Directions: Read the following passage. Summarize the main idea and the main point(s) of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.
Should some books be banned from school libraries?
Are there Harry Potter books in your school library? Many kids all over the world are reading J. K. Rowling's books in school. But some parents think their children shouldn't be able to find those and other books in school libraries. Should school libraries keep books that some parents don't approve of? Should they take those books off the shelves? All over the country, schools are wrestling with those questions.
It’s true that some hold their argument that some books should be banned from school libraries! "We need certain limits," said one student in Denver, Colorado. He said some books have no place in school libraries. Many people believe that books that contain violence or bad words shouldn't be in schools. Some people want the Harry Potter books removed because they contain talk about wizards and magic.
Most parents know what's good for kids. They have a right to decide which books should or should not be in school libraries.
Books should meet certain standards before they are put in schools. Is this a good book for kids to read? Is it full of violence? Does it contain bad words or ideas kids shouldn't learn about? If a book is not good for all kids, it should not be in a school library. Most parents don't have time to find out everything their kids read. They should be able to trust schools to do that for them.
On the other hand, some believe that books should not be banned from school libraries! "Parents should decide what their own kids read," said Natalie Nicol, of Denver, Colorado. But other parents shouldn't make that choice for them. Many experts say that it's the parents' job, not the school's job, to check out what their kids are reading. If they don't like a book, they should not let their kids read it.
Why should a few parents stop kids from reading stories like the Harry Potter series? Kids should be able to check out books their parents think are OK to read. Many schools let kids borrow certain books if they have a signed paper from a parent. That works fine. A parent doesn't sign the paper if he or she doesn't want the child to read the book. Other kids can read the books if they have permission.
Some books are not OK for all kids to read. But if more adults were careful about what their own kids read, they wouldn't have to ban books from the library.
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Directions: Read the passage carefully. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.
Many people know that trash is a big problem on planet Earth. What many people don’t know is that trash has become a problem in outer space too. 1.
Statistically, there are more than 22,000 pieces of junk in space around the earth. And these are just the items that we can see from the surface of the earth by telescopes or radars. 2.
Objects, like bits of old space rockets or satellites, move around the planet at very high speeds, so fast that even a very small piece can break important satellites or become dangerous to people, particularly astronauts. If the tiniest piece of junk crashed into a spacecraft, it could damage the vehicle. That’s because the faster an object moves, the greater the impact if the object collides with something else.
To help minimize additional space junk, countries around the world have agreed to limit the time their space tools stay in orbit to 25 years. Each tool must be built to fall safely into the earth’s atmosphere, or the mass of gases that surround the earth, after that. 3.
Many scientists are also proposing different ways to clean up space junk. The Germans have been planning a space mission with robots that would collect pieces of space trash and bring them back to Earth so that they can be safely destroyed.
"In our opinion the problem is very challenging, and it's quite urgent as well," said Marco Castronuovo, an Italian Space Agency researcher who is working to solve the problem. 4. Many of these objects are tools that help people use their cell phones or computers.
"The time to act is now; as we go farther in time we will need to remove more and more fragments," he says.
A. One reason that it’s urgent is that countries are sending more and more objects into space.
B. There are also millions of smaller pieces of junk that we can’t see.
C. Blowing up older satellites with a missile may create thousands of smaller pieces!
D. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, it will burn up.
E. When two objects in space collide, the two objects break into many smaller pieces.
F. Years of space exploration have left tons of “space junk” in orbit around the planet.
Like their ancient toga-wearing counterparts, modern philosophers continue to disagree on the nature of freewill. Do we really have any control over the choices we make and the things we desire, and if so, to what degree?
Theories of freewill vary, but the ancient words of Plato still line up with our modern perceptions(概念) of temptation and willpower. The respected Greek philosopher argued that the human experience is one of constant struggle between the intellect and the body, between rationality and desire. Along these lines, true freedom is only achievable when willpower unchains us from bodily, emotional, instinctual slavery.
You can find similar thoughts throughout world religions, most of which offer a particular and often difficult path to rise above our darker natures.
And science? Well, science mostly agrees with all of this. Willpower is all about overcoming your natural desires to eat cupcakes, skip your morning workout, play games on mobile phone, hit the snooze alarm and check your e-mail during a funeral.
Your willpower, however, is limited. If life were a video game, you'd see a glowing "willpower" or "ego"(自我) meter at the top of the screen next to your "life" meter. Successfully resist one temptation, and the meter drains a little. The next temptation drains the "willpower" meter even more, until there's nothing left at all.
Our modern scientific understanding of willpower in large part stems from a 1996 research experiment involving chocolate and radishes(小红萝卜). Psychologist Roy Baumeister led a study in which 67 test subjects were presented with tempting chocolate chip cookies and other chocolate-flavored treats before a persistence-testing puzzle. Here's the catch: The researchers asked some of the participants to withdraw from sweets and snack on radishes instead.
