WASHINGTON—Laura Straub is a very worried woman. Her job is to find families for

WASHINGTON—Laura Straub is a very worried woman. Her job is to find families for

题型:不详难度:来源:
WASHINGTON—Laura Straub is a very worried woman. Her job is to find families for French teenagers who expect to live with American families in the summer.
It is not easy, even hopeless.
“We have many children left to place—40 out of 75,” said Straub, who works for a Paris-based foreigner-exchange program started 50 years ago. Family life was more than accommodating (提供膳宿). For one thing, more mothers stayed at home. But now, increasing numbers of women work outside the home. Exchange-student programs have struggled in recent years to sign up host (主人) families for the 30 000 teenagers who every year come from abroad to spend a school year in the United States, as well as the thousands more who take part in summer programs.
School systems in many parts of the U.S., unhappy about accepting non-taxpaying students, have also strictly limited the number of exchange students they accepted. At the same time, the idea of hosting foreign students is becoming less exotic.
In search for host families, who usually receive no pay, exchange programs are increasingly broadening their requests to include everyone from young couples to retirees.
“We are open to many different types of families,” said Vickie Weiner, eastern area director for ASSE, a 25-year-old program that sends about 30 000 teenagers on school-year exchange programs worldwide.
For elderly people, exchange students “keep us young—they really do”, said Jen Foster, who is hosting 16-year-old Nina Post from Denmark.
小题1:The underlined word “exotic” means _________.
A.difficultB.wonderfulC.excitingD.accommodating
小题2:According to the text, why was it easier for Laura Straub to find American families for foreign students?
A.More mothers wasn’t working outside and was able to afford to look after children .
B.American school systems were better than now.
C.Foreign students paid hosting families a lot of money.
D.The government was happy because it could gain tax.
小题3:Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.All the families can host foreign students.
B.Only young couples can host foreign students.
C.Only those who were retired can host foreign students.
D.Exchange programs are open to many different types of families including everyone from young couples to retirees.
小题4:Which of the following is the best title of this passage?
A.U.S. Struggle to Find host Families
B.Idea of Hosting Students is Different
C.Foreign-exchange Program Is Going on
D.Exchange Students Keep Old People Young

答案

小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:D
小题4:A
解析

小题1:本题考查根据短文相关内容对词语含义进行简单推断的能力。文章第三段第四句“But now, increasing numbers of women work outside the home. Exchange-student programs have struggled in recent years to sign up host (主人) families …” 以及第四段第一句“School systems in many parts of the U.S., unhappy about accepting non-taxpaying students, have also strictly limited the number of exchange students they accepted”. 可知Laura Straub很难在美国找到寄宿家庭接受来自法国的学生, 这说明目前接纳外国学生的想法不如原先令人兴奋,有吸引力了。故最佳答案为C。
小题2:本题考查对文中细节事实进行判断的能力。由第二段“For one thing, more mothers stayed at home. But now, increasing numbers of women work outside the home.”可知最佳答案为B项原文未谈到学校制度的好坏;再由第三段“School systems in many parts of the U.S., unhappy about accepting non-taxpaying students…”和第四段“In search for host families, who usually receive no pay,…”可以判断C,D表述有误。
小题3:本题考查对文中细节进行认定的能力。由文章倒数第三段 “…exchange programs are increasingly broadening their requests to include everyone from young couples to retirees.”可知最佳答案为D。A项表述太绝对; B、C项表述不全面。
小题4:本题考查理解文章主旨要义的能力。本文是一篇新闻报道。新闻报道常常开头就点明要报道的内容,故由文章开头“WASHINGTON—Laura Straub is a very worried woman. Her job is to find families for French teenagers who expect to live with American families in the summer. It is not easy, even hopeless. ” 可知本文的主旨:Laura Straub在美国找到寄宿家庭接受来自法国的学生是很困难的。故A 项符合题意。
举一反三
A device that stops drivers form falling asleep at the wheel is about to undergo testing at Department of Transport laboratories and could go on sale within 12 months.
The system, called Driver Alert, aims to reduce deadly road accidents by 20% - 40% that are caused by tiredness. Airline pilots can also use it to reduce the 30% of all pilot-error accidents that are related to fatigue.
Driver Alert is based on a computerized wristband. The device, worn by drivers or pilots, gives out a sound about every four minutes during a car journey. After each sound the driver must respond by squeezing the steering wheel (方向盘). A sensor in the wristband detects this pressing action and measures the time between the sound the driver’s response.
Tiredness is directly related to a driver’s response time. Usually, a watchful driver would take about 400 milliseconds to respond, but once that falls to more than 500 milliseconds, it suggests that the driver is getting sleepy.
In such cases the device gives out more regular and louder sounds, showing that the driver should open a window or stop for a rest. If the driver’s response continues to slow down, the sounds become more frequent until a nonstop alarm warns that the driver must stop as soon as possible.
The device has been delivered to the department’s laboratories for testing. If these tests, scheduled for six months’ time, are successful, the makers will bring the product to market within about a year.
小题1:According to the text, Driver Alert ______.
A.aims to reduce tiredness-related accidents
B.has gone through testing at laboratories
C.aims to prevent drivers form sleeping
D.has been on sale for 12 months
小题2:How should a driver respond to the sounds from Driver Alert?
A.By sounding a warning.B.By touching the wristband.
C.By checking the driving time.D.By pressing the steering wheel.
小题3:We can learn form the text that the driver needs to stop for a break when his response time is ______.
A.about 400 millisecondsB.below 500 milliseconds
C.over 500 millisecondsD.about 4 minutes
小题4:     When the driver gets sleepy while driving, Driver Alert ______.
A.moves more regularlyB.stops working properly
C.opens the window for the driverD.sounds more frequently and loudly

