A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors.
On one side stand those who see clothes dryers(干衣机) as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment. As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I –can do environmentalism(环境保护主义).”
On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at. They have persuaded Homeowners Associations (HOAs) access the U.S. to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood. This had led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines.
So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline. Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be move.
Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious(有生态意识的) person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants. His family also uses a clothesline. But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighlzir had telephoned them about him clothesline. The Recks paid no attention to the warming and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard. “Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters in their own hands,” says Reck. The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them.
North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do. But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods. They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall.
Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change. As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful”. Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged. We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming.”
1.One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ham clothesline drying is that
____.
A. clothes dryers are more efficient B. clothesline drying reduces home value
C. clothes dryers are energy-saving D. clothesline drying is not allowed in most U.S. states
2.Which of the following best describes Matt Reck?
A. He is a kind-hearted man. B. He is an impolite man.
C. He is and experienced gardener. D. He is a man of social responsibility.
3.Who are in favor of clothesline drying?
A. housing businesses. B. Environmentalists.
C. Homeowners Associations. D. Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors.
4.What is mainly discussed in the text?
A. Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money.
B. Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered.
C. Opposite opinions on clothesline drying.
D. Different varieties of clotheslines.
For a while, my neighborhood was taken ever by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army. I’m not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet a real pounding（追击）ruining down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts”Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week: it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
1.From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood ______.
A. jogging became very popular B. people jogged only during the daytime
C. Alex organized an army of joggers
D. jogging provided a chance to get together
2.The underlined word “them”(Paragraph 3) most probably refers to _____.
A. heart attacks B. Back problems C. famous joggers D. physical weaknesses
3.What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
A. He felt it was worth a try. B. He was very fond of it.
C. He was strongly against it. D. He thought it must be painful.
4.Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
A. He disliked doing exercise outside.
B. He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
C. He was afraid of having a heart attack.
D. He was worried about being left alone.
5.From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that______.
A. not everyone enjoys jogging
B. he is the only person who hates jogging
C. nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit
D. jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport.
A Brown University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools: Don’t start classes so early in the morning. It may not be that the students who nod off at their desks are lazy. And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce (确保) bedtime. Instead, it may be that biologically these sleepyhead students aren’t used to the early hour.
“Maybe these kids me being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies,” says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent (青春期的) sleep at Brown’s School of Medicine.
Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents. And, at a more basic level. she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns.
Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought.
Sleep patters change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove. Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at nigh and sleep later in the morning. But it’s not just a matter of choice –their bodies are going through a change of sleep patters.
All of this makes the transfer from middle school to high school—which may start one hour earlier in the morning ---- all the more difficult , Carskadon says. With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the “sleep late, rise late” pattern, adolescent are up against difficulties when it conics to trying to be up by 5 or 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. first hell. A short sleep on a desktop may be their body’s way of saying. “I need a timeout.”
1.Carskadon suggests that high schools should not start classes so early in the morning because ________.
A. it is really tough for parents to enforce bedtime
B. it is biologically difficult for students to rise early
C. students work so late at night that they can’t get up early
D. students are so lazy that they don’t like to go to school early
2.The underlined phrase “nod off” most probably means “ _______”.
A. turn around B. agree with others C. full asleep
D. refuse to work
3.What might be a reason for the hard transfer middle school to high school?
A. Adolescents depend more on their parents.
B. Adolescents have to choose their sleep patterns.
C. Adolescents sleep better than they did at childhood.
D. Adolescents need more sleep than they used to.
4.What is the test mainly about?
A. Adolescent heath care. B. Problems in adolescent learning.
C. Adolescent sleep difficulties. D. Changes in adolescent sleep needs and patterns.
Below is a discussion on a website.
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http://www.TalkingPoints.com/ |
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Stuck on a desert island? |
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Started on 23rd April by Steve Posts 1 – 7 of 42 |
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Post 1 Steve USA |
Hi, everyone. What would you miss most and least if you were stuck on a desert island? For me, it would be the changing seasons in New England. I guess this will sound stupid but I’d probably miss the rain, too. I wouldn’t miss getting up at six every day to go to work, though! What about you? |
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Post 2 Tomas Germany |
Good question. Steve, I think I’d miss different types of bread, and shopping at the supermarket. I’d miss the food most. What would I miss least? My mobile phone---I’d like to be completely quiet --- at least for a little while |
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Post 3 Paola Italy |
I would miss the company of people because I know I’d like to have someone to share experiences with. I’d go mad on my own. And I sure wouldn’t miss junk mail(垃圾邮件) --- I hate coming home every evening and a pile of junk mail in my post box. |
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Post 4 Miko Japan |
Hi, I would miss Manga cartoon, the internet and Japanese food, like sushi. I’d also miss TV shows and shopping for clothes… In fact, I’d miss everything. |
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Post 5 Roger UK |
I would miss my daily newspaper and listening to the news on TV and radio. I’d feel very cut off if I didn’t know what was happening in the world. What I’d miss least would be traffic jams in the city, particularly my journey to work. |
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Past 6 Jayne |
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned their family? I’d be lost without my husband and two kids. They’re the most important for me. And I can’t get started in the morning without a cup of black coffee. I wouldn’t miss doing the housework! |
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Post 7 Jaime Mexico |
It would have to be music. I couldn’t live without my music. I wouldn’t miss going to school at all or doing homework! |
1.Who would miss his or her family most?
