Soon after you have your first child, the question of having a second one is raised by friends and family. However, as the pattern of having two children in a family is challenged by modern family units, there are a few reasons why it is not selfish to want only one child.
Today, the role of women has changed a lot. But nowadays, a wife has to help her husband earn the bread and butter as well as well as looking after her family. In demanding times like these, a woman has to put in more physical and emotional effort than any other member of the family.
Raising a child comes at a cost that remains only heard of, until you find yourself paying it. The good reality of double income with no kids suddenly comes crashing down when there is a child involved in the picture. When one parent (the mother) needs to take some time off to look after the newborn, only one person becomes the earning member. Of course, the expenses went up rapidly. According to Susan Newman, PhD, a social psychologist, the average cost of raising a child is $227,000 from birth to college.
Most young mothers also think that having one child would mean that there is more income for the child, and thus, better facilities can be provided. It is much easier to educate a single child at a good school, and give him/her better life with more resources at hand.
With several children in the house, it becomes increasingly difficult to find ways to spend time with all of them. Dividing your time with just one child means that you can devote a little more time to doing the things you want to. In a single child unit, there are less comparison and more chances for positive motivation to learn new things. A happy child, who deserves the rightful attention, love, care, and time from both the parents, always gets a meaningful childhood, for both the parents and the child.
1.What does the writer mainly want to tell us in the passage?
A.It is not selfish to have only one child in a family.
B.Raising a child costs a lot nowadays.
C.It is more difficult to raise several children in a family.
D.Women are playing a more important role in the family than before.
2.What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.A family with several children can give parents a meaningful life.
B.The only child in a family can more easily get a wonderful childhood.
C.A family with only one child is surely better than a family with several children.
D.You can be more relaxed with several children.
3.Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage to support the writer’s opinion?
A.better education. B.meaningful childhood.
C.less generation gap. D.better care.
4.Which of the following is the right structure of the passage?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Do you sometimes put off doing your homework on a school night to watch TV？A new study says that middle school students who watch TV or play video games during the weekdays do worse in school.
The study also says that watching TV and playing video games on weekends don’t affect school performance that much.
“On weekdays, the more they watched, the worse they did,” said Dr. Iman Sharif of Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York. “They could watch a lot on weekends and it didn’t seem to connect with doing worse in school.”
The study appears in October issue of Pediatrics. Researchers drew their conclusions after surveying 4,500 students in New Hampshire and Vermont middle schools.
To reach their findings, researchers didn’t look at grades or test scores. Instead, they asked students to rate their own performance on a scale ranging from “excellent” to “below average”.
Other studies have found a connection between kids’ ability to learn and the amount of TV they watch. One study even found that kids with televisions in their bedrooms scored about eight points lower on math and language arts tests than kids without. What should a kid do?The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids watch TV no more than two hours and that televisions be kept out of children’s rooms. Weekends viewing should be kept to four hours at most each day.
1.The passage mainly talks about the relationships between .
A.TV watching and students’ character training
B.TV watching and students’ school performance
C.students’ communicating skills and TV watching
D.kids’ mental development and TV watching
2.What can be concluded from the passage?
A.Kids can watch TV as long as they wish on the weekends.
B.Kids can watch TV longer on the weekends than on weekdays.
C.Kids should not be allowed to watch TV on the weekends.
D.Kids can watch TV during the weekdays in their rooms for a long time.
3.The purpose of keeping televisions out of children’s room is to .
A.protect the TV sets from being broken by kids B.prevent the kids from playing video games on TV
C.limit the time of TV the kids watch D.provide the kids with the quietness they need to study
4.Who is likely to have excellent school performance according to the passage?
A.A student putting off doing homework on a school night to watch TV.
B.A student who watches TV 4 hours a day.
C.A kid who has TV set in his own room.
D.None of the above.
Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loved experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer.” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out.” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine –one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, “so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colors, shifting and changing and then two big white words appeared in the center of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead.” A new message appeared on the screen:
ENTER NAMES
VOYAGER 1: … VOYAGER 2: …
Mark’s fingers flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
INPUT ACCEPTED. START TRANSPORT PROGRAM. AUTO-RETRIEVE INITIATED（自动回收程序已启动）
The screen turned even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled, reaching for the power switch. He was really frightened.
But his hand never reached the switch. A single beam of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow (光芒), until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed.
TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL. DESTINATION: MARS. RETRIEVE DATE: 2025.
1.Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?
A.He wanted to take a voyage. B.He wanted to practice his skill.
C.He was so much attracted by it. D.He was eager to do an experiment.
2.Mark thought SPACE TRANSPORTER on the screen was the name of .
A.a computer game B.a company website
C.a software producer D.an astronomy program
3.Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?
A.He was afraid of being scolded.
B.He didn’t like the loud noise and light.
