Northern Europeans spend a lot of time in their cold and cloudy winters planning their summer holidays. They are proud of their healthy color when they return home after the holiday. But they also know that a certain amount of sunshine is good for their bodies and general health.

In ancient Greece people knew about the healing(治疗) powers of the sun, but this knowledge was lost. At the end of the nineteenth century a Danish doctor, Niels Finsen, began to study the effect of sunlight on certain diseases, especially diseases of the skin. He was interested not only in natural sunlight but also in artificially (人造地) produced rays. Sunlight began to play a more important part in curing sick people.

A Swiss doctor, Auguste Rollier, made full use of the sun in his hospital at Lysine. Lysine is a small village high up in the Alps. The position is important: the rays of the sun with the greatest healing power are the infra-red (红外线的) and ultra-violet (紫外线的) rays; but ultra-violet rays are too easily lost in fog and the polluted air near industrial towns. Dr. Roller found that sunlight, fresh air and good food cure a great many diseases. He was particularly successful in curing certain forms of tuberculosis with his “sun-cure”.

There were a large number of children in Dr. Roller’s hospital. He decided to start a school where sick children could be cured and at the same time continue to learn. It was not long before his school was full.

In winter, wearing only shorts, socks and boots, the children put on their skis after breakfast and left the hospital. They carried small desks and chairs as well as their school books. Their teacher led them over the snow until they reached a slope which faced the sun and was free from cold winds. There they set out their desks and chairs, and school began.

Although they wore hardly any clothes, Roller’s pupils were very seldom cold. That was because their bodies were full of energy which they got from the sun. But the doctor knew that sunshine can also be dangerous. If, for example, tuberculosis is attacking the lungs, unwise sunbathing may do great harm.

Today there is not just one school in the sun. There are several in Switzerland, and since Switzerland is not the only country which has the right conditions, there are similar schools in other places.

1. According to the passage, when did sunlight begin to play a more important part in the treatment of disease?

A. From ancient times.        B. At the end of the nineteenth century.

C. Not until this century.              D. Only very recently.

2. Why are a Danish doctor and a Swiss doctor mentioned in the second and third paragraphs?

A. Because they both made use of sunlight to treat illness.

B. Because they were the first people who used sunlight for treatment.

C. Because they were both famous European doctors.

D. Because they used sunlight in very different ways.

3. Dr Roller set up a “sun-cure” school probably for the reason that _______.

A. most children could stay in his hospital

B. children could study while being treated

C. the school was expected to be full of pupils

D. the school was high up in the mountains

4. What can be inferred from the last paragraph of the passage?

A. “Sun-cure” schools are becoming popular everywhere.

B. Switzerland is the only country where “sun-cure” schools are popular.

C. Proper conditions are necessary for the running of a “sun-cure” school.

D. “Sun-cure” schools are found in countries where there is a lot of sunshine.

Twenty-three senior high school graduates of 1999 from Wuhan, Hubei Province, have recently left for Germany on a work-study program according to Xi’an Evening Newspaper.

They will study hotel management in Bavarian Hotel Management School for a year and then take up two-year practice in Germany. Upon graduation, they will also get diplomas (文凭) recognized internationally. During their two-year practice, they earn no less than 1 200 Deutsche Marks (德国马克) a month.

The program, organized by a company in Wuhan, aims at providing the city’s high school graduates with new job chances.

Applicants (申请者) must first pass an exam given by the German side and pay 180 000 yuan covering the three year’s study and living expenses in Germany. In spite of this, the program still attracted a lot of high school graduates and their parents. And applicants came in a continuous stream.

“The change for my child to go to college is small. What’s more, it’s not easy to find a job. We find the work-study program an equally good way out for him,” a parent said, “We don’t worry much about the high costs because the total income from the two-year-long practice will be quite enough to clear them.”  

This text is mainly about _________.

A. a hotel management school in Bavarian, Germany

B. students from Wuhan studying in Germany

C. students going abroad on work-study program

D. new job chances offered in Germany

Which of the following words best describes the parents of these 23 students?

A. Wasteful.       B. Wise.        C. Sorry.       D. Worried.

We can infer that these applicants found it hard ___________.

A. to go to college at home         

B. to pay for the cost

C. to pass the test given by the Germans

D. to get a job when they return home

Every spring scores of people flock to the Buzzard Festival at Hinckley, Ohio. They come to watch for buzzards. Most would be glad just to take a look at a buzzard. If they do see one of these" flying garbage cans", it will probably be circling high in the sky. From there it can watch the ground for signs of the waste and the dead animals on which it feeds.

The buzzard is the ugliest bird in the United States. In fact, it may well be the ugliest bird in the world. It has a small, bare, pink head. Its thick body is covered with dark, rough feathers.

In spite of its looks, the buzzard is important to the people of Hinckley. It is their first sign of spring. After a winter in the south, buzzards return to their homes in the north. In the Hinckley area, they always return on March 15. No one knows why. But they have come back to Hinckley Ridge on that day, sure as clocks work, for at least forty years.

