New Zealand offers free school lunches to thousands of kids

WELLINGTON, Feb. 20 ( Xinhua) – “Thousands of children have begun receiving a free lunch on schooldays under the government’s free and healthy school lunch program,” Prime Minister (首相) Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday.

“The program is for 7 ,000 students at 31 schools right now. The number will extend to 21,000 students in 120 schools by the start of 2021 ,”Ardern said while she was serving up lunch at a school in Hawke’s Bay.

“A full stomach makes all the difference to a child’s learning,” Ardern said.

“Providing a free and healthy lunch at school is one way to help New Zealand become the best place in the world for school children. And people can see that difference right away,” she said. She added that providing these lunches was also a great way for local families to have jobs.

“The program is one of 75 plans from New Zealand’s CYWS ( Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy). It started last year and developed with the money from 10,000 New Zealanders including 6,000 young people,” said Education Minister Chris Hipkins.

1.What kind of writing is it?

A.Story. B.News. C.Email. D.Invitation.

2.The underlined word “extend” here means “__________”.

A.increase B.double C.remain D.fall

3.From the second paragraph, we know that Ardern was __________ when she explained the program.

A.planning for the free lunch program B.giving lunch to the school children

C.thinking how to provide jobs for local families D.collecting money from New Zealanders

4.By “A full stomach makes all the difference to a child’s learning,” Ardern meant that “__________”.

A.learning well mainly depends on eating B.learning to eat a proper lunch is important

C.eating has nothing to do with learming D.children will learm better if they eat well

    People use languages to communicate. Any language has its ways to express people’s minds. One of the ways in common is the use of idioms. An idiom is a group of words. It has a special meaning that is different from the usual meaning. For example, under the weather is an idiom meaning ill. So when people say “I’m under the weather," they are saying that they’re not feeling well. Another example, in all weathers means in all kinds of weather. So, “There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers" tells us that homeless people sleep on the streets no matter whether it is cold or hot.

Different languages may have different ways to make idioms. For people who are learning a foreign language, idioms could cause misunderstandings and bring them endless headaches. On the other hand, if things are done right, idioms can also be a fun way of looking into a new culture and understanding how the people think and talk.

Metaphor (比喻) is often used in idioms. Let’s read the following two examples:

● It makes my blood boil (煮沸) when people litter.

● The night was dark and quiet; my blood ran cold when I heard a strange noise outside at dark night.

In neither situation above, our blood can reach the point so high or so low in temperature. Yet, with the situations the two sentences created, it is not difficult to work out the unhappy feelings of really angry in the first example and very afraid in the second.

Of course, not all idioms are this easy to understand. When we come to idioms of a foreign language, a good dictionary of idioms is always suggested.

1.This passage tells us something about __________ in the English language.

A.grammar B.writing C.reading D.idioms

2.If your brother breaks your computer, you can say to him, “__________.”

A.I’m under the weather B.I’m there in all weathers

C.You’ve made my blood boil D.My blood runs cold

3.What is the writer’s advice when you come to an expression like under the weather?

A.We should look it up in a good idiom dictionary.

B.We should try to express our minds with it.

C.We should find an interesting way to learn it.

D.We should create situations to guess its meaning.

1.The text is witten mainly to__________.

A.keep a diary B.send a postcard

C.introduce the farm D.remember the address

2.At the farm, people can__________.

A.ride and have a walk B.feed the animals and pick fruit

C.relax and go fishing D.cook meals and go swimming

3.Which of the following is true?

A.Beautiful Valley Farm is at 395 Ribera South Road.

B.You can stay at the farm 24 hours a day on weekends.

C.You can stay at the farm at 9 in the evening on weekdays.

D.To know more about the farm, people can call (874) 332- 6876.

    My father told me that there used to be a forest near our town. But the farmer who owned the forest _________ trees every year until one year, there were no trees left.

One day, our teacher took us out and we had a _______ in the field where the forest used to be. While eating and drinking, we _______ about the beautiful forest we once had. One of my classmates comes from a tribe (部落) that lived in the west of our country. He told us what he thought about the change. “It makes me really _________ to learn that a forest has disappeared. My people have taught me to _________think seven generations (七代人) in the future. That’s to say, when we do something to the land, we should never _______it. We must care about nature and leave it good enough for later generations.

When we heard what he said, we kept _______first. "Let’s plant some trees!" said our teacher after a moment. “It will be a good _______!” So that’s what we did. For the rest of the spring, we worked hard and we planted thousands of trees.

