Governments and health officials around the world continued to take steps Tuesday against the outbreak of swine flu that has killed scores of people in Mexico and spread to the U.S.,Europe and possibly Asia.

By early Tuesday,the swine flu outbreak in Mexico had caused in 152 deaths and more than 1,600 illnesses.So far,at least 113 cases have been proved worldwide,including 64 in the United States;six in Canada;11 in New Zealand and two each in Spain the United Kingdom and Israel.None has yet resulted in death.

    T'he World Health Organization on Monday raised its alert level from three to four on its six-level scale.The move means the U.N.agency has determined that the virus can transmit from human to human.

“In this age of global travel,where people move around in airplanes so quickly,there is no region to which this virus could not spread,”said Fukuda,assistant director-general of the WHO.

    Governments around the world struggled to prevent further outbreak.Some,like China and Russia,banned pork imports from the United States and Mexico U.S.President Barack Obama said the outbreak was a cause for concern,not for alarm.The gov-ernment urged travelers to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

The latest WHO report listed only seven proved swine flu deaths in Mexico but it was not clear why there was the discrepency.

Mexico City has closed all schools until at least May 6 to help curb (contro1) the spread of swine flu and ordered 35,00 public venues to close or serve only take away meals.In addition,bars,clubs,movie theaters,pool halls,gyms,sport centers and convention halls have been told to close until May 5.Armed police officers are also guarding hospitals in Mexico City while roads and schools in the city of 20 million people are deserted.Officials also have talked about shutting down the bus and subway systems.

【小题1】When learning the outbreak of swine flu,the WHO was         .

A.calm                   B.nervous

C.shocked                 D.careful

【小题2】Fukuda’s words suggest that         .

A.he likes travel by air

       B.global travel hasn’t been affected

C.this virus can spread quickly because of global travel

       D.planes must be forbidden to take to prevent swine flu

【小题3】The last paragraph mainly tells us         .

       A.Mexico has taken measures to control swine flu

       B.Mexico City is too dangerous to live in

       C.the normal life in Mexico has been changed

       D.people in Mexico are badly in need of help

Kuss Middle School serves students in Fall River, Mass. , a former mill town that has struggled economically for decades. Students at Kuss have struggled, too, usually falling short of making the academic progress required under the No Child Left Behind law.
Then, last year, the school experimented with extending the school day. Teachers got paid at a higher hourly rate.
Students weren't thrilled at first with leaving school at 4:15 p.m. instead of at 2:20 p.m. But the added hours gave them more time for physical education and let them select special interest classes. By the end of the year, student scores had risen by enough to enable Kuss to make the progress required under the federal No Child Left Behind law.
The only surprise is that more districts haven't lengthened school schedules set decades ago to accommodate (适应) a farm economy rather the information economy of today.

School days
The USA ranks 36th of 40 industrialized nations in average weekly instructional time.
Selected countries:
1) Thailand--30.5 hours  2) Korea--30.3 hours  7) China--26.5 hours
14) France--24.6 hours  15 ) UK--24.6 hours
16) Mexico--24.2 hours  23 ) Japan--23.8 hours
26)Canada--23.6 hours  36)USA--22.2 hours  40)Brazil--19 hours
New research suggests the time is ready for a change:
Matched against 39 other developed countries, the United States is near the bottom in the rankings of average weekly instructional time in school.  Measured over 12 years, students in the top-scoring countries spend the equivalent of a full extra year in school.
US students perform poorly on math and science tests compared to their international peers, according to a US Education Department comparison released earlier this month. In math, American 15-year-old scored near the bottom among the study's 30 developed countries.
Most countries that boost the number of minutes spent on math instruction find pay offs in improved math scores, according to a study released this month by the Brookings Institution. Small increases in the school day are more effective than a longer school year, the report concluded.
The most encouraging news about the benefits of extending the school day comes from Massachusetts, where an experiment with 10 schools, including Kuss, appears to be working. Those 10 schools lengthened their instructional days by 25% and boosted their state scores in math, English and science at all grades.
Perhaps the concept won't work everywhere. Certainly, it won't instantly be popular. But it's obvious that a problem exists or that adding class time seems to help.
【小题1】What is the main idea of the above passage?
A.Experiments with extended school hours produce academic gains.
B.Kuss Middle School sets a good example for US education.
C.Academic progress has achieved under the No Child Left Behind law.
D.Information age calls for more instructional lime at all schools.
【小题2】A longer school day is suggested for the following reasons except that _________.
A.students from many developed countries spend more time at school
B.American students do a bad job at science subjects
C.teachers are paid at a higher rate with time added
D.a longer school day works better than a longer school year
【小题3】Which statement is true of Kuss Middle School?
A.Kuss Middle School lies in where a farm economy is changing to an information one.
B.Kuss Middle school has joined the federal "No Child Left Behind" progrann
C.Neither teachers nor students are happy with the longer school day.
D.Adding class time functions at Kuss Middle School.
【小题4】The writer has expressed ____________.
A.a positive attitude towards adding school time
B.a negative attitude towards adding school time
C.a changing attitude towards adding school time
D.a right attitude towards adding school time

