Cherish the Moments with Our Parents
There was something in an elderly woman’s behavior that caught my eye．Unsure of her steps，the woman moved slowly，along with a younger woman who I guessed was her daughter．The daughter was rolling her eyes and checking her watch every few seconds．
The older woman left the younger one and began to tick through the DVDs on the nearest shelf．Without hesitation，I walked over and asked if I could help her find something．The woman smiled at me and showed me a title on a piece of paper．
Rather than rush off to locate the DVD for the woman，I asked her to walk with me so I could show her where she could find it．Looking back，I think I wanted to enjoy her company for a moment．Her movements reminded me of my own mother，who had passed away the previous Christmas．
As we walked，the woman seemed glad of the unrushed company and casual conversation．We found the movie and she told me it was the one she’d enjoyed when she was her son’s age and that she hoped he would enjoy it as much as she had．Maybe，she said he could enjoy it with his own young children．
I accompanied her to the queue at the cashier．As the cashier put the DVD into a plastic bag，I went over to the younger woman，who was still tapping her foot at the front of the store．
“Is that your mom？”I asked．
I had expected her to tell me it was none of my business．But she rolled her eyes and said，“Yeah．”There was annoyance in her reply．Still watching the mother，I said，“Mind some advice？”
“Go ahead，”said the daughter．
I smiled to show her I wasn’t criticizing“Cherish her，”I said，“When she’s gone，it’s the little moments that’ll come back to you．Moments like this．I know．”
It was true．I missed my mom still and remembered with sadness the moments when I’d used my impatience to make her life miserable．
The elderly woman moved slowly back to her daughter．Together they made their way toward the store’s exit．They stood there for a moment，side by side，watching the rush of the holiday current．Then the daughter glanced over and slowly placed her arm with apparently unaccustomed affection around her mother’s shoulders and gently guided her home．
1.The daughter checked her watch frequently because she________．
A. had to wait for a friend
B. wanted to buy a new watch
C. was impatient to shop with her mom
D. was uninterested in watching the DVD
2.From Paragraphs 3and 4we know that________．
A. the elderly woman hadn’t seen the movie before
B. the elderly woman found her son’s favorite movie
C. the author and the eldly woman hurried to find the DVD
D. the author and the elderly woman enjoyed each other’s company
3.We can learn from the passage that________．
A. the author had treated her mom very well
B. the elderly woman looked like the author’s mom
C. the author scolded the daughter for her behavior
D. the daughter changed her attitude toward her mom．
Can dogs and cats live in perfect harmony in the same home？People who are thinking about adopting a dog as a friend for their cats are worried that they will fight．A recent research has found a new recipe of success．According to the study，if the cat is adopted before the dog，and if they are introduced when still young （less than 6 months for cats，a year for dogs），it is highly probable that the two pets will get along ．Two-thirds of the homes interviewed reported a positive relationship between their cat and dog．
However，it wasn’t all sweetness and��light．There was a reported coldness between the cat and dog in 25% of the homes，while aggression and fighting were observed in 10% of the homes．One reason for this is probably that some of their body signals were just opposite．For example，when a cat turns its head away it signals aggression，while a dog doing the same signals submission．
In homes with cats and dogs living peacefully，researchers observed a surprising behaviour．They are learning how to talk each other’s language．It is a surprise that cats can learn how to talk’dog’，and dogs can learn how to talk’Cat’．
What’s interesting is that both cats and dogs have appeared to develop their intelligence．They can learn to read each other’s body signals，suggesting that the two may have more in common than we previously suspected．Once familiar with each other’s presence and body language，cats and dogs can play together，greet each other nose to nose，and enjoy sleeping together in the sofa．They can easily share the same water bowl and in some cases groom（梳理）each other．
The significance of this research on cats and dogs may go beyond pets–to people who don’t get along，including neighbors，colleagues at work，and even world superpowers．If cats and dogs can learn to get along，surely people have a good chance．
1.The underlined word swimmingly in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to________．
A. early B. Sweetly
C. quickly D. smoothly
2.Some cats and dogs may fight when________．
A. they are cold to each other
B. they look away from each other
C. they misunderstand each other’s signals
D. they are introduced at an early age
3.What is found surprising about cats and dogs？________
A. They eat and sleep together
B. They observe each others behaviors
C. They learn to speak each other’s language
D. They know something from each other’s voice
4.What can we human beings learn from cats and dogs？________
A. We should learn to live in harmony
B. We should knows more about animals
C. We should live in peace with animals
D. We should learn more body languages．
