While the factors driving the modern family are many and complex－from the explosion of technology to the influx(涌入) of mothers into the workforce－parental fear may be at the heart of today's rushed(匆忙的) approach to child－rearing(养育孩子), some experts say.

Parents fear everything from media exposure to violence to peer pressure, says Alan Mirabelli, executive director of Ottawa think tank. Perhaps most of all, there's the fear that their kids won't be equipped to compete in the future.

Some might argue that today's parents are micromanagers because, unlike those who raised families during the Depression and World War Ⅱ， they don't have enough real worries. But Mirabelli says it comes down to a different context and a different set of challenges.

He notes that while parents 25 or 30 years ago had the modest goals of providing their offspring with more than they had, the current driving force is the desperation to equip kids for a dog－eat－dog world.

They demand tougher schools, a heftier(容量更大的) curriculum and standardized testing to measure performance. Outside the school system, they fill in the gaps with tutoring, music lessons, art classes, gymnastics and hockey. For those who can't afford it,_there's the additional stress and fear that their kids don't stand a chance.

David Elkind, a renowned child psychologist and author of The Hurried Child, says hyper－parenting is a reaction to a world changing so fast and we have no idea how to prepare kids for it. Parents can't envision the society their kids will inhabit as adults, so they try to cover all the possibilities, cramming in as much as possible and operating on the principle that earlier is better. “This works against the notion of let children be children，”said David Elkind.

6. The biggest fear of parents is that their children________.

A. will change for the worse because of media influence

B. will get involved in violence

C. will fall behind in future competition

D. will compare themselves with peers

7. David Elkind holds the view that________.

A. parents should equip their kids for a changing world

B. parents shouldn't worry too much about their children

C. parents shouldn't destroy the childhood of their children

D. it's better for parents to foresee the future society

8. We can conclude from the text that________.

A. children today can't enjoy a real childhood

B. children today are better equipped for the future

C. parents today actually have no real worries

D. parents today face more challenges actually

9. What would be the BEST title for the text?

A. Modern family is becoming complex

B. The harm of rushed approach to child－rearing

C. How to equip children for the future

D. The parents are worried, so the children are hurried

10. The underlined word “it” in the fifth paragraph probably refers to________.

A. the tough education

B. a good environment

C. a colourful after－school activity

D. a rich and happy life

About ten percent of spending on primary and secondary education in the United States comes from the federal government. 1.________States have been required to show progress through yearly testing.

But states say testing tells only part of the story about efforts by schools and students to improve. So the Obama administration has eased the limits on states in measuring performance.

2.________This new measurement tool is called the Colorado Growth Model. The idea is to show academic growth, not just achievement on tests. It combines test scores, family income levels, school size, the ethnicity of the student and many other factors.

3._______The graph shows a school’s average score on standardized tests as well as its academic growth.

On average, students enter sixth grade at WEST Denver Prep performing below grade level. 4.________.

The new assessment method shows that, each year, the average West Denver Prep student learns more math than ninety-four percent of all the students in Colorado. 5._________.

 Josh Smith says perhaps the most important thing they should learn is to believe in themselves.

A.The results from schools across the state are shown online on a graph.

B.Reading and writing scores also show growth.

C.For ten years now, federal law has tied this spending to student performance.

D.Therefore, the government feels it a great pressure.

E.But three years later, most are outperforming other students across the state.

F.However, the limits don’t work at all.

G.The western state of Colorado, for example, has a new assessment method.

Shakespeare's Birthplace and Exhibition of Shakespeare's World

Welcome to the world-famous house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and where

he grew up. The property(房产) remained in the ownership of Shakespeare’s family until 1806. The house has welcomed visitors travelling from all over the world, for over 250 years.

◆ Enter through the Visitors’ Centre and see the highly-praised exhibition Shakespeare’s World, a lively and full introduction to the life and work  of Shakespeare.

Stand in the rooms where Shakespeare grew up.

Discover examples of furniture and needlework from Shakespeare’s period.

Enjoy the traditional(传统的)English garden, planted with trees and flowers mentioned in the poet’s works.

◆ The Birthplace is within easy walking distance of all the car parks    shown on the map; nearest is Windsor Street(3 minutes’ walk).

◆ The House may present difficulties but the Visitors’ Centre, its  exhibition, and the garden are accessible(可进入的)to wheelchair users.

◆  The Shakespeare Coffee House (opposite the Birthplace).

How much is the admission for a family of two grown-ups and two children?

A. ￡9.80   B. ￡12.00  C. ￡14.20  D. ￡16.40

Where is the nearest parking place to Shakespeare’s Birthplace?

A. Behind the exhibition hall.    B. Opposite the Visitors’ Centre.

C. At Windsor Street.           D. Near the Coffee House.

A wheelchair user may need help to enter         .