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that most students considered understanding spoken English to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking. Writing increased as a problem as students discovered difficulties in writing papers that they were now expected to hand in. Reading remained as a significant(显著的) problem.  
The information gained helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation(动机), we considered it important to note what seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching in their own country. To use the same method would be self-defeating because it might reduce motivation, especially if it has failed in the past. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.
Variety of activity was also seen as a way of maintaining(保持) or increasing motivation. Several years ago we had one timetable that operated throughout, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest by about halfway through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, so finally we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students.
小题1:What is the text mainly about?
A.Foreign students have more problems.
B.There are many ways to improve English.
C.Teaching should meet students’ needs.
D.English learning problems should be studied again.
小题2:Writing became a bigger problem when foreign students________.
A.had to write their papers
B.became better at speaking
C.became less interested in reading
D.had fewer problems with listening
小题3:We may infer from the last two paragraphs that ________.
A.different teaching methods should be used
B.grammar-based teaching seems to be encouraging
C.English courses are necessary for foreign students
D.teaching content should be changed halfway.

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
The mobile phone has been a part of our lives since the 1980s. It enables us to stay in contact with our family and friends at all times and in most areas. However, because of the quick acceptance and extensive usage of mobiles in our lives, we have missed out on an important step, namely, the appropriate (恰当的)use.
Driving a car  
Do not use your phone while you are driving ! You could concentrate on your conversation and forget to look where you are going, or you could take your eyes off the road to look at the phone’s display or to press in a number. Either way, you could cause a terrible accident.
In a restaurant
There is probably nothing more annoying than a diner receiving or making a call near you when you are in a restaurant. The icy glares you receive should be warning enough that it is not appreciated. Turn you phone off and enough that it is not appreciated. Turn you phone off and use your message service to return calls after you leave.
At the cinema
Do not give way to the desire to call a friend if the film is boring, or if you want to find out what happens. You could become the target of all the angry cinema customers.
At the theatre
There is no more icy glare than that of a theatre goer who has paid a lot of money to see a show and hears your phone playing a tone. It goes without saying that you will be seen as a socially unacceptable person in this situation.
In hospitals
This is probably the most important place to make sure your phone is switched off. Your phone can disturb life-saving electronic equipment in hospitals, so it is necessary that your phone is switched off before you enter.
On planes
Your phone might disturb navigational equipment and cause a horrible accident so you should switch it off before boarding a plane.
小题1:According to the passage, the most annoying thing in a restaurant is that __________.
A.you receive icy glares
B.a nearby diner is answering a phone call
C.you have to use the message service
D.you can not return calls until after you leave
小题2:Which of the following statements is NOT true ?
A.Theatre goers will not give you icy glares when they hear your phone.
B.When switched on in hospitals, mobile phones could endanger patients’ lives.
C.Passengers should switch off the phones before getting on a plane.
D.Pressing in phone numbers when driving could lead to traffic accidents.
小题3:The passage mainly describes __________.
A.different functions of mobile phones
B.the overuse of mobile phones on some occasions
C.some areas where message service is forbidden
D.the proper use of mobile phones in some public places
小题4:What does the underlined word “concentrate on” mean in the article? It means ______.
A.make something strongerB.carry on
C.pay particular attentionD.think something clearly

