“It hurts me more than you,” and “This is for your own good.” There are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.
That was before we entered the permissive(自由的) period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school．The schools and the educators made it easy on us．They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy．We stopped making our children do homework．We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation．
Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake．One such teacher is Sharon Clomps who says of her students—“so passive”—and wonders what has happened．Nothing is demanded of them, she believes．Television, says Clomps, contributes to children’s passivity．“We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ vet never been hurt or hungry．They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer．It takes greater energy to say no to a kid．
Yes, it does．It takes energy and it takes work．It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work．It’ s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’ s for their own good．It’s time to start telling them no again．
小題1:We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on（強(qiáng)調(diào)：重視）_______．

A．natural development	B．education at school
C．discipline	D．learning Latin

小題2:Children are becoming more inactive in study because _______．

A．they watch TV too much	B．they have to fulfill too many duties
C．they have done too much homework	D．teachers are too strict with them

小題3:By “permissive period in education” the author means a time _______．

A．when everything can be taught at school

B．when children are permitted to receive education

C．when children are allowed to do what they wish to

D．when every child can be educated

小題4:The main idea of the passage is that _______．

A．It’s time to be more strict with our kids

B．parents should always set a good example to their kids

C．parents should leave their children alone

D．kids should have more activities at school

LONDON----Here’s a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly.
Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods — even if you also exercise regularly — could be bad for your health. And it doesn’t matter where the sitting takes place — at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV — just the overall number of hours it occurs. Several studies suggest people who spend most of their days sitting are more likely to be fat, have a heart attack or even die.
　　In an editorial published this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Elin EkblomBak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences suggested that authorities rethink how they define physical activity to highlight the dangers of sitting.
　　While health officials have issued guidelines recommending minimum amounts of physical activity, they haven’t suggested people try to limit how much time they spend in a seated position.
　　"After four hours of sitting, the body starts to send harmful signals," Ekblom-Bak said. She explained that genes regulating(調(diào)節(jié)) the amount of glucose（葡萄糖） and fat in the body start to shut down.
　　Even for people who exercise, spending long periods of time sitting at a desk is still harmful. Tim Armstrong, a physical activity expert at the World Health Organization, said people who exercise every day — but still spend a lot of time sitting — might get more benefit if that exercise were spread across the day, rather than in a single bout.（一回）
　　Still, in a study published last year that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for about a dozen years, researchers found people who sat more had a higher death risk, independently of whether or not they exercised.
　　"We don’t have enough evidence yet to say how much sitting is bad," said Peter Katzmarzyk of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, who led the Canadian study. "But it seems the more you can get up and interrupt this sedentary behavior, the better."
　　Figures from a U.S. survey in 2003-2004 found Americans spend more than half their time sitting, from working at their desks to sitting in cars.
　　Experts said more research is needed to figure out just how much sitting is dangerous, and what might be possible tooffset those effects.
　　"People should keep exercising because that has a lot of benefits," Ekblom-Bak said. "But when they’re in the office, they should try to interrupt sitting as often as possible," she said.
小題1:What is the best title for the text?

A．Not Sitting Too Much While Working	B．How To Avoid Sitting Too Much
C．Sitting Too Much Could Be Deadly	D．More And More People Sit Too Much

小題2:According to the research,______________.

A．the more time you spend in exercising in a single bout, the healthier you will be.

B．those who often sit too much are sure to grow fat or suffer from a heart attack.

C．regular exercise is effective to get rid of the side effect of sitting too much.

D．you had better not sit for more than four hours in a single bout.

小題3:How does the danger of sitting too much affect the human body?

A．It results in a higher death risk.

B．It increases glucose and fat in the body.

C．It makes a person unable to exercise long enough in a day.

D．It causes the gene to fail to balance the glucose and fat in the body.

小題4:In the opinion of Ekblom-Bak, you’d better have a rest in the office by________.

A．sending your friends e-mails

B．having a walk around your office

C．chatting online or playing computer games

D．listening to music with your head on the desk.

