On her first morning in America last summer, my daughter went out to explore her new neighborhood alone, without even telling my wife or me. Of course we were worried; we had just moved from Berlin, and she was just 8. But when she came home, we realized we had no reason to panic. Beaming with pride, she told us how she had discovered the little park around the corner, and had made friends with a few local dog owners.
When this story comes up in conversations with American friends, we usually meet with polite disbelief. Most are horrified by the idea that their children might roam(闲逛) around without adult supervision(监管).
A study by the University of California has found that American kids spend 90 percent of their free time at home, often in front of the TV or playing video games. Such narrowing of children's world has happened across the developed world. But German parents are generally much more accepting of letting children take some risks.
“We are depriving(剥夺) them of opportunities to learn how to take control of their own lives,” writes Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College. He argues that this increases the chance that they will suffer from anxiety, depression, and various other mental disorders, which have gone up dramatically in recent decades(十年).
I am no psychologist like Professor Gray, but I know I won't be around forever to protect my girls from the challenges life holds in store for them. And by giving kids more control over their lives, they learn to have more confidence in their own abilities.
1.Hearing the author's daughter exploring the new neighborhood alone, his American friends feel________.
A. worried B. proud
C. doubtful D. terrified
2.We can conclude from Paragraph 3 that ________.
A. American kids enjoy playing at home
B. German parents are less protective than American parents
C. German kids like taking risks more than American kids
D. American parents don't limit their children's activities in their leisure time
3.It's implied from Professor Gray's words that ________.
A. parents should always be around their children to protect them from risks
B. more and more parents suffer from mental problems
C. children are having more opportunities to take control of their lives
D. giving children more freedom is beneficial to their mental development
4.Which of the following words can best describe the author's parenting?
A. Open-minded. B. Irresponsible.
C. Careless. D. Protective.
With at least a dozen wildfires going through western North Carolina in the fall of 2016, it would take more than one local fire department to fight the flames. In early November, the federal government sent over a team of firefighters from the Interagency Hotshot Crews.
Most of the Hotshots stayed at Hinton Rural Life Center in Hayesville, North Carolina. The center reached out to the media and community groups, hoping to get four volunteers per day to help things run smoothly for their firefighting guests. They didn’t expect a response quite so unbelievable.
Within two days, over 200 people—about a third of the town’s population—reached out to offer help, according to the center’s website. Meals and accommodation were already being taken care of, so they went above and beyond the basic things. Community members donated over 1,000 goods, including sports drinks, snacks, eye drops and so on.
Even the kids in Hayesville participated, sending thank-you cards, pictures and signs to motivate the Hotshots. The team received over 2,000 thank-you notes. After the fires were put out and the firefighters were preparing to go home, the town threw a parade（游行）to thank them and wish them well.
The firefighters were at a loss by the generosity from Hayesville. They put together their own thank-you in a YouTube video.
“You guys don’t know how much you mean, all the support you guys give us, ’’ says Ron, a firefighter from Oregon, in the video. “Out of four years when I’ve been fighting fire, this is about the most hospitable（好客的）state and county I’ve ever been in. And it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.”
1.What is unexpected according to the text?
A. The difficulty in putting out wildfires.
B. The firefighters’ contributions to the town.
C. The locals’ attitude towards the center’s request.
D. The firefighters’ response to the wildfires.
2.What can we know about Hayesville from the text?
A. It is a large town.
B. It is a small town.
C. It is a wealthy town.
D. It’s tough to live in.
3.Why are even the kids in Hayesville mentioned in the text?
A. To show how cute they were.
B. To encourage the firefighters to be grateful.
C. To lead in the reason for creating the YouTube video.
D. To stress the locals’ enthusiasm for the firefighters.
4.What can we infer about the firefighters from the last paragraph?
A. They felt very moved.
B. They were kind to the locals.
C. They were welcome everywhere.
D. They were confident about their work.
The National Gallery
Description:
The National Gallery is the British national art museum built on the north side of Trafalgar in London. It houses a diverse collection of more than 2,300 examples of European art ranging from 13th-century religious paintings to more modern ones by Renoir and Van Gogh. The older collections of the gallery are reached through the main entrance while the more modern works in the East Wing are most easily reached from Trafalgar Square by a ground floor entrance.
Layout:
The modern Sainsbury Wing on the western side of the building houses 13th-to15th-century paintings, and artists include Duccio, Uccello, Van Eyck, Lippi, Mantegna, Botticelli and Memling.
The main West Wing houses 16th-century paintings and artists include Leonardo da Vinci, Cranach, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bruegel, Bronzino, Titian and Veronese.
The North Wing houses 17th-century paintings and artists include Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Claude and Vermeer.
The East Wing houses 18th-to early 20th-century paintings, and artists include Canaletto, Goya, Turner, Constable, Renoir and Van Gogh.
Opening Hours:
The Gallery is open every day from 10am to 6pm（Fridays 10am to 9pm）and is free, but charges apply to some special exhibitions.
Getting There:
Nearest underground stations: Charing Cross (2-minute walk). Leicester Square (3-minute walk), Embankment (7-minute walk), and Piccadilly Circus (8-minute walk).
1.In which century’s collection can you see religious paintings?
A. The 13th B. The 17th
C. The 18th D. The 20th
2.Where are Leonardo da Vinci’s works shown?
A. In the East Wing. B. In the main West Wing.
C. In the Sainsbury Wing. D. In the North Wing.
3.Which underground station is closest to the National Gallery?
A. Piccadilly Circus. B. Leicester Square.
C. Embankment. D. Charing Cross.
假设你是李华，寒假就要来临了，你的美国朋友 Tom 来信询问你的寒假计划。请你给他回信告知你的安排并邀请他来中国做客。内容要点如下：
1、你的寒假安排（完成寒假作业、锻炼身体、做家务）;
2、欢度春节（享受美食、欣赏烟花、领压岁钱）;
3、发出邀请。
注意：1.词数 100 词左右、书写规范整洁；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：Spring Festival (春节) fireworks (烟花） lucky money(压岁钱）
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号（∧) ，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：在错的词下面划一横线，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。
It was Monday morning, and the writing class had just begin. Everyone was silent, wait to see who would be called upon to read his and her paragraph aloud. Some of us were confident and eager take part in the class activity. Others were nervous and anxious. I had done myself homework but I was shy. I was afraid that to speak in front of a larger group of people. At that moment, I remembered that my father once said, "The classroom is a place for learning that include learning from textbooks, and mistake as well." Immediate, I raised my hand.
课文填空
Do you sing karaoke and1. you are a famous singer like Song Zuying or Liu Huan? To be honest, a lot of people attach great importance to2. rich and famous.
Sometimes they may play to3. in the street or subway so that they can earn some extra money for themselves or for their instruments.
