We are told breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and dinner the most enjoyable. But what about lunch? In today’s fast-paced society, not many people take time to enjoy this midday meal. We just take a quick salad, or buy a sandwich and eat at our computers. Sometimes, if there is a deadline around the corner, we just give up lunch. The development of technology hasn’t done our eating habits much good, either. We are constantly distracted（分神） by e-mails, social media, 24-hour news, and hand-held electronic devices.
Long working hours can cause all kinds of health problems. Employers should encourage workers to take time off for lunch. This is because long lunch breaks can benefit both people and society. To take a lunch break is to slow down and gain some views. A break from work allows us to think cleverly and outside the box. It also puts our daily tasks into a wider context（环境）.
What we eat at lunch is also important. A fast-food lunch is more harmful than not having lunch at all. And it’s not just about calories and unhealthy food. Recent studies show that fast food also has negative effects on how we think. However, if we sit down at a proper restaurant and chat leisurely with colleagues, we are more likely to slow down and talk about something that hardly can be achieved in a noisy and crowded fast food chain.
1.Do many people take time to enjoy the midday meal?
2.What can cause all kinds of health problems?
3.Why should employers encourage workers to take time off for lunch?
4.Which is more harmful, having a fast-food lunch or not having lunch at all?
5.What are the writer’s suggestions?
It is learnt from the experiences that kids get much more than just keeping fit when they play sports. Many people think that sports will waste time, and kids will not concentrate on their studies. 1. . Exercise improves memory, learning and concentration, which can give active kids an advantage in classrooms.
Children who play sports learn more about team work. They start learning the importance of working together. 2., and how much one should struggle (Ŭ��) to reach that goal. Playing sports builds confidence and a positive attitude within kids.
3., and help them to be more social. This practice makes them mentally and physically strong, which keeps their mind healthy. Martial arts (����) can teach kids patience. 4. , and it makes them stronger mentally.
A.Children also learn from sports how to set a goal in life
B.However, kids who play sports do better in school
C.Swimming can make their shoulders very strong
D.Children who play sports usually waste their time
E.Besides, sports help kids to make new friends
People have used pigeons to carry messages to one another for hundreds of years. In the 12th century, the royal palaces of Iraq and Syria included pigeon houses so the kings could be kept informed of their generals’ victories and defeats on the battlefield. In fact, pigeons were a common way to send messages right up through World War II.
Many countries, such as the United States, England, France, Germany, and Italy, in both World War I and World War II, used carrier pigeons. Not only were the birds often the fastest, most reliable way to send messages, they could also be used to reach soldiers far behind enemy lines, where radios and field telephone lines were useless. Since they could easily be released (释放) from airplanes or ships, every branch of the armed services used the birds. In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers and 150 officers were needed to care for and train the tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. Pigeon Service.
Carrying messages could be a dangerous job. Some pigeons performed with such bravery that they became famous and were even awarded medals, such as England’s Dicken Medal of Gallantry. In a few cases, pigeons even became prisoners of war. In 1918 American forces captured a pigeon named Kaiser, which had been trained to fly special missions for Germany during battle. He was taken to America, where he lived to the age of 32. The most famous pigeon of all may have been Cher Ami. Stationed in France during World War I, he carried twelve important messages for American forces. On his last mission, though wounded, he carried a message that saved the lives of 194 American soldiers. For his extraordinary service, he was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre.”
Carrier pigeons are a slightly different breed (品种) from the kind of pigeons you see on city streets. They are much thinner and taller, with longer legs. Many people find carrier pigeons ugly because of their big wattle, a bent buildup of skin on the beak（鸟嘴）; however, people who raise pigeons often enjoy this strange appearance and consider carriers the best of their breed.
Today, modern communication methods can carry information from one place to another hundreds of times faster than a pigeon could do. However, few people would argue with the fact that carrier pigeons—especially those that served in the military—have earned their place in history. Stories about brave pigeons such as Cher Ami, President Wilson, and Colonel’s Lady have the power to inspire us as no fax machine or high-speed Internet connection could ever do.
1.Many countries used carrier pigeons in the war because_______.
A．they could be believed in
B．they were easily raised
C．they could reach the enemy lines
D．they could hardly be found by airplanes
2.Which is the best example to show the bravery of carrier pigeons?
A．Carrier pigeons could fly to places where radios and telephone lines were useless.
B．For his extraordinary service, Cher Ami was awarded the French “Croix de Guerre”.
C．In World War II, more than 3,000 soldiers were needed to care for and train the pigeons.
D．In the 12th century, kings in Iraq were kept informed of the victories and defeats by pigeons.
3.From the passage, we can learn _________.
A．how carrier pigeons developed in history
B．how to train carrier pigeons to get victory
C．carrier pigeons played an important role in the wars in the old days
D．pigeons inspired soldiers to fight before high-speed Internet invented
"Earworms", some people call them. Songs that get stuck in your head go round and round, sometimes for days, sometimes for months. For no clear reason you cannot help yourself from humming or singing a tune by Lady Gaga.
To a psychologist, the most interesting thing about earworms is that they show a part of our mind that is clearly outside of our control. Earworms arrive without permission and refuse to leave when we tell them to. They are parasites (寄生虫) living in a part of our minds.