Tim Richter and his wife，Linda，had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo，New York-he in computers,she in special education．“Teaching means everything to us，”Tim would say．In April 1998,he learned he would need a heart operation．It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life’s purpose．
Not long after the surgery，Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library,a program started by Dolly Parton’s foundation（基金会）that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer’s home town of Sevier，Tennessee．“I thought，maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire，”Tim recalls．He placed the brochure on his desk，“as a reminder．”
Five years later，now retired and with that brochure still on the desk，Tim clicked on imaginationlibrary．com．The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts．
The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters．Rather than sign up online，they went to Dollywood for a look-see．“We didn’t want to give the children rubbish，”says Linda．The books-reviewed each year by teachers，literacy specialists，and Dollywood board members-included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats’s The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney’s Llama Llama series．
Satisfied，the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work．Since 2004，they have shipped more than 12，200 books to preschoolers in their area．Megan Williams，a mother of four，is more than appreciative：“This program introduces us to books I’ve never heard of．”
The Richters spend about﹩400 a month sending books to 200 children．“Some people sit there and wait to die，”says Tim．“Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left．”
1.What led Tim to think seriously about the meaning of life？________
A. His health problem．
B. His love for teaching．
C. The influence of his wife．
D. The news from the Web．
2.What did Tim want to do after learning about Imagination Library？________
A. Give out brochures．
B. Do something similar．
C. Write books for children．
D. Retire from being a teacher．
3.Why did the Richters go to Dollywood？________
A. To avoid signing up online．
B. To meet Dollywood board members．
C. To make sure the books were the newest．
D. To see if the books were of good quality．
4.What can we learn from Tim’s words in the last paragraph？________
A. He needs more money to help the children．
B. He wonders why some people are so busy．
C. He tries to save those waiting to die．
D. He considers his efforts worthwhile．
Are you interested in higher education in the United States？The following advice might help you．
●College，University or Institute
College and universities offer undergraduate degrees in arts and sciences．And both can help prepare young people to earn a living．But many colleges don’t offer graduate studies．Universities are generally bigger,offer more programs and do more research．An institute of technology can offer a wide choice of programs and activities．Seventyfive percent of freshmen go there with a strong interest and involvement in the arts．
●The Application Process
International admissions officers advise students to apply to at least three schools．You may be able to apply online and pay the application charge with a credit card,or by mail．You should study the websites of schools to find information about how and when to apply,how much it will cost and whether any financial aid is available．
●Get a Student Card
If you requesting a visa for the first time，you will have to go to an American embassy or consulate（领馆）．You will need to bring a government form sent to you by your American school that shows you have been accepted．A consular official will also take your picture and your fingerprints．You will also need banking and tax records that show you have enough money to pay for your education．
●Financial Aid
American schools provide aid，like scholarships，fellowships,to almost half of foreign graduate students，but only ten percent of undergraduates．But grants，which，unlike a loan，does not have to be paid．
1.It can be inferred from the passage that American colleges and universities________．
A. have their own origins in institutes of technology
B. have both similarities and differences
C. can offer a wide choice of programs and activities
D. provide about seventy-five percent students with art courses
2.In what order should the steps for applying to an American school be completed by a foreign student？________
a．Apply online
b．Find out how much it will cost and whether any financial aid is available online
c．Pay the application charge with a credit card，or by mail
d．Choose at least three schools
e．Find information about how and when to apply online
A. a-c-e-d-b B. e-d-c-a-b
C. d-a-c-e-b D. b-c-e-d-a
3.To apply for a vise for the first time，you’ll have to do the following things EXCEPT________．
A. paying an American embassy or consulate some money
B. taking your picture and your fingerprints
C. showing a government form given by the American school admitting you
D. providing evidence that you have enough money to pay for your education
4.The purpose of the passage is________．
A. to make some money
B. to provide foreign students with a guide
C. to improve education quality
D. to attract foreign visitors to America．
How to Protect Yourself from Hackers Online
An increase in cyber-attacks (网络攻击) makes the Internet seem like a scary place these days. How can individuals protect or make it more difficult for hackers to access their information? Here are several tips that can help you protect against cyber-attacks:
1.
