You may have never heard of Lanthanum, Cerium or Neodymium, but these elements (元素) and others known as “rare earth” play a major role in modern technology. They can actually be found in many places on the earth, but not in quantities that can be mined. Only a few countries — China, America, India, Australia, Brazil and Malaysia have any that can be mined enough to be traded.

Even though some of these elements such as Cerium are as abundant as Copper, they are not found in concentrated amounts on the earth’s surface. They are often mixed together with other metals, which makes extraction (提取) of these elements an expensive and an environmentally messy process. It was due to this reason that the term “rare earth” was invented.

Rare earth metals are used widely in our life. Rechargeable car batteries, computers, iPhones, DVD players, computer monitors, televisions, lighting, lasers, glass polishing, and superconductors all use quantities of rare earth metals. Also, with the advancement in “green” technology like solar panels, these shiny materials are becoming more important than ever. An average electric car uses 10 pounds of Lanthanum for its rechargeable battery!

America has large deposits (存储量) of rare earths and has one of the first mines. It was opened in Southern California in 1940. The element “Europium” was the first metal to be separated in quantity for use in color televisions. However, in the 1980’s and 1990’s, as China started producing these elements in Inner Mongolia, the mines in America and elsewhere could not keep pace. The mine in Mountain Pass, California also failed environmental regulations and shut down in 2002.

Now, recognizing the importance of having more than one supplier of this important resource, other rare earth owning countries like India and Australia are either dusting off their rare earth mines or speeding up their production. It is believed that the debate over rare earths will become louder in the coming months and years.

1.What can we learn about rare earths?

A. They are actually as abundant as Copper.

B. They can be mined easily as other metals.

C. They can only be found in a few countries.

D. They are not really as rare as they are named.

2.Compared with China, America _____.

A. paid more attention to Europium

B. has larger deposits of rare earths

C. started producing rare earths earlier

D. has more rare earth mines

3.It can be inferred from the text that rare earths _____.

A. are now in great demand

B. can now be used in few fields

C. are harmful to the environment

D. will soon be replaced by other metals

Take That Tiger Mom

In the ongoing battle between Tiger Moms, French Mamas, and everyone else who wants to know what is the best way to raise their kids, a new study adds evidence that the extreme Tiger-style may do more harm than good.

Authoritarian parents are more likely to end up with disrespectful children with violent behaviors, the study found, compared to parents who listen to their kids with the goal of gaining trust.

It was the first study to look at how parenting styles affect the way teens view their parents and, in turn, how they behave.

The study considered three general styles of parenting. Authoritative parents are demanding and controlling while also being warm and sensitive to their children’s needs.

Authoritarian parents, on the contrary, are demanding and controlling without the appearance of caring, attachment and receptiveness. They take a “my way or the highway” approach to their kids.

Permissive parents, the third group, have warm and receptive qualities, but they set few boundaries and carry out few rules.

Using data on early 600 kids from an ongoing study of middle school and high school students in New Hampshire, researchers from the University of New Hampshire were able to find “my way or the highway” parenting with more violent behaviors like robbery, drug-taking, and attacking someone else with the intention of hurting or killing.

Firm but loving parenting, on the other hand, led to fewer lawbreakers. Permissive parenting, surprisingly, didn’t seem to make much of a difference either.

To explain the link between parenting style and behavior in kids, the researchers suggested that what matters most is how reasonable kids think their parents’ power is. This sense comes when kids trust that their parents are making the best decisions for them and believe that they need to do what their parents say even if they don’t always like how their parents are treating them.

When kids respect the power of their parents, the researchers reported in the journal of Adolescence, their behavior is better. Previous research has also linked firm but caring parenting with kids who have more self-control and independence.

“When children consider their parents to be the reliable figure, they trust the parents and feel that they have a duty to do what their parents tell them to do,” said lead researcher Pick Trinkner. “This is very important as the parent doesn’t have to rely on a system of rewards and punishments to control behavior and the child is more likely to follow the rules when the parent is not physically present.”

1.Tiger Moms and French Mamas are mentioned in the passage to _______.

A. give an example of authoritarian parenting

B. show the advantage of parenting

C. compare two types of parenting

D. introduce the topic

2.According to the research, what kind of parenting style is likely to cause children’s criminal behaviors?

A. Caring parenting. B. Permissive parenting.

C. Authoritarian parenting. D. Authoritative parenting.

3.Which of the following probably belongs to the action of the permissive parents?

