Don’t be surprised if you find yourself sitting next to a Fido on your next flight．Several airlines now allow dogs and cats to fly in airplane cabins with people．
Those in favor of the pet-friendly policy say it’s safer for dogs and cats to fly first class．They point out that animals could get injured while traveling in an aircraft’s cargo area with suitcases．
However, the idea of sharing a flight with furry friends does not “fly” with everyone．Some people are allergic(过敏的)to animals．They say flying with pets could make them sick．
What do you think? Should dogs and cats be allowed to fly in an airplane cabins? WR News student reporters Isabella Pena and Peter Brosnan each fetched a side．
YES．Animals can get hurt flying in cargo areas．
Pets should be allowed to fly in airplane cabins with their owners．Did you know that there have been injuries to animals flying in cargo? Cargo areas are not equipped to deal with situations such as delays or extreme temperatures．
Also, dogs and cats can feel nervous in new situations．“Pets can feel anxious and stressed when they’re expecting new, scary things without the comfort of their owners,” explains Nicole Kagan, a vet from Manhattan Beach, Calif．
The pets’ stress can be reduced if they are allowed to travel with their owners in an airplane cabin．That is especially important for pets on longer flights．
Isabella Pena,
California
NO．Some passengers are allergic to pets．
I really like dogs and cats, and that is why I don’t think it is a good idea for them to fly in airplane cabins with people．Pets can be afraid of strangers, and that could cause them to bark．The noise could be upsetting to everyone on board．
Also, for passengers who have allergies or asthma(哮喘), sitting next to pets can be dangerous．“I could put myself at risk for an asthma attack,” explains Kristina Krops, a teacher at Helen Morgan School in Sparta, N．J．“Passengers need to feel safe．” If people really need their dogs and cats to travel, they can have them fly on a special airline just for pets, such PET Airways．
Peter Brosnan
New York
(1)
The underlined part “a Fido” in Para．1 probably refers to
[ ]
A．
a foreigner
B．
a baby
C．
a pet
D．
a vet
(2)
Which of the following statements agrees with Isabella Pena’s view?
[ ]
A．
Dogs and cats can get used to new situations quickly．
B．
Having owners with them is a great comfort for pets．
C．
Some people nervous when they see dogs and cats．
D．
Cargo areas should be enlarged for pets to stay in．
(3)
According to the passage, Peter Brosnan _________．
[ ]
A．
is not fond of raising pets．
B．
is afraid of meeting strangers．
C．
suggests transporting pets on pets-only airlines．
D．
advises people having allergies not to take planes．
(4)
We can learn from the passage that _________．
[ ]
A．
most pets like traveling in an airplane cabin．
B．
the author is strongly against the pet-friendly policy．
C．
pets should receive certain training before taking long flights．
D．
the argument whether pets should fly in airplane cabins is still on．
Here are a few tips we've put together to help you learn English well．
Speak, speak, speak!
Practise speaking as often as you can--even speaking to yourself is good practice．
Try recording yourself whenever you can．Compare your pronunciation with the master version(版本), see how you can do better and have another go．If you do this several times, you will find that each version is better than the last．
Why not learn with someone else?
It helps if you can learn with someone else．If you can persuade a friend or family member to study with you, it will make you keep working．Agree times to meet and set goals for the week, and test each other regularly．
Don't get stuck by a word you don't know．
Practise improvising(即兴的)ways of getting your meaning across when speaking spontaneously(本能地), even if you don’t know the exact words or phrases．Think of things you might want to say whenever you have spare time, A basic example is the use of tenses．If you don’t know the past tense but want to talk about yesterday, use the verb in the present tense and use the word for “ yesterday ”．Use facial expressions, hand movements, anything to get your meaning across．
Language learning is also about Intuition(直觉)．
Guesswork is an important strategy(策略)in learning a new language．When listening to recorded material, you aren't expected to understand everything first time round．If you play the same piece several times, you will most probably understand something new each time．Learn to make maximum(最多的)use of all the clues(线索)you can pick up．For example, what do the speakers sound like?Happy?Angry?Calm?etc．
Build up your vocabulary．
A wide vocabulary is the key to successful Language learning but don’t try to learn too much at once．It's best to study frequently, for short periods of time．Take a maximum of six or seven items of vocabulary and learn them．Put them into sentences to fix them in your mind, then come back to them later．Much of the vocabulary in the course is presented by topic．
(1)
Why should one have himself recorded when practicing speaking?
[ ]
A．
To improve his speaking
B．
To record his own progress．
C．
To speak better than his master．
D．
To compare himself with others．
(2)
Which of the following is the most important in successful language learning according to the passage?
[ ]
A．
Speaking
B．
Guesswork
C．
Intuition
D．
Vocabulary
(3)
It is implied in the passage that ________ is helpful when you are learning to speak English．
[ ]
A．
body language
B．
a good memory
C．
a good friend
D．
a proper dictionary
(4)
According to the passage, one should ________ when learning English．
[ ]
A．
always work with other people
B．
be able to guess everything new
C．
often review what he has learnt
D．
take little notice of grammar
(5)
What does the underlined word “stuck” most probably mean?
