SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND-A British teaching union famous for strange ideas has supported
proposal to employ dogs as classroom assistants.
     At the annual conference of the Professional Association of Teachers in Southport, northwest
of England, one person suggested properly trained dogs be able to keep order in primary schools.
They can round up lost children and protect those who experience unfortunate "accidents". Wendy
Dyble, a Shetland Islands woman who teaches children up to age seven, made it clear to her fellow
friends that she was not  "barking mad". They obviously believed her, supporting her idea by 16
votes to 13, with a total of 63 abstentions (棄權(quán)).
     She said big dogs could help round up children, keep  them in line, lick up the milk they spill on
the floor and provide the extra eyes that a teacher needs to keep order."A big dog would also be
helpful in breaking up fights and looking for lost property, like gym shoes or dolls, " Dyble said at
the conference."The dog will also be useful in sniffing out smells that children do not own up to, "
she added."It would be nice for the teacher not to have to go round sniffing each child to find the
culprit (犯錯(cuò)的人). "
     The idea was greeted by the Dog Defense League but less so by bigger teaching unions.A
spokesman for Education Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, said his guide dog was always
popular with pupils when he visited schools.The Professional Association of Teachers, with around
35,000 members, is the smallest teaching union in Britain.It has an honour for occasional strange
ideas.
     Earlier this week, its annual conference here suggested stopping exams because they lead to stress
and introducing selection at the age of 12 based on physical coordination and manual skill in the use
of hand.

1. According to the writer's opinion, to employ dogs as classroom assistants________.
A. is a wonderful idea

B. can improve the relation between children and animals
C. is beyond ordinary people's minds
D. can make some teachers lose jobs

2. What Dyble said at the conference________.

A. gained some support from the members
B. frightened everyone at the conference
C. interested everyone at the conference
D. caused some trouble to trained dogs

3. A spokesman for Education Secretary________.

A. once used a dog as a classroom assistant
B. sang high praise for Dyble' s idea
C. would employ dogs as teachers
D. benefited much from dogs

4. The last paragraph of this passage________.

A. has nothing to do with the topic of this passage
B. shows there are too many exams in British schools
C. provides further facts about the teaching union
D. shows the writer's anger to the union

1. The most suitable title for the text would be________.

A. Hand Washing Brings Good Health
B. Hand Washing Gets a Day of Its Own
C. It Is Soap That Matters
D. Partnership for Hand Washing Takes Action 

2. The Partnership creates Global Hand Washing Day to ________.

A. call on people to wash hands
B. help the developing countries
C. promote the importance of soap in hand washing
D. make a culture of hand washing in the third world

3. The following facts can explain why soap is important EXCEPT that________.

A. soap gives people a longer hand washing time
B. soap helps to get rid of more germs off hands
C. soap attracts people to do more hand washing
D. soap gets people into the habit of washing hands

4. According to the last paragraph, diarrhea is a disease that________.

A. kills half of the kids in developing countries
B. causes the greatest number of child deaths
C. can be prevented by washing hands with soap
D. makes soap stand out in hand washing

     SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND-A British teaching union famous for strange ideas has supported
proposal to employ dogs as classroom assistants.
     At the annual conference of the Professional Association of Teachers in Southport, northwest of
England, one person suggested properly trained dogs be able to keep order in primary schools. They
can round up lost children and protect those who experience unfortunate "accidents". Wendy Dyble, a
Shetland Islands woman who teaches children up to age seven, made it clear to her fellow friends that
she was not  "barking mad". They obviously believed her, supporting her idea by 16 votes to 13, with a
total of 63 abstentions (棄權(quán)).
     She said big dogs could help round up children, keep  them in line, lick up the milk they spill on the
floor and provide the extra eyes that a teacher needs to keep order."A big dog would also be helpful in
breaking up fights and looking for lost property, like gym shoes or dolls, " Dyble said at the conference.
     "The dog will also be useful in sniffing out smells that children do not own up to, " she added. "It
would be nice for the teacher not to have to go round sniffing each child to find the culprit (犯錯(cuò)的人)."
     The idea was greeted by the Dog Defense League but less so by bigger teaching unions. A spokesman
for Education Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, said his guide dog was always popular with pupils
when he visited schools.The Professional Association of Teachers, with around 35,000 members, is the
smallest teaching union in Britain.It has an honour for occasional strange ideas.
     Earlier this week, its annual conference here suggested stopping exams because they lead to stress
and introducing selection at the age of 12 based on physical coordination and manual skill in the use of
hand.

