There is an unforgettable beauty to the Karoo, a vast semi-desert, that seems empty save for the stars overhead and sheep eating grass below. Economic opportunities here are few.
But the Karoo’s clear skies also draw some of the world's best scientists. A radio telescope project called the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is under construction, with the latest group of 64 giant antennae（天线）due to be completed late next year. When finished, it will be the biggest radio telescope in the world and should allow scientists to peer into the origins of the universe.
Still, some sheep farmers are complaining. Because of the sensitivity of the telescope, the surrounding area must be kept free from radio interference（干扰）caused by everything from mobile phones to microwave ovens and some car engines. The SKA is buying up more farms than originally expected to ensure radio silence over an area of some 130,000 hectares. There will be no mobile phone signals allowed, except in the few towns in the area. Save the Karoo, an advocacy group, isn’t convinced by the bright future of groundbreaking astronomical discoveries. Its members fear the restrictions will make the Karoo “a cut-off and backward region”, and warn that people serving farms near the SKA site could face financial ruin. “I don't care about a black hole siting somewhere out in space,” says Eric Torr, an organiser with the group. “It does not put food on the table.”
Sky-high expectations in this down-at-heel area are also a problem. An SKA official complains that the locals expect the telescope to solve all their problems. Some jobs have been created, but few locals have the skills to find out the secrets of distant galaxies. Until recently the high school in Carnarvon, a nearby town, didn’t even have a maths and science teacher. The SKA organisation hired one, and is also offering scholarship to college students. Perhaps if the next generation's horizons are raised, they will be able to take advantage of the radio telescopes in their own backyard.
1.The project SKA is aimed at ______.
A.creating jobs for locals B.exploring the universe
C.protecting the sheep D.saving the Karoo
2.What most disturbs the locals’ life?
A.The shrinking of their farmlands. B.Restrictions of radio signals.
C.The construction of the project. D.Noises of car engines.
3.What can be inferred from Eric’s words?
A.Food should be put on the table. B.Eric faces financial difficulty.
C.The black hole is nowhere to be found. D.The project makes no sense to Eric.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A.Telescope in the Backyard B.Expectations of the Locals
C.Biggest Radio Telescope D.Great Astronomical Discovery
British parents encourage their children to play musical instruments as part of a family tradition and not to raise their social status as Americans do, research says.
Dr. Aaron Reeves of the University of Oxford found that UK parents did not see musical achievement by their children as character building or useful in getting university places or jobs. Instead, it was usually only those parents who played instruments that encouraged their children to follow suit.
This contrasted with research carried out by other academics in America, he said. “Middle-class parents in the US appear to associate cultural practice with other benefits, such as developing specific characteristics and paving the way for educational success. Middle-class families are often marked by a pattern of ‘concerted cultivation’, where parents organize music-centred activities for their children, often in addition to school-based musical practice.”
Researchers had owed this to “parental anxiety over the declining fortunes of educated Americans. These parents have become increasingly worried about providing their children with skills and abilities enabling them to stand out from their competitors in the job market.”
By contrast, for British respondents, no such connection was made between what is considered as an overbearing parenting style and future educational or career possibilities. The parents interviewed here did not connect music with usefulness but rather they focused on the value of music as a family tradition and, to a lesser extent, as something valuable in its own right.
One Scottish parent, a chemist by profession, said during the interviews, “We’ve got two learning musical instruments. If we think it’s maybe worthwhile we try and encourage them, but we wouldn't force them.” A housewife said, “My son’s just turned five and I want him to do the guitar because his uncle does it, but it’s up to him.”
In some UK families, said Dr. Reeves, music was even “believed to be an obstacle to educational success, or at least secondary to it.”
1.What do British parents think of music learning?
A. Useful for job application. B. Helpful for character building.
C. Beneficial to further education. D. Worthwhile as a family tradition.
2.What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 4 refer to?
A. Cultural practice. B. Educational success.
C. Concerted cultivation. D. School-based musical practice.
3.What can be inferred from the text?
A. The future of American kids is not promising.
B. American parents hardly link music with success.
C. Music learning is a personal choice for British kids.
D. British parents show little concern about education.
4.What is the text mainly about?
A. Reasons for British music preference.
B. British parenting style in music education.
C. Americans’ attitude towards music learning.
D. Differences between British and American parents.
John was part of my childhood growing up in the 1970s and a link to sunny, fun-filled days spent on the beach at Bangor in Northern Ireland where we went for our summer holidays. To many, he was a mystery. Every afternoon John would wander to the end of the pier (码头) where he fed the seagulls and delighted in the sound of their excited cries as they flew around his head.
Often I asked my family questions regarding John. Eventually I gave up as no one could tell me anything about him. As I grew up, my visits to the beach became less frequent, and my memories of John buried in a child's imagination.
