,＂ Moran tells National Public Radio’s reporter Neal Conan. ＂What I’m hoping to accomplish is that my generation and younger start to reconsider and understand that jazz is not black and write anymore. It’s actually color, and it’s actually digital.＂
Moran says one of the problems with jazz today is that the entertainment aspect of the music has been lost. ＂The music can’t be presented today the way it was in 1908 or 1958. It has to continue to move, because the way the world works is not the same,＂ says Moran.
Last year, Moran worked on a project that arranged Fats Waller’s music for a dance party, ＂just to kind of put it back in the mind that Waller is dance music as much as it is concert music,＂ says Moran. ＂For me, it’s the recontextualization. In music, where does the emotion(情感) lie? Are we, as humans, gaining any insight(感悟) on how talk about ourselves and how something as abstract as a Charlie Parker record gets us into a dialogue about our emotions and our thoughts? Sometimes we lose sight that the music has a wider context,＂ says Moran, ＂so I want to continue those dialogues. Those are the things I want to foster.＂
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A. Exploring the Future of Jazz
B. The Rise and Fall of Jazz
C. The Story of a Jazz Musician
D. Celebrating the Jazz Day
