Our old school （) demolished next month,What a pity !

A.will be

B.is being

C.has been

Passage Four

More than 6,000 children were expelled (开除) from US school last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.

The department gave a report to the expulsions (开除) as saying handguns accounted for 58 percent of the 6,093 expulsions in 1996 and 1997, against 7 percent for rifles (步枪) or shotguns and 35 percent for other types of firearms.

"The report is a clear sign that out nation's public schools are cracking down (严惩) on students who bring guns to school," Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a statement. "We need to be tough-minded about keeping guns out of our schools and do everything to keep our children safe."

In March 1997, an 11 years old boy and 13 years old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14 years old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Dasucah, Kentucky.

Most of the expulsions, 56 percent, were from high school, which have students from about age 13.34 percent were from junior high schools and 9 percent were from elementary schools, the report said.

46. From the first paragraph we can infer that in the US schools ______.

A. students enjoy shooting

B. students are eager to be solider

C. safety is a problem

D. students can make guns

Passage Three

More than 6,000 children were expelled (开除) from US school last year for bringing guns and bombs to school, the US Department of Education said on May 8.

The department gave a report to the expulsions (开除) as saying handguns accounted for 58% of the 6,093 expulsions in 1996—1997, against 7% for rifles (步枪) or shotguns and 35% for other types of firearms.

"The report is a clear sign that our nation's public schools are cracking down (严惩) on students who bring guns to school," Education Secretary Richard Riley said in a statement.

In March 1997, an 11-year old boy and a 13-year old boy using handguns and rifles shot dead four children and a teacher at a school in Arkansas. In October, two were killed and seven wounded in a shooting at a Mississippi school. Two months later, a 14-year old boy killed three high school students and wounded five in Kentucky.

Most of the expulsions, 56%, were from high school, 34% were from junior high schools and 9% were from elementary schools, the report said.

41. From the first paragraph we can infer that in the US schools______.

A. students enjoy shooting

B. safety is a problem

C. students are eager to be solider.

D. students can make guns.

根据汉语提示完成句子。 1. 我朋友想出的办法非常奏效。 The ways my friend________with______________. 2. 她已经花光了钱。 She has ______________money. 3. 你昨天花了多长时间看篮球比赛？ How long ______ it ______ you to watch the basketball match yesterday？ 4. 我们每年都向我们学校的贫困生捐款。 We ______ some money________the poor students in our school every year. 5. 他张贴了告示收集旧电池。 He________some signs________old batteries.

. They have become a familiar part of the summer landscape.

These kids are not old enough for jobs. Nor are they rich enough for camp. They are school children without school. The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago. Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be "self care'.

Passing them is like passing through a time zone. For much of our history, after all, Americans arranged the school year around the needs of work and family. In 19th century cities, schools were open seven or eight hours a day, 11 months a year. In rural America, the year was arranged around the growing season. Now, only S percent of families follow the agricultural model, but nearly all schools are scheduled as if our children went home early to milk the cows and took months off to work the crops. Now, three-quarters of the mothers of school-age children work, but the calendar is written as if they were home waiting for the school bus.

The six-hour day, the 180-day school year is regarded as something holy. But when parents work an eight-hour day and a 240-day year, it means something different. It means that many kids go home to empty houses. It means that, in the summer, they hang out.

"We have a huge mismatch between the school calendar and realities of family life," says Dr. Ernest Boyer, head of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dr. Boyer is one of many who believe that a radical revision of the school calendar is inevitable. "School, whether we like it or not, is educational. It always has been."

His is not a popular idea. Schools are routinely burdened with the job of solving all our social problems. Can they be asked to meet the needs of our work and family lives？

It may be easier to promote a longer school year on its educational merits and, indeed, the educational case is compelling. Despite the complaints and studies about our kids' lack of learning, the United State still has a shorter school year than any industrial nation. In most of Europe, the school year is 220 days. In Japan, it is 240 days long. While classroom time alone doesn't produce a well-educated child, learning takes time and more learning takes more time. The long summers of forgetting take a toll.

The opposition to a longer school year comes from families that want to and can provide other experiences for their children. It comes from teachers. It comes from tradition. And surely from kids. But the most important part of the conflict has been over the money.

