Right is right. Right? Of course. But is left wrong? Well, the Romans used to think so. They thought left-handed people were mistakes of nature. Latin, the language of the Romans, had many words that expressed this view. Some words we use today still have this meaning. The Latin word “dexter” means “right”. The English word “dexterous” comes from this word. It means “handy” (clever with hands). So, right is handy. But the Latin word for left is “sinister”. The English word “sinister” comes from this word. Sinister means “evil” (very bad). Is it fair to call right-handed people handy and left-handed people evil? Well, fair or not, many languages have words that express such beliefs. In old English, the word for left means “weak”. That isn’t much of an improvement over “evil”.

 Not very long ago, children were often forced to write with their right hands. Doctors have since found that this can be very harmful. You should use the hand you were born to use.

People who use their left hands are just starting to get better treatment. But why they get all these bad names in the first place? One reason may be that there are not as many left-handed people as there are right-handed people. There is one left-handed person for every five right-handed ones. People who are different are often thought to be wrong. But attitudes do seem to be changing. Fair-minded right-handed people are finally starting to give left-handed people a hand.

1. What does the passage lead us to believe when one writes?

A. He can only use his right hand.

B. He can only use his left hand.

C. He can use either his left hand or his right hand.

D. He can use both his left hand and his right hand.

2. The last sentence of this article means ________.

A. Fair-minded right-handed people want to change the habit of the left-handed people

B. Fair-minded right-handed people are starting to help the left-handed people

C. Fair-minded right-handed people are starting to use left hand to write and so on

D. Fair-minded right-handed people are starting to give up using their left hands

3. After we read the article we can certainly know that _______.

A. left-handed people have been treated poorly

B. the number of the left-handed people is larger than that of right-handed people

C. right-handed people are much cleverer than left-handed people

D. left-handed people are less smart but hardworking

4. Which of the following is NOT right, according to the article?

A. At one time, left-handed people were forced to use their right hands.

B. Left-handed people today are being treated better than those in the past.

C. There are not as many left-handed people as there are right-handed people today.

D. “Dexterous” comes from Latin, means “evil” and English “sinister” means “handy”.

Millions of pounds’ worth of damage ___by a storm which swept across the north of England last night.

A. has been caused                  B. had been caused

C. will be caused                   D. will have been caused

With the help of high technology, more and more new substances____in the past years.

A. discovered   B. have discovered   C. had been discovered   D. have been discovered

Would you please keep silent? The weather report and _________I want to listen.

A. is broadcast                                       B. is being broadcast

C. has been broadcast                              D. had been broadcast

Years ago we didn't know this, but recent science ______ that people who don't sleep well soon get ill.

A. showed              B. has shown        C. will show         D. is showing

The doctor ___ the boy and examined his back.

A. turned down   B. turned on  C. turned to   D. turned over

After a long way I was tired and my legs ____.

A. gave off    B. gave out    C. gave in     D. gave away

When a group of children politely stop a conversation with you, saying，“We have to go to work now.” you're left feeling surprised and certainly uneasy. After all, this is the 1990s and the idea of children working is just unthinkable. That is , until you are told that they are all pupils of stage schools, and that the “work” they go off to is to go on the stage in a theatre.

Stage schools often act as agencies (代理机构) to supply children for stage and television work. More worthy of the name “stage school” are those few places where children attend full time, with a training for the theatre and a general education.

A visit to such schools will leave you in no doubt that the children enjoy themselves. After all, what lively children wouldn't settle for spending only hal

f the day doing ordinary school work, and acting, singing or dancing their way through the other half of the day?

Then of course there are times for the children to make a name and make a little money in some big shows. Some stage schools give their children too much professional work at such a young age. But the law is very tight on the amount they can do. Those under 13 are limited to 40 days in the year; those over 13 do 80 days.

The schools themselves admit that not all children will be successful in the profession for which they are being trained. So what happens to those who don't make it? While all the leading schools say they place great importance on children getting good study results, the facts seem to suggest this is not always the case.

1.People would stop feeling uneasy when realising that the children they're talking to  ________.

A. attend a stage school

B. are going to the theatre

C. have got some work to do

D. love singing and dancing 

2.In the writer's opinion, a good stage school should  ________ .

A. produce star performers

B. help pupils improve their study skills

C. train pupils in language and performing arts

D. provide a general education and stage training 

3.“Professional work” as used in the text means  ________ .

A. ordinary school work

B. money?making performances

C. stage training at school

D. acting, singing or dancing after class 

4.Which of the following best describes how the writer feels about stage schools?

A. He thinks highly of what they have to offer.

B. He favours an early start in the training of performing arts.

C. He feels uncomfortable about children putting on night shows.

D. He doubts the standard of ordinary education they have reached. 

There are three separate sources of danger in supplying energy by nuclear power(原子能).

First, the radioactive material must travel from its place of production to the power station. Although the power stations themselves are strongly built, the containers used for the transport of the materials are not. Normally, only two methods of transport are in use, namely road or rail. Unfortunately, both of these may have an effect on the general public, since they are sure to pass near, or even through, heavily populated areas.

Second, there is the problem of waste. All nuclear power stations produce wastes that in most cases will remain radioactive for thousands of years. It is impossible to make these wastes nonradioactive, and so they must be stored in one of the inconvenient ways that scientists have invented. For example, they may be buried under the ground, or dropped into deserted mines, or sunk in the sea. However, these methods do not solve the problem, since an earthquake could easily break the containers.

Third, there may occur the danger of a leak(泄漏) or an explosion at the power station. As with the other two dangers, this is not very likely, so it does not provide a serious objection to the nuclear program. However, it can happen.Separately, these three types of dangers are not a great cause for worry. Taken together, though, the probability of disaster(灾难) is extremely high.

1.Which of the following is FALSE?

A.It is possible that a leak or an explosion occurs at a power station.

B.It is unusual for radioactive materials to be transported across land.

C.The containers are likely to be broken by an earthquake.

D.Nuclear wastes remain dangerous in most cases for many years. 

2.The author thinks that the ways to store nuclear wastes are ________.

A.easy      B.impossible         C.reasonable        D.ineffective 

3.What do we learn from the last paragraph?

A.The power station is a safe place.

B.The dangers of nuclear energy can be prevented.

C.The general public are strongly against the nuclear program.

By itself, none of the three dangers is very likely to cause much worry.

4.What is this passage about?

A.Uses of nuclear power.          B.Dangers from nuclear power.        

C.Public anger at nuclear power.  D.Accidents caused by nuclear power. 

We may learn ___ English well by ___ it.

 A. speaking, spoken   B. spoken, speaking   C.spoken, spoken  D.speaking, speaking