Baumeister's results told a fascinating story. The test subjects who resisted the sweet stuff in favor of radishes performed poorly on the persistence test. They simply didn't have the willpower left to resist slacking off(松懈).
The research inspired more than a thousand additional studies discussing everything from the influence of positive messages to the ego-sapping power of daily decisions
Studies also show that cognitive capacity also affects our ability to hold out against temptation. Cognitive capacity is essentially your working memory, which you employ when resisting a temptation ... or holding a string of numbers in your head. A 1999 study from the University of Iowa professor Baba Shiv found that people tasked with remembering a two-digit number held out better than people remembering a seven-digit number when tempted with chocolate cake.
1.What do you understand by ‘freewill’?
A. The control we have over the choices.
B. The choices we make and the things we desire
C. The choices that philosophers force us to make
D. Our perception of temptation.
2.According to Plato, when is true freedom available?
A. When there is a struggle between the intellect and the body
B. When our willpower helps us to overcome our basic instincts
C. When we desire that which we cannot achieve
D. When we have no control over our ego
3.What is meant by ‘cognitive capacity’?
A. Willpower to realize one’s own ego. B. Our ability to overcome temptation
C. Our ability to remember things. D. The desire to give in to temptation
Milton Hershey was born near the small village of Derry Church, Pennsylvania, in 1857. He only attended school through the fourth grade; at that point, he was apprenticed(做学徒) to a printer in a nearby town. After a while, he left the printing business and was apprenticed to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania candy maker. And at the age of eighteen, he opened his own candy store in Philadelphia. In spite of his talents as a candy maker, the shop failed after six years.
After the failure of his Philadelphia store, Milton headed for Denver, where he learned the art of making caramels(焦糖). Then in Denver, Milton once again attempted to open his own candy-making businesses, in Chicago, New Orleans, and New York City. Finally, in 1886, he went to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he raised the money necessary to try again. This company— the Lancaster Caramel Company—established Milton’s reputation as a master candy maker.
In 1893, Milton attended the Chicago International Exposition, where he saw a display of German chocolate-making implements. Fascinated by the equipment, he purchased it for his Lancaster candy factory and began producing chocolate, which he used for coating his caramels. By the next year, production had grown to include cocoa, sweet chocolate, and baking chocolate. The Hershey Chocolate company was born in 1894 as a subsidiary(子公司) of the Lancaster Caramel Company. Six years later, Milton sold the caramel company, but reserved the rights, and the equipment, to make chocolate. He believed that a large market of chocolate consumers was waiting for someone to produce reasonably priced candy. He was right.
Milton Hershey returned to the village where he had been born, in the heart of dairy country, and opened his chocolate manufacturing plant. With access to all the fresh milk he needed, he began producing the finest milk chocolate. The plant that opened in a small Pennsylvania village in 1905 is today the largest chocolate factory in the world. The sweets created at this facility are favorites around the world.
The area where the factory is located is now known as Hershey, Pennsylvania. Within the first decades of its existence, the town of Hershey thrived, as did the chocolate business. A bank, a school, churches, a department store, even a park and a trolley system all appeared in short order; the town soon even had a zoo. Today, a visit to the area reveals the Hershey Medical Center, Milton Hershey School, and Hershey’s Chocolate World—a theme park where visitors are greeted by a giant Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. All of these things— and a huge number of happy chocolate lovers—were made possible because a caramel maker visited the Chicago Exposition of 1893!
1.The mention of the 1893 Exposition indicates that _______
A. the exposition in Chicago is held once every three years.
B. the theme of the exposition of 1893 was “Food from Around the World.”
C. the exposition contained displays from a variety of countries.
D. the site of the exposition is now a branch of the Hershey Chocolate Company.
2.According to the passage, Milton Hershey sold his caramel company in _______
A. 1894. B. 1900. C. 1904. D. 1905.
3.What can you infer from the passage?
A. Chocolate is popular in every country in the world.
B. Reeses Peanut Butter Cups are manufactured by the Hershey Chocolate Company.
C. Chocolate had never been manufactured in the United States before Milton Hershey did it.
D. The Hershey Chocolate Company now makes more money from Hershey’s Chocolate World than from the manufacture and sale of chocolate.
4.The author wrote this passage mainly to _______
A. recount the founding of the Hershey Chocolate Company.
B. describe the process of manufacturing chocolate.
C. compare the popularity of chocolate to other candies.
D. explain how apprenticeships work.
Being able to land safely is a critically important skill for all flying animals. Whereas terrestrial animals face no particular challenge when they need to stop running or crawling, flying animals move at much higher speeds, and they must be careful about how they land. Hitting the ground, or even water, at full flight speed would be quite dangerous. Before touching down, they must decrease their speed in order to land safely. Both bats and birds have mastered the skill of landing, but these two types of flyers go about it quite differently.