If you have got an earworm you can suffer an attack of it simply by someone mentioning the tune, without having to hear it. This proves that earworms are a part of long-term memory. Humans have an "inner ear", for remembering phone numbers, for instance. When it gets infected with earworms, rather than review our plans for the day, or lists of things to remember, the inner ear gets stuck on a few short bars of music or a couple of phrases from a song. A part of us that we normally do not have to think about, that should just do what we ask, has been turned against us, upsetting us with a request that we never asked for. The mind is an inner world which we do not have complete knowledge of, or have control over.
Fortunately psychology can provide some advice on how to deal with an uncontrollable mind. Consider the famous "don’t think of a white bear" problem, which tells you to try not to think about white bears, or to do something else, to avoid both thinking of the white bear and not thinking of the white bear. For earworms, the solution may be the same. Our inner ear has become infected with an earworm. This is a part not under our control, so just sending in instructions to "shut up" is unlikely to be of much help (and has been shown to make it worse). Much better is to employ the inner ear in another task. If your mind is poisoned by Brittany Spears’ Toxic, for instance, then try singing Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out Of My Head. Let me know if it works!
1.According to the passage, earworms are ______.
A．songs that keep going round in our mind
B．worms that live in a part of our brain
C．tunes by pop singers like Lady Gaga
D．parasites clearly under our control
2.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．Singing songs may get earworms out of your head.
B．Earworms are used for keeping long-term memory.
C．Humans do not have complete control over their mind.
D．You won’t suffer from earworms unless you hear the song.
3.What does “it” in the last paragraph refer to?
A．The instruction to shut up your mind.
B．“Don’t think of the white bear” problem.
C．Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You out Of My Head.
D．Using the earworm-infected inner ear in another task.
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A．The causes and influences of earworms.
B．What earworms are and how to deal with them.
C．How to clear earworms out of your head.
D．The relation between earworms and popular songs.
What would happen if you tried to blow a soap bubble in freezing weather? Would it freeze solid(固体) and fall to the ground? Would you have to hit it to break it? These questions happened to me on a cold winter day. It was too cold to play in the snow, but it was a perfect time to experiment with blowing frozen bubbles.
To blow frozen bubbles, I used dishwashing soap and a drop of glycerin（甘油） to make it even better. I chose a place out of the wind, and blew bubbles the same way I always do. I watched to see what would happen. Here’s what I learned.
If the temperature is low enough, the skin of the bubbles frosts over (结霜), becoming cloudy instead of clear. And what about those rainbow swirls（旋转） you see in soap bubbles? The rainbow colors stay even when the bubbles frost, but they don’t swirl anymore. The bubbles still stay in the air. They don’t fall to the ground any faster than they would on a warm summer day.
When these frozen bubbles break, they don’t turn into small water drops as summer bubbles do. They turn into flashing rainbow confetti（碎屑） and move slowly to the ground. Sometimes a frozen bubble will roll across the snow without breaking. If nothing disturbs the bubble, it may stay there for a long time. Sometimes I could catch a bubble and hold it until the heat of my hand made it pop.
I learned another thing about blowing frozen bubbles. It’s so interesting that I want to try it again next year.
1.It is the perfect time to blow frozen bubbles on a ___________day.
A．cold winter B．warm spring C．hot summer D．sunny autumn
2.When the frozen bubbles break, _________.
A．they make a big sound B．they turn into small drops
C．they fall to the ground like rain D．they become rainbow confetti
3.The purpose of the passage is _______.
A．to learn how to do a science experiment
B．to show the experiment of blowing frozen bubbles
C．to discover games that are fun to play in the snow
D．to invent a new kind of soap that makes stronger bubbles
My Classroom Wheel Teachers 2012~2013
Welcome to My Art Class!
My Classroom Mission(任务)
We will learn about art history, artists and develop students’ talent. In order to learn, be creative and improve our painting skills, we will have a relaxing classroom.
Name: Kathy Grady
Email Address: kgrady@iss.k12.nc.us Welcome to Pope’s Computer Lab!
My Classroom Mission
Students will work together and actively take part in designing the computer programs. By doing this we will be able to use computer technology successfully in our lives.
Name: Barbara Pope
Email Address: bpope@iss.k12.nc.us
Welcome toMyPE class!
My Classroom Mission
Be active in PE classes! You do not have to be an Olympic athlete to get an A in my class. Take part in our sports activities to keep a healthy body and mind. All students will be successful.
Name: Sherry Cash
Email Address: scash@iss.k12.nc.us Welcome to the Science Lab!
My Classroom Mission
This year we will learn about science by becoming a scientist. We will do experiments, observe, touch, listen, and ask questions about our world. We will learn to care for our world. We will never give up trying!
Name: Denise Harris
Email Address: dharris@iss.k12.nc.us
1.In order to improve___________, the students will have a relaxing classroom.
A．painting skills B．computer programs C．sports activities D．science studies
2.We can email at ________ to get more information about computer class.
A．dharris@iss.k12.nc.us B．kgrady@iss.k12.nc.us
C．bpope@iss.k12.nc.us D．scash@iss.k12.nc.us
3.Students should go to __________ class to learn to do experiment.
A．Barbara Pope’s B．Sherry Cash’s C．Kathy Grady’s D．Denise Harris’