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Everyday rubbish could provide a valuable source of energy thanks to a clever new invention. Smelly methane(沼气)gas expelled from landfill sites containing tones of rotting household waste could be used to produce a valuable energy resource. In Europe alone land fill tips produce 94 billion cubic meters of methane per year but currently only one percent of what could be a valuable source of energy is used, the rest is burnt off to prevent an explosive build up of gas.
Methane gas forms when organic matter breaks down and is drawn off from large rubbish tips by pipes sunk into the middle of the waste. Until now this process wasn’t possible on small sites because the pipe allowed oxygen to seep in and that stop the breakdown process.
Viktor Popov of the Wessex Institute of Technology has now developed a system to modify existing landfill sites by making them airtight while the methane is extracted from sunken wells. The site is covered by a special three-layered skin whose two outer layers are made of clay with a pressurized(加压的)layer of carbon dioxide gas in the middle. As the methane is sucked out through a central well it is replaced by carbon dioxide from the middle layer rather than oxygen, allowing the breakdown process to continue.
Unfortunately there are no plans to use the power of methane even though Popov claims his invention could provide a valuable source of energy over the next 20 years.
小题1:The passage mainly introduces ______ to us.
A.how to make methaneB.a new way to make use of rubbish
C.the valuable things in rubbishD.the amount of rubbish beig reused
小题2:From the passage we can see that _____.
A.in Europe 94 billion cubic meters of methane is produced every year
B.some of the waste will explode if it is not burnt off
C.99% of the rubbish has been burnt off in Europe
D.only a very small part of this kind of energy is used in Europe
小题3:In the passage the underlined word “that” refers to ______.
A.methane gasB.the long pipeC.oxygenD.the rubbish
小题4:Which of the following statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Oxygen can cause the breakdown process to stop.
B.When the methane is sucked out, oxygen will enter from the middle layer.
C.Carbon dioxide doesn’t affect the breakdown process.
D.The new invention has not been put into use.

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Beginning college is exciting: new ideas to explore, new challenges to be met and many decisions to be made; your future begins here.
However, you will find college life is different from your previous school environment. Many of us can be easily overwhelmed by the details of running a well-balanced life. While some of us may have the know-how, I guess there are more of us who can benefit from learning about the experiences of others who have walked the college halls before you.
The following you may find of use about life on campus:
·Plan well. There are so many new things to do at a new college or university. Give yourself time to make new friends and became familiar with the campus, but don’t forget why you are there. Give some time for social activities and manage your time wisely.
·If you don’t have a “system” for planning your time now (like a day timer a computer data book). get one. Most of all, don’t depend on your memory.
·Don’t miss the guidelines. The restrictions, rules and regulations of all kinds can usually be found in your student’s handbook. Consider them well-balanced food for thought. What dates are important? What pieces of paper need to be handed in? What can / can’t you do in your student residence(住处)? Who has the right for what? What do you need to complete to graduate?
·Write the word “STUDY” on the walls of our bedroom and bathroom, and maybe it will help to to write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the telephone, TV and the kitchen table. Consider this — you are paying thousands of dollars for your course. You pay every time you have to repeat or replace a course.
·Build your identity. This is the time for you to decide what to do and what not to do. Take as much time as you need to explore new ideas. Do not be afraid of the beyond. This is learning to make good choices.
小题1:What is the main purpose of the passage?
A.To offer advice on college life.
B.To explain why college life is exciting.
C.To describe the importance of college life.
D.To persuade you to go to college.
小题2:According to the passage, why is it exciting to begin college life?
A.Because you will have more freedom at college.
B.Because you will no longer be afraid of the beyond
C.Because you prepare for your future career and life there.
D.Because professors there will provide you with many new ideas.
小题3:The underlined word “know-how” refers to _____
A.An understanding of how things are going at college
B.Practical knowledge about how to behave and what to do at college
C.College halls where rules and regulations are presented
D.An environment completely different from the one you’re used to
小题4:According to the passage, college students _______.
A.needn’t learn from those who went to college before them
B.spend as much time as possible on social activities
C.should know what they have fight for on campus
D.are supposed to repeat or replace at least one course

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
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