In colleges around the country, most students are also workers.

The reality of college can be pretty different from the images presented in movies and television. Instead of the students who wake up late, party all the time, and study only before exams, many colleges are full of students with pressing schedules of not just classes and activities, but real jobs, too.

This isn’t a temporary phenomenon.The share of working students has been on the rise since the 1970s, and one-fifth of students work yearround. About one-quarter of those who work while attending school have both a full-courseload and a full-time job. The arrangement can help pay for tuition (學(xué)費(fèi)) and living costs, obviously. And there’s value in it beyond the direct cause: such jobs can also be critical for developing important professional and social skills that make it easier to land a job after graduation. With many employers looking for students with already-developed skill sets, on-the-job training while in college can be the best way to ensure a job later on.

But it’s not all upside. Even full-time work may not completely cover the cost of tuition and living expenses. The study notes that if a student worked a full-time job at the federal minimum wage, they would earn just over $15,000 each year, certainly not enough to pay for tuition, room, and board at many colleges without some serious financial aid. That means that though they’re sacrificing time away from the classroom, many working students will still graduate with at least some debt. And working fulltime can reduce the chance that students will graduate at all, by cutting into the time available for studying and attending classes.

There is little reward for attending but not finishing college. Students who wind up leaving school because of difficulty in managing work and class are likely to find themselves stuck in some of the same jobs they might have gotten if they hadn’t gone at all. The difficulty of working too much while in school can create a cycle that pushes students further into debt without receiving any of the financial or career benefits.

1.According to the passage, the reality of college students is that ______.

A. they throw parties a lot

B. they stay up late every night

C. they pay no attention to exams

D. they work besides attending classes

2.What is the indirect cause of an increasing number of working students?

A.The need of developing social networks.

B.The lack of summer jobs for young adults.

C.The chance of finding a job after graduation.

D.The expenses of high tuition and living costs.

3.We can learn from the passage that ______.

A. working students are more likely to finish college

B. students can cover their college expenses through working

C. students receive a huge reward for managing work and class

D. dropping out of college may not help students get career benefits

4.What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Difficulties of Landing a Job

B. The Struggle of Work-School Balance

C. The Reward of Working While Studying

D. The Images of Working College Students

Despite the anxiety that Jones’ Host—said by some to be the first digital novel—caused in 1993, publishers weren’t too concerned that e-books would one day replace printed books. However, that attitude was changed suddenly in 2007 when Amazon’s Kindle came onto the market, which led to e-book sales jumping up to 1,260%. Since then, e-books’ popularity has continued to steadily rise. The publishing industry seemed to have lost all possible ability to regain its position. Will printed books eventually become a thing of the past?

According to Mike Shatzkin, founder and CEO of the Idea Logical Company, printed books just for plain old reading will, in 10 years from now, be unusual. “Not so unusual that a kid will say, ‘Mommy, what’s that?’ but unusual enough that on the train you’ll see one or two people reading something printed, while everyone else is reading off of a tablet.” And Shatzkin believes that the demise of print is sure to happen, though such a day won’t arrive for perhaps 50 to 100 or more years.

Robert Stein, founder of the Institute for the Future of the Book, however, believes that books won’t disappear entirely, at least not anytime soon. “Print will exist, but it will be in a different field and will appeal to a very limited audience, as poetry does today. Like woodblock printing, hand-processed film and folk weaving (編織), printed pages may assume an artistic value,” he says. He imagines that future forms of books might be developed not by conventional publishers but by the gaming industry. He also predicts that the distinction between writer and reader will be made less obvious by a social reading experience in which authors and consumers can digitally interact with each other to discuss any passage, sentence or line.

Is there anything we risk sacrificing, should print really disappear entirely? According to Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University, electronic reading can negatively affect the way the brain responds to text, including reading comprehension, focus and the ability to maintain attention to details like plot and order of events. “My worry is that we’ll have a short-circuited reading brain, excellent for gathering information but not necessarily for forming critical, analytical deep reading skills,” Wolf says.

The field, however, is in an early stage, and findings about the negative effects of e-reading are far from certain. In light of this, Wolf hopes that we continue to maintain a “bi-literate” society—one that values both the digital and printed word. “A full reading brain circuit is a huge contribution to the intellectual development of our species. Anything that threatens that deserves our attention.”

1.How did publishers feel about the rising e-book sales inspired by the Kindle?

A. Worried. B. Excited. C. Curious. D. Skeptical.

2.The underlined word “demise” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______.

A. rise B. death C. growth D. decline

3.According to Robert Stein, paper books will exist because of ______.

