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For Rachael and Leigh Badman, there is only one wish on their Christmas list this year__ that their sick daughter survives until December 25.
Fifteen –year-old Paige suffers from a rare brain condition. The disease affects as few as 12 people in the world, and can kill her any day without warning. And her condition has deteriorated in recent months. Each time she closes her eyes, she may never wake up. Rachael and Leigh Badman are worried that she couldn’t live through Christmas. They filled their house with Christmas decorations on November1, so she could enjoy her favorite day of the year in advance.
Paige was diagnosed with the condition four years ago. Mrs. Badman described the condition as “being on death row” as she never knows if she will wake up and still have a daughter. She said, “ Paige always loves Christmas and it’s heartbreaking to see her suffering like this.”
In the last months, Paige has been unable to eat and has never walked or spoken. But she loves music, and enjoys watching pop stars’ DVDs. And in May she also went on holiday to Florida with her parents and little brother, Kefton. The family , who have already organized parts of Paige’s funeral, also saw the teenager swimming with dolphins during the trip. Since then, however, her condition has worsened.
Mrs Badman, who is separated from her husband and works as Paige’s full-time carer, said, “Now she can’t eat or drink anymore, and her brain is shrinking.(萎缩) With all her problems, we just thought, ‘Let’s get the Christmas tree up as soon as possible.’ We’re praying she lives to see Christmas Day.”
1.Paige’s parents got the Christmas tree up on November 1 to ____.
A．let her enjoy the great time with visitors
B．let her understand her parents’ love
C．let her enjoy Christmas early before her death
D．let her receive more good wishes from others
2.Mrs Badman described Paige as “ being on death row” because ______.
A．Paige could die at any time without warning
B．she found Paige struggling painfully
C．she had organized Paige’s funeral
D．Paige lost the abilities to walk and speak
3.The underlined word can be replaced by “_____”.
A．proved satisfying B．grown stronger C．got improved D．become worse
4.What can be learned from the passage?
A．Christmas is Paige’s favorite festival.
B．12% of children in the world suffer from the disease.
C．Paige enjoyed watching pop stars’ DVDs on a trip.
D．Paige travelled with her family before suffering the disease.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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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 about the word“mouth”. But some of them are not so nice. 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 people’s feelings. Or they tell the person something they were not supposed to. 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.
Information is often spread through word of mouth. This is general communication between people, like friends talking to each other.” How did you hear about that new movie?” someone might ask,” Oh, by word of mouth.” A more official way of getting information is through a company or government mouthpiece. This is an official spokesperson. Government –run media could also be called a mouthpiece.
Sometimes when one person is speaking, he says the same thing that his friend was going to say. When this happens, the friend might say: “You took the words right out of my mouth!” Sometimes a person has a bad or unpleasant experience with another person. He might say that experience “left a bad taste in my mouth”. Or the person might have had a very frightening experience, like being chased by an angry dog. He might say : “ I had my heart in my mouth.”
1.The underlined words “ down in the mouth” in Paragraph One can be best replaced by _______.
A．ashamed B．regretful C．satisfied D．excited
2.Which could be used to describe one’s fear?
A．By word of mouth B．Put one ‘s foot in one’s mouth
C．Take the words right out one’s mouth. D．Have one’s heart in one’s mouth.
3.The second paragraph of the passage mainly tells us _____.
A．the meaning of two expressions B．information from folk communication
C．information from official-run media D．two different ways to get information
4.The author writes the passage in order to _____.
A．introduce some expressions B．enjoy learning English
C．learn about English culture D．use words correctly
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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HIGHFIELD COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL
SCHOOL REPORT
Form Teacher: G. Baker Pupil’s Name: Simon Watkins
Term: Summer 2012 Form: Ⅳ B
Subject Exam Class work Comments
English 59 61 Simon has reached a satisfactory standard but now needs to apply himself with more determination.
Mathematics 77 85 Sound work and progress throughout the year. Well done!
History 46 53 A disappointing exam result. He is unable to give attention to this subject for long.
Chemistry 78 85 His obvious ability in the subject was not fully reflected in his exam work, but I have high hopes for him nevertheless.
Physics 86 94 An excellent term’s performance. He goes from strength to strength. A born scientist, I feel.
Biology 57 60 This time next year he will be taking the “0” exam. He needs to concentrate on the work, not on class conversation.
French 41 46 Clearly he didn’t bother to revise. His general attitude is far too casual.
Physical
Education / 31 Weak. It’s time he exercised his body more and his voice less. He should try to work with a team.
