Today about 70 countries use Daylight Saving Time(DST). Daylight Saving was first introduced during World War I in Australia. During the world wars, DST was used for the late summers beginning January 1917 and 1942, and the full summers beginning September 1942 and 1943.
In 1967, Tasmania experienced a drought. The State Government introduced one hour of daylight saving that summer as a way of saving power and water. Tasmanians liked the idea of daylight saving and the Tasmanian Government has declared daylight saving each summer since 1968. Persuaded by the Tasmanian Government, all states except two passed a law in 1971, for a test use of daylight saving. In 1972, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria joined Tasmania for regular daylight saving, but Queensland did not do so until 1989.
Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia have had irregular plans, often changing their dates due to politics or festivals. For example, in 1992, Tasmania extended daylight saving by an extra month while South Australia began extending daylight saving by two weeks for the Adelaide Festival. Special daylight saving plans were made during the sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
The differences in daylight saving in Australia continue to cause serious problems in transport and many other social activities. It also reduces the number of hours in the working day that are common to all centers in the country. In particular, time differences along the east coast cause major difficulties, especially for the broadcasters of national radio and television.
1.Daylight Saving Time was introduced in Tasmania ________.
A. to save water and electricity B. to support government officials
C. to pass a special law in the state D. to stop the drought in 1967
2.According to the text, which state was the last to use DST?
A. Victoria. B. Queensland.
C. South Australia. D. New South Wales.
3.What can we learn about DST in some Australian states?
A. It lasts for two weeks. B. It is not used in festivals.
C. Its plan was changed in 2000. D. It doesn't have fixed dates.
4.What do we know about the use of DST from the last paragraph?
A. There exist some undesirable effects.
B. It helps little to save energy.
C. It brings about longer working days.
D. Radio and TV programs become different.
It’s not a particular brain region that makes someone smart or not smart. Nor is it the strength and speed of the connections throughout the brain or such features as total brain volume. Instead, new research shows, it’s the connections between very specific areas of the brain that determine intelligence.
“General intelligence actually relies on a specific network inside the brain, and this is the connections between the gray matter, or cell bodies, and the white matter, or connecting fibers between neurons(神经元)，”said Jan Glascher, lead author of a paper appearing in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The results weren’t entirely unexpected, said Keith Young, vice chairman at Texas A﹠M Health Science Center College of Medicine in Temple, but “it proves that good communication between various parts of brain are very important for this general intelligence.”
“People noticed a long time ago that, in general, people who are good test-takers did well in a lot of different subjects,”explained Young. “If you’re good in mathematics, you’re also usually good in English. Researchers came up with this idea that this represented a kind of overall intelligence.”
Hoping to learn more, some experts located 241 patients who had some sort of their lesions (损害). They then diagrammed the location of their lesions and had them take IQ testes. “We took patients who had parts of their brain damaged, tested them on intelligence to see where they were good and where they were bad, then we connected those scores across all the patients with the location of the brain lesions,”Glascher explained. “That way, you can know the areas that are associated with reduced performance on these tests, which means these areas are really important for general intelligence.”
“These studies suggest results based on the absence of brain tissue (组织),”added Paul Sanberg, famous professor and director of the University of South Florida Center. “It allows them to systemize and find areas important to intellingence.”
1.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
A. General Intelligence Depend on Brain Volume
B. Scientists Explain Mysteries of Intelligence
C. Science Research Done on Human Brain
D. Brain Lesions Cause Patients Stupid
2.According to Keith Young, we can infer that .
A. the parts of brain are working smooth on their own
B. a person good at maths has obstacles learning languages
C. overall intelligence will make a person successful
D. Jan Glascher’s article really shocks the world
3.Why did experts locate 241 patients with some sort of brain lesions?
A. To diagram the location of their lesions.
B. To take IQ tests to the patients.
C. To know more about the secrets of intelligence.
D. To take better care of the patients.
4.From the diagram, the experts concluded that .
A. the absence of brain tissue will influence intelligence
B. the brain lesions can improve the performance
C. patients with brain lesions will get a high score
D. Some areas totally determine the ability of intelligence
Buses are celebrating their 100th anniversary. About 80 percent of all public-transport passengers worldwide are carried by buses.