A. the artistic value

B. the digital interaction

C. the growing popularity

D.the conventional design

4.It can be concluded from the last two paragraphs that Wolf holds that _______.

A. e-reading will weaken the power of our brain

B. digital books and paper books should not co-exist

C. e-reading will make us more critical and thoughtful

D. we should not risk losing a full reading brain circuit

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的七個(gè)選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。

Third-Culture Kids

Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a totally different country? If so, then you are a third-culture kid!

The term “third-culture kid” (or TCK) was coined in the 1960s by Dr. Ruth. She first came across this phenomenon when she researched North American children living in India. Caught between two cultures, they form their very own. 1. About 90 percent of them have a university degree, while 40 percent pursue a postgraduate or doctor degree. They usually benefit from their intercultural experience, which helps them to grow into successful academics and professionals.

2. In fact many hardships may arise from this phenomenon. A third-culture kid may not be able to adapt themselves completely to their new surroundings as expected. Instead, they may always remain an outsider in different host cultures.Max, for example, experienced this fundamental feeling of strangeness throughout his life as a third-culture kid. 3. While this can be a way to create a network of friends all around the world, it can be difficult for a third-culture kid like Max to maintain close friendships and relationships.

For a third-culture kid, it is often easier to move to a new foreign country than to return to their “home” country. After living in Australia and South Korea for many years, Louis finally returned to Turkey as a teenager. But she felt out of place when she returned to the country where she was born. 4. She did not share the same values as her friends’ even years after going back home.

While a third-culture kid must let go of their identity as foreigner when he/she returns, the home country can prove to be more foreign than anything he/she came across before. The peer group they face does not match the idealized image children have of “home”. 5.

As a part of the growing “culture”, TCKs may find it a great challenge for them to feel at home in many places.

A. Yet being a third-culture kid is not always easy.

B. In general, they often reach excellent academic results.

C. This often makes it hard for them to form their own identity.

D. However, their parents can help them see the opportunities of a mobile lifestyle.

E. Their experience abroad helps them to gain a better understanding of cultural differences.

F. Unlike other teens of her age, she didn’t know anything about current TV shows or fashion trends.

G. Additionally, making new friends and saying goodbye to old ones will at some point become routine for a third-culture kid.

書面表達(dá)

假設(shè)你是紅星中學(xué)學(xué)生李華，你在網(wǎng)上看到一則征尋語伴的廣告，并對此感興趣。請你根據(jù)廣告的內(nèi)容，予以回復(fù)。簡要介紹自己的中文優(yōu)勢和英語方面的需求。

I’m looking for an online language partner. I will help you with English in exchange for my Chinese practice. You must be a native speaker with standard Mandarin*pronunciation and also want to improve your English.

Please write to me directly if this is of interest to you. Email: kathylane@gmail.com

注意： 1. 詞數(shù)不少于50；

2. 開頭和結(jié)尾已給出，不計(jì)入總詞數(shù)。

提示詞：Mandarinn.普通話

Dear Kathy,

Yours,

Li Hua

假設(shè)你是紅星中學(xué)高三學(xué)生李華。請根據(jù)以下四幅圖的先后順序，用英文寫一篇周記，記述春節(jié)前你跟奶奶學(xué)做剪紙的過程。詞數(shù)不少于60。

提示詞：剪紙，窗花 paper cut

A sleepover (在外過夜的聚會(huì)) at Legoland Discovery Centre, at the Trafford Centre in Manchester, may sound like the perfect place to host your child's next birthday party — but it will set parents back more than ￡1,000.

All rides — Kingdom Quest Laser Ride, Merlin's Apprentice and Lego City Forest Pursuit — are open during the evening and supervision (監(jiān)管) on these rides is provided at all times. The Lego Studios 4D Cinema is also open and guests have exclusive use of the Lego construction play area until 10:00 pm, which means you will have a good time and don't need to share any facilities with other groups.

But at ￡35 a head, with a minimum guest list of 30, it's unlikely to be something the average parent could afford, reports Manchester Evening News.

A Legoland spokesman said: "The sleepover package is aimed at groups such as boys between eight and ten, girls between six and eight and youth groups, however it is open to everyone within the terms of the offer. " There is a birthday room to use, and in regard to food, snack boxes can be purchased for the additional cost of ￡4.50. Guests are also welcome to bring along their own food and drinks, and there are storage facilities where they can be kept.

