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September is a difficult month for all students as they return to continue their education, but for high school and university green hands, it is not just the heavy study tasks they need to follow. They will also go through military(军事的) training, which aims to help students improve their health and help them adapt to college life. The Ministry(部) of Education requires that universities should carry out at least 14 days' military training for freshmen(新生).
Hou Zhengfang, an education expert, questioned the benefits of military training. “It does little to improve students' physical health over only two weeks' time，” she said. “Maybe some disaster prevention training, such as earthquake survival or escaping from fires, would be of greater benefit.”
A freshman who fainted(晕倒) during training said that many students, especially girls, are unwilling to train in direct sunshine. “For me, military training is physically challenging and even damages my health，” said the 19－year－old.
Although Chu Jinjing, a Tsinghua University freshman, did feel some discomfort while training in the heat, the 18－year－old did recognize the benefits of military training. “By going through this tough(艰难的) training, I've become more independent and determined，” said Chu. “I have also managed to make a lot of friends.”
Wang Hui from Xi'an Jiaotong University sees the advantages of military training besides character building. “From senior high school to college, we join military training to start a new journey，” said Wang. “I would feel a bit incomplete without it.”
1.Hou Zhengfang might advise the Ministry of Education to ________．
A. cut students' heavy study tasks
B. introduce other trainings for students
C. encourage students to work out
D. shorten the time of military training
2.Chu Jinjing and Wang Hui mentioned all the benefits of military training EXCEPT ___．
A. developing friendship
B. improving students' health
C. building character
D. preparing students for college
3.According to the passage, what is the author's attitude towards military training?
A. He supports it very much.
B. He is strongly against it.
C. He doesn't express his own opinions.
D. He thinks it's good for his health.
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Are you carrying too much on your back at school? I’m sure lots of children of your age will say “Yes”. Not only do the students in China have this problem, but children in the United States also have heavy school bags.
Doctors are starting to worry that younger and younger students are having back and neck problems as a result of school bags being too heavy for them.
“It’s hard for me to go upstairs with my bag because it’s so heavy,” said Rick Hammond, an 11-year-old student in the US.
Rick is among students who have common school bags with two straps (带子) to carry them, but many other students choose rolling bags(拉杆包).
But even with rolling bags, getting upstairs and buses is still a problem for children. Many of them have hurt their backs or necks because of the heavy school bags.
But how much is too much? Doctors say students should carry no more than 10% to 15% of their own body weight.
Scott Bautch, a doctor, said children under Grade 4 should stay with 10%. But it is also important that older children don’t stay with over 15%, because their bodies are still growing. “Children are losing their balance and falling down with their school bags,” he said.
Parents and teachers are starting to tell children to only take home library books they will be reading that night. Some teachers are using pieces of paper or thin workbooks for students to take home.
One of the best answers is, as some children said, to have no homework at all!
1.From the passage we can know that .
A. only children in China carry too heavy school bags
B. both children in China and the US carry too heavy school bags
C. children in other countries don’t carry too heavy bags
D. only children in the US carry too heavy school bags
2.If a child carries a heavy school bag, .
A. his back or neck will be hurt B. his head and arms will be hurt
C. his hands will be hurt D. his feet will be hurt
3.According to Scott Bautch, if a child in Grade 5 weighs about 30 kilos, the school bag he carries should not be over ________.
A. 5 kilos B. 3 kilos
C. 5.5 kilos D. 4.5 kilos
4.Some students think the best answer to this problem is that .
A. they should have a little homework to do after they get home
B. their teachers had better not ask them to do any homework
C. they should only take home library books they will read that night
D. they should use thin workbooks instead of thick ones
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One day, when I was working as a psychologist(心理学家) in England，a boy showed up in my office. It was David. He kept walking up and down restlessly, his face pale, and his hands shaking slightly. His head teacher had referred him to me. “This boy has lost his family,” he wrote. “He is understandably very sad and refuses to talk to others, and I'm
very worried about him. Can you help?”
I looked at David and showed him to a chair. How could I help him? There are problems psychology doesn’t have the answer to, and which no words can describe. Sometimes the best thing one can do is to listen openly and sympathetically.
The first two times we met, David didn't say a word. He sat there, only looking up to look at the children's drawings on the wall behind me. I suggested we play a game of chess. He nodded. After that he played chess with me every Wednesday afternoon -- in complete silence and without looking at me. It's not easy to cheat in chess, but I admit I made sure David won once or twice.
Usually, he arrived earlier than agreed, took the chess board and pieces from the shelf and began setting them up before I even got a chance to sit down. It seemed as if he enjoyed my company. But why did he never look at me?
"Perhaps he simply needs someone to share his pain with," I thought. "Perhaps he senses that I respect his suffering.” Some months later, when we were playing chess, he looked up at me suddenly.
"It’s your turn," he said.
After that day, David started talking. He got friends in school and joined a bicycle club. He wrote to me a few times about his biking with some friends, and about his plan to get into university. Now he had really started to live his own life.
Maybe I gave David something. But I also learned that one -- without any words -- can reach out to another person. All it takes is a hug, a shoulder to cry on, a friendly touch, and an ear that listens.Ziyuanku.com
1.When he first met the author, David _________ .
A. felt a little excited B. walked energetically
C. looked a little nervous D. showed up with his teacher
2.Which statement about the passage is NOT TRUE?.
A. David enjoyed being with the author.
B. What David really needs is to play chess with someone.
C. David didn't say a word the first two times they met.
D. The author knows how to treat David's problem.
3.What can be inferred about David?
A. He recovered after months of treatment.
B. He liked biking before he lost his family.
C. He went into university soon after starting to talk.
D. He got friends in school before he met the author.
4.What made David change?
A. His teacher’s help.
B. The author’s friendship.
C. His exchange of letters with the author.
D. The author’s silent communication and company with him.
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Wealth starts with a goal and saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank plan. There are lessons in that historic coin-savings container (容器).
Any difficult task seems easier when started from baby steps. If you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip, to collect the $ 15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account, you will have your trip money.
When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We connect piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of being rich. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year’s Day brings good luck and wealth.
Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking, skillful workers made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay (黏土) called “pygg,” and people then saved coins in pygg jars. As “pygg” pronounced much like the Middle English word “pigge” meaning “pig”, gradually, the two words changed into the same pronunciation. Once a clever worker made a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, pleasing children and adults. The piggy bank was born.
In the past, you had to break the bank to get the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the value of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that need a large sum of money – college education, weddings, starting a business, buying a home, and fun things like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and use it wisely.
1.What is the piggy bank plan?
A. Setting a goal before making a travel plan.
B. Putting aside a little money regularly for future use.
C. Having determination even when doing small things.
D. Climbing a mountain a little a day before reaching the top.
2.Why did the writer’s parents give him a piggy bank as a gift?
A. To help him develop the habit of saving.
B. To encourage him to climb mountains.
C. To please him with the latest fashion.
D. To teach him English pronunciation.
3.The piggy bank was first ______ .
A. a pig-like toy for children B. a worker’s tool
C. an animal-look dish D. a cheap clay container
4.The last paragraph talks about ______ .
A. the enjoyment of taking a great trip
B. the importance of managing money
C. the difficulty of starting a business
D. the seriousness of educating children
C. turn out D. get around
C. turn out D. get around