As a group of young African immigrants strugg...

As a group of young African immigrants struggle to adapt to life in the United States, an after-school drama program at White Oak Middle School aims to make their lives easier by first making them a little harder.

Project X is a program that uses drama, dance, poetry and other creative outlets to help students discuss the tough and sometimes painful problems they face as pre-teen immigrants with language barriers. A final unveiling of their creation will be performed for friends and family at the end of the year at Imagination Stage.

Wanjiru Kamau, coordinator of White Oak’s African Club said it’s important to give troubles to group members to help them find their place at the school. “It comforts those who are uncomfortable, and it discomforts those who are comfortable,” Kamau said of Project X.

Kamau teamed up with Imagination Stage after she noticed that many African students seemed uncomfortable talking about problems, such as being laughed at by their fellow students about how they look and talk. When most of the kids join the club, they speak little or no English, Kamau said. Each week, the club typically draws five to ten students who are originally from Africa for discussion sessions and the Project X programme.

“We are going to express ourselves through our words and our actions, and that’s powerful,” said teaching artist Meg Green as she introduced fill-in-the-blank poems the students wrote about their identities.

One student, Frank Ketchouang, 13, wrote, “I am from the world; I am love,” which drew oohs and aahs from the group. Ketchouang has been in the United States for less than a year, said Program Coordinator Chad Dike. When Ketchouang started attending Project X, he had been in the United States for two months and spoke no English. Now he’s one of the group’s most outgoing members and helps translate instructions from English to Creole for the group’s newest member, who is from Haiti.

Many people will give up when there’s a language barrier, “but these students prove them wrong”. Kamau said. “You do have something to give. You are important. When TV, media, etc. are bringing them down, this program is bringing them up.”

1.Project X is intended for helping the young African immigrants to_________.

A. get over language barriers

B. enrich after-school life

C. overcome tough problems

D. become more creative

2.How well the members learn in the Project X program is shown by_________.

A. their annual creative performances

B. their annual scores gained at school

C. the comments of friends and family

D. the comments of the program teachers

3.What do we know about the Imagination Stage?

A. It’s established by Kamau for Project X.

B. It’s a cooperative partner of White Oak’S African Club.

C. It’s a project designed by White Oak Middle School.

D. It’s operated once at the end of each year.

4.According to the author, what Franck Ketchouang wrote was______.

A. silly                 B. simple       C. excellent   D. contradictory

5.The passage is written mainly to_______.

A. introduce the Project X program

B. inspire immigrants to never give up

C. advocate White Oak’S African Club

D. call for more attention to immigrants

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A new study finds that young females in one group of African chimps(黑猩猩) use sticks as dolls more than their male peers (同龄) do, often treating pieces of wood like a mother chimp caring for a baby. In human cultures around the world, girls play with dolls and pretend that the toys are babies far more than boys do.

Chimp observations, collected over 14 years of field work with the Kanyawara chimp community in Kibale National Park in Ugandan, provide the first evidence of a nonhuman animal in the wild that exhibits sex differences in how it plays. This finding supports an argument that biology as well as society underlies boys’ and girls’ different toy preferences.

Stick play occurred most commonly between ages 3 and 9. Females spent a lot more time carrying sticks than males did. Young male chimps occasionally used sticks to mimic(模仿) childcare. “Far more often, they fought with sticks, an infrequent behavior among females,” say Sonya Kahlenberg of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and Richard Wrangham of Harvard University.

“Biological differences between the sexes make female chimps more receptive to stick-mothering than males,” says Wrangham.

Consistent with reported cultural traditions among adult chimps, Kanyawara youngsters learned from each other to play with sticks as if caring for babies. Stick play among young chimps showed no evidence of being directly influenced by older chimps. Child-bearing females never played with sticks and thus didn’t model such behavior for younger chimps.

Young females carried sticks for anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. They often rested in nests with their sticks, sometimes playing with them much as chimp mothers play with their babies though they didn’t get any form of teaching from the adults.

1.What does a stick seem like to a young female chimp who plays with it?

A. A doll.　　 B. A mother.　　 C. A baby.　　 D. A toy.

2.We can see from the text that young female chimps ________.

A. often carry sticks with males

B. always carry sticks with males

C. never use sticks in fighting

D. seldom use sticks in fighting

3.From whom do the young chimps pick up the stick play behavior?

