Ready to take a gap year？ A "Gap Year" is a period of time when a student takes a break before going to university． It is often spent travelling or working．1.
Gap years are popular with European and Australian students， but remain less popular in America． However， in recent years， more and more American students are preparing for college by taking a gap year． The advantages of taking a gap year are as follows：
2.
Although you don't have to go abroad to experience gap years， most gap year students catch the chance to travel abroad． You are able to work out who you are and what you are for． The experiences of different cultures offer you interesting lessons． You can learn more about the world and get to know yourself better．
Face challenges and have fun
A gap year is not only a time to take a vacation， but also a time to face challenges． Gap year students usually work， volunteer or take service projects． You have to learn how to get along in the real world． This process isn't always easy， but it is an important part of growing up．3.
Save money and improve your college admission chances
There's a common thought that gap years are only for rich students， but it's not true． Actually， taking a gap year can save your money． Gap year students often take a part-time job． Besides， at the end of a gap year， students are much more likely to know what to study in college． 4.
5.Both of them are excellent and have high grades． However， one student has much practical experience or has volunteered in his vacation． Who do you think the admission officer will choose？
A． Learn about the world and yourself
B． Only in this way can you enjoy life and have fun．
C． Check out your gap year choices before making the right decision．
D． It can give young people useful learning experiences and new skills．
E． Imagine an admission officer trying to admit only one between two students．
F． More students than ever before are taking a gap year before going to university．
G． Clear learning goals can keep the students working hard instead of wasting time and money playing．
My kids and I were heading into the superstore over the weekend． On the way， we saw a man covered by a blanket and holding a sign that said， "Lost my job． Family to Feed．"
At this store， a sight like this is not normal． It was obvious that the man was embarrassed， but desperate． My 10-year-old noticed him and said how bad it must be to have to stand outside in the cold wind．
While we were in the store， I asked each of the kids to pick something they thought our "friend" outside would need． They picked a couple of apples， a package of bread， a sandwich， some cheese and a bottle of juice． Then my 17-year-old asked， "Can we get him a gift card？" I thought about it． We were low on cash ourselves， but …well， sometimes giving from our "need" instead of our "abundance （充裕）" is just what we need to do! All the kids declared something they could do away with for the week．
We quickly checked out， with the foods he could eat at the moment， and a gift card for the store． At the suggestion of my 16-year-old， we also bought a hot cup of coffee， and then drove to the end of the parking lot， where our "friend" was holding his sign．
We handed him the coffee and the bag of food． He thanked us with watery eyes． When I handed him the gift card and said he could use it for whatever his family might need， he burst into tears， obviously overwhelmed and grateful．
Though I wished we could have done more， I can't help but think about how this experience has been such a wonderful opportunity for our family． The feeling of helping someone else has affected them all---they cannot stop talking about it， and for four days now have been searching for others we can help!
Things would have played out so differently if I had simply said， "No， we really don't have money to give more，" or something to that effect． Stepping out not only helped a brother in need， it also gave my kids the______ taste of helping others．
1.Which is the right order of what happened in the story？ ______
a． The man was grateful with tears．
b． Each child picked some food for the man in the store．
c． A poor man lost his job and asked people for help．
d． All kids did away with something and gave him a gift card．
e． They saw the poor man outside the supermarket and took pity on him．
A. c-e-b-d-a
B. c-e-d-b-a
C. e-c-d-b-a
D. e-c-b-d-a
2.What does the underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 mean？ ______
A. giving him some food
B. giving from our abundance
C. giving from our need
D. giving him a postcard
3.The best word could be filled in the blank in the last paragraph should be ______ ．
A. terrible
B. sweet
C. tiring
D. hopeless
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph？ ______
A. If mother had said NO， the kids would have helped in a different way．
B. They had helped many people before offering this poor man help．
C. They won't help more people because they can't afford to do so．
D. They will try their best to help more people in the future．
It's an annual argument． Do we or do we not go on holiday？ My wife says no because we have no savings to save us． I say you only live once and we work hard and what's the point if you can't go on holiday． The joy of a recession （不景气） means no argument next year---we just won't go．
Since money is known to be one of the things most likely to bring a relationship to its knees， we should be grateful． For many families the recession means more than not booking a holiday． A YouGov survey of 2， 000 people found 22% said they were arguing more with their partners because of concerns about money． A recent research shows arguments about money were especially damaging to couples．
Kim Stephenson， an occupational psychologist， believes money may be different things to men and women． "People can say the same things about money but have different ideas of what it's for．" he explains． "They'll say it's to save， to spend， for security， for freedom， to show someone you love them．" He says men are more likely to see money as a way of buying status and of showing their parents that they've achieved something．
"The biggest problem is that couples assume each other know what's going on with their finances， but they don't． There seems to be more of a taboo （禁忌） about talking about money than about death． But you both need to know what you're doing， who's paying what into the joint account and how much you keep separately． In a healthy relationship， you don't have to agree about money， but you have to talk about it．"
1.What does the author say about going on holiday in Paragraph 1？ ______
A. It will cost them too much money．
B. It is the chief cause of family quarrels．
