Electronic books have changed the way many people read for pleasure. Now online textbooks are changing the way some students learn and some teachers teach.
More than one hundred seventy-five thousand students attend the public schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, outside Washington. Last year, the school system used digital books in fifteen schools. This school year, middle schools and high schools changed from printed to electronic textbooks in their social studies classes.
Luke Rosa is a history teacher at Falls Church High School. His students work on laptop computers at school. He explains the idea to them this way. “I mean, it’s just like a regular textbook, except it’s got it all online.”
Peter Noonan, an assistant superintendent (助理监督) of schools, said, “The world’s changing. And the online textbooks can change right along with the events that are happening.” Digital books also cost less than printed textbooks, he said.
A student named Melanie Reuter said, “I don’t have to carry a textbook around, so that’s nice.”
But another student said, “I don’t like it because the Internet sometimes doesn’t work.”
Students also need access to the Internet when they are not at school. About ten percent of students in Fairfax Country do not have a computer or online access at home. Public libraries in the country have free Internet. There are also after-school computer labs as well as computer clubhouse supported by the country. Middle school student Slieman Hakim is happy about that. He said, “My family only has one computer; my sister and I both do our homework on it. So I come here to do my homework. It’s good.”
Other school systems in the area are also considering online textbooks.
1.Which of the following is /are NOT used when students have social studies classes?
A．Paper textbooks. B．The Internet.
C．Computers. D．Electronic textbooks.
2.According to the passage, one of the disadvantages of digital textbooks is that_________.
A．they are more expensive
B．they can’t be used if the computer is offline
C．they’re soon out of date
D．reading online does harm to the students’ eyes
3.Why does Slieman Hakim feel happy?
A．He is offered a free computer to do his homework.
B．He doesn’t have to do his homework at home.
C．He has access to the Internet to study at any place.
D．He needn’t share a computer with his sister to do homework.
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A．The lessons online are completely different from those in paper textbooks.
B．Digital textbooks are more beautiful than paper textbooks.
C．All students like digital textbooks because they are new.
D．Students can do their homework in the computer clubhouses.
5.The passage aims to ________.
A．report the use of electronic textbooks in school
B．show how to use electronic textbooks
C．encourage more schools to use electronic textbooks
D．tell readers electronic textbooks will replace regular textbooks
I have always really loved receiving my monthly pocket money form my dad. After getting the money I would be very excited and would rush off to my friend’s place where after much consideration we would decide what to do with it and where to spend it. Mostly it would go for the ice cream treats（请客；款待） or jam sessions with our favorite people around. Girls will manage to find some way of budgeting so the money we save can be used for other purposes.
I think that the best way to enjoy your pocket money would be to enjoy those treats that come occasionally. Since just mere pocket money would be not enough, many girls are doing a part time job of some form so that a larger amount of money can be collected. The best use of pocket money is to spend it in such a way that it involves lots of fun with your closest friends. Those treats are no fun if done alone. Company, especially good company can work wonders for providing you the best relaxation that you need. It is also best to spend your pocket money on things that otherwise parents end up refusing. When you use your pocket money to get this sense of achievement you will just feel so crazily happy.
I remember the time when a friend and I were just so tired of our everyday monotonous life that we decided to go out, have some great food and then head out to the beach and have those lovely grape and mango ice-creams. And we did exactly that. That day has just been one of the most refreshing days of my life. I think the true meaning of pocket money is to be able to maximize your fun at a minimal cost!
1.The writer thinks he can get greatest fun from pocket money by ________,.
A．spending it alone B．treating good friends
C．travelling for fun D．buying ice creams
2.We can tell from Paragraph 1 that ________.
A．the writer didn’t know where to spend his pocket money
B．girls used pocket money to buy ice creams
C．the writer got pocket money from his dad yearly
D．boys and girls may spend pocket money in different ways
3.What does the underlined phrase “monotonous” in the last paragraph mean?
A．exciting. B．Boring. C．Wonderful. D．Colorful.
4.We can know from the passage that ________.
A．children can’t spend our pocket money wisely
B．there would be no fun without pocket money
C．childhood happiness mainly comes from pocket money
D．we can enjoy ourselves with a little pocket money
5.What is the best title of the passage?
A．How to get much pocket money
B．Save pocket money as much as possible
C．Pocket money brings great fun
D．Pocket money means everything
French novelist Jules Verne (1828—1905) is often called the father of science fiction. Although he was not a great traveler himself, his characters travelled to the moon (in From the Earth to the Moon), under the sea (in Twenty thousand leagues under the sea), into a volcano (in A journey to the centre of the earth), around the world (in Around the World in Eighty Days) and to many other places.