A. Allowing the kids to stay up late at weekends as the kids like.

B. Beating the kids if the kids don’t follow their instructions.

C. Listening to the kids’ request and giving their demands.

D. Setting some rules and checking the kids’ behaviors.

4.According to the passage, children are more likely to obey the rules when _______.

A. their parents listen to them totally

B. they believe in and accept their parents

C. their parents are sensitive to their needs

D. their parents demand and control their behaviors

Failing in something isn’t a really nice feeling, but Scotland’s Fettes College in Edinburgh wants to show its students that failure isn’t something to fear and is actually something to accept willingly!

The boarding school held “failure week” to celebrate taking risks and learning from them. Whether in sports or school, children often face lots of pressure to succeed and do well, and the school was becoming concerned.

“Young people from all walks of life live in a high-pressure environment where they are trying very hard to achieve a level of perfection,” said Sue Bruce, head of personal and social education in the school.

“This week at Fettes we have been focusing on one of the most misunderstood parts of success: failure. While we are often scared of failure, it is important to learn that it is only through failing, often many times, that we learn how to succeed. All through the week, we have looked at the experiences of some of the most successful inventors, artists and businessmen, who failed hundreds, if not thousands of times on their journey to success,” read a letter on Fettes College’s website.

To celebrate failure, students were encouraged to try something they’ve never done before, like playing an instrument or dancing in front of audiences. A number of students stepped up and tried things that they finally failed in, but they had fun and enjoyed the experience. “The concert was extremely enjoyable, proving that we should always try not to worry about failure and have a go!” read another note on the website. Students were also taught about famous people like J.K. Rowling and Richard Branson who failed many times before they finished what they set out to do.

“If they let the fear of failure stop them from doing something, they are actually stopping themselves from learning, developing, and potentially succeeding,” said Bruce.

1.What is the purpose of the boarding school to hold “failure week”?

A. To get the students involved in social activities.

B. To help the students accept and learn from failure.

C. To make the students study even harder.

D. To teach the students how to get relaxed.

2.During the “failure week” the students could do the following things EXCEPT ___________.

A. taking risks

B. learning from others’experiences

C. trying something new

D. trying to entertain themselves

3.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Many successful people are lucky and achieve success easily.

B. Because we are often scared of failure ,we never succeed.

C. The fear of failure can stop the students from learning and succeeding.

D. The students who failed in trying new things felt depressed.

A strange thing happened to me last Sunday. It was such a beautiful day ________ I drove to go for a look in the country.

On the way back home, my stopped. It was out of gas on a ________ road far from a town! I decided to walk until I found someone ________ could sell some gas. I had walked almost a mile ________ I finally found a house near the ________ . I was glad to see it because it was getting dark.

I knocked at the door and a little old lady with long white hair ________ . She said, “I’ve been ________ for you here for a long time. Come in. ________ is almost ready.”

“But I only came for some gas,” I answered. I couldn’t ________ what she was talking about.

“Oh, Alfred! Gas? You ________ tea,” said she.

I quickly ________ that my car was out of ________ , but she didn’t seem to listen to me. She just kept ________ me Alfred and talking about how long it had been ________she had seen me. She was acting very strangely and I was anxious to leave. As soon as she went to get tea, I went out of the house as fast as I ________ .

_________, there was another house down the road and I was able to buy the gas I needed. When I told the man about my ________ , he said, “Oh, that’s Miss Emily. She lives by herself in that big house. She’s strange, but she wouldn’t ________ anybody. She is still waiting for the man she was going to marry thirty years ago. The day before their wedding he left home and ________ came back because of the war.”

1.A. and B. so C. but D. that

2.A. car B. bus C. bike D. truck

3.A. narrow B. lonely C. crowded D. busy

4.A. what B. whom C. who D. how

5.A. before B. after C. while D. as

6.A. street B. path C. way D. road

7.A. came B. answered C. opened D. appeared

8.A. asking B. looking C. calling D. waiting

9.A. Gas B. Coffee C. Tea D. Lunch

10.A. consider B. understand C. accept D. think

11.A. like B. love C. used to like D. enjoy

12.A. answered B. explained C. refused D. promised

13.A. gas B. tea C. strength D. energy

14.A. calling B. call C. to call D. called

15.A. until B. before C. since D. when

16.A. could B. can C. would D. should

17.A. Unfortunately B. Absolutely C. Fortunately D. Seriously

18.A. accident B. event C. experience D. surprise

19.A. hit B. injure C. hurt D. frighten

20.A. never B. ever C. yet D. still

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