Hard passwords include upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters. They should be at least eight characters in length. They should also not spell out words easy for hackers to find, like your pet's name or the name of a family member.
Change your password regularly
A very common mistake made by users is to create one hard password, but then never change it. Remembering a long list of complicated passwords can be difficult. But no password is unbreakable. Hackers are better able to hack multiple accounts if those accounts all have the same password. A password management service, like Dashlane or PasswordBox, can help you keep track of hard passwords. 2.
Clear your browser (浏览器) history
This goes for all the devices you use in a day – your home computer, your work computer, or your friend's iPad. Internet browsers like Firefox or Chrome keep track of where you've been and what you've done online. They keep records of every site you visited. 3. It is very easy for anyone who sees that information to steal a detailed record of your online activities.
Do not use free Wi-Fi
4. Often, a user does not need a password to connect to these wireless networks. These services might be useful, but they're also an easy way for hackers to access everything on your device.
Use anti-virus protection
There are many anti-virus services available for users. 5. Some anti-virus services are even free. They are a great way to have a professional help keeping users one step ahead of hackers.
A. Be careful while using thumb drive.
B. These services permit users to easily store and secure their passwords.
C. Make your password harder to hack.
D. They can offer many different types of computer protection.
E. An increasing number of public places now offer free wireless access to the Internet.
F. Information about what you sent from or saved on your computer can be kept for days or weeks.
G. Unless you really need it, it is best not to use it.
It is true that world population is growing, but this is not the cause of our current and future global problems. Believing this will cause us to ignore the real problem and risk long-term damage to our planet.
Let me start by explaining why overpopulation is a myth. For one thing, the UN Population Division regularly predicts population growth but provides a low variant (变量), medium variant, and high variant to factor in various possibilities. In the 2010 revision, their high variant suggests that the world population will be almost 16 billion in 2100, but the low variant predicts it will peak（达到顶峰） at 8 billion and decrease to just over 6 billion by 2100. In most cases, it is the low variant that has come true in the past, suggesting the same will be true of their future population predictions. In addition to this, the size of families is actually decreasing.
For another, if the Earth is overpopulated, there needs to be insufficient (短缺) food, water, and space for humans to live. However, Indian economist Raj Krishna estimates that India alone is able to increase crop produce to the point of providing the entire world’s food supply. The World Food Programme confirms that there is sufficient food grown to feed the world and there is the same amount of fresh water on the planet now as there was 10,000 years ago. So how is it possible that the number of people in the world is affecting our planet?
Therefore, it is not an increase in population but an increase in consumption that is a severe threat. Materialism and overconsumption are facts of life for everybody in the western world, as possessions reflect a person’s status in society and people strive to obtain happiness through owning the latest fashionable goods. Not only that, but waste is a common occurrence which has a huge effect on our resources. It is a sad truth that 80% of the world’s resources are currently used by just 20% of the world’s population.
Our overconsumption must be addressed now to make our lives more sustainable and avoid continuing the terrible damage to the environment we are causing. The key is education. If we do not work towards this but instead focus on the wrong issue, we may find ourselves living on a planet that can no longer sustain human life.
1.According to the author, what causes our current and future global problems?
A. The increase in population.
B. Shortage of food and water.
C. The fast growth of material needs.
D. Failure to protect the environment.
2.The underlined word “myth” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. fact B. uncertainty
C. possibility D. misconception
3.The author stresses that _____.
A. people should save food and water
B. economists are making wrong predictions
C. wrong judgment leads to serious consequences
D. measures should be taken to reduce population
4.What is mainly discussed in the passage?
A. The real cause of global problems.
B. The severe effect of overpopulation.
C. Reasonable use of natural resources.
D. Methods to reduce overconsumption.