One genetic mutation(基因突變)occurs on average for every 15 cigarettes that a typical lung-cancer patient smokes, according to a study that has found for the first time all of the mutations happen during the lifetime of a cancer patient.
Scientists have completed a full genetic examinations of the genomes（基因組） of cancer patients, and hope the information will lead to a basic understanding of the causes of cancer—and possibly drugs and treatments—by making out the mutations that turn a healthy cell into a cancerous tumor cell.
They studied a lung-cancer patient who had about 23,000 DNA mutations in his lung cells that were connected with exposure(暴露) to the toxins found in cigarette smoke and had built up over his lifetime.
They also looked at a patient with malignant melanoma(惡性黑色腫瘤), the most dangerous form of skin cancer, who had got 30,000 special mutations known to be connected with exposure to sunlight.
Scientists believe this new finding into the genetics of cancer will finally lead to new drugs and perfect treatments that aim at the specific changes to the gene that cause the disease, as well as new techniques for discovering following cancers that have escaped from treatment in other parts of the body.
“For the first time, we have a complete map of all mutations in a cancer cell,” said Dr. Peter Campbell, who led the Cancer Genome project to work out the whole DNA system of tumor cells in order find the mutations.
A similar method was performed on the cells of a patient with skin cancer, which is how the researchers were able to show that the malignant skin cells contained changes that resulted from exposure to light.
“These are the two main cancers in the developed world for which we know the chief exposure. For lung cancer it is cigarette smoke, and for malignant melanoma it is exposure to sunlight,” Professor Campbell said.
小題1:What can the genetic examination of the genomes of cancer patients be used for?

A．To help the professors to win the Nobel Prizes.

B．To advance the study of reason and cure of cancer.

C．To make the medicine industries earn more money.

D．To help the cancer patients reduce their pain.

小題2:The underlined word in the third paragraph can be placed by_____.

A．smoke

B．sunlight

C．cell

D．poison

小題3:Which of the following statements is right according to the passage?

A．The lung-cancer patient had 30,000 mutations in his lung cells.

B．The genetics of cancer will finally lead to new drugs soon.

C．It’s the first time that people mapped mutations in a cancer cell.

D．Dr. Peter tries to invent a new drug with the DNA system.

小題4:What’s the similarity between malignant melanoma and skin cancer of patients?

A．Their smoking too much in daily life.

B．Their receiving too much sunshine.

C．Their refusing to accept treatment.

D．Their interest in travelling abroad.

Sitting across from his teacher, Edgar Martinez repeated the word he couldn't quite pronounce: "situation"．The teacher, LisaMojsin, hired to help Martinez reduce his accent, said the word slowly; "Sit-chew-a-shun．" "I wish he had taught me this 20 years ago．" said Martinez, 37, who comes from Mexico and lives in Los Angeles．In private tutoring classes throughout the nation, immigrants are focused on sounding more American．
Accent reduction classes have been around for years, but experts say．"As our workforce becomes more and more global, these classes are becoming more and more popular．" Private tutors said they answer calls almost daily from students, when just a few years ago the phones rang only occasionally．Author Amy Gillett said that sales of her book and CD set, "Speak English Like an American", have increased three times in the last few years．Judy Ravin, President of the Accent Reduction Institute, said she has hundreds of students who follow her program, "Lose Your Accent in 28 Days"．
Though there is a general tolerance for diversity, experts said, reality has made some immigrants who sound different feel unwelcome．If someone speaks with an accent associated with an Asian language, they may work as engineers or computer scientists．If someone speaks with certain Spanish accents, people may think they are recent immigrants working in landscaping or the hospitality industry （招待性行業(yè)）．A French accent gives images of romance．An Australian accent brings to mind adventure and fun．
Accent reduction students said they are aware of how they sound and whether their accents limit their job opportunities or spoil their social lives．Jennie Lo, aged 43, said her accent has been an embarrassment．Sometimes people couldn't even understand her when she said her name．While in college in Oklahoma, Lo said she didn't make many friends, tearing that no one could make out her words．Lo is now taking accent reduction classes and hopes to apply for a manager position at work．"I just want to feel good about myself," she said．"If I really work hard, if I practice every day, I can't be perfect．But I can be better．"
小題1:In the whole passage, the first paragraph serves as a（n） _____．

A．introduction	B．comment
C．explanation	D．background

小題2:What does the author want to express in the second paragraph?

A．The effect that popular accent reduction classes have．

B．The fact that accent reduction classes become popular．

C．The steps how accent reduction classes become popular．

D．The reasons why accent reduction classes become popular．

小題3:If someone speaks with certain Asian accents, people may think _____．

A．they are romantic	B．they are hospitality workers
C．they are computer scientists	D．they love adventure and fun

小題4:What is Jennie Lo's attitude towards her taking accent reduction classes?

