Apple Seeds

Circulation: 1 Year, 9 Issues

Cover Price: MYM 44.55

Price For You: MYM 33.95

Product Description: Apple Seeds is an award winning magazine filled with stories for kids aged from 7 to 9. The cover is very soft, providing durability that allows each issue to be enjoyed for many years to come. Besides, there is a big surprise for you—it’s being sold at a more favorable discount than usual.

Better Life

Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues

Cover Price: MYM 44.55

Price For You: MYM 15.00

Product Description: Designed for those who have a strong interest in personal lifestyle, Better Life is America’s complete home and family service magazine. It offers help with food, recipes, decorating, building, gardening, family health, money management, and education.

Humor Times

Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues

Cover Price: MYM 36.00

Price For You: MYM 11.95

Product Description: Humor Times Magazine is for those who love to laugh! Full of cartoons and humor columns, it shows up in your mailbox once a month and keeps you smiling all year round! In today’s world, you need a reason to laugh. So let’s find it in Humor Times.

News China

Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues

Cover Price: MYM 47.88

Price For You: MYM 19.99

Product Description: News China Magazine is the English edition of China Newsweek. The magazine covers the latest Chinese domestic news in politics, business, society, environment, culture, sports and travels, etc. It is the first comprehensive news magazine for readers interested in China.   

21. What do we know about Apple Seeds?

A. You can receive it every month if you purchase it.

B. The soft cover enables it to be read and kept long.

C. It offers the biggest discount among all the magazines.

D. The magazine is going to surprise you for many years.

22. Better Life can help you in       .

A. beautifying your house         

B. finding interesting stories for your kids

C. ordering food from restaurants

D. learning about sports and travels

23. What kind of people may buy News China?

A. People who have an interest in personal lifestyle of the Chinese.

B. People who have a strong sense of humor and love to laugh.

C. People who are interested in news around the world.

D. People who want to learn about China’s politics and culture.

My color television has given me nothing but a headache. I was able to buy it a little over a year ago because I had my relatives give me money for my birthday instead of a lot of clothes that wouldn’t fit. I let a shop assistant fool me into buying a discontinued model. I realized this a day later, when I saw newspaper advertisements for the set at seventy-five dollars less than I had paid. The set worked so beautifully when I first got it home that I would keep it on until stations signed off for the night. Fortunately, I didn’t get any channels showing all-night movies or I would never have gotten to bed.

Then I started developing a problem with the set that involved static(静电)noise. For some reason, when certain shows switched into a commercial(商业广告), a loud noise would sound for a few seconds. Gradually, this noise began to appear during a show, and to get rid of it, I had to change to another channel and then change it back. Sometimes this technique would not work, and I had to pick up the set and shake it to remove the sound. I actually began to build up my arm muscles(肌肉)shaking my set.

When neither of these methods removed the static noise, I would sit helplessly and wait for the noise to go away. At last I ended up hitting the set with my fist, and it stopped working altogether. My trip to the repair shop cost me $62,and the set is working well now, but I keep expecting more trouble.

24. Why did the author say he was fooled into buying the TV set?

A. He got an older model than he had expected.

B. He couldn’t return it when it was broken.

C. He could have bought it at a lower price.

D. He failed to find any movie shows on it.

25. Which of the following can best replace the phrase “signed off” in Paragraph 1?

A. ended all their programs

B. provided fewer channels

C. changed to commercials

D. showed all-night movies

26. How did the author finally get his TV set working again?

A. By shaking and hitting it.                               B. By turning it on and off.

C. By switching channels.                                 D. By having it repaired.

27. How does the author sound when telling the story?

A. Curious.　　              B. Anxious.　　            C. Cautious.　　           D. Humorous.　　

Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English rulers tried to conquer (征服) Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English. Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two “Irelands”. Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.

In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750, 000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8. 2 million in 1841 to 6. 6 million in 1851.

For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people still work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.

The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were “the greatest talkers since the Greeks”. Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc.

28. What does the author tell us in Paragraph 1?

A. How the Irish fought against the English.

B. How Ireland gained independence.

C. How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland.

D. How two “Irelands” came into being.

39. We learn from the text that in Ireland_______.

A. food shortages in the 1840s led to a decrease in population

B. people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside

C. it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker

D. different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments

30. The last paragraph is mainly about_______.

A. the Irish character　　　　　        B. Irish culture

C. Irish musical instruments　　　　  D. a famous Irish writer

31. What can be the best title for the text?

A. Life in Ireland　　　　　　　        B. A Very Difficult History

C. Ireland, Past and Present　　　　   D. The Independence of Ireland

Think about the different ways that people use the wind. You can use it to fly a kite or to sail a boat. Wind is one of our cleanest and richest power sources(来源), as well as one of the oldest. Evidence shows that windmills(风车) began to be used in ancient Iran back in the seventh century BC. They were first introduced to Europe during the 1100s, when armies returned from the Middle East with knowledge of using wind power.

For many centuries, people used windmills to grind(磨碎) wheat into flour or pump water from deep underground. When electricity was discovered in the late 1800s, people living in remote(偏远的) areas began to use them to produce electricity. This allowed them to have electric lights and radio. However, by the 1940s when electricity was available to people in almost all areas of the United States, windmills were rarely used.

During the 1970s, people started becoming concerned about the pollution that is created when coal and gas are burned to produce electricity. People also realized that the supply of coal and gas would not last forever. Then, wind was rediscovered, though it means higher costs. Today, there is a global movement to supply more and more of our electricity through the use of wind.

32. From the text we know that windmills_______.

A. were invented by European armies

       B. have a history of more than 2, 800 years

      C. used to supply power to radio in remote areas

      D. have rarely been used since electricity was discovered

33. What was a new use for wind power in the late 19th century?

      A. Sailing a boat.                                      B. Producing electricity.

      C. Grinding wheat into flour.                     D. Pumping water from underground.

34. One of the reasons wind was rediscovered in the 1970s is that_______.

      A. wind power is cleaner               B. it is one of the oldest power sources

      C. it was cheaper to create energy from wind

       D. the supply of coal and gas failed to meet needs

35. What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

      A. The advantages of wind power.　　　　B. The design of wind power plants.

       C. The worldwide movement to save energy.

      D. The global trend(趋势) towards producing power from wind.

          The jobs of the future have not yet been invented.     36      By helping them develop classic skills that will serve them well no matter what the future holds.

Curiosity
Your children need to be deeply curious.      37      Ask kids, “What ingredients (配料)can we add to make these pancakes even better next time ?” and then try them out. Ingredients make the pancakes better? What could we try next time?
 Creativity
True creativity is the ability to take something existing and create something new.     38     There are a dozen different things you can do with them. Experimenting with materials to create something new can go a long way in helping them develop their creativity.
Personal skills
Understanding how others feel can be a challenge for kids. We know what’s going on inside our own head, but what about others? Being able to read people helps kid from misreading a situation and jumping to false conclusions.     39      “Why do you think she’s crying?” “Can you tell how that man is feeling by looking at his face?” “If someone were to do that to you, how would you feel?”
Self Expression

    40     There are many ways to express thoughts and ideas—music, acting, drawing, building, photography. You may find that your child is attracted by one more than another.
A. Encourage kids to cook with you.
B. And we can’t forget science education.
C. We can give kids chances to think about materials in new ways.
D. So how can we help our kids prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist?
E. Gardening is another great activity for helping kids develop this skill.
F. We can do this in real life or ask questions about characters in stories.
G. Being able to communicate ideas in a meaningful way is a valuable skill.