Boys’ schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (阳刚), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform to(符合、顺应) a stereotype（老套）, a US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to conform to the“boy code”of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being faded by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision learned best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern genre (类型) in which violence and sexism are major themes.” James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “ In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means.” the study reported.
1.The author believes that a single-sex school would ____ .
A．force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men"
B．help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys
C．naturally strengthen the traditional image of a man in boys
D．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely
2.It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys _____ .
A．behave more responsibly
B．grow up more healthily
C．perform relatively better
D．receive a better education
3.What does Tony Little say about the British education system?
A．It fails more boys than girls academically.
B．It focuses more on mixed school education.
C．It places more pressure on boys than on girls.
D．It fails to give boys the attention they need.
4.According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ______.
A．boys can focus on their lessons without being disturbed
B．teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys
C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in
D．teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit
5.According to Abigail James’ report, it can be inferred that boys tend to _____________________.
A．have sharper vision.
B．conform to stereotypes.
C．enjoy being in charge.
D．be violent and sexist.
Michelle Obama made a daring decision to return to the same designer who created her Inaugural (就职）Ball dress four years ago --- and the risk paid off.
The First Lady looked extremely attractive in a thin, sweeping, and ruby-colored dress by designer Jason Wu. She teamed the dramatic dress with heels by Jimmy Choo and a diamond ring by Kimberly McDonald.
She surprised the fashion establishment by returning to a Wu design which had been the custom made for her.
Four years ago at her first Inauguration Ball, Michelle shimmered（熠熠生辉）in an off-white, one-shouldered floor-length dress by the designer.
Wu, who was 26 at the time and had only been working in fashion for three years, saw his career take off after the First Lady's surprise decision to wear one of his dresses.
He said at the time that he was unaware she had chosen the dress and had been watching at home on his couch and eating pizza when she appeared.
After her 2013 decision, Wu told Women's Wear Daily: “Mrs Obama likes to keep her secrets. She fooled me again.”
Wu released a women's clothing and accessories（装饰品）collection at Target last year and continues to be popular with the First Lady for official engagements.
The sleeveless, cross-halter neck dress with low-cut back flattered（突出）49-year-old Michelle's arms and neat waist.
It had been created especially for her by Wu and was a departure from the dark and plain colour tone she stuck to at earlier inauguration events.
Mrs Obama's new hairstyle -- she had bangs（美发沙龙）cut on her birthday last week had been loosely tousled（蓬松的）for the special night.
Vice-President Joe Biden's wife Jill also looked attractive in a blue silk dress by Vera Wang at the Inauguration Ball.
1.What does the passage mainly talk about？
A．Michelle Obama’s inaugural ball dress.
B．Wu, a great designer.
C．The First Lady’s secrets.
D．Mrs Obama’s 2013 decision.
2.Michelle Obama’s brave decision proved to be a_________.
A．risk B．danger
C． Surprise D．success
3. According to the passage, which of the following is correct?
A．Mrs Obama’s inaugural dresses were made by the same designer.
B．Joe Biden’s wife Jill also had her dress created by Wu.
C．The colour tone at Michelle’s earlier inaugural events was not satifactory.
D．Mrs Obama had straight forehead hair as her new hairstyle for the special night.
4. Which of the following best describes Jason Wu?
A．Daring and gifted.
B．Unusual and cautious.
C．Careful and brave.
D．Talented and lucky.
5. From the 6th and 7th paragraphs we know that________.
A．Wu was aware that Mrs Obama had chosen his work again
B．Wu didn’t know Mrs Obama had chosen his creation again.
C．Mrs Obama told Wu to give away her secrets
D．Mrs Obama should have told Wu the truth
The forces that make Japan one of the world's most earthquake-prone（有地震倾向的） countries could become part of its long-term energy solution．
Water from deep below the ground at Japan's tens of thousands of hot springs could be used to produce electricity．
Although Japanese high-tech companies are leaders in geothermal（地热的） technology and export it, its use is limited in the nation．
"Japan should no doubt make use of its resources of geothermal energy," said Yoshiyasu Takefuji, a leading researcher of thermal-electric power production．
The disastrous earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 caused a reaction against atomic power, which previously made up 30 percent of Japan's energy needs, and increased interest in alternative energies, which account for only 8 percent．
Artist Yoko Ono has called on Japan to explore its natural energy, following the example of Iceland which uses renewable energy for more than 80 percent of its needs．
For now, geothermal energy makes up less than 1 percent of the energy needs in Japan, which has for decades relied heavily on fossil fuels and atomic power．
The biggest problem to geothermal energy is the high initial cost of the exploration and constructing the factories．Another problem is that Japan's potentially best sites are already being developed for tourism or are located within national parks where construction is forbidden．
"We can't even dig 10cm inside national parks．" said Shigeto Yamada of Fuji Electric, adding that regulations protecting nature would need to be relaxed for geothermal energy to grow．
Researcher Hideaki Matsui said, "Producing electricity using hot springs is a decades-long project．We also have to think about what to do for now as energy supplies will decline in the short term．"
The Earth Policy Institute in Washington, US, believed Japan could produce 80,000 megawatts（兆瓦）and meet more than half its electricity needs with geothermal technology．
Japanese giants such as Toshiba are already global leaders in geothermal technology, with a 70 percent market share．In 2010, Fuji Electric built the world's largest geothermal factory in New Zealand．
1.What would be the best title for the text?
A．Alternative energies in Japan
B．World's largest geothermal plant
C．Japan takes the lead in geothermal technology
D．Japan thinks of geothermal energy
2.What percentage of Japan's energy needs is geothermal energy?
