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If you go to any college in the United States, you will find most students carrying the same items：books, laptops, cell phones and their official school identification cards, or IDs. These small plastic cards do more than showing the names and pictures of students.
In recent years, IDs in some colleges can also buy things. The schools enter into agreements with banks so students can link their cards to private financial accounts. This way, students can use their cards to pay for things like food on campus and school supplies. In other words, their IDs become debit cards(借记卡）. However, new research suggests that the way these card programs operate can harm students.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group(U.S. PIRG) aims to use research to support and protect people's financial interests. The organization has been looking into agreements between colleges and banks for several years.This April, Kaitlyn Vitez, higher education campaign director for U.S. PIRG, released their latest findings."Students with campus debit cards paid over $ 24 million in fees during the last contract year. For example, students may be charged fees if they use another bank to withdraw money. Or, they may be charged fees if they spend more money than they have in their bank accounts , " she said . " Any large fee can create unexpected problems for students , however , banks do not make possible fees clear enough to students."
U.S.PIRG noted that some banks pay colleges for permission to advertise their debit card programs on campus. The advertising can appear to be part of official school programmes and students may feel pushed towards opening accounts.U.S.PIRG also found a connection between colleges with paid agreements and student fees. Students at colleges that received money from banks ended up paying up to 2.3 times more than students at colleges with unpaid agreements. U.S. PIRG contacted several of the colleges in their latest research, yet they seem not to give satisfying comments.
1.What is the second paragraph mainly about ?
A.Potential harm of IDs. B.Additional use of IDs.
C.Students consuming habits. D.Students' financial condition.
2.What does the PIRG study find?
A.All banks pay for their bank card ads on campus.
B.Campus debit cards present high fees for students.
C.Many students like to use debit cards at college.
D.Colleges have signed illegal agreements with banks.
3.What do Kaitlyn Vitez's words imply?
A.Colleges benefit a lot from working with banks.
B.Most students fall into heavy debts at college.
C.Banks give away students' financial privacy somehow.
D.Students lack enough information on their campus debit cards.
4.What will the author probably talk about in the following paragraph ?
A.Solutions to the phenomenon. B.Future of school IDs.
C.Details of debit card programs. D.Response of some schools.
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My father was always a good gardener. One of my earliest memories is standing without shoes in the freshly tilled (翻耕的) soil, my hands blackened from digging in the ground.
As a child, I loved following Dad around in the garden. I remember Dad pushing the tiller (耕作机) ahead in perfectly straight lines. Dad loved growing all sorts of things: yellow and green onions, watermelons almost as big as me, rows of yellow com, and our favorite ― red tomatoes.
As I grew into a teenager, I didn’t get so excited about gardening with Dad. Instead of magical land of possibility, it had turned into some kind of prison. As Dad grew older, his love for gardening never disappeared. After all the kids were grown and had started families of their own, Dad turned to gardening like never before. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still took care of his garden.
But then, the cancer, bit by bit, invaded his body. I had to do the things he used to do. What really convinced me that Dad was dying was the state of his garden that year. The rows and rows of multicolored vegetables were gone. Too tired to weed them, he simply let them be. He only planted tomatoes.
For the first few years after he died, I couldn’t even bear to look at anyone's garden without having strong memories pour over me like cold water from a bucket. Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden and started out with just a few tomatoes. That morning, after breaking up a fair amount of soil, something caught the comer of my eye and I had to smile, It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, happily playing in the freshly tilled soil.
1.Why did the author like the garden when he was a child?
A.The garden was planted with colorful flowers.
B.The garden was just freshly tilled by his father.
C.He loved what his father grew in the garden.
D.He enjoyed being in the garden with his father.
2.When all the kids started their own families, the author’s father .
A.devoted more to gardening
B.turned to other hobbies
C.stopped his gardening
D.focused on planting tomatoes
3.What happened to the garden when the author’s father was seriously ill?
A.The author’s son took charge of it.
B.No plant grew in the garden at all.
C.The garden was almost deserted.
D.It brought the author a great harvest.
4.We can infer from the last paragraph that .