Which of the following is an opinion of the author's？

A．The kids are hanging out.

B．They are school children without school.

C．These kids are not old enough for jobs.

D．The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago.

t through a working day．But here’s what I did know：something huge was happenin9．It was stirring economies and imaginations and possibilities like nothing I had ever known．I knew the world was changing in ways that meant I shouldn’t count on old assumptions．And I knew I had dreams I still hadn’t fulfilled.But I didn’t know how to realize them until I met with my old friend，Rollys Rouse，when we happened to move into the same neighborhood．

Rolly often called me with a stream of ideas．His rate of idea production per second seemed al- most incredible．Soon we were on the phone with each other every day．Talking about the Internet． TalMng about starting a new online company-maybe together． He was then developing a plan and he wanted me to be a part of it：we would give people wonderful，whole electronic houses on a CD-ROM and let them modify those homes to their own needs．Try out different windows and doors，different paint colors and furnishings．When they were satisfied，we would enable them to go online to make the project happen，to get the products and the financing and the。professional design and construction to help to do it outright． BuildingBlocks was the name Rolly came up with for his new enterprise．Rolly took the plunge first．He simply dropped his profitable energy—consulting business to commit himself full time to BuildingBlocks．I soon joined him after I quit my well—paid job at a newspaper． Together we developed a demo to show the features of our CD—ROM，“The New American Dream Home”．Then we took it to the annual convention of the National Association of Home Builders in Boston．All the big companies were there showing off their。latest products． To our delight，nearly everyone was eager to see what we were showin9，．including the top executives of some enormous companies．When we left，we had invitations from them to come to their offices to tell them more about BuildingBlocks. That was the start of my real lifetime dream and BuildBlocks，our company，has been prospering ever since． 回答下列各题： By“something huge was happenin9”，the writer refers to_________．

A.house designing

B.home decoration

C.furniture production

D.high-tech development

They have become a familiar part of the summer landscape.

These kids are not old enough for jobs. Nor are they rich enough for camp. They are school children without school. The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago. Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be "self care".

Passing them is like passing through a time zone. For much of our history, after all, Americans arranged the school year around the needs of work and family. In 19th-century cities, schools were open seven or eight hours a day, 11 months a year. In rural America, the year was arranged around the growing season. Now, only 3 percent of families follow the agricultural model, but nearly all schools are scheduled as if our children went home early to milk the cows and took months off to work the crops. Now, three-quarters of the mothers of school-age children work, but the calendar is written as if they were home waiting for the school bus.

The six-hour day, the 180-day school year is regarded as something holy. But when parents work an eight-hour day and a 240-day year, it means something different. It means that many kids go home to empty houses. It means that, in the summer, they hang out.

"We have a huge mismatch between the school calendar and realities of family life," says Dr. Ernest Boye, head of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dr. Boyer is one of many who believe that a radical revision of the school calendar is inevitable. "School, whether we like it or not, is educational. It always has been. "

His is not popular idea. Schools are routinely burdened with the job of solving all our social problems. Can they be asked to meet the needs of our work and family lives？

It may be easier to promote a longer school year on its educational merits and, indeed, the educational case is compelling. Despite the complaints and studies about our kids' lack of learning, the United State still has a shorter school year than any industrial nation. In most of Europe, the school year is 220 days. In Japan, it is 240 days long. While classroom time alone doesn't produce a well-educated child, learning takes time and more learning takes more time. The long summers of forgetting take a toll.

The opposition to a longer school year comes from families that want to and can provide other experiences for their children. It comes from teachers. It comes from tradition. And surely from kids. But the most important part of the conflict has been over the money.

The current American school calendar was developed in the 19th century according to ______.

A．the growing season on the nation's farm

B．the labor demands of the industrial age

C．teachers'demands for more vacation time

D．parents'demands for other experiences for their kids

rom my school days, when our ninth grade teacher, Miss Raber, would pick out words from Reader's Digest to test our vocabulary.