That was five years ago. Today, when I stand in that field which was once empty, I see _______ about as tall as I am. It’s great to see how we’ve ________the field. It taught us the power of thinking about the future.

1.A.cut up B.cut down C.looked for D.looked after

2.A.picnic B.test C.wish D.lesson

3.A.planned B.feared C.knew D.talked

4.A.tired B.excited C.sad D.hopeful

5.A.sometimes B.always C.seldom D.never

6.A.protect B.hurt C.study D.sell

7.A.thankful B.happy C.silent D.shy

8.A.start B.mistake C.mess D.warning

9.A.trees B.leaves C.grass D.flowers

10.A.broken B.bought C.wasted D.changed

    If you were ninety years old, what would you plan to do? Few people want to have new challenges (挑战)___________ that age. However, an old man named Jing Kui did something that surprised a lot of people.

As a man of 93, he met a challenge. One day,___________ film director came to him and asked whether he wanted to act in his movie.“___________ in the movie?" asked the old man.

“You’ve been a barber (理发师). I believe you’re the right man for my movie The Barber."

The old man read the script (剧本) before accepting the invitation.___________ he knew the story well, he still needed to keep all the words in mind.___________ was! He finally made it and took home a silver cup for a special acting prize. The movie also _________both national and international prizes.

Jing became a barber when he was young. He loved the job, so he practiced hard___________a better one. In his eighties, he was still doing the same job. That was why he___________ by the film director.

While the film was being made, the director had his worries because he didn’t know_________ Mr. Jing could keep it going. At last, when the filming was done, the director was really pleased. Jing __________solved all his problems! Now Jing set a world record as being a 93-year-old actor star who had never acted before !

1.A.from B.of C.at D.on

2.A.the B./ C.a D.an

3.A.What can I do B.What I can do C.How can I do D.How I can do

4.A.Unless B.Though C.Since D.Until

5.

A.How big the challenge B.What big the challenge

C.How the big challenge D.What the big challenge

6.A.will win B.win C.wins D.won

7.A.be B.act C.to be D.to act

8.A.invites B.invited C.is invited D.was invited

9.A.that B.if C.where D.when

10.A.hard B.hardly C.successful D.successfully

    假定你是李华，你校将举办校园音乐节（music festival）。请给你的好友Alan写一封电子邮件，介绍音乐节的相关内容和主要活动，并邀请他与你一起参加此次音乐节。邮件内容包括：

注意：

l. 词数90左右，开头和结尾己经写好，不计入总词数；

2. 可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；

3. 文中不得出现反映考生信息的真实人名、地名等内容。

参考词汇：摊位  stand    慈善charity

Dear Alan,

How is it going?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours,

Li Hua

    Last Saturday morning, the head teacher called a meeting of parents. On behalf of (代表) the students, I made 1. speech, and I felt very proud of 2..

Now my middle school life comes to an end. This summer, I will go to the U.S. and stay for one year to s3.at an American high school. There I will be in Grade 10. I excited. 4. (同时), I am a little sad because I have to s5. goodbye to my old friends and teachers. I want to t6. some photos with them before I leave and I Will 7. (赠送) many gifts to my friends as well. We will 8. (保持联系) With each other by sending emails, making phone calls or w9. letters.

In the past three years, I have learned a lot 10. my teachers and have had a great time at school. Although we'll set out on our new journey, I will never forget 11. I come from. In the future, I will work m12.  harder. I hope to be a doctor when I 13. (长大). My parents 14. [sə'pɔ:t] me all the time. I believe my dream will 15. (实现, 成为现实)!

        Maybe you should sit down before you read this. It's a little frightening. Your sitting may be killing you.

Health experts say the U.S. adult now sits about 6.5 hours a day. That is up about an hour a day compared to 2007. The news is even worse for teens. They sit eight hours each day. The information was put out by the National Center for Health Statistics. It has collected the numbers for the past 16 years. It is worried about what it has found.

Research shows that people who are not active can get sick. Their bones get weaker. They burn fewer calories (卡路里). That makes them more likely to put on too much weight. They might even get diabetes (糖尿病). They are at risk for high blood pressure and heart problems, too.

Some experts also think sitting too much can influence how your blood moves through your body and how well your body fights off illness. Being active helps in lots of ways. It can make you happier, burn more calories and give you more energy. It can also help you sleep better.

About 60% of people in the U.S. watch at least two hours of TV each day. That number has stayed about the same in recent years.