A. Jaime B. Jayne C. Miko D. Paola.
2.Which of the following people would feel most uncomfortable without the news media?
A. Steve. B. Jaime C. Roger. D. Tomas
3.How many of them mentioned that they would miss food or drink?
A. One B. Two C. Three D. Four
Adrian’s “Amazing Race” started early when his parents realized that he, as a baby, couldn’t hear a thing, not even loud noises. In a special school for the hearing-impaired (听觉受损的)，he learned sign language and got to mix with other disabled children. However, the sight of all the disabled children communicating with one another upset his mother. She wanted him to lead a normal life. So after speaking to an advisor, she sent him to private classes where he learned to read lips and pronounce words.
Later on, Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a regular school. But the headmaster tried to prevent them from doing so, saying regular school couldn’t take care of a special needs students. His parents were determined to take the risk and push him hard to go through his work everyday because they wanted to prove that, given the opportunity, he could do anything. Adrian made the grade and got accepted. It was a big challenge. The pace （节奏）was faster so he had to sit at the front of the class and really pay attention to the teacher, which wasn’t always easy. But he stuck to it and did a lot of extra work after school.
The efforts made by Adrian and his parents paid off. Adrian graduated with good grades and got into a top high school. He also achieved a lot in life outside school. He developed a love for the outdoors and went to Nepal to climb mountains. He even entered the World Yacht Race 05/06--- being the first hearing-impaired Asian to do so.
But none of these achievements would have been possible without one of the most important lessons from his mother.” “If you believe in yourself and work hard, you can achieve great results.” She often said.
1.How did Adrian communicate with other children in the special school?
A. By speaking. B. By using sign language
C. By reading lips D. By making loud noises
2.Adrian’s parents decided to send him to a regular school because .
A. they wanted him to live a normal life
B. they wanted to prove the headmaster wrong
C. he wouldn’t mix with other disabled children
D. he wasn’t taken good care of in the special school
3.How did Adrian finally succeed in his study?
A. He did a lot of outdoor activities.
B. He was pushed hard to study every day.
C. He attended private classes after school.
D. He worked very hard both in and after class
4.Why is Adrian’s life described as an “Amazing Race”?
A. He did very well in his study
B. He succeeded in entering a regular school
C. He reached his goals in spite of his disability
D. He took part in the World Yacht Race 05/06
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
In the depths of my memory, many things I did with my father still live. These things come to represent, in fact, what I call __1__and love.
I don’t remember my father ever getting into a swimming tool. But he did __2__the water. Any kind of __3__ride seemed to give him pleasure. __4__he loved to fish; sometimes he took me along.
But I never really liked being on the water, the way my father did. I liked being __5__the water, moving through it, __6__it all around me. I was not a strong __7__, or one who learned to swim early, for I had my __8__. But I loved being in the swimming pool close to my father’s office and __9__those summer days with my father, who __10__ come by on a break. I needed him to see what I could do. My father would stand there in his suit, the __11__person not in swimsuit.
After swimming, I would go __12__ his office and sit on the wooden chair in front of his big desk, where he let me __13__anything I found in his top desk drawer. Sometimes, if I was left alone at his desk __14__ he worked in the lab, an assistant or a student might come in and tell me perhaps I shouldn’t be playing with his _15__. But my father always __16__and said easily, “Oh, no, it’s __17__.” Sometimes he handed me coins and told me to get __18__ an ice cream…
A poet once said, “We look at life once, in childhood,; the rest is __19__.” And I think it is not only what we “look at once, in childhood” that determines our memories, but __20__, in that childhood, look at us.
1.A. desire B. joy C. anger D. worry
2.A. avoid B. refuse C. praise D. love
3.A. boat B. bus C. train D. bike
4.A. But B. Then C. And D. Still
5.A. on B. off C. by D. in
6.A. having B. leaving C. making D. getting
7.A. swimmer B. rider C. walker D. runner
8.A. hopes B. faiths C. rights D. fears
9.A. spending B. saving C. wasting D. ruining
10.A. should B. would C. had to D. ought to
11.A. next B. only C. other D. last
12.A. away from B. out of C. by D. inside
13.A. put up B. break down C. play with D. work out
14.A. the moment B. the first time C. while D. before
15.A. fishing net B. office things C. wooden chair D. lab equipment
16.A. stood up B. set out C. showed up D. turned out
17.A. fine B. strange C. terrible D. funny
18.A. the student B. the assistant C. myself D. himself
19.A. memory B. wealth C. experience D. practice
20.A. which B. who C. what D. whose