A．Confident．	B．Helpless．
C．Proud．	D．Anxious．

People say teenagers are no good．They make too much noise in shopping malls; they drive recklessly up and down America’s main streets; they carry chips on their shoulders as big as the Sears Tower．And at least some of the time those things are true．But we shouldn’t forget that there are hard moments in the life of a teenager too．
I watched such a moment not long ago at a woman’s funeral（葬禮）．I didn’t expect the event to affect me．Through much of the ceremony, in fact, I remained unmoved．
Then her teenage grandson stepped forward．With his very first deep breath, every heart in that church was achingly reminded of something we had all forgotten．Softly he began: “I want to share a few values that Nana taught me．She never failed to see light in any situation．When our family dog would literally attact her, what would Nana say? ‘Oh, what beautiful markings that dog has．’ That was Nana．
“She was a strong woman who often lived in the shadow of my grandpa, who was a successful businessman in this city．But she was the one behind the scenes who provided the strength and support for Grandpa’s career,” he said, with a voice now trembling．“That was Nana’s way．”
Through a muffled sob, he continued．“Whenever she did anything worth recognition, you’d have to hear about it from a different source, because she was never one to brag．”
Finally, in a voice breaking free of sorrow, he looked up and said, “Nana taught me courage．She put up an incredible fight to the end, when she died peacefully, which is how she lived her life．That was Nana’s way, and I hope I can carry on in the same manner．”
There are no hearts as sensitive as those of teenagers, because everything is happening to them for the first time．The trouble with teenagers is that they haven’t learned to be controlled．
When that boy rose to speak about the woman who surely had been his truest ally and est friend, his honest voice dragged each of us out into the open where we could no longer hide in the calm ritual．He exposed us to the truth about this very real woman who believed in a boy who probably tried the patience of many adults．He reminded us that his grandmother was more than another dot on the chart of life and death．
All over again we felt those powerful losses crisscrossing our own hearts, and we knew that when you say good-bye to a beloved grandparent, you say good-bye to something happy, something young in yourself．And that something never really returns, and the pain never really goes away．
小題1:From the boy’s speech, we know his grandmother ____________．

A．was a weak woman living in the shadow of his grandpa

B．liked dogs very much even if they often attacked her

C．could see everything around her though she was old

D．had great influence over the boy when she was alive

小題2:According to the first paragraph, _____________．

A．young people should keep quiet before the public

B．people don’t think highly of the teenagers

C．people shouldn’t forget the young people

D．young people are living a hard life

小題3:The writer wanted to tell the readers ____________．

A．the young people were too weak to face the fact

B．the young people had to learn to control themselves

C．the adults could learn something valuable from the young

D．the adults should teach the young how to deal with the death

小題4:We can infer from the passage that the boy ___________．

A．was filled with sadness and gave up finishing his talk

B．was always very good at expressing himself

C．practiced a lot in order to give a moving speech

D．had great difficulty in accepting the loss of Nana

People use their mouths for many things. They eat, talk, shout and sing. They smile and they kiss. In the English language, there are many expressions using the word “mouth.”
For example, if you say bad things about a person, the person might protest and say “Do not bad mouth me.” Sometimes, people say something to a friend or family member that they later regret because it hurts that person’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to tell. The speaker might say: “I really put my foot in my mouth this time.” If this should happen, the speaker might feel down in the mouth. In other words, he might feel sad for saying the wrong thing.
Another situation is when someone falsely claims another person said something. The other person might protest: “I did not say that. Do not put words in my mouth.”
Some people have lots of money because they were born into a very rich family. There is an expression for this, too. You might say such a person, “was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.” This rich person is the opposite of a person who lives from hand to mouth. This person is very poor and only has enough money for the most important things in life, like food.
Parents might sometimes withhold sweet food from a child as a form of punishment for saying bad things. For example, if a child says things she should not say to her parents, she might be described as a mouthy child. The parents might even tell the child to stop mouthing off.
But enough of all this talk. I have been running my mouth long enough.
小題1:In what kind of situation will a person say “Do not bad mouth me.” ?

A．When he feels down.	B．When he feels regretful.
C．When he is spoken ill of.	D．When he feels innocent.

小題2:If a person feels sorry for what he has said, he might say “          .”

A．Do not bad mouth me

B．I really put my foot in my mouth this time

C．Do not put words in my mouth

D．Stop mouthing off

小題3:If a person lives from hand to mouth, it implies           .

