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Each spring brings a new wildflower blooming in the fields along the highway I travel daily to work.
There is one particular blue flower that has always caught my eye. I've noticed that it blooms only in the morning hours. The afternoon sun is too warm for it. Every day each year for about two weeks, I see those beautiful flowers.
This spring, I started a wildflower garden in my yard. I can look out of the kitchen window while doing the dishes and see the flowers. I've often thought that those lovely blue flowers from the fields would look great in that bed alongside other wildflowers.
Every day I drove past the flowers, thinking, "I'll stop on my way home and dig them." "Gee, I don't want to get my good clothes dirty…" Whatever the reason, I never stopped to dig them. My husband even gave me a tool one year for that expressed purpose.
One day on my way home from work, I was saddened to see that the highway department had cleared up the fields and the pretty blue flowers were gone. I thought to myself, "Way to go, you waited too long. You should have done it when you first saw them blooming this spring. "
A week ago we were shocked and saddened to learn that my oldest sister-in-law has a cancer. She is 20 years older than my husband and unfortunately, because of age and distance, we haven't been as close as we all would have liked.
I couldn't help but see the connection between the pretty blue flowers and the relationship between my husband's sister and us. I do believe that God has given us some time left to plant some wonderful memories that will bloom every year for us.
And yes, if I see the blue flowers again, I'm sure I'll stop and transplant them to my wildflower garden.
1.How long might the blue flower bloom in spring?
A. About two weeks. B. The whole season.
C. About one week. D. The whole day.
2.Where did the writer want to transplant the flowers?
A. Across the fields. B. Along the highway.
C. In the garden. D. Outside the yard.
3.Which of the following is NOT true about the writer's sister-in-law?
A. She is seriously ill.
B. She is twenty years old.
C. She lives far away from the writer.
D. She is not in close touch with the writer.
4.What does the writer want to tell us?
A. Value now and don't lose chances.
B. Visit our relatives only after they get ill.
C. Refresh our wonderful moments every year.
D. Plant flowers and don't enjoy them in the field.
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The necktie looks set to follow the top hat in being handed over to the fashion museum by office workers within the next 50 years, according to research.
Nearly three quarters (74%) think the tie will not survive within British firms beyond the next half a century with the popularity of the open-collared shirt. Its demise is being blamed on the boom in creative businesses, such as Facebook and Google, and online trading companies where formal dress codes tend to be avoided in favour of a more casual approach.
Once considered an important part of business dress, the tie has become a victim of the spread of "casual Fridays" into other weekdays, according to researchers.
The poll, by Deal Jungle. com, which helps small and medium enterprises, found more than half (51% ) thought the tie would die out in offices within the next 20 years and almost a quarter (22%) believed it would last less than 10 years.
A spokesman for the site, which has 20, 000 registered members, said: "Ties have been around seemingly forever but increasing numbers of office workers are telling them to get away."
"The success of businesses such as Facebook and Google, where even the CEO turns up wearing jeans and a hoodie, also seems to have had a corrosive (ʴ) effect on the idea of dressing formally for work."
"Many of our members keep their expenses to a minimum by working from home so they feel no need to dress up to go to work. We know that when they meet with clients, they still put on a business suit, but a tie is no longer seen as an essential part of the suited-and-booted look."
"Instead, many businessmen and increasing numbers of executives choose a suit and shirt with an open collar. The tie-less suit creates an impression of a more approachable deal maker, someone who is still business-minded, yet creative and technology-sensible, too. "
1.Why are ties expected to disappear in offices?
A. CEOs in creative businesses set a rule to forbid wearing ties.
B. The idea of casual weekdays is increasingly accepted.
C. Office workers are tired of wearing ties daily.
D. The tie-less look appears more modern.
2.According to the spokesman, how are their members dressed before clients?
A. Business suits and casual jeans.
B. Formal suits and a shirt with a tie.
C. Casual suits and buttoned-up shirt.
D. Business suits and an open-collared shirt.
3.What kind of image does the tie-less suit create?
A. Accessible in business. B. Professional in fashion.
C. Casual in working. D. Creative in dressing.
4.What does the underlined word "demise" mean in Para.2?
A. popularity B. survival C. disappearance D. development
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The British are being encouraged to holiday at home as a major tourism drive offering Olympic themed discounts is launched next week.
A new campaign offering 20. 12% discounted bills at participating venues (场所) will be announced publicly for the first time by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday to encourage "staycations".
The scheme includes hotel accommodation, meals, guided tours and entry to attractions, with discounts funded by the industry. Government officials said more than three million hotel rooms were already lined up under the project, which is being backed by a range of companies, including Butlins. Attractions, such as the London Eye and Alton Towers, are also taking part. Reduced prices will also be offered on stays on the Royal yacht Britannia, now harboring in Leith, Edinburgh, and visits to Chatsworth, the historic house in Derbyshire.
Tourists will be able to take advantage of the discount by using a dedicated website before the end of the Paralympics on September 9 to make bookings for this year and 2013.
Mr. Hunt said, "With the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic Games, this year is the perfect opportunity for more of us to holiday in the UK "
Mr. Hunt has travelled the UK, urging companies to take part in the scheme, telling them, "It's now or never for London tourism. We will never have a year like 2012 to show the world that this is, quite simply, the most exciting, vibrant, cosmopolitan city on the planet. The unavoidable complaints in the run up to an Olympics must not cloud the scale of the opportunity —including our biggest ever tourism marketing campaign to make sure we get a lasting benefit from being in the global spotlight. "
The scheme will be promoted by a ￡3 million television advertising campaign — the first of its kind in the UK.