C.He didn’t want to play games any more.
D.He was afraid something dangerous might happen.
4.What happened to the boys at the end of the story?
A.They were blown into the air.
B.They were sent to another planet.
C.They were hidden in the strong light.
D.They were carried away to another country
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and her family have just ended their one-week trip in China. The whole world has paid attention to the two elegant and beautiful first ladies who have made a difference in the relationship between China and the U.S.A.
Mrs. Obama has visited the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, and the pandas. She has tasted Peking Duck and experienced some other Chinese traditional culture. It is hoped that this trip to China can bring a real understanding of our eastern world to the first family of the United States.
Today, the number of exchange students between China and the U.S. has reached more than 4 million every year. There are more than 11,000 people traveling to and from each side of the Pacific. If the two countries can increase the exchange in travel, language, cuisine, and cultural understanding, this will help a lot in improving the understanding between the two countries.
Education was an important theme of Mrs. Obama’s visit, and it is crucial to the development of Sino-US relationship. China has an ancient tradition of placing a high value on education, and the first lady herself is an outstanding example of a person who changed her own destiny through education. She took education as the key theme of her speech at Peking University, encouraging students from the two countries to learn more about and get wider experience of each other.
1.The whole world has paid attention to the two wonderful ladies because ________.
A.they are elegant and beautiful
B.they have made a difference in the relationship between China and the U.S.A.
C.they pay attention to education
D.they hope students can learn from each other
2.Mrs. Obama has visited the following places except________.
A.Terracotta Warriors B.the Forbidden City
C.the Great Wall D.the Summer Palace
3.The theme of Mrs. Obama’s speech at Peking University is_________.
A.education B.understanding
C.Sino-US relationship D.exchange students
4.What might be the best title of this passage?
A.China’s First Lady Welcome U.S First Lady B.U.S First Lady Michal Obama visit China
C.The Two First Ladies Pay Attention to Education D.Two First Ladies Meet Happily in Beijing
Do you know what a castle is? A castle is a building special to Europe. Castles were built in the Middle Ages by king and other powerful people who live in. Castles were used by people to protect themselves from their enemies. They are big buildings made form stone and wood.
Today there are still castles all over Europe. Some are in ruins. But some built later are still in good repair and used even today. One example is Windsor Castle, which is a home to the British queen. It is in the country or Berkshire, not far from London.
Castles have walls around them. In the old days, soldiers would stand on the walls to guard the people in the castle. If enemies came they would shoot arrows and throw stones at them. Castles also had moats. A moat is a river around the wall that makes it difficult for enemies to get in. It could be either dry or filled with water.
Other people from younger countries love European castles. In the US there are rich people who have brought broken parts of castles to their country and rebuilt them. And some people build “replica” castles — modern copies of Castle.
You probably know the Disneyland Castle in California, US. But did you know it is based on a famous castle in Germany built by King Ludwig Ⅱof Bavaria?
1.Which of the following is TRUE about the castle?
A.It is a special American building.
B.It is made from stone and paper.
C.Only king used to live in it.
D.People used it to protect themselves.
2.We can tell from the story that a moat is _______.
A.a wall B.a soldier
C.a river D.a stone
3.According to the passage we can know that_______.
A.there are castles only in some European countries now
B.in the US, there used to be castles in the Middle Ages
C.in the US, the people rebuilt the old castles or build the modern ones
D.the Disneyland castle is built in Germany
4.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.The history of Windsor castles. B.Facts about castles.
C.The king and the castles. D.How to build castles.
People give gifts in almost all societies. Some gifts are expensive, as they may take months to create. Others are of less ______ , such as birthday cards. In some cultures, there are certain rules about gift exchange. In Pakistan, for example, there is a tradition called “taking giving”. It ______ this way：You give the newly-married couple a gift, and they “repay（回报）”you with a gift of higher value. Then you give the couple another gift. This one should be worth the difference between the first two gifts.
Today presidents usually bring gifts when they ______ a foreign leader. Leaders bring gifts to strengthen relationships between ______ .
Gifts can also send special messages. For example, gifts can tell people that we are thinking of them and that we want them to feel_______ . Sometimes a gift makes us remember the giver. The gift keeps the_____ of a special person and a special relationship alive．
There is no doubt about the good side of gift giving. That is why some people don’t ______ the idea that modern gift giving is very wasteful. It is ______ that there is an emotional benefit for people who exchange gifts. That is surely enough of a reason for the tradition to continue.
1.A.power B.help C.fun D.value
2.A.works B.stands C.judges D.ends
3.A.discover B.like C.trust D.visit
4.A.countries B.cities C.villages D.families
5.A.lucky B.special C.safe D.strong
6.A.wealth B.happiness C.memory D.growth
7.A.turn down B.give up C.think over D.agree with
8.A.clear B.strange C.popular D.serious