In the past it was believed that, in terms of flying mechanics, there was little difference between bats and birds. This belief was based only on assumption, however, because for years nobody had actually studied in detail how bats move their wings. In recent years, though, researchers have discovered a number of interesting facts about bat flight. Bats are built differently from birds, and their wings incorporate(结合) both their front and hind limbs (后肢). This makes their limbs working together more difficult for bats and, as a result, they are not very good at flying over longer distances. However, a bat can quickly change its direction of flight or completely reverse it, something a bird cannot easily do.
Another interesting characteristic of bat flight is the way in which bats land—upside down! Unlike birds, which touch down on the ground or on tree branches, bats can be observed flying around and then suddenly hanging upside down from an object overhead. How do they do it? A group of researchers recently used video cameras to film bats landing on nets suspended from the ceiling of their laboratory and studied the recordings in slow motion. They painted spots on the bats’ wings to see in detail what happens to the wings in flight and during touchdown. It turns out that the bats flew in a straight line up to the net and then quickly flipped over and attached themselves to it upside down. One disadvantage to this landing routine is that the bats often slam into their landing spot with some force, which probably causes pain. However, not all bats hit their landing spots with the same speed and force; these will vary depending on the area where a bat species makes its home. For example, a cave bat, which regularly rests on a hard stone ceiling, is more careful about its landing preparation than a bat more accustomed to landing in leafy treetops.
1.In line 1, the word terrestrial is closest in meaning to _______.
A. high-flying B. fast-moving C. tree-climbing D. ground-living
2.According to the passage, what skill is crucial for flying animals?
A. Diving underwater.
B. Slowing down to land.
C. Flying over great distances.
D. Balancing on high branches.
3.According to the passage, what is an advantage that bats have over birds?
A. Bats can land on a greater variety of surfaces.
B. Bats can turn in the air more quickly.
C. Bats can eat while flying.
D. Bats are lighter.
4.What is the main topic of the passage?
A. Places where flying animals choose to land.
B. Why scientists have difficulty observing bats.
C. Differences in the eating habits of bats and birds.
D. Ways in which bats move differently from birds.
Students in Caldwell, Idaho, can attend class in their pajamas(睡衣)! At Vallivue Virtual Academy, courses are taught online. Students work at home with parents, who serve as learning coaches. A certified teacher _____ the students’ progress.
The cyber school was _____ as a free option for students in kindergarten through grade 8 who have trouble succeeding in the district’s _____ public school. Supporters of the program say that virtual schools help students avoid the social pressures that can _____ with learning. In addition, supporters argue, online courses provide kids with more focused _____ and course options than they can get in a typical school.
Not everyone gives cyber schools a passing grade, however. Some educators argue that online learning makes it hard for students to make friends. Many parents also feel that cyber schools put _____ time demands on them because they have to oversee their kids’ daily work.
Technology can benefit education, but it shouldn’t _____ education. Students who go to virtual schools will miss many of the benefits of being in a real school.
If kids attend school online, they will miss out on important social _____. Payton Mcdonough, 13, a seventh grader from Glencoe, Ill., agrees. “I don’t know how I could sit at a computer all day without _____ interacting with my peers and teachers,” he says.
In addition, virtual schools don’t have enough structure. Students who take online courses can set their own schedules, which will cause problems for students who have trouble staying _____.
Furthermore, online schooling puts stress on parents because they have to _____ what their kids do at home. Many parents have full–time jobs. How are they going to run their children’s education, _____ in their jobs, and take care of their other responsibilities at home?
Virtual schools will make it harder for students to learn and will put too much pressure on parents.
Virtual learning does not need to replace classroom learning _____, but it can help students work at their own pace. If students struggle with subjects, they can take those courses online and spend more time on them. Virtual schools can also offer students much more _____ schedules. Students often handle extracurricular activities, sports, and schoolwork, and cyber schools could help them manage everything.
Finally, attending virtual school can prepare students for college and for work after _____. “We need to be responsible for working on our own,” says Angela Goscilo, a senior from Pound Ridge, N.Y. “We need to develop technology skills that will help us in whatever we do. Getting an early start is a good idea.”
1.A. oversees B. suspected C. admitted D. predicted
2.A. tolerated B. launched C. undergone D. transformed
3.A. virtual B. superior C. traditional D. specialized
4.A. agree B. put up C. go D. interfere
5.A. attention B. definition C. foundation D. instruction
6.A. unlimited B. uncivilized C. unrealistic D. unaffected
7.A. turn to B. take over C. take in D. make up
8.A. interactions B. education C. occupation D. identification
9.A. actually B. presently C. naturally D. logically
10.A. examined B. motivated C. exhausted D. represented
11.A. compliment B. award C. supervise D. tempt
12.A. negotiate B. innovate C. control D. excel
13.A. entirely B. partially C. regularly D. purposely
14.A. sustainable B. flexible C. relevant D. optimistic
15.A. school B. study C. graduation D. education