The excitement starts in February. By the middle of March it has reached a high peak. Bets are placed. Prizes go to the person who sees the first buzzard. Radio stations and newspapers tell of the coming festival. And on the weekend after March 15 the people of Hinckley hold their Buzzard Festival.

The people come and look around. They chat. They eat their fill of pancakes and sausages. Then they drive past Buzzard's Roost on Hinckley Ridge.

A lot of them stop near the road at the stand set up to give information to visitors. There they can hear, from a recording, the main facts about the buzzard. They can see a stuffed buzzard. They can look at some pictures taken of buzzards in other years. With good luck and a strong pair of field glasses, they may sight one or two live buzzards high in the sky.

Buzzards may be ugly. They may be "flying garbage cans". But in Hinckley they are just as welcome as the swallows in Capistrano, California. It would be a sad spring indeed if the buzzards ever failed to come back to Hinckley Ridge.

1.A good title for this story would be __________.

A．The Hinckley Buzzard Festival

B．Buzzard, the Ugliest Bird

C．Why the Buzzard Has a Pink Head

D．The Return of“The Garbage Can"

2.The buzzard is called the "flying garbage can" because it __________.

A．is ugly                                B．eats waste and dead animals

C．looks like a garbage can                   D．collect rubbish on the ground

3.The surprising thing about Hinckley's buzzards is that＿.

A．they spend the winter in the south

B．they come very close to the town

C．they return on the same day each year

D．both buzzards and swallows return to Capistrano on March 15

4.At the information stand, visitors to Hinckley's Buzzard Festival can _________.

A．learn some facts about the buzzard

B．easily see a live buzzard

C．take some pictures with the background of live buzzards

D．feed their fill of pancakes and sausages to buzzards

In the year 1986 there was a terrible explosion(爆炸). The explosion was at a nuclear power plant(核电站) in Ukraine. The radiation(辐射) caused a lot of damage. It polluted the soil and other things. People were living in the area when the explosion happened. More than twenty years later those people are still suffering. The influence of the explosion will go on for a long time.
Over two million people still live in that area. Only 56 people died from the explosion but many other problems have been caused because of it. Some types of cancer are more than 200 times above the world average(平均水平). Many children have cancer now and children born with problems have doubled since the accident.
Some people in the United States are worried about the children living in the explosion area. One group has been trying to raise money. They are called the Chenobyl Children’s Project. They want to bring children from Ukraine to the U.S. each summer.
A spokesperson for the group says that radiation is the highest in the summertime so it is a good time to get the children out of the country. They want to help the children get away for a little while. The Project wants them to be safe from radiation.
It costs $1,500 to bring each child to the United States for six weeks. The group raised enough money to bring 28 children to the United States last year. The children were able to do lots of fun things. They enjoyed clean air, healthy food, and plenty of outdoor fun. One little nine-year-old girl who got to come to the United States said that she likes America.
The spokesperson says that the children that come to America during the summer miss less school when they return home because they have a long summer vacation.
【小题1】What can we learn about the explosion that happened in 1986?

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BEIJING, Dec.21, 2012--Hundreds of college graduates yesterday attended interviews to be volunteer teachers of Chinese in Thailand, the Philippines and other Asian countries.

As many as 380 people turned out at the Minzu University of China for the recruitment(招募) drive organized by the Beijing Center of the Promotion of Chinese Overseas.

Recruiters(招聘人员)say they’ll pick 300 people from Beijing to teach Chinese in neighboring countries, to meet the ever-increasing demand for Chinese teachers in foreign countries. An official of the volunteer center of the Office of the Chinese Language Council International said that Chinese teachers are in great demand because learning Chinese is now part of compulsory education(义务教育) in many primary schools in Asian countries such as Thailand. Chinese teachers can be found in almost all the elementary schools in Thailand.

An official with the Beijing International Center for Chinese Language, said those who passed the interview would go through a five-month training period. Successful candidates would then become volunteers and teach Chinese to primary and middle school students in Thailand, Philippines and other neighboring countries. Each volunteer would receive $800 in subsidies(津贴), with accommodation and medical insurance covered by the school. Volunteers who perform well will be recommended to continue their graduate studies of teaching Chinese at universities when they return.

The official added that the basic requirement for candidates is that they have to have a bachelor’s degree, pass a Chinese-level test and a College English Band Four Exam. Candidates were tested on Chinese grammar, pronunciation, blackboard writing and English. Those with skills such as singing Chinese songs or dancing were preferred, she said.

Graduates line up to teach 1._______________ overseas

Date of the interview                Dec. 20, 2012

2.___________ of the interview       the Minzu University of China

Basic 73. _______________ for candidates  ★having a 4. _______________ degree

                                ★5. _______________ a Chinese-level test

                                ★passing a College English Band Four Exam

Tested subjects                    Chinese grammar, 6._______________, blackboard writing and English

Destination countries               7._______________, the Philippines and other Asian countries

Rewards                         ★$800 a month with accommodation and 8.______________ insurance covered by the school

                                ★ may have the 9._______________ to continue their graduate studies of teaching Chinese at universities.

10._______________for increasing need for Chinese teachers   Learning Chinese is now part of compulsory education in many Asian countries.