The bus is a very efficient mode of transport, being cheap, flexible, comfortable and, in many cases, tailored to the needs of users both in terms of capacity and speed. Buses operate in mixed traffic, and are easy to put in service.
From an economic, environmental and social point of view, the bus remains the best solution to the problem of achieving balanced and environmentally-friendly urban development. Indeed, the bus is the only mode of public transport in many of the world’s cities, and plays a key supporting role in cities with rail transport.
Over the past decades, increased use of roads by private cars has contributed to terrible traffic problems, affecting the speed of buses as well, and hence their service quality, reliability, energy consumption, and economy. In such circumstances, the efficiency and performance of buses depends heavily on special lanes. Various forms are possible----from a mere painted mark on the road to more expensive variants such as elevated lanes, movable barriers, and “bus locks”.
A related trend is to look beyond vehicle technology alone and to consider the wider system, of which buses are a part, such as the infrastructure(基础设施)and other operational aspects of city. This is commonly known and promoted as the “bus-system approach”. Other key innovations(革新) include clean engines, alternative fuels, and guidance devices. In terms of the designs of buses, much of what has happened to light rail can be transferred to them, including the shapes of the vehicles themselves.
The energy consumption of a bus per passenger is one-sixth that of a car, and buses are only responsible for about 5% of the CO2 emissions generated by vehicles at present.
1.From this passage we learn that .
A. buses are the most environmentally-friendly of all motorized vehicles
B. buses were first used more than a century ago
C. most passengers prefer trains to buses
D. a bus has a much larger capacity than any other vehicle
2.What has affected the service quality of buses?
A. Unsuitable infrastructure. B. Private cars.
C. The increasing population of cities.
D. Very rapid urban development.
3.Which of the following is an approach to improving bus service?
A. Improving the speed of buses.
B. Reducing the number of private cars.
C. Setting up special lanes for buses.
D. Increasing the number of buses.
4.From the passage we can infer that in the future .
A. there will be more buses than today
B. bus engines will need no power
C. buses will be replaced by other means of transport
D. the appearance of buses will change
Camp memories last forever! We make sure they are unforgettable!
Shadow Ridge Summer Camps offer so many exciting things for campers to do. Unlike other camp programs that include horses as a small part of their program, at Shadow Ridge horses ARE, the program! We are 100% horse from stable(马厩)management, nature walks, and track rides to bedroom furnishings.
Horses help us achieve many of our aims. Girls can learn to develop responsibility, self-confidence and personal connections in their lives while having fun. Using horses as a wonderful tool for education, our camps offer an interesting place for growth and learning.
Imagine each girl having her very own horse to spend time with and a best friend to love and take care of. Each camper is responsible for a horse for the week. Our riding program provides a lot of riding and lesson time. Campers will learn how to take care of the horse and the tack(马具), as well as how to ride. Days are filled with horse-related activities to strengthen the connection between each girl and horse, as the girls learn to work safely around the horses.
At Shadow Ridge we try to create a loving, caring family atmosphere for our campers. We have “The Bunkhouse”(4 girls), the“ Wranglers Roost”(4 girls), and “The Hideout”(2 girls)in our comfortable 177-year-old farm house. All meals are home cooked, offering delicious and healthy food for the hungry rider.
Our excellent activities create personalized memories of your child's vacation, Each child will receive a camp T-shirt and a photo album (usually 300-500 pictures) of their stay at camp.
Our camps are offered during June, July and August 2007, for small groups of girls aged 13-16 years, not only from Canada but also other parts of the world.
We will send you full program descriptions at your request.
1.What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To attract people to the camps.
B. To talk about camping experiences.
C. To describe the programs of the camps.
D. To explain the aims of the camps.
2.What do we know about the camp programs at Shadow Ridge?
A. Campers are required to wear camp T-shirts.
B. Horses play a central role in the activities.
C. Campers learn to cook food for themselves.
D. Horse lessons are offered all the year round.
3.The programs at Shadow Ridge mainly aim to help people ________.
A. understand horses better B. enjoy a family atmosphere
C. have fun above other things D. achieve an educational purpose
4.The passage is written mainly for ________.
A. horse riders B. teenage girls
C. Canadian parents D. international travelers
One of the most wonderful things about having a positive attitude is that it can touch many people in the course of everyday life.
