House Sitting
In many countries of the world people do what is called house sitting. It means that if owners of the house are going away, they want someone to come into their home and look after the house and maybe pets while they are away.
In Australia, many people travel. After people retire, they might buy a van and travel all over the country. 1.
So if someone wants to travel or go away for some reason, they might want someone in their home to care for it and keep the gardens tidy. House sitters might have to care for pets. Also, quite a few people have swimming pools in their back yard and they need cleaning. 2. I feel it is a great way of seeing the country, because you go and stay in a new city, get to meet new people, and have time to go sightseeing in a new area.
3. There are websites where you find the advertisements by people who want to travel, and by replying to the advertisement, you can make arrangements to go and look after their home.
There are some requirements to be a house sitter. You must be a trusted person, so that the home owner knows you will not steal anything. You must be able to go when the house owner wants you to go, so you need lots of free time. 4. You need to be good with pets, able to care for cats and dogs, or other pets they may have.
Some house sitting jobs are just for a few days or a couple of weeks while the house owners have a short holiday. Sometimes it is for much longer. We have had one house sit for six months, while the home owner travelled to Europe.
5. Then you can travel to many different countries and stay there. One of the important things to get is references from the home owners where you have stayed. A reference is a written letter to say that you are trustworthy and have looked after their home well. You can show these letters to possible house sitting jobs and they know you will do a good job.
A. I have done house sitting many times.
B. Thousands of people do this all the time.
C. It is also possible to do house sitting in other countries.
D. Generally you have many opportunities to get a house sitting job.
E. You must take a little care over what your description says about you.
F. This is an international house sitting service for all city and country areas.
G. You must have a good car, so you can travel to different parts of the country.
The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert（警觉）. Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze（凝视）starts to lose its focus--until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise（同样地）when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.
1.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s .
A. sense of hearing B. sense of sight
C. sense of touch D. sense of smell
2.Babies are sensitive to the change in _______.
A. the size of cards B. the colour of pictures
C. the shape of patterns D. the number of objects
3.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
A. To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.
B. To see how babies recognize sounds.
C. To carry their experiment further.
D. To keep the babes interest.
4.Where does this text probably come from?
A. Science fiction. B. Children’s literature.
C. An advertisement. D. A science report.
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation for example. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break from school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York, so I had to get back. But that didn’t mean my husband and my son couldn’t stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged---okay, ordered them to wait it out at the airport, to “earn” more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I’m a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made a living looking for the best deals and exposing the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC’s Today Show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn’t hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps longer, and it’s the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.
1.Why did Delta give the author’s family credits?
A. They took a later flight.
B. They had early bookings.
C. Their flight had been delayed.
D. Their flight had been cancelled.
2.What can we learn about the author?
A. She rarely misses a good deal.
B. She seldom makes a compromise.
C. She is very strict with her children.
D. She is interested in cheap products.
3.What does the author do?
A. She’s a housewife. B. She’s a writer.
C. She’s a media person. D. She’s a business woman.
4.What does the author want to tell us?
A. How to expose bad tricks. B. How to reserve airline seats.
C. How to spend money wisely. D. How to make a business deal.
Since the first Earth Day in 1970，Americans have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment.“We didn't know at that time that there even was an environment，let alone that there was a problem with it，”says Bruce Anderson，president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement.Business people，political leaders，university professors，and especially millions of grassroots Americans are taking part in the movement.“The understanding has increased many，many times，”says Gaylord Nelson，the former governor from Wisconsin，who thought up the first Earth Day.
According to US government reports，emissions（排放）from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 million tons.The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9.Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with，the world is a safer and healthier place.A kind of “green thinking ” has become part of practices.
Great improvement has been achieved.In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs；today in 1995 there are about 6,600.Advanced lights，motors，and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution.
Twenty-five years ago，there were hardly any education programs for environment.Today，it's hard to find a public school，university，or law school that does not have such a kind of program.“Until we do that，nothing else will change！”says Bruce Anderson.
1.According to Anderson, before 1970, Americans had little idea about
A. the social movement.
B. recycling techniques.
C. environmental problems.
D. the importance of Earth Day.
2.Where doe the support for environmental protection mainly come from?
A. The grass-roots level B. The business circle
C. Government officials D. University professors
3.What have Americans achieved in environmental protection?
A. They have cut car emissions to the lowest.
B. They have settled their environmental problems.
C. They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.
D. They have reduced pollution through effective measures.
4.What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph?
A. Education B. Planning
C. Green living D. CO reduction
The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge
Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge!
The Cambridge Science Festival Curiosity Challenge Dare to Take the Curiosity Challenge! The Cambridge Science Festival (CSF) is pleased to inform you of the sixth annual Curiosity Challenge. The challenge invites, even dares school students between the ages of 5 and 14 to create artwork or a piece of writing that shows their curiosity and how it inspires them to explore their world.
Students are being dared to draw a picture, write an article, take a photo or write a poem that shows what they are curious about. To enter the challenge, all artwork or pieces of writing should be sent to the Cambridge Science Festival, MIT Museum, 265 Mass Avenue, Cambridge 02139 by Friday, February 8th.
Students who enter the Curiosity Challenge and are selected as winners will be honored at a special ceremony during the CSF on Sunday, April 21st. Guest speakers will also present prizes to the students. Winning entries will be published in a book. Student entries will be exhibited and prizes will be given. Families of those who take part will be included in the celebration and brunch will be served.
Between March 10th and March 15th, each winner will be given the specifics of the closing ceremony and the Curiosity Challenge celebration.The program guidelines and other related information are available at: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org.
1.Who can take part in the Curiosity Challenge?
A. School students. B. Cambridge locals.
C. CSF winners. D. MIT artists.
2.When will the prize-giving ceremony be held?
A. On February 8th . B. On March 10th.
C. On March 15th. D. O n April 21st.
3.What type of writing is this text?
A. An exhibition guide. B. An art show review.
C. An announcement. D. An official report.
（2016年甘肃省河西五市高三二次联考） 成语（Chinese idioms）是中国文化的重要组成部分，它能用简单的词语表达出丰富并且深刻的意义。假定你是李华，你的外国笔友James对中国成语很感兴趣，向你咨询有关中国成语的信息，请你写一封回信，包括如下内容：
1.简单介绍成语;
2.学习成语的益处;
3.分享自己学习成语的感受和体会。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear James,
I am glad that you are interested in Chinese idioms.___________________________________
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I sincerely hope you can learn them well.
Yours
Li Hua