"Also we do have daytime party packages available, which are ￡15 per child midweek and ￡18 per child at the weekend. But these packages have a policy of a minimum of nine and a maximum of 21 people, due to room capacity. "

The spokesman continued, "Included in the price for these parties is the birthday cake, and children's meal of sandwiches, crisps, fruit juice, fruit and Haribo sweets. All attending adults also get a free hot drink and the birthday child gets a free group photograph."

Legoland says that the pricing for the sleepover package is based on overall operating costs of opening the centre exclusively for the group.

1.When you have a sleepover at Legoland Discovery Centre at the Trafford Centre, you can't have access to ________.

A. Lego City Forest Pursuit

B. the Lego construction play area

C. the Lego Studios 4D Cinema

D. Lego City Deep Sea Exploration

2.Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word, "exclusive", in the second paragraph?

A. beneficial B. unshared C. accessible D. combined

3.The sleepover at the Legoland Discovery Centre ________.

A. charges ￡35 per child at the weekend in daytime

B. charges￡4.50 for a birthday cake

C. is only open to groups

D. provides all people with group photographs for free

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A. Have a birthday party in Legoland

B. Some newly-introduced Lego toys

C. Activities you can do in Legoland

D. Have a sleepover away from home

Richard Branson, an English business magnate, has had great, global success. He is best known as the founder of Virgin Group, which consists of more than 400 companies.

So what, I asked, is his most important secret to success? His answer was simple: look for the best in other people.

Throughout his life he's never thought ill of other people. He looks for the best and praises them. Branson at times seems almost not human. He's too good at what he does. No, great. Nearly perfect. When he starts something, he is very likely to succeed. He has fallen out with others though, like anyone else. He is human. He told me:"Life is short and the world is much smaller than one realizes. You are going to come across people time and time again in the most surprising places ... As a leader it's even more important to be out there praising and encouraging people. If you do fall out with somebody in life, even if you think it was their mistake, give them a call. Befriend them. Go out to lunch with them."

The greatest leaders in the world have taught forgiveness. Perhaps the most extreme example is Nelson Mandela who invited his former prison guard to his inauguration (就職典禮) and even had lunch with a man who in the past wanted him to be sentenced to death.

Life is too short. We are humans and sometimes we make mistakes and anger people. What defines us is not those who are able to avoid confrontation (對抗), but those who are able to deal with it. The human body is able to self-heal when we are cut. In that same manner, we must heal our past relationships.

Branson wins respect from those around him. A natural-born leader, he is always deep in thought and hungry for more; always one step ahead. And it was Richard Branson who taught me about forgiveness.

1.Richard Branson's success lies in his ________.

A. determination B. efforts C. judgment D. generosity

2.The example of Nelson Mandela is mentioned to show ________.

A. he was one of the greatest leaders

B. he suffered a lot in prison

C. great people set a good example of forgiveness

D. the power of forgiveness is magical

3.What would be the best title for the text?

A. Invite your enemies to lunch

B. Richard Branson's success story

C. What is forgiveness?

D. The key to success

Deep in the wilderness of northern Kenya, two boys found a pair of crying cheetah cubs (獵豹幼崽). The cubs' mother had been killed by a lion. The cheetahs were only a few weeks old. In the wild, about 9 out of 10 cheetah cubs die before they are three months old. They are food for lions. But these cubs were so lucky that they were saved by their "heroes", who brought them to Jane and Ian Craig. The Craigs help save endangered animals at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

The Craigs nursed the cheetah cubs back to health — feeding them with bottles, sleeping with them, and comforting them. They named the cubs Sambu and Toki. But what would become of these cubs? How would they survive on their own? In the wild, cubs stay with their mothers until they are almost 2 years old. During that time, cheetah mothers teach their young how to hunt and how to protect themselves. The Craigs wouldn't be able to find a cheetah mother to teach the cubs. So they turned to a man named Simon King.

King has spent more than twenty years studying cheetahs. He gave them a nod of approval when hearing about this, though taking care of two baby cubs would take a huge amount of time. For two years, he would need to have them at his side most of the time. But he felt there was no other choice. And so, when the brothers were one month old, King became their father.

The brothers followed King everywhere. If they saw large dangerous and fierce mammals, King would growl at the cubs the way a mother cheetah would have, which was a signal for the cubs to stay away. They learned quickly. King taught the cheetahs to hunt using a toy rabbit as King pulled it around on a rope. With more lessons and training, the brothers began to hunt on their own. King is one proud father now.

1.What do we know about the two cheetah cubs?

A.They like the Craigs very much.

B. Their lives were in danger in the wild.

C. Their mother was killed by humans.

D. They were not afraid of lions.

2.What worried the Craigs?