Computers are the biggest reason for more hours spent sitting. Computer use outside of work or school has gone up for all age groups. Now, 50% of adults spend at least an hour of their free time on a computer each day. That is up from 29% in 2003.

About 53% of teens now spend at least an hour of free time on computers. So do 56% of kids. As many as 1 in 4 people who use computers use one for three hours or more outside of work and school.

So get up, take some breaks and go outside. You might save your life by doing outdoor activities.

1.The text is especially helpful for those who care about ______.

A.their body shape B.their home comforts C.their health D.their food

2.Being active can help people ______.

A.bum more calories B.forget their pressure C.get sick D.treat heart problems

3.What is the text mainly about?

A.Computers are causing health problems. B.Too much sitting is influencing our health.

C.Being more active is good for you and me. D.Sitting means killing.

4.Which one of the following is most probably to be discussed next?

A.The cause of diabetes.

B.Introduce some outdoor activities.

C.Give some examples of losing weight successfully.

D.List some disadvantages of playing computer games.

    Last week, some German parents who took their kids out of school early were stopped by the police at the airport. The police were making reports on students who didn't have permission (许可) to miss school.

Like many places, it is against the law to skip (不参加) school in Germany. Children over the age of 9 can't miss classes without permission from the school. But during busy travel time, some parents take their children out of school early to save money on vacations. People can often save a lot of money on flights and hotels by going at a different time than others.

Last weekend was the beginning of an important holiday period in Germany. People in charge of the schools asked the police to check and make sure that students weren't leaving for vacations before they were allowed to.

Police officers at three German airports looked for families with school-aged children. When they found them, the police pulled the families out of lines to talk with them. They wanted to find out if the parents had permission for the children to be out of school. If the children did not have permission, the police reported the families to their schools and to the government. In all, the police reported about 20 families.

These families will have two weeks to show that it was okay for their children to miss school. If they can't, they may have to pay as much as $1,200 as a fine (罚款), or receive some other punishment.

Germany is not the only place where parents have to pay fines if their children miss school. Many other countries and many of the states in the U.S. have similar laws.

The good news is that the families were allowed to go on vacation after they talked to the police. But they might have a big bill waiting for them when they get back.

1.Why do some German parents take their children out of school early during busy travel times?

A.They can spend more time with their children.

B.Their children will study by themselves.

C.They want to save money.

D.Their children can take online courses.

2.In Paragraph 4, police officers at three German airports wanted to ______.

A.find students who skipped school without permission

B.give punishment to the students there

C.take students back to school

D.wait for school managers

3.Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A.Laws on Vacations in Germany B.Give Your Family a Perfect Vacation

C.Don't Skip School in Germany D.Punishment Goes to Families

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A.A newspaper. B.A science report. C.A travel guide. D.A textbook.

Find a Job This Summer

This summer there are things that students can do to earn some pocket money or to help others. Also, many programs are offered by provincial government and its partners to help students find summer jobs. Here are a few ideas.

Deliver Newspapers

Teenagers can deliver newspapers—usually you ride a bike around a neighborhood and leave the newspaper at each house. Normally you have to have your own bike—and you have to get up early too, because people want their newspapers to read with their breakfast. If you are 15-18 and return to school this fall, you can find jobs of this kind.

Wash Cars

It's crazy for adults to drive to an expensive car wash when they can get a teenager to do the job for less money. Wash the car well and carefully and people will want you to do it again. Then you've got customers!

Give Older People a Hand

Lots of older people are happy for teenagers to help them carry their shopping or do small  things for them, like washing or keeping them company (陪伴). You earn money or not, and people in the neighborhood get your help.

Job Programs

If you are a student living in certain communities of the province, you are lucky. There are programs that provide four weeks of paid jobs along with training. After that, you can start and run your own summer business, and you have a chance of winning awards of up to $1000. Go to the government website to learn more about these programs. People under 25 could build skills, find a job or start businesses all year round.

They are all great ideas. Just choose one of them to make some money. Then spend it or save it. But don't forget it's important always to tell an adult where you are going.

1.What is special about Deliver Newspapers?

A.It requires one to get up early. B.It needs patience and strong body.

C.It offers help to neighbors. D.It gives training before work.

2.Which one provides training?

A.Deliver Newspapers. B.Wash Cars. C.Give Older People a Hand. D.Job Programs.

3.What can you learn from the passage?

A.It's hard for teenagers to find jobs. B.The elders don't want help from teenagers.

C.Washing cars is the best choice for teenagers. D.Whatever you want to do, safety comes first.