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T-shirts out; uniforms in
School uniforms（制服） are becoming more and more popular across the U.S.A. That’s no surprise, because they offer many benefits. They immediately end the powerful social sorting and labeling (标记) that come from clothing. If all students are dressed in the same way, they will not pay too much attention to their clothing, and some of them will not be laughed at for wearing the “wrong” clothes.
Some people are against the strict rule of school uniforms, but they do not realize that students already accept a kind of rule — wanting to look just like their friends. The difference is that the clothing students choose for themselves creates social barriers(障碍); school uniforms tear those barriers down.
As in other places, uniforms remind the wearers of their purposes and duties. For example, when a man or woman puts on a police uniform, he or she becomes, for a time, the symbol (象征) of law and order. The uniform means to the wearer his or her special duties and sends the same message to everyone the wearer meets. People with different jobs wear uniforms of one kind or another. For students, the school uniform reminds them that their task for the six or seven hours they are in school is to get an education.
Some parents are unhappy about uniforms, saying that school uniforms will affect their children’s “creativity.” First, as noted above, the clothes students choose to wear do not necessarily express their individuality (个性). They just copy their classmates. Second, students have the rest of the day to be as creative as they like. While they’re in school, their job is to master reading, writing, and maths; this should take up all the creativity they have. Mastery of those skills will be good for the students to build up their creativity in every way.
1. In Paragraph 1, the word “benefits” probably means________.
A. tasks B. messages C. differences D. advantages
2.From the passage we learn that uniforms in general________.
A. prevent the wearers from being laughed at
B. help the wearers keep their duties in mind
C. are seen as a symbol of power
D. help to create social barriers
3.Some people are against school uniforms because________.
A. they fail to realize that students have accepted the uniforms
B. they believe that uniforms will make students less creative
C. they don’t agree that uniforms can remove social barriers
D. they think that school uniforms are too popular
4. The author would probably agree that________.
A. it makes no difference whether to wear school uniforms or not
B. students’ individuality may not come from school education
C. students’ creativity is related to the clothes they choose
D. school uniforms help to create equality among students
5.School uniforms are becoming more and more popular and important because _____
A. they can stop the powerful social sorting and labeling.
B. if all students are dressed in the same way, they will not pay too much attention to their clothing.
C. uniforms can remind the wearers of their purposes and duties
D. school uniforms will affect their children’s creativity.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Education is required and free for every child in the United States. Most children start school by the age of six. They attend eight years of elementary school and four years of high school (or secondary school ).The money for free public schools comes from taxes, and each state is responsible for its own educational system .State legislatures (立法机关) set the educational requirements but leave the management of the schools in the hands of the local communities .Most states require their children to go to school until a certain age. This age varies from 16 to 18 years according to the laws of the individual state. The Federal government contributes funds to the states for additional schools and schools services.
After graduation from high school, a student can start his higher education in two –year college, a four-year college, a university or a specialized professional school----either public or private. Most colleges admit students on the basis of their high-school records. The cost of a college education is expensive in private universities, but it is much less in those supported by states and cities. Many students receive scholarships from the schools, the government, or private foundations and organizations. More than 50 percent of the college students work to help pay their college expenses.
Only 2 percent of the population of the country cannot read and write.
1.Where does the money for public schools come from ?
A. From the Federal government. B. From the state legislatures.
C. From taxes. D. From the parents of the school children.
2.What is the educational system in the United States based on ?
A. The Federal government B. Individual school
C. Individual state D. Local communities
3.What percentage of the population is illiterate (文盲) ？
A. 50 B. 2 C. 4 D. 6
4.How are college expenses of most students paid ?
A.They won earnings from part-time work .B.Scholarship from the schools, the government or private foundations.
C. Taxes .
D. Both A and B.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Today, roller skating is easy and fun．But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin’s work was making musical instruments. In his spare time he liked to play the violin. Joseph Merlin was a man of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to attend a fancy dress ball（化装舞会）. He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He had an idea. He thought he would get a lot of attention if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two wheels under each shoe. These were the first roller skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room playing his violin. Everyone was astonished to see him. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. He rolled on and on. Suddenly, he ran into a huge mirror that was hanging on the wall. Down fell the mirror, breaking to pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin’s grand entrance for a long time!
