Carmen Arace Middle School is situated in the pastoral
town of Bloomfield, Conn., but four years ago it fac
ed many of the same problems as inner-city
schools in nearby Hartford: low scores on standardized tests and dropping
enrollment（入学注册）. Then the school’s hard-driving
headmaster, Delores Bolton, persuaded her board to shake up the place by buying
a laptop computer for each student and teacher to use, in school and at home.
What’s more, the board provided wireless Internet access at school. Total cost:
$2.5 million.
Now, an hour before classes start, every seat in the library is taken by students who cannot wait for getting online. Fifth-grade teacher Jen Friday talks about different kinds of birds as students view them at a colorful website. After school, students on buses pull laptops from backpacks to get started on homework. Since the computer arrived, enrollment is up 20%. Scores on state tests are up 35%.
Indeed, school systems in rural Maine and New York City also hope to follow Arace Middle School’s example. Governor Angus King had planned using $50 million to buy a laptop for all of Maine’s 17,000 seventh-graders – and for new seventh-graders each fall.
In the same spirit, the New York City board of education voted on April 12 to create a school Internet portal（入口）, which would make money by selling ads and licensing public school students. Profits（盈利）will also provide e-mail service for the city’s 1.1 million public school students. Profits will be used to buy laptops for each of the school system’s 87,000 fourth-graders. Within nine years, all students in grades 4 and higher will have their own computers.
Back in Bloomfield, in the meantime, most of the kinks have been worked out. Some students were using their computers to visit unauthorized（非法的）websites. But teachers have the ability to keep an eye on where students have been on the Web and to stop them. “That is the worst when they disable you,” says eighth-grade honors student Jamie Bassell. The habit is rubbing off on parents. “I taught my mom to use e-mail,” says another eighth-grader, Katherine Hypolite. “And now she’s taking computer classes. I’m so proud of her!”
1.The example of Carmen Arace Middle School in the passage is used to ______.
A. show the problems schools are faced with today
B. prove that a school without high enrollment can do well
C. express the importance of computers in modern education
D. tell that laptops can help improve students’ school performance
2.According to the writer, students in New York City’s public schools will ______.
A. enjoy e-mail servi
ce
in the near future
B. make money by selling ads on websites
C. all have their own laptops within nine years
D. become more interested in their studies with laptops
3.The underlined word “kinks” in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
A. plans B. projects C. problems D. products
4.From the passage we learn that ______.
A. a school Internet portal is the key to a laptop program
B. the laptop program also has a good influence on parents
C. students slowly accept the fact their online activities controlled
D. the laptop program in public school is mainly for the eighth-graders
When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who has wings of their own and who will fly with me.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say, “Let’s start with a train whistle（鸣笛）today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social persons and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair（失望）and I was in despair, too. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not travel over this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had a great friend whose imagination brightens mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind.
It is such comforting companions（陪伴）I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist, who will only fill up the healing silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be with my own best friend.
1.We can infer from Paragraph 2 that the writer ______ finally.
A. wasn’t serious about her studies
B. didn’t like writing poems or stories
C. became popular with her classmates
D. developed her proper social behaviors
2.The underlined sentence “We gave London to each other” probably means ______.
A. our tour in London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared
C. we were unwilling to stay away from London
D. we waved goodbye to each other in London
3.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Unforgettable Experiences.
B. Unbelievable Imagination.
C. Touching Companions.
D. Lifelong Friendship.
It is well-known that the “prom”, a formal dance held at the end of high school or college, is an important date in every student’s life. What is less well-known is that the word “prom” comes from the verb “to promenade”, which means to walk around, beautifully dressed, in order to attract attention. The idea is that you should see and be seen by others.
The prom is not just an American tradition, though most people believe that it started in America. In Canada the event is called a “formal”. In Britain and Australia the old fashioned word “dance” is more and more frequently being referred to as a “prom”. Most countries have some form of celebration when students finish high school: after all, it means the end of life as a child, and the beginning of life as an adult.
The prom is expensive to organize and the tickets can cost students a lot of money. The tradition is that students themselves have to raise the money to pay for it. Selling the students newspapers is one way to raise money; so is taking a part-time job at the weekend.