阅读下面的短文,然后按照要求写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
Here are some comments on Li Hua from his classmates.
Lily said, "Li Hua is the smartest student in our class and usually scores the highest marks in the English and mathematics exams. His homework and assignments are always done to a very high standard so our teachers ask us to follow his example. We all admire his intelligence."
Kate said, "Li Hua is really a hard-working student. He spends at least four hours every day reviewing his lessons and his homework is never late. As the exams get closer he becomes even more diligent and works into the early hours of the morning, making sure he has gone over all of the information covered in our classes."
John said, "Li Hua is the kind of person who is easy to co-operate with. Although he's very clever he is still willing to listen to others' opinions and take their suggestions. When we do groupwork in class we all want to be in his group because he always does his share of the work and is easy to get along with."
Tim said, "Li Hua is the class monitor and the most helpful student in our class. He always makes sure the classroom is kept clean and assists the teacher in handing out and collecting the students' books and homework. When a student is absent from school he will call and tell them what they have missed."
【写作内容】
假设你叫李平,你的同学李华拟申请到美国某大学学习。申请材料需包括同伴的推荐信。李华邀请你为他写一封推荐信。上文是其他同学对李华的一些评价,请根据这些材料和你自己对李华的看法,写一封推荐信。以下是信的内容(信的开头和结尾已经为你写好):
1. 以约30个词概括同学们眼中李华的特点和优点;
2. 以约120个词表达你对李华的看法,并包括如下要点:
⑴ 你对同学们评价意见的看法;
⑵ 以你和李华之间的经历来说明其中的一点看法。
【写作要求】
1. 作文中可使用自己的亲身经历或虚构的故事,也可以参照阅读材料的内容但不得直接引用原文中的句子;
2. 信中不能出现真实的姓名和学校名称。

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.

 

One day, I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physical problem ,while the student claimed a perfect score. I was elected as their arbiter( 仲裁人).I read the examination problem: “Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer(气压计).” The student had answered: “Take the barometer to the top of the building,attach a long rope to it,lower it to the street,and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of it is the height of the building. ”

The student had really answered the question completely ,but the answer didn’t confirm his competence in physics. I suggested the student try again. I gave him six minutes to answer the question, warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. Five minutes later, he said he had many answers and clashed off one, which read: “Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, use the physical formula (公式)to calculate the height of the building. ”

At this point, my colleague had to accept it, and then the student made almost full marks. I couldn’t help asking the student what the other answers were. He listed many others ,and then added5 “Probably the best is to take the barometer to the. administrator and said to him,' Sir, here is a fine barometer. If you tell me the height of the building, I will give it to you.,”

Then, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did ,but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.

The name of the student was Bohr who later was famous all over ,the world. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922.

1.The student got a zero at the beginning because_______.

A.the teacher wasn’t satisfied with him

B.his answer wasn't complete or correct

C.the teacher clicln5t fully understand his answer

D.his answer didn’t show his knowledge of physics

2.We know from the passage that______

A.the student knew the expected answer

B.the administrator told Bohr the height

C.the author preferred Bohr s last answer

D.the teacher was a very stubborn person

3.We can learn from the passage that______.

A.instructors can teach students how to think

B.arbiters can help students to get high scores

C.students should be given more freedom in thinking

D.teachers should make students use physical formulas

4.What was Bohr’s attitude toward his schooling?

A.Optimistic.         B.Critical.           C.Approving.        D.Ambiguous.

 

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