Jules Verne was born in the French city of Nantes in 1828. When he was a boy he ran away from home to work on a ship. However, his father soon found him and brought him home. After that he decided that any future travel he did would be in books. In 1847 his father sent Jules to Paris to study to be a lawyer. Even though he was busy writing, Verne passed his exams in 1849 with high marks.
When Jules told his father he did not want to be a lawyer, his father was very angry. He stopped sending his son any money, so Jules had to earn a living by his writing. Over the next few years he wrote many stories and plays, which brought him only a little money. Then, in 1856, he met Honorine de Viane, a rich, young widow with two children. The couple married the next year.
After his marriage, Verne worked as a businessman in Paris. However, he was not very successful at his job and spent most of his time writing books and doing research for the next one. In 1863 he published his novel Five Weeks in a balloon and the following year he published A Journey to the centre of the earth which made him famous. His books became so popular and earned him so much money that he was able to leave his job and work full time on his writing.
In his Lifetime, Jules Verne wrote more than 50 books and he became a rich man. Many of this imaginative novels have been turned into films.
1.When Jules Verne was brought home by his father, he decided that ________.
A．he would devote himself to writing
B．he would go on more travels in the future
C．he would stop writing about future travels
D．he would do what his father required
2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．He was not good at his schoolwork.
B．He went to Paris because he wanted to be a lawyer.
C．His early stories and plays didn’t bring in much money.
D．He got married in 1856.
3.Jules Verne became rich mainly because of his ________.
A．family B．marriage C．business D．writing
4.Which book can be considered as a turning point in Jules Verne’s life?
A. From the Earth to the Moon.
B. Five Weeks in a Balloon.
C. A Journey to the Center of the Earth.
D. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
5.Which can we infer from the passage?
A．Jules Verne’s stories and plays were liked by film makers.
B．Jules Verne was not clever enough to learn law.
C．Jules Verne’s wife helped him a lot in his writing career.
D．Jules Verne’s stories and plays made him famous in the 1850s.
While I was looking out of the window, I saw an old homeless man crossing the street, carrying a suitcase.
Many times I looked on far away, feeling 36 for the homeless, but did nothing. I did 37 some money to homeless people when I walked by, but never really interacted (互动) with them.
Though we 38 doing something, yet we push it into the deep corners of our heart because we’re too busy, too 39 , or too afraid of strangers.
Today I did what I 40 thought I could. I walked out and ran after the old man. When I 41 him, I asked him if I could buy him 42 . He looked surprised, but accepted it 43 , warning me that he had a good appetite！
I was 44 and excited at the same time. We went to a 45 nearby. I told the waiter to give him whatever he wanted and I would 46 it.
I sat down for a moment asking the old man where he 47 . He told me he was sleeping behind the court house 48 it was warm there. I promised to give him a few jackets to keep him warm. To my surprise, he 49 some inexpensive jewelry on the table and chose a glass necklace for me, 50 someone else had given it to him.
I told him I bought him lunch not to get something 51 . But he insisted on my having it.
When it was time to go back to work, I 52 for not being able to stay with him and promised to sit down with him for lunch next time and 53 more.
1. A．worried B．sorry C．grateful D．proud
2. A．throw B．pay C．give D．lend
3. A．think of B．complain of C．hear of D．remind of
4. A．lazy B．proud C．poor D．shy
5. A．once B．never C．always D．even
6. A．reached B．caught C．arrived D．got
7. A．milk B．clothes C．lunch D．newspaper
8. A．easily B．angrily C．anxiously D．happily
9. A．terrified B．nervous C．frightened D．amused
10. A．restaurant B．cinema C．store D．station
11. A．prepare for B．wait for C．pay for D．call for
12. A．went B．belonged C．worked D．lived
13. A．unless B．because C．until D．but
14. A．put B．covered C．took D．bought
15. A．crying B．shouting C．saying D．whispering
16. A．in need B．in return C．in exchange D．in sight
17. A．admitted B．allowed C．advised D．apologized
18. A．chat B．play C．drink D．eat
19. A．everything B．nothing C．anything D．something
20. A．honest B．cool C．patient D．kind
Some students were late for class because they had been _________ by the heavy storm.
A．kept B．stopped C．slowed D．delayed
________ you don’t lose heart, I’m sure you can pass the coming examination.
A．Unless B．If not C．As long as D．Although