A．About 8%． B．Below 1%． C．Around 30%． D．Over 80%．
3.According to Shigeto Yamada, the growth of geothermal power in Japan needs ____．
A．a change of rules B．financial support
C．local people's help D．high technology
4.Geothermal energy is considered as a long-term program by _____．
A．Yoshiyasu Takefuji B．Hideaki Matsui
C．Shigeto Yamada D．Yoko Ono
5.It can be learned from the last two paragraphs that _____．
A．the world's biggest geothermal plant was built by America
B．Japan will not export its geothermal technology
C．the potential of Japan's geothermal energy is great
D．it is hard to find geothermal energy in Japan
There are records of fingerprints taken many centuries ago. The ancient Babylonians pressed the tips of their fingerprints into clay to record business trade. The Chinese used ink-on-paper finger impressions for business. However, fingerprinting wasn't used as a method for identifying criminals until the 19th century．
In 1858, Sir William Herschel was working as an official of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India．In order to reduce fraud（诈骗）, he had people living in the district record their fingerprints when signing business documents. A few years later, Scottish doctor Henry Faulds was working in Japan when he discovered fingerprints left by artists on ancient pieces of clay．This finding inspired him to begin investigating fingerprints．In 1880, Faulds wrote to his cousin, the famous naturalist Charles Darwin, and asked for help with developing a fingerprint classification system．Darwin refused, but sent the letter to his cousin, Sir Francis Gallon, who was an eugenicist (优生学家). Gallon began collecting fingerprints and eventually gathered some 8, 000 different samples to analyze. In 1892, he published a book called "Fingerprints", in which he outlined a fingerprint classification system—the first existence．
Around the same time, Juan Vucetich, a police officer in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was developing his own version of a fingerprinting system．In 1892, Vucetich was called in to assist with the investigation of the two boys murdered in Necoche, a village near Buenos Aires. Their mother, Francisca Rojas, accused a neighbour named Velasquez. But when Vucetich compared the fingerprints found at the murder scene to those of both Velasquez and Rojas, they matched Rojas' exactly．She admitted her crime. This was the first time fingerprints had been used in a criminal investigation.Vucetich called his system comparative dactyloscopy（指纹鉴定法）. It's still used in many Spanish-speaking countries．
Sir Edward Henry, in charge of the Metropolitan Police of London, soon became interested in using fingerprints to catch criminals. In 1896, he added to Gallon's technique, creating his own classification system, the Henry Classification System. It is the primary method of fingerprint classification throughout most of the world．
1.Herschel had people record their fingerprints so as to_____．
A．develop a fingerprinting system B．prevent illegal business
C．put them on pieces of clay D．collect and study fingerprints
2.Who first came up with the idea of creating a fingerprint classification system?
A．Herschel． B．Faulds． C．Gallon． D．Darwin．
3.The underlined word "they" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to "_____"．
A．the fingerprints B．the two boys C．the crimes D．the police officers
4.We can learn from the text that _____．
A．Faulds collected many fingerprints while in Japan
B．Henry's classification system is based on Gallon's
C．Darwin showed great interest in studying fingerprints
D．Vucetich's fingerprinting system is still used all over the world
5.What is the text mainly about?
A．Different uses of fingerprints．
B．The history of fingerprinting．
C．Countries that first used fingerprints．
D．The way to collect and analyze fingerprints．
We always want what we cannot have. When we’re young, we want to stay out late, have romantic relationships and be 1 ．However, when we're 2 , we want to go back to being young and we 3 the days when we didn’t have to worry about complex love affairs, 4 pressure and money problems．
Young people believe adulthood 5 freedom from parents and schoolwork．When they get older, they feel that 6 is freedom from work pressure and family responsibilities. To 7 this feeling, people say, "The grass is always 8 on the other side of the fence．"
As 9 , we like to be like adults but as young adults, we 10 to be young again. We think about staying out late and 11 our own money to spend．Suddenly, we see that love can result in 12 hearts; staying out late makes it hard to get ready for 13 the next morning. We find out that adult life is not as 14 as we thought it would be and suddenly, 15 becomes very scary．
Life is 16 ．It gives us time to 17 but also requires us to work. The time will come when we must grow up and we will always look back wishing we 18 being young a bit longer. That time will not come back. It is normal to want what we cannot have but the 19 is that to be happy is to appreciate what we have．That is the first step to grow up. 20 life becomes more complex, we will not regret the time we wasted wishing we were adults．
1. A．comfortable B．dependent C．polite D．independent
2. A．defeated B．older C．married D．confident
3. A．like B．forget C．miss D．regret
4. A．job B．study C．age D．health
5. A．creates B．shows C．limits D．means
6. A．adulthood B．childhood C．parenthood D．neighborhood
7. A．reduce B．experience C．describe D．understand
8. A．thinner B．greener C．yellow D．colorful
9. A．researchers B．adults C．teenagers D．elders
10. A．decide B．wish C．return D．stop
11. A．making B．worrying about C．having D．showing off
12. A．healthy B．ambitious C．excited D．broken
13. A．breakfast B．school C．work D．exercise
14. A．rich B．busy C．poor D．easy
15. A．love B．life C．career D．future
16. A．long B．fair C．short D．beautiful
17. A．study B．think C．live D．play
18. A．stopped B．imagined C．enjoyed D．tried
19. A．reason B．result C．truth D．dream
20. A．When B．If C．Unless D．Before
— I’d rather have some wine, if you don’t mind.
— . Don’t forget you must drive.
A．Anything but that B．By all means
C．Take it easy D．I won’t say no to this