1. According to the writer's opinion, to employ dogs as classroom assistants________.

A. is a wonderful idea
B. can improve the relation between children and animals
C. is beyond ordinary people's minds
D. can make some teachers lose jobs

2. What Dyble said at the conference________.

A. gained some support from the members
B. frightened everyone at the conference
C. interested everyone at the conference
D. caused some trouble to trained dogs

3. A spokesman for Education Secretary________.

A. once used a dog as a classroom assistant
B. sang high praise for Dyble' s idea
C. would employ dogs as teachers
D. benefited much from dogs

4. The last paragraph of this passage________.

A. has nothing to do with the topic of this passage
B. shows there are too many exams in British schools
C. provides further facts about the teaching union
D. shows the writer's anger to the union

     China Daily Oct.11,2008-The Ministry of Health has called for more awareness from the public on
the mental health of the young,  as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day which fell on Friday.
     More than 15 percent of Chinese youths have been found with mental problems,  and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression,  the Shanghaibased Wenhui Daily reported.The
World Health Organization estimates that before 2020,  the rate of children with mental problems will
increase to 50 percent,  and mental problems will become a major factor behind deaths and illness in the
young worldwide.
     Deng Xiaohong,  the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau,  said rapid social
changes are one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems.If
these mental diseases are not addressed on time,  occurrence of crimes,  drugtaking and other dangerous
behavior are expected to rise.Experts said mental diseases could be caused by many factors,  such as the
inability to handle interpersonal  relations well,  unstable emotions and pressures from an overload of
studies.A number of experts have also said the onechild policy is another reason leading to poor mental
health in the young.Children are said to be too "spoiled" and "selfish" in a onechild family.
     It's reported that schools in many cities are rolling out measures to help students maintain their mental
wellbeing.Yin Jingmiao,  a teacher of the Beijing No.105 Middle School,  told China Daily that the
school invites psychologists to provide counseling to students three times a month."Students can be
arranged to have 40minute counseling sessions,  " Yin said.The school also gives lectures on mental health
to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams to help ease any anxiety
arising from the tests.

1. Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?

A. Efforts to Mark World Mental Health Day
B. Seriousness of Youngsters'Mental Health Problems
C. How to Maintain Mental Wellbeing
D. Public Awareness on Youngsters'Mental Diseases Expected

2. The writer intends to tell us in the second paragraph that________.

A. mental health problems of the young are becoming a popular problem
B. only young people are suffering from mental health problems
C. mental problems will become as serious as deaths and illness
D. the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent

3. Which could be the consequence if the problem is left untreated?

A. Inability to handle interpersonal relations.
B. Unstable emotions.
C. Drugtaking and other dangerous behavior.
D. Rapid social changes.

   Washington (Reuters)-People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher
risk of pancreatic cancer (胰腺癌),an unusual but deadly cancer,researchers reported on Monday.
   People who drank mostly fruit juice instead of sodas did not have the same risk,the study of 60,000
people in Singapore found.
   Sugar may be to blame but people who drink sweetened sodas regularly often have other poor health
habits,said Mark Pereira of the University of Minnesota,who led the study.
   "The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing  the level of insulin (胰島素) in the body,which
we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth," Pereira said in a statement.
   Writing in the journal Cancer Epidemiology,Biomarkers & Prevention,Pereira  and  his  colleagues  
said  they  followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years.
   Over that time,140 of the volunteers developed pancreatic cancer.Those who drank two or more
sweetened soft drinks a week had an 87 percent higher risk of being among those who got pancreatic
cancer.
   Pereira said he believed the findings would apply elsewhere.
   "Singapore is a wealthy country with excellent healthcare.Favorite pastimes (消遣) are eating and
shopping,so the findings should apply to other Western countries," he said.
   But Susan Mayne of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University in Connecticut was cautious.
   "Although this study found a risk,the finding was based on a relatively small number of cases and it
remains unclear whether it is a causal (因果的) connection or not," said Mayne,who serves on the board
of the journal,which is published by the American Association for Cancer Research.
   Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer,with 230,000 cases globally.In the United
States,37,680 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in a year and 34,290 die of it.

1．According to the text,who is in control of the health study?

A．Mark Pereira.  
B．Scientists from Singapore.
C．Researchers in Yale.  
D．Susan Mayne.

2．We can infer from Pereira's words that________.

A．the healthcare in Singapore should be greatly improved
B．2 soft drinks a day are considered harmful to health
C．87 out of 140 volunteers developed pancreatic cancer
D．sugar might not be the only cause of pancreatic cancer

3．How does Susan seem to feel about the findings of the study?

A．Satisfied.  
B．Doubtful.  
C．Worried.  
D．Hopeful.

4．The best title of the text might be________.

A．The Deadliest Forms of Cancer
B．Drink Fruit Juice Instead of Sodas
C．A Study in University of Minnesota
D．Sugary Soft Drinks Lead to Cancer

1. What was McDonnell's opinion about drilling off Virginia's coast?

A. It should be stopped as it may cause damage to the environment.
B. It should be delayed due to the gulf oil accident.
C. It has a lot of benefits, and thus shouldn't be delayed.
D. It could make the US dependent on foreign oil.