A. From each other.　　 B. From older chimps.

C. From their mothers.　　 D. From male chimps.

4.What does the text mainly tell us about young chimps’ stick play?

A. The types of stick play and social influence.

B. The sex differences and social influence.

C. The sex differences and age differences.

D. The ways of stick play and age differences.

高三英语阅读理解困难题查看答案及解析

Nelson Mandela devoted all his life to the struggle of the African people and　　　　 of every nation that seeks freedom．

A．it　　　　　　　　　     B．one　　　　　　　     C．those     D．that

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Nelson Mandela devoted all his life to the struggle of the African people and　　　　 of every nation that seeks freedom．

A．it　　　　　　　　　　 B．one　　　　　　　　 C．those　 D．that

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

A Chinese immigrant ______ neighbours said struggled to survive in America was arrested

Sunday because he used a butcher knife to kill his relatives.

A. whose　　　　　　 B. which　　　　　　　

C. whom　　　　　 　　 D. who

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

From the cold Arctic to the African plains, every society seems to have some form of music as part of their culture. Music is so common and widespread that most people don’t even question it anymore. But until recently, there were researchers who doubted it: How could we know that music was really a part of all known societies?

Now, Harvard researchers, Samuer Mehr and Manvir Singh, have found further evidence to support the argument. They gathered music from different countries, media and time periods, and collected descriptions of many different pieces of music. Rather than focusing on music first and then looking at where it could be found, they started by studying a record of detailed descriptions of more than three hundred known global societies, and found that all of them have music as part of their culture.

To see if people could recognize the functions of songs from around the world, the researchers also created a listening experiment in which people tried to guess the behavioral context of a song. This went surprisingly well. Particularly music that was intended for dancing or to calm a baby were easy to recognize as either dance music or lullabies. Love songs were a bit more difficult to qualify, because they tend to be very diverse even within cultures.

This systematic study of connections sounds like the way that researchers in other fields would study biological patterns. “There’s a field known as cultural phylogenetics,” says Singh. Whereas biological characteristics are only received from parent to child, cultural characteristics (like music) are also shared between people of the same generation. That makes it much more difficult to figure out where the characteristic has come from.

“Finally,” Singh says, “We still don’t know why music developed gradually. Our study shows that humans everywhere share cognitive mechanisms (认知机制) that make certain sounds seem appropriate in particular contexts.”

1.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 1 refer to?

A.The fact that music is part of every culture.

B.The question whether music is widely spread.

C.The doubt whether further research has been done.

D.The idea that Africa and the Arctic have cool music.

2.What did Mehr and Singh do first?

A.They found out further evidence. B.They studied various societies.

C.They sought the origins of music. D.They focused mainly on music.

3.What’s the purpose of the listening experiment?

A.To comfort a baby. B.To pick out love songs.

C.To create a context. D.To tell functions of songs.

4.What is the main idea of the text?

A.Music shapes societies in different cultures.

B.Global music shares common characteristics.

C.Musical systems display cultural differences.

D.Multi-culture is based on biological patterns.

高三英语阅读理解简单题查看答案及解析

After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American，a new study finds．That's one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America．

The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents' food choices．After being questioned about their ability to speak English，75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite. Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same.

When their American identity was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes，such as hamburgers and cheese sandwiches．In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant. Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study. Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories，including 12 grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat（饱和脂肪）.

"People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in，"said Sauna Cheryan，an author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington." If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives，this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health." Cheryan added．

Social pressures，the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem．"In American society today, being American is associated with being white．Americans，who don't fit this image even if they were born here and speak English，feel that pressure to prove that they're American," said Cheryan．

1.The author wants to show that __________.

A. more and more Asians enjoy high-calorie snacks

B. immigrants tend to eat American junk food to fit in

C. most Americans are at the risk of heart disease

D. all the American people have a bad eating habit

2.According to the survey, __________.

A. Asian-Americans care less about their health

B. 25 percent of Americans like junk food

C. choosing food is related to Asian-Americans' situation

D. immigrants are forced to eat junk food

3.The underlined word "fare" in Paragraph 4 most probably means" __________".

A. food offered as a meal                              B. a person taking a taxi

C. money spent on food                           D. an arranged thing to do

4.According to Sauna Cheryan, __________.