A . the House     B the garden    C  the Visitor’s Centre    D. the exhibition hall

No one can believe that the over 6,300-kilometer Great Wall might disappear some day. Believe it or not, the Great Wall is being destroyed by people. Less than 20 percent of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty ,is still perfect, but about 80 percent is in danger. The Great Wall can be called “ great “ mostly because of its amazing length. But we should realize that the length was made up of one brick at a time. If we do nothing to save the Great Wall,it will become a series of separate wasteland rather than a historic site.

The Great Wall is actually a series of walls built and rebuilt by different dynasties over the past 2,000 years. It began in the rule of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221BC----206BC), and lasted into the Ming Dynasty. The parts built before the Ming Dynasty have nearly disappeared. People are familiar with sections such as Badaling in Beijing and Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu, because they have been open to tourists for many years. But those sections far away from the public eyes have been almost forgotten.

Few local people knew the 3—meter—high walls made of earth and stones beside them are parts of the Great Wall. The lack of knowledge is considered as one of the main reasons behind human.

The bricks on the Great Wall are carried off by countryside people to build their houses,sheep corrals and pigsties. Some were taken away to build roads. Bricks carved with people’s names are put away as remembrances. The rubbish is spread over the battlements. The brick can be sold 15 yuan per tractor load. Those who destroyed and are destroying the Wall know its name, but are not clear about its cultural meaning. It will take a long time to let them know this. The local farmers not only carried off the body of the Wall but also dug out the entire base.

It is necessary to protect the Great Wall. First of all, the officials should be aware of the importance of the Great Wall. Young Chinese should know more about the nation’s great civilization and learn to love it.

1.Why does the writer say the Great Wall might disappear?

A．It is useless from now on.

B． It is too old to be used again.

C． It will be replaced by a new one.

D． Some parts of it are being destroyed.

2.The underlined part “ those sections far away from the public eyes “( in Para. 2 ) refers to the parts of the Great Wall______________.

A．nobody can watch.

B．that are too far to be seen.

C．that are too difficult to find.

D．that are not well-known to the public.

3. What’s the main reason of the Great Wall being destroyed?

A．The local people sell the bricks for a living.

B．The local people are short of culture knowledge.

C．The local people think that the Great Wall is not important.

D．The local people need bricks and stones to build houses.

4. Which of the following may be the best title for this passage?

A．How to Protect the Great Wall.

B．How the Great Wall came into being.

C．The Great Wall Being Rebuilt.

D．The Great Wall Being in Danger.

What does fizz (气泡) taste like? In Bubbly (多泡的)drinks such as sodas, tiny bubbles give the drink a lift--- and have a distinct taste, In a new study on mice, scientists have connected that fizzy-taste feeling to the ability to taste sourness, such as that of oranges or vinegar.

Scientists first thought the taste of bubbles came from the bubbles bursting on the tongue, but now ate starting to think differently. Charles Zuker, of Columbia University, and his team studied the nervous system of mice to understand how the tongue tastes carbon dioxide, which is the gas that makes up the bubbles.

       Animals, including human beings, are able to detect different tastes by using taste buds(味蕾) which pick up tastes in the mouth, and then send them to the brain. In the experiment, different groups of mice were genetically engineered to be missing one of the senses involved in taste. “Genetically engineered” means the researchers were able to turn off the switches for certain senses by changing the genes responsible for taste. The mice in one group could not taste sweet; another, sour; the third, bitter, and the fourth, salt. When the scientists gave carbon dioxide to the mice, the nervous systems of all the mice responded to the gas, except those of the mice that could not taste sour.

       This shows that the taste of the bubbles must be sour, and that by turning off the ability of the mice to taste sour, the scientists also turned off their ability to taste carbon dioxide. When they studied the cells that detect sourness, the researchers found a protein attached to the cells that is important to the process of tasting carbon dioxide. When carbon dioxide comes into contact with this protein, the protein knocks off particles called protons. These protons(质子), in turn, travel to the brain, which says ,” Hey! That’s a taste!”

       It may seem like a lot of work to get from a can of soda to a taste, but the science of the senses is anything but simple, “  Taste is a challenging system to study,” one researcher says.

What is the most important function of the bubbles?

A. To look interesting .                      B. To make drinks taste good.

C. To make drinks funny.                   D. To produce a lot of fizz.

From the experiment the researchers learned that______.

A. sourness has nothing to do with the taste of bubbles.

B. there is a connection between sourness and bubbles.

C. the taste of bubbles is better if it’s less sour.

D. most mice cannot taste carbon dioxide.

It can be inferred from the passage that ________.

A. the taste of bubbles is produced by the bubbles bursting on the tongue.

B. the nervous systems of mice show how the tongue tastes carbon dioxide.

C. taste seems simple but is very complex to research.

D. nerve cells sending signals to the brain is the first step in tasting something.

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A. Nervous Systems Understand How the Tongue Tastes.                 

B. The Process of Taste

C. The taste of Bubbles.                                                

D. Different Animals Detect Different Tastes.