The government hopes the " Holidays at Home are Great" campaign — launched by Visit England — will create 12, 000 jobs, create 5.3 million extra short overnight breaks, and generate ￡480 million in extra spending over three years.
1.What Mr. Hunt said indicates that________.
A. he has no interest in the scheme
B. he supports the idea of staycation
C. he doubts the benefit of the scheme
D. he cares most about London tourism
2.What does the underlined sentence (in Para. 6) mean?
A. London tourism will never have a precious opportunity.
B. It is too golden an opportunity for London tourism to lose.
C. It is now too late for London tourism to take this opportunity.
D. London has ever had a valuable opportunity like the one in 2012.
3.How will the "Holidays at Home are Great" campaign probably benefit London?
A. It will offer 20. 12% discount to travelers' expenses.
B. It will attract more international travelers to visit London.
C. It will create more job opportunities and bring in more money.
D. It will prove London the most exciting, vibrant, cosmopolitan city on earth.
4.In which section of a newspaper will this article be presented?
A. Entertainment. B. Politics. C. Finance. D. News.
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Testing has replaced teaching in most public schools. My own children's school week is framed by pretests, drills, tests, and retests. They know that the best way to read a textbook is to look at the questions at the end of the chapter and then skim the text for the answers. I believe that my daughter Erica, who gets excellent marks, has never read a chapter of any of her school textbooks all the way through. And teachers are often heard to state proudly and openly that they teach to the mandated (国家指定的) state test.
Teaching to the test is a curious phenomenon. Instead of deciding what skills students ought to learn, helping students learn them, and then using some reasonable methods of assessment to discover whether students have mastered the skills, teachers are encouraged to reverse the process. First, one looks at a commercially available test. Then, one distills (提取) the skills needed not to master reading, say, or math, but to do well on the test. Finally, the test skills are taught.
The ability to read or write or calculate might infer the ability to do reasonably well on standardized tests. However, neither reading nor writing develops simply through being taught to take tests. We must be careful to avoid mistaking preparation for a test of a skill with the acquisition of that skill. Too many discussions of the basics of skills make this fundamental confusion because people are test-centered rather than concerned with the nature and quality of what is taught.
Recently, many schools have faced what could be called the crisis of comprehension or, in simple terms, the phenomenon of students with phonic and grammar skills still being unable to understand what they read. These students are capable of taking tests and filling in workbooks. However, they have little or no experience reading or thinking, and talking about what they read. They know the details but can't see or understand the whole. They are taught to be so concerned with grade that they have' no time or ease of mind to think about meaning, and reread things if necessary.
1.As is indicated in the second paragraph, the author finds it strange that __.
A. tests are used to assess students' skills
B. skills are determined before tests are set
C. teaching is aimed to prepare students for tests
D. teachers use some reasonable methods of assessment
2.The crisis of comprehension most probably results from __.
A. students' poor phonic and grammar skills
B. teaching that takes up much of students' free time
C. teaching that emphasizes details rather than the whole
D. students' lack of ability to think about what they read
3.According to the author, we can infer that __.
A. the basics of skills have been discussed too much
B. the nature and quality of what is taught are fully concerned
C. skills in general are not only useless but often mislead students
D. doing well in a test does not necessarily mean acquiring the skill
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阅读下面短文和问题，根据短文内容，在相应题号后的横线上写下相关信息(不多于
五个单词)，完成对该问题的回答。答语要结构正确，书写工整，字迹清楚。
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1. Cousins You could say that the alligator and the crocodile are cousins because they belong to the same animal group. The group is called Archosauria (ark-o-SOR-ee-ah). The name means "ruling lizards." The alligator and the crocodile are alike in many ways. Both have hard, bumpy skin. Both lay eggs in nests that they build near water. Both are reptiles (爬行动物), too. 
2. Look Again Even though alligators and crocodiles are similar, there are ways to tell them apart. Adult alligators are usually gray or black, and they are darker than crocodiles. Adult crocodiles may be tan, green, or brown. Most types of alligators have broad snouts. Crocodiles' snouts are different. Their snouts are long and narrow. Look at the picture of the alligator. Whenever an alligator closes its mouth, only the top teeth show. Now look at the picture of the crocodile. Do you see a difference? Whenever a crocodile closes its mouth, some of the lower teeth also show. 
3 Alligators and crocodile also have different ways of doing things. Alligators like freshwater. They sometimes wander into salty seawater, but they don't stay in the water very long. The salt can be bad for them. Alligators usually make their nests at the edge of freshwater lakes, rivers, or swamps. They use grass and leaves to make their nests. Crocodiles, on the other hand, usually build their nests in mud or sand. Sometimes they construct these nests near salty water. The salty water doesn't hurt them. Alligators and crocodiles do other things differently, too. A mother alligator stays near her nest. When the eggs hatch, she carries the babies to water. They may even ride around on her head as she swims. They depend on her to help them stay safe. Crocodile babies don't rely as much on their mothers. In fact, the babies leave the nest a few days after they are born. |
1.Where do they (alligators and crocodiles) lay eggs?
2.According to Part 2 "Look Again", how can we tell alligators and crocodiles apart?
3.What might be a suitable heading for Part 3?
4.According to the passage, who rely more on their mothers?
5.Who is the passage most likely intended for?