A. what immigrants have done is ridiculous

B. American traditional foods are healthier

C. immigrants risk their health in order to fit in

D. American culture affects immigrants deeply

5.Which of the following should take the blame for the bad eating habit?

A. The situation of employment.                        B. The traditional culture.

C. The American government.                          D. The pressures from society.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

After moving to the United States , immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high calorie fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American , a new study finds . That’s one reason why immigrants approach US levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America.

The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents’ food choices . After being questioned about their ability to speak English , 75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite. Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same.

When their American identiy was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes , such as hamburgers and cheese sand wiches In that experiment , 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant . Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study. Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories , including 12grams of fat and 7 grams of saturated fat(饱和脂肪).

“People who feel like they need to prove they belong to a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in , ”said Sauna Cheryan ,an anthor of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington.” If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives , this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health .Cheryan added.

Social pressures , the study concluded , are at the heart of the problem. “In American society today , being American is associated with being white . Americans , who don’t fit this image even if they were born here and speak English , feel that pressure to prove that they’re American,” said Cheryan.

1.The author wants to show that________.

A.more and more Asians enjoy high-calorie snacks

B.immigrants tend to eat American junk food to fit in

C.most Americans are at the risk of heart disease

D.all the American people have a bad eating habit

2.According to the survey,________.

A.Asian-Americans care less about their health

B.25 percent of Americans like junk food

C.choosing food is related to Asian-American’s situation

D.immigrants are forced to eat junk food

3.The underlined word “fare” in Paragraph 4 most probably means “________”.

A.food offered as a meal            B.a person taking a taxi

C.money spent on food           D.an arranged thing to do

4.According to Sauna Cheryan,________.

A.what immigrants have done is ridiculous

B.American traditional foods are healthier

C.immigrants risk their health in order to fit in

D.American culture affects immigrants deeply

5.Which of the following should take the blame for the bad eating habit?

A.The situation of employment.          B.The traditional culture.

C.The American government.              D.The pressures from society.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

After moving to the United States, immigrant groups trying to fit in tend to choose high-calorie, fatty foods in an attempt to appear more American, a new study finds. That's one reason why immigrants approach U.S. levels of obesity within 15 years of moving to America.

The researchers also did an experiment that measured whether or not the threat of appearing un-American influenced respondents' food choices．After being questioned about their ability to speak English，75 percent of Asian-Americans identified a typical American food as their favorite. Only 25 percent of Asian-Americans who had not been asked if they spoke English did the same.

When their American identity was called into question during a follow-up study, Asian-American participants also tended to choose typical American dishes, such as hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches, over more Asian fare. In that experiment, 55 Asian-Americans were asked to choose a meal from a local Asian or American restaurant. Some participants were told that only Americans could participate in the study. Those who chose the more typical American fare ended up consuming an extra 182 calories, including 12 grams of fat and seven grams of saturated fat(饱和脂肪).

"People who feel like they need to prove they belong in a culture will change their habits in an attempt to fit in," said Sapna Cheryan, an author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Washington. "If immigrants and their children choose unhealthy American foods over healthier traditional foods across their lives, this process of fitting in could lead to poorer health," Cheryan added.

Social pressures, the study concluded, are at the heart of the problem. "In American society today, being American is associated with being white. Americans who don't fit this image even if they were born here and speak English feel that pressure to prove that they're American," said Cheryan.

1.According to the survey, _____.

A. Asia-Americans care less about their health.

B. 25 percent of Americans like junk food.

C. choosing food is related to Asian-American’s situation

D. immigrants are forced to eat junk food.

2.The underlined word “fare” in Paragraph 3 most probably means “_____”

A. food offered as a meal         B. a person taking a taxi

C. money spent on food            D. an arranged thing to do

3.According to Sauna Cheryan, ________.

A. what immigrants have done is ridiculous

B. American traditional foods are healthier

C. immigrants risk their health in order to fit in

D. American culture affects immigrants deeply

4.Which of the following should take the blame for the bad eating habit?

A. The situation of employment        B. The traditional culture

C. The American government            D. The pressures from society

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A group of young Americans have come to Beijing for a visit. Half of them, ___is, 50 persons, can speak Chinese fluently.

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析