FORM TEACHER’S REMARKS HEADMASTER
Basically satisfactory work and progress I shall be keeping an eye on though he will now have realized, I hope, that his progress in his weaker in certain subject areas he needs to make subjects though his
speedy progress. success in the sciences is improvement.
1.According to the comments of the Physical Education teacher, Simon_______.
A．is too talkative in the class
B．likes to work with his classmates
C．doesn’t exercise his body at the right time
D．becomes weak because he doesn’t exercise at all
2.Which of Simon’s subjects will attract the headmaster’s attention in future?
A．Biology and Maths. B．History and French.
C．English and Chemistry. D．Physics and Physical Education.
3.Which of the following statements best describes Simon?
A．He has made great progress in language classes.
B．His potential has been fully reflected in science classes.
C．His grade in maths makes him a born scientist.
D．He needs to improve his attitude on certain subjects.
4. Based on the school report, which of the following statements is true?
A．Simon didn’t bother his teacher to revise French.
B．Basically, Simon did a good job in science.
C．Simon is a determined learner in English.
D．Simon is able to pay attention to history for long.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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I got interested in the idea of standing desks about a year ago. The health advantages of standing instead of sitting for eight hours a day are clear, so when the company Ergotron invited me to review their WorkFit C-Mod Dual Desk, I jumped out of my chair---really.
After several hours putting the desk together, I finally got to try it out. The standing desk had a desktop that I could use for writing.
At first I absolutely loved it. Standing during the day instead of sitting was fantastic. Although I felt more tired after all that standing during the day, I knew the health benefits were worth the slight discomfort. However, after the initial novelty (新奇)of the desk wore off, I realized that I could not use it in the long term.
It was just not practical. While using the desk for a month , I could definitely foresee problems arising from using it full time.
I enjoy having a lot of things on my desk. The standing desk just did not have enough room for all of my things.
I can easily foresee awkward situations when I put that desk in an office space. When someone comes into your office, does your guest have to stand as well? If you office is big enough, maybe you have room for two chairs for you and a visitor, which is great. Yet for the ordinary worker in a small office, the standing desk creates a very awkward situation.
Additionally, the amount of money I would have to spend to replace my current workspace with a standing desk was another issue. The desks I have looked at were highly expensive.
Yes, spending the day standing can offset(抵消) many of the negative effects of too much sitting, but we humans are designed for movement. Through activity changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, you can easily increase the time you spend on your feet. Best of all, those options are completely free.
1.When the author was asked to try the standing desk out, he was ____.
A．excited B．surprised C．unhappy D．uninterested
2.When first using the standing desk, the author ___.
A．thought it was boring B．thought it was wonderful
C．felt less tired than usual D．felt quite uncomfortable
3.According to the author, a standing desk ____.
A．takes up too much space B．is suitable for long-term use
C．is cheaper than traditional desks D．is impractical though good for health
4.What does the author mainly tell us in the text?
A．How to use the standing desk. B．What he does during the workday.
C．His opinion on the standing desk. D．The advantage of the standing desk.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Retirement Age
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely．The " standard" retirement age varies from country to country, but it is generally between 50 and 70, according to the latest statistics, 2011．However, for a long time, people have got into an argument about whether the age of retirement should be increased or reduced in their own countries．
There are several arguments for allowing older people to continue working as long as they are able．Many people think that older employees have a large amount of knowledge and experience which can be lost to a business or organization if they are made to retire．Besides, older employees are often extremely faithful employees to and are more willing to implement company policies than the young．A more important point is regarding the attitudes in society to old people．To force someone to resign or retire at 60 or 65 indicates that the society does not value the input of these people and that effectively their useful life is over．
Allowing old people to work indefinitely （无限地）, however, is not always a good policy．Some people took the strong view that age alone is no guarantee of ability．Many young employees have more experience or skills than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area for most of their working lives．Having compulsory retirement allows new ideas in an organization．On the other hand, older people should be rewarded by society for their life' s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy leisure．They can have time to do whatever they like, that is, they can have their own plans or roles and achieve their retirement goals．
With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, there are often calls to compulsorily retire older workers．However, this can affect the older individual' s freedom—and right—to work．In my opinion, giving workers more choices over their retirement age will benefit society and the individual．
1.According to the passage, older people should go on with work because ____.
A．they will help the business not to fail quickly
B．they have grasped much practical experience
C．they need to have a sense of achievement
D．they want to learn more knowledge
2.The underlined word "implement" in Paragraph 2 probably means "______".
A．take over B．work on C．get rid of D．carry out
3.The third paragraph is mainly to tell us that ______．
A．older people can' t do their work well
B．young people usually have new ideas
C．it is better for older people to retire on time
D．older people would like to do something else
4.Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
难度: 中等查看答案及解析