Although the prom should be the experience of a
lifetime, it also worries many students. There is the problem of what to wear,
who to take as your partner, who will be voted “prom queen”, etc. And it is not
only students who feel worried. What many parents find difficult is the
realization that their children’s school days are almost over. How
ever,
for most people at the prom, once the music starts playing, everyone relaxes
and stops worrying.
1.In which country is the prom called a “formal”?
A. America. B. Canada. C. Britain. D. Australia.
2.Why is the prom important in the students’ lives?
A. It’s the sign of becoming an adult.
B. It’s an old tradition in many countries.
C. There are many problems to work out.
D. The students can raise money by themselves.
3.What is the passage mainly about?
A. The history of the prom.
B. The traditions of the prom.
C. The development of the prom.
D. The general information of the prom.
Take a look at our library! Our library is open to everyone and the library card is free.
Books ☆ books in 36 languages
☆ information about the world
☆ all kinds of stories
☆ picture books for children
☆ novels
– You can enjoy newspapers and magazines in the reading room.
– You can borrow two books at a time and keep them for three weeks.
Videos ◆ all kinds of video films
◆ music videos
◆ TV plays
– You can enjoy yourself and watch your favorite videos at home.
– You can rent a video at two yuan for a week.
Audios music for everyone
language cassettes; 42 world languages
– Special rooms for you to enjoy listening. CDs and cassettes can be borrowed – FREE.
– You can borrow one CD or one cassette at a time and keep it for one week.
E-books ● many different kinds of e-books
● e-newspapers and e-magazines
– You can browse all the e-books in the computer room – FREE.
1.How many books can you borrow at a time?
A. One. B. Two. C. Three. D. Four.
2.How much should you pay if you keep two videos for a week?
A. Two yuan. B. Three yuan. C. Four yuan. D. Free.
3.What can you do in the computer room?
A. Enjoy music videos. B. Borrow some books.
C. Enjoy e-books. D. Borrow some CDs.
My father had a small business, employing（雇用）fifteen people at any given time. We sold all kinds of milk products. I had worked for my father since I was young, did all seven kids in my family.
One day, we had a new employee, Debbie, who wanted to work in the store for the summer. She had done this type of work before, but planned to give it her all.
On her first day, Debbie made just about every mistake in the . She charged the wrong prices for items, she gave the wrong bag of food to the wrong customer, and she and broke a half gallon of milk. The torture（折磨）of watching her fighting her way was too much for me. I went into my father’s office and said, “Please go out there and put her out of her misery（苦恼）.” I him to walk right into the store and let her go away from our store.
Since my father’s office was situated within view of the sales counter, he had surely what I was talking about. He sat, , for a moment. Then he got up from his desk and walked over to Debbie, who was standing behind the counter.
“Debbie,” he said, as he put his hand on her shoulder. “I have been watching you all day, and I saw how you Mrs. Forbush.”
Debbie’s face turned red and
tears began to in her eyes as she tried hard to
remember Mrs. Forbush from the many women she had given the wrong change to or
drop off her milk onto the floor.
My father continued, “I’ve never seen Mrs. Forbush be
so to any one of my employees before
.
You really knew how to deal with her. I am sure that she is going to want you
to her every time she comes in. Keep up the good
work.”
In return for being a wise and kind employer, my father got a trusty and hardworking employee for fifteen years … and a friend for life.
1.A. unless B. neither C. as D. nor
2.A. already B. yet C. never D. ever
3.A. vision B. book C. spirit D. position
4.A. dropped B. lost C. touched D. missed
5.A. encouraged B. forced C. expected D. influenced
6.A. followed B. seen C. guessed D. heard
7.A. careful B. upset C. angry D. thoughtful
8.A. gently B. seriously C. lightly D. directly
9.A. accepted B. agreed C. treated D. considered
10.A. run B. well C. appear D. rise
11.A. funny B. hopeless C. rude D. polite
12.A. wait on
B. look after
C.
stand for
D. depend on
The house ______ I live in is very small.
A. that B. whom C. when D. where
