A clique(小圈子,派系) is a group of friends who hang out together and act in similar ways. Cliques are common feature of the teen years. Members of a clique usually have certain things in common. For example, they might all be good students. Membership in a clique is limited. Not everyone who wants to belong can join.
Cliques can have a positive or negative influence. Because most teens have a strong need to belong, they want to feel that they fit into a group. Cliques can help them meet this need. Sometimes teens feel unsure of themselves, and they use a clique to gain approval of what they wear or how they act.
Cliques can become harmful, however, if they pressure members to behave the same way as the group that may damage their health. Cliques may discourage members from making their own decisions, giving their own opinions, or having other friends who aren’t accepted by the clique. Cliques may even pressure members to act in ways that go against their own values and beliefs, such as lying to parents or teachers. Cliques can also hurt people outside the group. For example, members might make fun of a teen who isn’t in the clique.
If you find yourself under this type of pressure from a clique, here are some actions you can take to improve your situation.
● Suggest other activities. Offer ideas that don’t involve hurting others or putting anyone at risk.
● Find new friends. If staying in the clique is becoming a negative experience, you will be better off with new friends.
【小题1】Why do teens want to be a member of a clique?
| A.Because it is popular with teens. |
| B.Because it meets teens’ need of belonging. |
| C.Because it is where teens can be themselves. |
| D.Because it provides an opportunity for them to be away from their parents. |
| A.Because kids in there don’t have independent thinking. |
| B.Because kids in there are not allowed to have their own opinions. |
| C.Because kids in there sometimes are pressured. |
| D.Because kids in there are forced to lie to their parents. |
| A.He is very supportive to it. | B.He is strongly against it. |
| C.He is not against it, though he doesn’t like it. | |
| D.He is not against it. However, he has some worry about it. |
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will lose most of its coral cover by 2050 and, at worst, the world’s largest coral system could collapse by 2100 because of global warming, a study recently said.
The study by Queensland University’s Center for Marine Studies, commissioned (委托) by the Worldwide Fund for Nature, said that the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef was unavoidable due to global warming, regar
dless of what actions were taken now. “Under the worst-case scenario, coral populations will collapse by 2100 and the reestablishment of coral reefs will be highly unlikely over the following 200-500 years,” said the report entitled “Implications (可能的影响) of Climate Change for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.”[来源:学|科|网]
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest living reef formation stretching 2,000 km north to south along Australia’s northeast coast. “Only if global average temperature change is kept to below two degrees Celsius can the Reef have any change of recovering from the predicted damage,” the report said. Coral has a narrow comfort zone and is highly stressed by a temperature rise of less than one degree Celsius. Water temperature rises of less than one degree coincided (同时发生) with the world’s worst recorded coral bleaching (颜色变淡) period in 1988. The warmer water forces out the algae (海藻) that give coral its color and, if all are lost, the coral dies and the reef will die out. In 1988, 16 percent of the world’s coral died, with 46 percent of the Indian Ocean coral destroyed.
Scientists express water temperatures to rise this century by between two and six degrees Celsius. “There is little to no evidence that corals can adapt fast enough to match even the lower temperature rise,” said the report. Over-fishing and pollution from coastal farms were also contributing to the destruction of coral on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Great Barrier Reef supports huge fishing and tourism industries. Even under favorable conditions tourists would only be able to experience real corals in reef “theme parks”.
【小题1】The underlined word “scenario” in Paragraph 2 probably means .
| A.imagination | B.intention | C.expectation | D.prediction |
| A.corals have no difficulty in ad高☆考♂资♀源?网apting the temperature change |
| B.if we take quick actions we can avoid the destruction of corals |
| C.we can find corals in many areas of the seas or oceans |
| D.the algae help corals to live |
| A.Direct sunshine. | B.Over-fishing. |
| C.Global warming. | D.Pollution. |
| A.coral can only live in a small area |
| B.coral prefers a crowded place |
| C.coral can hardly adapt to the temperature change |
| D.coral grows best in a small are高☆考♂资♀源?网a |
You know you have to read “between the lines” to get the most out of anything. I want to persuade you to do something equally important in the course of your reading. You have to “mark between the lines”. By marking you can make the most efficient kind of reading.
There are two ways in which one can own a book. The first is the property (财产) right you have by paying for it, just as you pay for clothes and furniture. While full ownership comes only when you have made it a part of yourself and the best way to make yourself a part of it is by writing marks on it.
Why is marking up a book indispensable to reading? First, it keeps you awake. Second, active reading is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words. Finally, marking helps you remember the thoughts you had, or the thoughts the author expressed.
Reading a book should be like making a conversation, a conversation between you and the author. Although he knows more about the subject than you do, don’t let anybody tell you that a reader is only on the receiving end. Understanding is a two-way operation. Reading doesn’t mean being a passive empty receiver, the reader has to question himself and question the author. And marking a book can show his own judgment on author’s opinion: agreement or difference.