A．he is badly – off	B．he is hard – working
C．he is well – off	D．he has enough to eat

小題4:By saying, “I have been running my mouth long enough”, the speaker means “            ”.

A．I have run a long way	B．I have been a mouthy person
C．I have learned a lot	D．I have talked too much

Besides containing attractive flowers, trees and other plants that beautify the community, eco-friendly rain gardens are healthy for the environment and the people living and working nearby.
A rain garden is not very different from a traditional garden. It is just a far more eco-friendly garden. Usually it is built lower than the ground. Rain gardens make smart use of rain and storm water by temporarily holding water from rain and storms and letting it soak（浸人）slowly into the ground before it runs into streams or enters the public drinking water supply.
Thus, a rain garden keeps the water, allowing it to be used as needed by plants in the rain garden, rather than flowing immediately into nearby streams and going unused. The water will soak slowly into the ground within a day or two. This creates an advantage that the rain garden does not allow mosquitoes to breed. This is a simple, attractive, and eco-friendly “green” way to treat storm water.
What’s more, planting a rain garden helps reduce pollution and improve the environment. Without using expensive machinery and chemicals, rain gardens remove harmful chemicals in the rainwater and cut down on the amount of pollution reaching streams and rivers by up to 30%.
Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they are more used to the locals climatem, soil, and water conditions. They may attract local wildlife such as native birds. Water your rain garden immediately after planting and once a week, unless you have had at least an inch of rain during the week. Once the native plants establish the necessary root system, it will require little care.
Often, local governments and private businesses develop large rain gardens in their yards and in public parks as a way to improve the environment and solve flooding problems. However, you don’t need to be a professional environmental engineer to create a rain garden. As long as you’re eco-conscious homeowners, you can help the environment by building smaller rain gardens in your yards.
小題1:Which of the following is the eco-friendly function of rain gardens discussed in Paragraph 4?

A．They can keep the rain and storm water.

B．They can help reduce the pollution problem.

C．They can be healthy for the people around.

D．They can make the environment more beautiful.

小題2:One of the main reasons why native plants are recommended is that           .

A．they cost less and are much easier to get

B．they may attract local wildlife to come

C．they require little care from the local gardeners

D．they are more used to the local growing conditions

小題3:What do we know about rain gardens?

A．They need little water after all the plants are planted.

B．They usually need at least an inch of rainwater a week.

C．They may attract local birds and change the locals climate.

D．They may reduce the water pollution problem by 70%.

小題4:Who are the intended readers of the passage?

A．Homeowners.

B．Governors.

C．Engineers,

D．Educators.

To learn an instrument such as the violin or accordion（手風(fēng)琴）takes years. The job opportunities for musicians are scarce and competition is fierce. Then why are more people than ever before paying a lot of good cash to get their children the best music teaching they can afford?
The secret lies in the influence of music on the whole person. It has been found that learning a musical instrument actually increases a person’s IQ over time. Different instruments and different trypes of music have varying effect, with classical music and the string family coming out on top, potentially increasing you IQ by up to 12 points!
When is a good time to start learning music? Experts have found that even the fetus（胎兒）can benefit from listening to classical music. Surround yourself and your family with good music from the first. The Suzuki Piano Method teaches children from the age of 3 years piano, with two lessons per week. From preschool, children can learn to read music and play from sheet music. Progress in learning your instrument is directly proportional（成比例的）to the amount of practicing.
Is there such a thing as an unmusical child? Shinichi Suzuki proposes that music is the native home language of all human beings and therefore nobody can be “unmusical”. Of course there are exceptional talents, compared to which others may seem to be slower learners.
Is there any benefit for adults in starting an instrument? Apart from the purely relaxing aspect, yes. Learning an instrument can earn even adults additional IQ points, and as an added benefit in improves your health by reducing your stress levels. Your social life may benefit too, if you are prepared to come out of your box and join occasions such as Ceilidhs (musical get-togethers) or arrange house concerts. It has been established that people who play instruments tend to be more emotionally balanced and more patient with themselves, others and life in general.
So go ahead, sign up for that amateur orchestra, dust off your old trombone（長(zhǎng)號(hào)）or take your first real six-string down from the attic（閣樓）; get out there and play!
小題1:Playing which of the following musical instruments can help increase a person’s IQ most?