A.the author’s son played happily in the garden
B.the author’s son reminded him of his own father
C.the author’s son was very glad to help the author
D.the author’s son will continue gardening as well
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Do you know an outstanding junior high or senior high school teacher, coach, guidance counselor (辅导员), librarian, or headmaster? Nominate (提名) that special teacher you’ll always remember and give him/her the chance to be recognized in a famous national magazine through “Educator of the Year Contest”!
Prizes
Cash awards will be given to those from across the country who are given the honor of Educator of the Year. Besides, your winning essays will also be published in our magazine.
Guidelines
We will only consider essays written by teens. Nominations must be for junior high or senior high school educators only. Elementary school educators are not suitable.
Convince us your educator is special. Tell us about his or her style of teaching, his or her role in school activities, and community service. What has your educator done for the entire school, for your class, for you or for other students? Tell us some stories about your teacher with specific details. Keep your essay between 200 and 1,000 words. Remember to include the first and last name, position, and school of your educator in your essay.
Don’t forget to submit your essays through our website. You can also read our submission guidelines for more information on this website.
Deadline
The deadline for submitting your essays is December 30. If your essays are accepted, they will appear in our magazine all over the year. Winners will be made public after the January issue is published.
1.What is the purpose of the contest?
A.To make the magazine popular.
B.To choose “Educator of the Year”.
C.To stress the importance of teachers.
D.To encourage people to be teachers.
2.Who can write the essay for the contest?
A.Librarians in senior high school.
B.Teachers in junior high school.
C.Students in junior high school.
D.Guidance counselors in senior high school.
3.What is the basic content of the essay for the contest?
A.Your teacher’s previous honors.
B.The basic information of your school.
C.Some examples of your special teacher.
D.Your appreciation of your teacher’s hard work.
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Researchers continue to show the power behind our sense of smell． Recent studies have found, among other things, that the smell of foods like pizza can cause uncontrollable anger in drivers on roads．
The review explains that smell is unique in its effects on the brain． According to Conrad King, the researcher who carried out the review, "more than any other senses, the sense of smell goes through the logical part of the brain and acts on the systems concerned with feelings. This is why the smell of baking bread can destroy the best intentions of a dieter．"
Smell,which dictates（决定） the unbelievable complexity of food tastes, has always been the least understood of our senses. Our noses are able to detect up to 10，000 distinct smells． Our ability to smell and taste this extremely large range of smells is controlled by something like 1,000 genes, which make up an amazing 3% of the human genome． Researchers Richard Axel and Linda Buck were together awarded a Nobel Prize in 2004 for their ground-breaking research on the nature of this extraordinary sense． These two scientists were the first to describe the family of 1，000 olfactory （嗅觉） genes and to explain how our olfactory system works．
According to one study in the research review， smelling fresh pizza or even the packaging of fast foods can be enough to make drivers feel impatient with other road users． They are then more likely to speed and experience uncontrollable anger on roads． The most reasonable explanation is that these can all make drivers feel hungry， and therefore desperate to satisfy their appetites．
In contrast， the smells of peppermint and cinnamon were shown to improve concentration levels as well as reduce drivers' impatience． Similarly， the smells of lemon and coffee appeared to promote clear thinking and mental focus．
However， the way genes regulate smell differs from person to person． A study by researchers in Israel has identified at least 50 olfactory genes which are switched on in some people and not in others． They believe this may explain why some of us love some smells and tastes while others hate them． The Israel researchers say their study shows that nearly every human being shows a different pattern of active and inactive smell-detecting receptors．
1.What did Richard Axel and Linda Buck find out？ ______
A.The type of food smells．
B.The logical part of human brain．
C.The nature of human olfactory system．
D.The relationship between food and feelings．
2.Which of the following can help people concentrate？ ______
A.Bread． B.Fast food．
C.Pizza． D.Coffee．
3.What do we know from the last paragraph？ ______
A.Different people are sensitive to different smells．
B.Every person has a different pattern of genes．
C.Some people can recognize up to 50 smells．
D.There are still some olfactory genes to be found out．
4.What is the passage mainly about？ ______
A.Logic and behavior． B.Smell and its influence．
C.Sense ability and food tastes． D.Olfactory genes and its system．
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