2. Why did Will Sessoms support drilling off Virginia's coast?

A. It could create thousands of jobs.
B. It could help recover the economy.
C. It met the spirit of American people.
D. It partly helped the tourism industry.

3. What do we know about the accident?

A. The explosion in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers.
B. The leaked crude oil may affect the coasts of 3 states.
C. The investigation into the accident has been completed.
D. Officials who support drilling off Virginia's coast are not in favor of the investigation.

4. What is the main idea of the report?

A. Officials reconsider support for drilling after the gulf oil accident.
B. It is dangerous to drill oil off the coasts.
C. People should learn from oil accidents to reduce damage to our environment.
D. Investigations should be carried out immediately after oil accidents.

     LOS ANGELES-Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve.Revelers (狂歡者) ringing in
2010 will be treated to a socalled blue moon.According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second
full moon in a month.But don't expect it to be blue-the name has nothing to do with the color of our
closest space neighbor.
     A full moon occurred on Dec.2,2009.It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's
countdown.
     "If you're in Times Square, you'll see the full moon right above you.It's going to be that brilliant, " said
Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV
show.
      The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America
and Africa.For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day,
making January a blue moon month for them.
     However, the eastern hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse (月偏蝕) on New Year's
Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth's shadow.The eclipse will not be visible in the Americas.
      A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12 ones.On average, an extra full moon in
a month-a blue moon-occurs every 2.5 years.The last time there was a blue moon was in May 2007.
New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years.The last time was in 1990.
     Blue moons have no astronomical significance, said Greg  Laughlin, an astronomer at the University
of California, Santa Cruz."' Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as 'a hunter's moon'  or 'a
harvest moon', "  Laughlin said in  an email.
     The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for, Sky & Telescope magazine in
1946 misinterpreted (誤解) the Maine Farmer's Almanac (歷書) and labeled a blue moon as the
second full moon in a month.In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season
with four full moons, not the usual three.Though Sky & Telescope corrected the mistake decades later,
the definition caught_on.

1. According to the popular definition, "a blue moon" means________.

A. the second full moon in a month
B. a moon which looks blue
C. a partial lunar eclipse
D. the second full moon in a year

2. In Japan, people can see a blue moon in________.

A. December,2009  
B. January,2010
C. May,2010  
D. July,2011

3. The next New Year's Eve blue moon is most likely to appear in________.

A. 2013  
B. 2018  
C. 2026  
D. 2028

4. The underlined phrase "caught on" means________.

A. understood  
B. got rare
C. became popular  
D. was out of date

5. Which of the following is the best title?

A. Blue moons have no astronomical value
B. Rare New Year's Eve "blue moon" to ring in 2010
C. Rare New Year's Day "blue moon" to celebrate New Year
D. A blue moon comes again

     By analyzing academic data from 10 states,representing the testing of more than 7.2 millions of youths,US researchers found that gender differences in math scores were extremely small among all ethnic
groups in grades 211.
     These findings are in contrast to earlier results from 1990 that indicate measurable differences favoring males in complex problemsolving,beginning in the high school years.
    Janet Hyde from University of Wisconsin and colleagues reported their study results in the journal
Science on Friday.
      Currently,women are largely absent from the highest levels of careers in mathematics,the physical
sciences,and engineering.In the United States,Ph.D.programs in engineering currently average only about
15 percent women,and similar statistics have led to stereotypes (成見) about girls and women lacking in
mathematical ability.
     Now,it is clear that the general population no longer shows a gender difference in mathematical skills,
according to this latest report.
     And this new data on academic performance in the United States shows that students are tested frequently on "recall" and "skill/concept" items,but rarely on "strategic thinking" (戰(zhàn)略思維) or "extended thinking" concepts.
If standardized tests do not assess the sorts of reasoning that are crucial to careers in science and math,
the skills may not be taught,putting American students at a disadvantage to students in other countries
where testing and instruction focuses on more challenging content."This is a gap that should be fixed,"
Hyde said.

1. What is the best title of the passage?

A. A new study result about math.
B. No gender differences in math.
C. Girls are not good at math.
D. Girls do better in math than boys.

2. Earlier research results________.

A. are the same as that of this latest report
B. support gender differences in math
C. indicate girls prefer to solve complex problems
D. are the roots of many stereotypes about women

3. The underlined word "crucial" in the last paragraph most probably means________.

A. limited  
B. available  
C. important  
D. equal

4. What Hyde said in the last paragraph means that________.

A. standardized tests should assess different classes around the world
B. testing and instruction should focus on more challenging content in the USA
C. students in other countries are cleverer than American students
D. students should be tested frequently on "recall" and "skill/concept" items

5. The passage is most probably taken from________.

A. a learning guide  
B. a research paper
C. a personal diary  
D. a newspaper