C. It makes all the hard work worthwhile．
D. Few people can afford it without working hard．
2.According to the text， what does Kim Stephenson believe？ ______
A. Money is often a symbol of a person's status．
B. Men and women view money in different ways．
C. Men and women spend money on different things．
D. Money means a great deal to both men and women．
3.The author suggests that couples should ______ ．
A. discuss money matters to maintain a healthy relationship
B. put their money together instead of keeping it separately
C. make efforts to reach agreement on their family budgets
D. avoid arguing about money matters to remain romantic
Until now， little research has been conducted on the association between parents' friendships and the emotional well-being of their adolescent children． A new study from researchers at the University of Missouri suggests that mothers' friendships with other adults can impact their adolescent children's relationships with their own friends， particularly the negative aspects of these relationships such as conflict and opposition．
Gary． C． Glick， a doctoral candidate at MU， and Amanda Rose， professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences， studied the development of friendships and other peer relationships during adolescence and their impact on psychological adjustment． They found that adolescents may mimic the negative characteristics of their mothers' relationships in their own peer-to-peer friendships suggesting that mothers can serve as role models for their adolescents during formative years．
"Mothers who display high levels of conflict with friends may signal to their children that such behavior is acceptable， or even standard in friendships，" Glick said． "Additional findings suggest that adolescents take for granted their reactions to their mothers' conflict with adult friends which may lead to anxiety and depression．"
Previous research of this type focused on primary-aged children， but MU researchers wanted to expand their study to focus on the formative adolescent years． Youth ranging in age from 10 to 17 and their mothers were surveyed separately to measure regarded positive and negative friendship qualities in both groups． Results showed that positive friendship qualities were not always imitated by adolescents； however， negative and unfriendly relationship characteristics exhibited by mothers were much more likely to be copied by the youth studied． "We know that conflict is a normal part of any relationship---whether it is a relationship between a parent and a child， or a mother and her friends---and we're not talking physical fights but oral conflicts，" Glick said． "But being exposed to high levels of such conflict generally isn't going to be good for children． Parents should consider whether they are good role models for their children especially where their friends are concerned． When things go wrong， parents should talk with their children about how to act with their friends， but more specifically， how not to act．"
1.The word "mimic" （in Para.2）means ______ ．
A. succeed B. discover
C. possess D. imitate
2.In comparison with the previous study， the new study expanded ______ ．
A. research goals B. research themes
C. research subjects D. research approaches
3.According to Glick， parents should instruct their children ______ ．
A. how to put an end to a wrong friendship
B. how to deal with a troubled friendship
C. how to avoid any conflict with friends
D. how to establish a sincere friendship
4.What does the new study find？ ______
A. Teens mirror negative features of mom's friendships．
B. Aggressive mothers ruin their children's friendship．
C. Conflicts and opposition form children's characters．
D. Parent-child relationship affects children's growth．
How to Save on Sightseeing New York City Attractions With so many unique attractions， world-famous museums， theaters， and skyscrapers there is always plenty to do in New York． However， sightseeing， in New York City might not be the easiest or the cheapest experience．
This is why our team of real， life-long New Yorkers has created the New York Pass． If you want to discover the best of what this amazing city offers while still saving some time and money on your visit， the New York Pass is something you should be interested in．
How You Benefit from the New York Pass
Free entry to over 50attractions---Empire State Building， Statue of Liberty， Museum of Modern Art， Madison Square Garden Tour， NBC Studio Tours， New York Aquarium & many others．
Free 140-page guidebook in English， German & Spanish， containing hours of operation， maps and directions to every tourist attraction， shop and restaurant．
Line skipping privileges （特权）， as a New York Pass holder you are entitled to fast track entry to the New York City's busiest attractions．
Over 650 worth of entrance fees---that's how much it would cost if you visited all the attractions that New York Pass grants entrance to---without using the New York Pass． That doesn't even include the additional discounts you receive for having a NY Pass．
100% Risk Free， Money Back Guarantee---New York Pass insurance gives you extra comfort in case your travel plans change， offering refund on non-used Passes．
Please Note：
You can visit as many attractions as you want---even more with the time saved with fast track entry． You don't need to carry too much cash and the New York Pass keeps control on your spending．
New York Pass Prices：
Offer Ends： Fri 13Feb 2016
Product | Price |
1 Day Adult Pass | ﹩75 |
1 Day Child Pass | ﹩55 |
2 Day Adult Pass | ﹩110 |
2 Day Child Pass | ﹩90 |
3 Day Adult Pass | ﹩112 |
3 Day Child Pass | ﹩96 |
7 Day Adult Pass | ﹩144 |
7 Day Child Pass | ﹩ 112 |
1.What is the main purpose of this passage？ ______
A. To introduce the New York Pass．
B. To attract more tourists to New York．
C. To describe how to use the New York Pass．
D. To explain why the New York Pass is created．
2.What benefit can you get from the New York Pass？ ______
A. You don't have to carry cash with you．
B. You can visit the Statue of Liberty for free．
C. You can change your travel plans as you like．
D. You can get the free guidebook in four languages．
3.Jack and his two kids will visit New York for three days in January in 2016， how much should he pay for the New York Pass？ ______
A. ﹩520 B. ﹩420
C. ﹩380 D. ﹩304
4.The underlined phrase "are entitled to" most probably means "are given ______ of"．
A. the name B. the honor
C. the privilege D. the title
地震是一种难以预测的自然灾难，懂得必要的避震措施，可以最大程度减少地震对我们的危害。学校正门公告栏正在征集宣传文章，请根据以下提示写出一篇文章：
1.沉着冷静，遇事不惊
2.室内要找到遮蔽物，如：桌子下面
3.室外应远离建筑物，去到开阔的地方
注意：1.词数100左右； 2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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