A．The piano

B．The violin

C．The trombone

D．The accordion

小題2:According to Shinichi Suzuki,             .

A．The progress in learning an instrument depends on natural gifts

B．It is too late for an adult to start an instrument

C．Every child has a natural talent for music.

D．All people can understand and read music.

小題3:What can be inferred from the text?

A．Music can balance our life.

B．Music can improve our living conditions.

C．Playing instruments can make adults keep their IQ points.

D．Playing instruments can help us get along well with others.

小題4:By writing the text, the author mainly wants to        .

A．persuade us to send our children to music schools

B．express his great interest in musical instruments

C．tell us the importance of Music in Development

D．invite us to attend Ceilidhs

Why should I teach my children history? That sounds like a stupid question to even ask．But，as I hear different home schooling teachers discuss history，I get the idea that there may be different reasons for teaching history．Let me briefly explain the three good reasons for studying history and two bad reasons for studying history．
The major reason I see for studying history is that we can learn from the past．I believe that the world would be a much better place if more people understood the successes and failures of the past and the things that made these successes and failures．However，as the unfortunately(不幸地)true statement goes ‘‘the one thing we seem to learn from history is that we don't seem to
learn from history”，perhaps at least in teaching history, to my children I can do a small part in changing this．
A second major reason for studying history is that it is hard to understand the current(目前的)political climate in the absence of an understanding of its historical context(背景)．We can not
even understand why we are and where we are without history，much less try to figure out where we are going or how we should get where we want to be．
I teach my children history，for one more reason．I bought a set of historical audio tapes for our children．My seven-year-old son listened to them over and over．It was my hope that he would
become inspired by the accomplishments(成就)of people like the Wright brothers to accomplish things by himself．I think that it is good that we celebrate the accomplishments of people like Martin Luther King Jr. By doing so，young people are called on to stand for the principles that he stood for and accomplish what he didn’t accomplish．I also think that by studying people like Adolph Hitler，people can learn to stand against the things that he stood for．
小題1:What message can we get from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 ?

A．Many people aren’t clever enough to learn well from the past．

B．Many people fail to make good use of history and make the same mistakes．

C．Many people feel it hard to understand history．

D．Many people have no interest in studying history．

小題2:In Paragraph 3，the author shows that history is useful because

A．it makes the current political situation go smoothly

B．it helps us realize the importance of historical events

C．it helps us understand why things are the way they are

D．it helps people accept the present situation where they live

小題3:Some historical figures are mentioned in the last paragraph to show____．

A．people can be inspired to do good and also learn to fight against evil

B．people may also learn from bad historical figures

C．more celebrations should be held to honor their achievements

D．today’s people can also achieve what they achieved

小題4:What would be talked about in the following paragraph?

A．How to teach history effectively．

B．Some negative reasons for studying history．

C．How to get more people to study history．

D．Some bad historical figures．

Along the rivet banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken，eats green 1eaves has the stomach of a cow and has claws(爪)on its wings when young. They build their homes about 4.6m above the river，an important feature(特征)for the safety of the young．It is called the hoatzin．
In appearance，the birds of both sexes look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and red on the underside．The head is small，with a large set of feathers on the top，bright
eyes, and blue skin．Its nearest relatives are the common birds cuckoos．Its most striking feature，though，is only found in the young．
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the 1eading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip．Using these four claws, together with the beak(喙)，they can climb about in the bushes,
looking very much like primitive birds must have done．When the young hoatzins have 1earned to fly，they lose their claws．
During the drier months between December and  March hoatzins fly about the forest in groups of 20 to 30 birds，but in April，when the rainy season begins，they collect together in smaller living units of two to seven birds for producing purposes.
小題1:What is the text mainly about?

A．Hoatzins in dry and rainy seasons．

B．The relatives and enemies of hoatzins．

C．Primitive birds and hoatzins of the Amazon．

D．The appearance and living habits of hoatzins．

小題2:Young hoatzins are different from their parents in that——

A．they look like young cuckoos

B．they have claws on the wings

C．they eat a lot like a cow

D．they live on rivet banks

小題3:What can we infer about primitive birds from the text?

A．They had claws to help them climb．

B．They could fly long distances．

C．They had four wings like hoatzins．

D．They had a head with long feathers on the top

小題4:Why do hoatzins collect together in smaller groups when the rainy season comes?

A．To find more food．

B．To protect themselves better

C．To keep themselves warm．

D．To produce their young．