A. There was no cheetah mother to teach the cubs.

B. The cubs were dangerous.

C. They had no time to take care of the cubs.

D. There was no living place for the cubs.

3.The cheetah brothers learnt hunting skills from ________.

A. Simon King B. the boys

C. the Craigs D. their mother

4.In which part of a magazine would we expect to find this text?

A. History B. Science

C. News report D. Nature

Adults are happy to tell their children that crusts (面包皮) will give them curly hair, carrots will help them see in the dark, and spinach will make them strong. Even though adults know it's not totally true, they think it's good for their children's health, a study had found.

In a study about 31 per cent of adults said they once told their children the curly hair tale, and 36 per cent said they'd been told the same thing by their mother or father. Among the over-50s, almost half said they'd been promised curly hair if they ate their crusts. A quarter of the 2,000 adults questioned in the study told their children carrots would help them see in the dark. This could be true to some extent because of the high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene in root vegetables.

Another favorite among parents is that milk will make one strong. A third surveyed said their parents told them this, and about 29 per cent said they told their children the same thing. But while there is plenty of evidence to suggest milk is good for people's health, there are also a lot of scientific papers saying it isn't.

Thanks to Popeye, spinach is also fed to children, along with the idea that it will make them strong. While there is also some truth in this one, scientists now believe it is not the iron, but the inorganic nitrates (無機(jī)硝酸鹽) that improve physical power.

One in seven of the surveyed admitted telling their little ones that runner beans will make them run faster, which is nothing more than wordplay and has no basis in science. Almost one in five adults were subjected to the same tale in childhood.

Just over one in 10 parents told their children green food would turn them into a superhero, and a quarter admitted hiding vegetables in meals.

Lyndsay Jones, spokesman for Persil Washing Up Liquid, said, "It's clear that the most persuasive stories about food are passed on from generation to generation. Our research shows that the ideas continue, and we tell our kids the same things our parents told us, even if they're not always entirely true."

Crusts may not make your hair curly, but there's plenty of research that says crusts contain more of the goodness than the rest of a loaf. Hopefully, as a result of our Cook with Kids promise, more parents will be encouraged to spend time with their children in the kitchen and teach them the truth about food.

1.We can know from Paragraph 3 that ________.

A. a third people are forced to drink milk by their parents

B. milk is beneficial to children's physical strength

C. there is doubt whether milk is helpful to people's health

D. about 29 percent people wish their children good health

2.Which of the following does Lyndsay Jones agree?

A. Adults are willing to teach their children as their parents did.

B. Most persuasive stories about food are false.

C. Stories about food shouldn't be passed on from generation to generation.

D. Parents can't make sure if some stories about food are totally true.

3.We can learn from the passage that ________.

A. scientists think the iron in spinach helps children grow strong

B. parents are expected to tell children the truth about food

C. runner beans can really make children run fast

D. crusts are said to contain less nutrition than a loaf

4.How is the passage mainly developed?

A. By following time order

B. By making comparisons.

C. By giving examples.

D. By analyzing causes.

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容，從短文后的選項(xiàng)中選出能填入空白處的最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。選項(xiàng)中有兩項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。

The Health Benefits of Journaling

Scientific evidence supports that journaling (or keeping diaries) provides unexpected benefits. The act of writing accesses your left brain, which is analytical and rational. While your left brain is occupied, your right brain is free to create and feel. In sum, writing removes mental blocks and allows you to use all of your brainpower to better understand yourself, others and the world around you. 1.

Clarify your thoughts and feelings. Do you ever seem all mixed up inside, unsure of what you want or feel? Taking a few minutes to write down your thoughts and emotions will quickly get you in touch with your internal world.

2. By writing routinely you will get to know what makes you feel happy and confident. You will also become clear about situations and be able to recognize people who will not get on with you — important information for your emotional well-being.

Reduce stress. Writing about anger, sadness and other painful emotions helps to release your feelings. 3.

Solve problems more effectively. Typically we solve problems from a left-brained, analytical perspective. But sometimes the answer can only be found by involving right-brained creativity and intuition (直覺). 4.

Resolve disagreements with others. Writing about misunderstandings rather than worrying about them will help you understand another's point of view. 5.

In addition to all of these wonderful benefits, keeping a journal allows you to track patterns, trends and improvements and growth over time.

A. Know yourself better.

B. Achieve goals.

C. People have been studying whether the emotional release brings better sleep.

D.Writing affords the opportunity for unexpected solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems.

E. By doing so you will feel calmer and be able to stay in the present.

F. Begin journaling and begin experiencing the following benefits.

G. And you just may come up with a sensible resolution to the conflict.