【小题1】The author thinks “marking between the lines” is ______.
| A.the most important of all |
| B.more important than “reading between the lines” |
| C.as important as “reading between the lines” |
| D.not so important as “reading between the lines” |
| A.to absorb its content and make it a part of yourself |
| B.to have property right by paying for it |
| C.to write many words of sentences on it |
| D.to make a conversation with the author |
| A.troublesome | B.difficult | C.useless | D.necessary |
| A.a reader will receive everything the book presents |
| B.the author should understand readers |
| C.a reader should have his own judgment of the author’s opinion |
| D.the author should help readers understand better |
| A.How to Own a Book | B.Mark Between the Lines |
| C.How to Understand Author | D.Read Between the Lines |
There are many sorts of spies. There are those employed by governments to protect their countries’ interests; there are those we find in fiction and film, like the famous James Bond; and then there are the spies of the business world. But now there is a new form of espionage (间谍): sports spying. It may be a profitable job – if the spy can find a buyer for the information.
Last week, British newspapers reported that the England national team had been secretly recorded by an unknown group of individuals.
Media suggested that bugs had picked up a discussion of team tactics (战术), as well as playful talk about athletes’ affairs and possible rewards for players if they manage to win the World Cup.
England officials immediately filed a suit to stop media from publishing the contents of the recordings. Little is known about the identities of the spies, but authorities doubt they have any connection to rival sides preparing for this summer’s competition in South Africa. Rather, it appears that the people who bugged the hotel meeting room are just after money. If they find the right buyer, they could get a lot of it.
Gambling in major sports, like football, involves much more than picking the winner of a particular match. People can also place bets on starting line-ups, the timing of substitutions and goals scored. Knowing a team’s tactics for a particular game, or for a series of games, can help gamblers to increase their chances of winning big money.
England manager Fabio Capello tried to play down the importance of game tactics. He argued that a team’s psychological preparation is the most vital. “It’s more important to train the mind, to find confidence, create a group and a winning mentality,” he said.
Perhaps of more interest to the casual fan are the discussions of the players’ relationships with wives and girlfriends. UK newspapers may be prevented from publishing the details, but some Britons might say, the chances of the recordings never being heard are about as good as those of England winning this year’s competition: slim to none.
【小题1】We may know from the first paragraph that ______________.
| A.the spies mentioned are all pursuing money |
| B.all the spies are employed by the government |
| C.James Bond belongs to spies of the business world |
| D.if a sport spy can find a buyer, he can make money |
| A.A small insect. | B.The devices used in the spying. |
| C.A kind of virus. | D.A kind of laptop computers. |
| A.are from the rival sides for sure |
| B.probably intended to make money |
| C.are involved in gambling |
| D.knew a winning mentality for a team is important |
| A.The chance of the England team winning the African World Cup is very small. |
| B.Many people will never hear the recordings. |
| C.A fan will be more interested in the players’ relationships with wives and girlfriends. |
| D.No one can get any information from the UK newspapers for ever. |
FROM 1964 to 1978, Dazhai, with a population of 500, was the most famous village in China. Millions of Chinese came to the Shanxi village to visit its terraced fields (梯田) and "splendid" irrigation systems.
It was not until 1978 when Guo Fenglian, head of the village, paid a visit to the US that China's model village found how far it had fallen behind those in developed countries.
"I was astonished at their modern equipment in harvesting, which could even separate big tomatoes with small ones," said Guo. "American farmers' life quality also impressed me a lot. Every day they had two cups of milk, which is something we don't have even in our wildest dreams."
"We have to learn their advanced technology and administration for our own development," said then first Deputy Prime Minister Deng Xiaoping who was planning China's reform and opening up policy then. "Through opening our doors, we would not only take advantage of foreign funds (资金), but also create job opportunities and cultivate (培养) talents."
In 1978 Japanese electricity giant Panasonic (松下) came to China as the first foreign business to invest (投资) here and its success attracted other world brands into exploring the Chinese market. So far China has for 15 years taken in the world's second biggest foreign investment, following the US, to help set the country in a fast growth.
However, China's 30-year road of reform was not always smooth. Doubts on the reform began to rise at the end of the 1980s as many people worried the country would turn to capitalism (资本主义).
"The criterion for our judgment is whether it helps develop socialist productive forces, whether it helps increase the overall national strength of a socialist country, and whether it brings about better living standards," said Deng.
"China's reform and opening up is a unique success story. It has brought benefit to both China and the world," said William Keller, chief manager of a Swiss pharmaceutical (制药的) company.
【小题1】Guo Fenglian was ______ at the sight of the modern equipment in harvesting when she visited the US in 1978.
| A.shocked | B.delighted | C.excited | D.attracted |
| A.America | B.Japan | C.Swiss | D.Panasonic |
| A.in 1978 | B.in 1980 |
| C.in 1981 | D.at the end of the 1980s |
| A.whether it helps develop socialist productive forces. |
| B.whether it strengthens the overall capacity of the country. |
| C.whether it brings about better investment and more profit. |
| D.whether it improves the peoples living standards. |