Last year memories came flooding back as I walked along the coastline, where I noticed a lady feeding the seagulls on the pier, and I decided to introduce myself. Then I came to know that the lady was John's daughter, and after John left this world she carried out the ritual, which had held such importance for her father.
In some strange way I felt we shared a bond, each needing to remember. In return, Lucy told me of John's life, his days in the British Navy during World War I and how he almost lost hope when his ship was attacked by a German U-boat in the North Sea and he found himself in a lifeboat with five others.
Close to death, he thought he heard the sound of wings. He put up his hands, only to catch a seagull that had landed on the side of the boat. The seagull saved the lives of the six men as it was used to catch fish, which kept them alive until they reach land. This period of John's life was one he never talked about. But the ritual he first performed as a young man remained a part of him until he died.
Now I visit Lucy as often as I can, just to chat or very often walk along the beach to the pier end. We enjoy the comfortable silence, each lost in special memories.
1.Seeing John feeding the seagulls, the author might feel ______.
A.proud B.worried
C.curious D.guilty
2.The underlined word ''ritual" in the third paragraph can be replaced by ______.
A.law B.tradition
C.interest D.procedure
3.We can infer from the text that John ______.
A.once served in both World Wars B.was a man with a grateful heart
C.spent his childhood in Bangor D.joined the navy in the 1970s
4.What does the author mainly tell us in the text?
A.Her thanks to a seagull that saved her life.
B.The story of how she made friends with a lady.
C.Her childhood spent on the beach at Bangor.
D.Her memories of a man who fed seagulls.
As the sixth What Kids Are Reading report bemoans （ 哀 叹 ） about a tendency among secondary school students to read books that are too easy—suggesting that teachers and librarians aren’t pushing challenging titles strongly enough to older kids—the organizers of World Book Day have announced a list that might serve as a corrective, or at least a useful source of ideas.
Satellite by Nick Lake
Leo was born in space, living all his life on space station Moon 2 with fellow space-children Libra and Orion. Now, at 15,he is almost due to go to Earth for the first time, but more awaits him there. An extraordinary science fiction, as diverse as lain M Banks at his best. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
A standout debut （首次创作）, this US novel is the Black Lives Matter (BLM)-inspired story of Starr Carter, whose friend Khalil is shot dead by a police officer as she watches and whose divided life awakes in the fallout. Full of vivid detail and dry humour, with a charming narrator, it reads like a typical text.
Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
Nicholls’ exciting narrative follows May, the free-thinking daughter of a Quaker, and Nell, the tough, capable mainstay of her poor family. As the ghost of war appears ever closer, what will they sacrifice and what will be taken from them? An unforgettable historical novel.
The Book of Dust Vol 1:La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Pullman’s long-awaited return to the world of His Dark Materials is, at times, dark indeed. As Malcolm and Alice convey the baby Lyra down a flooded river in Malcolm’s boat, the coming threats are fierce and frightening. To the reader absorbed in it, whatever their age, it affords the enjoyment of watching a master storyteller at work.
1.Why do the organizers announce the book list?
A.To attract students’ attention to World Book Day.
B.To promote the sales of the books recommended.
C.To encourage secondary students to read challenging books.
D.To meet the requirements of teachers and librarians.
2.Which book might attract a history lover?
A.Satellite. B.The Hate U Give.
C.Things a Bright Girl Can Do. D.The Book of Dust Vo1 1:La Belle Sauvage.
3.What can be learned from the text?
A.Nick Lake is an expert in space exploration.
B.Angie Thomas stands out in writing textbooks.
C.May has an influence on Sally Nicholls’ writing.
D.It took a long time for Pullman to publish his new book.
近几年，很多外国人热衷学习中国文化。如学汉语、过中国节日等。自从2014年以来，有200多所孔子学院（Confucius Institute）相继在美国、英国、加拿大、韩国等国家建成使用。
1. 请简要报道上述现象；
2. 分析上述现象的原因；
3. 结合自身实际，谈谈你能为传播中国文化做些什么。
注意：1. 作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
2. 120词左右。
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单词拼写
1.The twins are so much alike that even their parents have trouble d_________ them.
2.— When electricity was cut off, all the people in the elevator(电梯）p_______.
— It’s unnecessary, for the operator will surely come to help.
3.He was awarded a gold watch in r_____ of his service to his company.
4.The little girl was fortunate because she had a n______ escape from being run over by a car.
5.Hearing the dog barking fiercely, the thief f____ away.
6.G_______(抓紧) firmly her mother’s hand in the darkness, Lucy felt much better.
7.The bell indicating the end of the period rang, which _______(打断) our heated discussion.
8.You can come and have a chat with me whenever you feel it is ________(方便) to you.
9.______(有希望地) we’ll have finished the project by the end of this month.
10.—What do you think of cloning? Is it harmful to human beings?
—Well, e________ in a proper way, this technology can contribute to the development of mankind.
