A thief entered the bedroom of the 30^th President of the United States, who met him and helped him escape punishment.
The event happened in the early morning hours on one of the first days when Calvin Coolidge came into power, late in August,1923. He and his family were living in the same third-floor suite (套房) at the Willard Hotel in Washington that they had moved in several years before. The former President’s wife was still living in the White House.
Coolidge woke up to see a stranger go through his clothes, remove a wallet and a watch chain.
Coolidge spoke, “I wish you wouldn’t take that.”
The thief, gaining his voice, said, “Why?”
“I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm (表坠). Take it near the window and read the words on its back, ” the president said.
The thief read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidge.”
“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked.
The president answered, “ Yes, and the House of Representatives（众议院）gave me the watch charm. I’m fond of it. It would do you no good. You want money. Let’s talk this over.”
Holding up the wallet, the young man said in a low voice, “I’ll take this and leave everything else.”
Coolidge, knowing there was 80 dollars in it, asked the young man to sit down and talk. He told the President he and his college roommate had overspent during their holiday and did not have enough money to pay their hotel bill.
Coolidge added up the roommate two rail tickets back to the college. Then he counted out 32 dollars and said it was a loan (借款).
He then told the young man, “There is a guard in the corridor(走廊).” The young man nodded and left through the same window as he had entered.
【小题1】What caused the thief to meet the President?

Weather has a strong effect(影响) on people. It influences health, intelligence (智力) and feelings. In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there easily have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is hot at some times and very cold at other times. People in those states will have heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.

The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 study by scientists, the IQ scores of some college students were very high during storm, but after the storm, their scores were low. Storms can increase intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can decrease(减少) it. Students in many schools of the United States often do badly in exams in the hot months of the year(July and August).

Weather also has a strong effect on people's feeling. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel depressed during cold weather. In hot summer weather, on the other hand, fat people may feel unhappy. At about 65F, people become stronger.

Low air pressure(气压) makes people feel free, but it also increases forgetful- ness. People leave more bags and umbrellas on buses and in stores on low pressure days. There is a“perfect weather”for work and health. People feel best at a tempera- ture of about 64F with 65 percent humidity(湿度).

Are you feeling sick, sad, tired, forgetful, or very intelligent today? The weather may be the reason.

1.Intelligence may be lower______.

A. during a storm                B. when it is sunny

C. on a very hot day             D. when you take in an exam

2. In the third paragraph,“depressed”means         .

    A. 兴奋的          B. 愉快的          C. 忧郁的          D. 担心的

3. In“perfect weather”,          .

    A. both the fat and the thin are healthy

    B. the students do very well in examinations

    C. the air pressure is low

    D. the humidity is 65 percent and the temperature is about 64F

Though the ways of teaching have come a long way, the ways of communicating between teachers and students are almost the same. But now, a European country is trying to change that by building schools that have no classrooms, no subject lessons and best of all, no grades.

The idea behind the special school is that children are creative. And researchers also think that kids’ learning and ideas are as important as those of the CEO of Google, so why not give them a similar environment? Kids may be successful in such an environment.

To make kids more creative, the schools are built with special learning areas instead of traditional classrooms. And even the lessons are taught in a special way, with mobile phones and computers.

There is no “right” or “wrong” kind of education. The school believes that everything is a learning experience, whether it is about a serious science project or making a movie inside the school’s recording studio.

One of the special schools opened in August, 2011. It has five learning areas. The Cave is a secluded place where students fix their attention on individual (个人的) projects without being bothered (打扰). The Lab is a place where students can do all kinds of experiments and test their ideas. Kids can work in groups in the same projects in The Camp Fire. The Show Off is where kids can show their inventions. And if the kids need a rest, they can visit The Watering Hole, which has all kinds of fun activities.

Sounds great? And the coolest thing is that the school is free! I hope more schools like this will appear in the world!

1.What is the idea behind the special school?

A. The children are creative.

B. All the students need to be taught.

C. All the students must be successful.

D. All the students must have high grades.

2.From the passage we can infer (推断) that ?????? in the special schools.

A. students are bored???????????????? B. students are tired

C. students learn freely?????????????? D. students learn from their teachers

3.“The Cave is a secluded place ….” The word “secluded” probably means “??? ” in Chinese.

A. 清静的?????? ????????????? B. 固定的?????? ????????????? C. 吵闹的?????? ????????????? D. 混合的

4.Paragraph 5 mainly tells us that ????? .??????????????

A. the school doesn’t have grades

B. the school has clever students

C. the school has five learning areas

D. the school doesn’t have classrooms

Different weather makes people feel different. It influences (影响) health, intelligence (智力) and feelings.
In August, it is very hot and wet in the southern part of the United States. People there have heart trouble and other kinds of health problems during this month. In the Northeast and the Middle West, it is very hot at some times and very cold at other times. People in these states have more heart trouble after the weather changes in February or March.
The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in a 1983 report by scientists, IQ (智商) of a group students were very high when a very strong wind came, but after the strong wind, their IQ was 10% below. The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand (另一方面), can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often get worse on exams in the hot months of the year (July and August).
Weather also has a strong influence on people’s feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold during these months. They might feel unhappy during cold weather. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer. At about 18C, people become stronger.
Low air pressure (气压) may make people forgetful. People leave more bags on buses and in shops on low-pressure days. There is a “good weather” for work and health. People feel best at a temperature of about 18 centigrade (摄氏度).
Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful, or unhappy today? It may be the weather’s problem.
【小题1】People may have more intelligence when _____ comes.