Today, more than 45 years later, I always check out " It pays to Enrich Your Word Power" first when the Digest comes each month. I am impressed with that idea, word power. Reader's Digest knows the power that words have to move people to entertain, inform. and inspire. The Digest editors know that the big word isn't always the best word. Take just one example, a Quotable Quote from the February 1985 issue: " Time is a playful thing. It slips quickly and drinks the day like a bowl of milk. "

Seventeen words, only two of them more than one syllable, yet how much they convey! That's usually how it is with Reader's Digest. The small and simple can be profound.

As chairman of a foundation to restore the Statue of Liberty, I've been making a lot of speeches lately. I try to keep them fairly short. I use small but vivid words: words like "hope" , "guts", "faith" and "dreams". Those are words that move people and say so much about the spirit of America.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against using big words, when it is right to do so, but I have also learned that a small word can work a small miracle—if it's the right word, in the right place, at the right time. It's a "secret" that I hope I will never forget.

The passage is mainly about______.

A．one of the many old memories

B．using simple words to express profound ideas

C．Reader's Digest and school speeches

D．how to make effective speeches

NOT JUST A SHOP!

In his yearly report, the Chairman of a chain of retail outlets writes about the financial aspects of the business and describes the work which the company has done to benefit people in the areas where their shops are located

It continues to be an important part of our company policy to be responsible for the health and welfare of people in the areas which we serve. In the past year, we have concentrated especially on education and training, and have invested over ￡4,000,000 in this and other areas ranging from the care of the old to the arts.

Let us look at these first. We have, as always, financed health research and care projects helping not only the old but children and the disabled too. We were especially pleased this year to provide alarms for disabled people who live alone and to run programmes which help children understand better the problems facing disabled people.

The Groundwork Foundation encourages young people in poor areas to improve their environment, while the Schools Prom concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London includes 20,000 children nationwide. Both of these were given financial help.

As mentioned above, in the last year we have been active in supporting a range of education projects. Two of our managers are now out of the company on 1-year projects, training young people for work in the retail industry and improving the quality of the teaching they receive. In addition, we have started a programme of 3-month schemes which our managerial staff are able to benefit from without having to take a long break from their jobs.

Schools and universities have also benefited. A London Business School received ￡50,000 to develop a training programme for UK school staff, giving them the skills necessary to manage their own schools. A major University has received a promise of ￡100,000 over 5 years to fund a new teaching post in international retailing. This will allow 22 more students to study this subject each year.

It is not only the company that supports good work for other people. Members of staff themselves are encouraged to join the company Give as You Earn system, to give money to others, especially those organisations working for the benefit of the local area. In such cases the company often gives its support by making an additional contribution.

We look forward to committing even more money to these and other projects in the coming year.

In the past year ￡4,000,000 was spent on

A．looking after old people.

B．all the company projects.

C．education and training.

d it was designed by special care. I don't know if you've ever seen the Statue of Liberty, but if you look closely, she's holding not one object, but two. In one hand is the familiar torch we call the "light of liberty."And in the other hand is a book of law.

We're a nation of laws. Our courts are honest and they are independent. The President -- me -- I can't tell the courts how to rule, and neither can any other member of the government. Under our law, everyone stands equal. No one is above the law, and no one is beneath it.

All political power in America is limited and only given by the free vote of the people. We have a Constitution, now two centuries old, which limits and balances the power of the three branches of our government, the judicial(法庭的)branch, the legislative(立法的)branch, and the executive branch, of which I'm a part.

Many of the values that guide our life in America are first shaped in our families, just as they are in your country.American moms and dads love their children and work hard and sacrifice for them, because we believe life can always be better for the next generation. In our families, we find love and learn responsibility and character.

America is a nation guided by faith. Someone once called us "a nation with the soul of a church." This may interest you -- 95 percent of Americans say they believe in God, and I'm one of them.

1、How many objects are held in the hands of the Statue of Liberty？()

A、One

B、Two

C、Three

D、Four

2、According the passage, all people are _____ under the law of the United States.

A、the same

B、different

C、sometimes different

D、sometimes equal

3、The Constitution mentioned in this passage is round _____ years old.

A、100

B、200

C、300

D、400

4、According to the author many of the values of life are first developed _____.

A、in school

B、in the family

C、in work

D、in college

5、From the passage we can easily see that _____.

A、the majority of Americans often go to church

B、the government plays a very important role in a law court

C、light music is popular with old people

D、parents have little influence over their children