1.The text is mainly about ________.
A．a strange man B．an unusual party
C．how roller skating began D．how people enjoyed themselves in the 18th century
2.People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he _________.
A．often gave others surprises B．was a gifted musician
C．invented the roller skates D．was full of imagination
3.Merlin put wheels under his shoes in order to ________ .
A．impress the party guests B．arrive at the party sooner
C．test his invention D．show his skill in walking on wheels
4.What is the main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?
A．The roller skates needed further improvement.
B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.
C．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.
D．Merlin got himself into trouble.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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The law is a great mass of rules, showing when and how far a man is possible to be punished, or to be made to hand over money or property to his neighbors, and so on. These rules are contained in books. A lawyer learns them mainly by reading books.
He begins by doing nothing but read, and after he has prepared himself by three years study practice, still, all his life long and almost every day, he will be looking into books to read a little more than he already knows about some new questions which he has to answer.
The power to use books, then is a special skill which the would - be lawyer ought to possess. He ought to have enough flexibility（灵活性）to make it easy for him to collect ideas from printed words. He ought to have no difficulty in finding what a book contains, and something of an instinct（直觉）for where to look for what he wants.
But although this is the power of which he will first feel the need, it is not the most important. A lawyer does not study law to recite it; he studies it to use it and act upon the rules which he has learned in real life. His business is to try cases in court and to advise men what to do in order to keep out or get out of trouble.
1. After three years of reading________.
A. he can study law B. he can stop reading
C. he still has to continue reading D. he is able to give clever answers
2. The major business of a lawyer is________.
A. to discuss the material he has read B. to advise people who have law problems
C. to learn about real life D. to study the law
3. According to the passage, a good lawyer should know how to________.
A. understand and use what he reads B. be convenient in everything
C. collect ideas from different source D. use power in the court
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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The campaign（竞选）is over. The celebrations have ended. And the work for US president-elect Barack Obama has begun.
The 47-year-old politician rose to the highest post because of his stand against the war in Iraq and his plans to fix a weak economy. But what will the first 47-year-old African-American president do for race relations?
Obama’s victory appears to have given blacks and other minorities（少数民族）a true national role model. For years, many looked to athletes and musicians for inspiration. As Darius Turner, an African-American high school student in Los Angeles, told the Los Angeles Times, “Kobe doesn’t have to be everybody’s role model anymore.”
However, Bill Bank, an expert of African-American Studies, says that eventually young blacks need to find role models in their own communities. “That’s not Martin Luther King, and not Barack Obama,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s actually the people closest to them. Barack only has so much influence. ”
In the opinion of black British politician Trevor Phillips, Obama’s rise will contribute more to multiculturalism than to race relations in the US.
“When the G8 meets, the four most important people in the room will be the president of China, the prime minister of India, the prime minister of Japan and Barak Obama,” he told London’s The Times newspaper. “It will be the first time we’ve seen that on our television screens. That will be a huge psychological shift（心理转变）for both the white people and the colored ones in the world. ”
1. For years, before Obama was elected president of the US, __________.
A. Kobe was the only role model for all the blacks
B. blacks could only find role models on the basketball court
C. minorities in America couldn’t find role models in their real life
D. American blacks had no role model who was successful in political area
2.According to Bill Bank, ____________.
A. it’s better for young blacks to find role models in those who are close to them
B. young blacks should not be so much influenced by Obama
C. blacks should find other role models because Obama is far from their reality
D. Obama is not the proper role model for African-Americans
3.What would be the best title for this passage?
A. The First African-American President B. America’s New Role Model
C. Obama-- A Successful Black. D. Choosing a Right Role Model
4.What will be the huge psychological shift Trevor mentioned at the end of the passage?
A. The other three leaders all support Obama.
B. Obama is an African-American president.
C. None of the four leaders is white.
D. The other three leaders except Obama are from Asian countries.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
A.They won earnings from part-time work .