[ ]
A．
unable to go on
B．
interested
C．
excited
D．
tired
阅读理解
When Joe Bates was twelve years old, he lost interest in school．He stopped listening in his classes．Some of his teachers began to consider him a problem．
But a few of Joe’s teachers thought that Joe might have lost interest in schoolwork because he already understood it．They proposed that Joe try taking a university class in computer science．Joe did．He was the best student in the class．Later tests showed that his intelligence and knowledge were far greater than most children of his age．He entered university when he was thirteen, about four years earlier than most children．And by the time he was in his early twenties, Joe was teaching computer science at a university．
Joe’s story shows what can happen when a child’s unusual ability is recognized．Sadly, however, not all gifted children get this recognition．And educational experts say unusually gifted children may waste their abilities if they do not get help to develop them．
Studies show that almost twenty percent of students who fail to complete high school in the United States are gifted children．
This is because gifted children can have special problems as well as special abilities．Teachers may not recognize their abilities or may not know how to keep them interested．Or they may consider such students to be troublemakers or rebels．
Gifted children may feel lonely or different because they do not know other children who share their interests．
Educators say there are more than two million gifted children in the United States today．But they say fewer than half are taking part in special education programs designed for them．
One of the most successful programs is held every summer at John Hopkins University in the state of Maryland, where Joe Bates went to school．It started in 1980 when educators saw that there must be many children like Joe．
At first, only 100 children took part in it, and now more than 1,000 children between the ages of nine and sixteen are students in the summer program．
The John Hopkins program provides studies in math and science．It also has classes for children with unusual ability in language and writing．The children study the same subject every day for several weeks．It could be biology, or history, or English literature．In those few weeks, they learn as much as in a normal nine-month school year．
William Durden, the director says the program succeeds because it permits children to make progress more quickly than in a traditional program．And the children get to meet others like themselves．
(1)
Joe Bates stopped listening in his classes because ________．
[ ]
A．
he lost interest in school
B．
he hated those teachers who considered him a problem
C．
he had already understood what he was taught
D．
he wanted to take a university class
(2)
When a child’s unusual ability is recognized, ________．
[ ]
A．
he can do whatever he likes
B．
he will no longer be considered to be a troublemaker or rebel
C．
he may have more success than most children of his age
D．
he will certainly take part in a special education program
(3)
According to the passage, the most important thing is to ________．
[ ]
A．
recognize and develop gifted children’s unusual abilities
B．
design and support special education programs for gifted children
C．
help gifted children get to meet others who share their interests
D．
encourage gifted children instead of treating them as a problem when they lost interest in school
(4)
Quite a lot of gifted students fail to complete high school in the United States because ________．
[ ]
A．
they take part in traditional education programs
B．
their unusual abilities are not recognized
C．
their teachers don’t know how to keep them interested in schoolwork
D．
they have special problems as well as special abilities．
阅读理解
Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego(UCSD)for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, “Versed”．
“I’m delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win,” said Armantrout．
“For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising．”
Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University．She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think．
In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for “Versed．”
“This book has gotten more attention,” Armantrout said, “but I don’t feel as if it’s better．”
The first half of “Versed” focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq．The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006．
Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not．“Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry, ” said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD．
“Versed”, published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2, 700 copies．The new edition is scheduled to appear in May．
(1)
According to Rae Armantrout, _________．
[ ]
A．
her 10th book is much better
B．
her winning the Pulitzer is unexpected
C．
the media is surprised at her works
D．
she likes being recognized by her readers
(2)
Which of the following is true of Rae Armantrout?
[ ]
A．
She published a poetry textbook．
B．
She used to teach Denise Levertov．
C．
She started a poets’ group with others．
D．
She taught creative writing at UC Berkeley．
(3)
What can we learn about “Versed”?
[ ]
A．
It consists of three parts．
B．
It is mainly about the American army．
C．
It is a book published two decades ago．
D．
It partly concerns the poet’s own life．
(4)
Rae Armantrout’s colleagues think that she _________．
[ ]
A．
should write more
B．
has a sweet voice
C．
deserves the prize
D．
is a strange professor
(5)
What can we learn from the text?
[ ]
A．
About 2, 700 copies of “Versed” will be printed．
B．
Cancer made Armantrout stop writing．
C．
Armantrout got her degrees at UCSD．
D．
“Versed” has been awarded twice．
阅读理解
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel．Green said,“Clearly I am the most important．I am the sign of life and hope．I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves．Without me, all animals would 1 ．”
Blue interrupted,“You only think about the 2 , but consider the sky and the sea． 3 the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be 4 ．”
Yellow chuckled(笑道),“You are all so serious．I bring laughter, fun, and 5 into the world．”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet,“I am the color of health and strength．I may be 6 , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life．When I fill the sky 7 , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another 8 to any of you．”
Red could stand it 9 and he shouted out,“I am the ruler of all of you．I am the color of danger and of bravery．I am willing to 10 truth．I am also the color of passion and of love．”
Then came Purple and Indigo(深蓝)…．
The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own 11 ．Their quarreling became louder and louder．Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder．Rain started to pour down 12 ．The colors crouched(蜷缩)down 13 , drawing close to one another for comfort．
In the midst of the clamor(叫嚷), rain began to speak,“You foolish colors, fighting 14 yourselves, each trying to dominate 15 ．Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, 16 ?Join hands with 17 and come to me．”
Doing as they were told, the colors 18 and joined hands．They formed a colorful rainbow．From then on, whenever a good rain 19 the world, a rainbow appears in the sky．They remember to 20 one another．