Recently I stopped by a store to get a newspaper and a bottle of juice. The young woman at the check-out counter said, “That’ll be three dollars in all please.”She then glanced down at the paper I was buying and said, “I’m sick and tired of all the negative material on the front pages. I want to read some good news for a change.”She then said, “In fact, I think someone should publish a Good News newspaper——a paper with wonderful, inspirational stories about people overcoming difficulties and doing good things for others. I’d buy one every day!”She then thanked me for coming in and said, “Maybe we’ll get lucky tomorrow; maybe we’ll get some good news!”We both laughed, and I thought: she just made my day.
The following day after work I dropped by the same store again to pick up bottled water and a newspaper; but a different young lady was behind the counter. As I checked out I said, “Good afternoon”, and handed her my money . she said nothing, and didn’t smile or make a gesture. She just handed me my change and said in a bored voice, “Next!”
It hit me right between the eyes. Two people, the same age; one had made me feel great , while the other had made me feel that I had inconvenienced her by showing up.
The choices we make and attitudes we show influence lives every day in positive or negative ways. So every morning you should ask yourself:“Who do I want to be today—‘The Grouch(不高兴的人)’or ‘The Good News Girl’?”Your answer will go a long way toward determining the quality of your life and that of those around you.
1.From the first salesgirl’s words we know that .
A. she was sick and tired of people with bad manners
B. she didn’t like the bad news in the newspaper
C. she liked reading all kinds of stories
D. she thought it was boring to sell newspapers
2.After the author bought the newspaper the first day, he .
A. had a sad day B. kept thinking about what the girl had said
C. read the newspaper carefully
D. was in a pleasant mood all day
3.The other salesgirl’s attitude towards the author the next day was .
A. humorous B. enthusiastic C. cold D. positive
4.The author learned from his experience that .
A. a Good News newspaper would be very popular
B. a positive attitude creates warmth and happiness
C. good relationships matter a lot
D. he needed to change the quality of his life
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
As a child, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons on my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. The house and barn provided endless hours of 1for a city kid like me.
I still 2one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first 3to the farm, I’d wanted more than anything to be 4to climb the stone walls surrounding the property. My parents never 5. The walls were old. Some stones were 6,and others were loose and crumbling. Still, my desire to climb those walls 7so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I gathered all my
8and entered the living room, where the adults had 9after Sunday dinner.
“I, uh, I want to climb the stone walls,” I said hesitantly. 10looked up. “Can I ?”
11a chorus went up from the women in the room. “Heavens, no!” they cried in dismay. “You’ll hurt yourself!”
I wasn’t too 12. It was the response I’d expected. Yet, 13I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather’s booming 14. “Now hold on just a minute, ” he cried. “15the boy climb them. He has to learn to do things 16himself.”
“Run quickly,” he said to me. “And come see me 17you get back.”
For the next two and a half hours I climbed those old walls—and had the time of my life. Later I went to my grandfather to tell him about my 18. I’ll never forget what he said.
“Fred,” he smiled, “you made this day a(n) 19one just by being yourself. Always remember, there’s only one person in this whole world like you, and I like you exactly 20you are.” Many years have passed since then, but I still cherish his words in my heart.
1.A. trouble B. challenge C. interest D. fun
2.A. imagine B. remember C. regret D. cherish
3.A. sight B. visit C. access D. entrance
4.A. expected B. suggested C. allowed D. refused
5.A. approved B. admitted C. chose D. decided
6.A. broken B. lost C. empty D. missing
7.A. grew B. spread C. turned D. appeared
8.A. strength B. courage C. belief D. hope
9.A. arranged B. gathered C. discussed D. organized
10.A. Someone B. Nobody C. Everyone D. Anybody
11.A. Carefully B. Immediately C. Usually D. Fortunately
12.A. disappointed B. angry C. delighted D. worried
13.A. after B. once C. unless D. before
14.A. sound B. noise C. voice D. praise
15.A. Permit B. Consider C. Let D. Stop
16.A. by B. to C. on D. for
17.A. until B. when C. since D. while
18.A. dream B. burden C. adventure D. attempt
19.A. ordinary B. special C. curious D. typical
20.A. why B. what C. how D. as
