Until the 1980s, the American homeless population comprised (組成) mainly older males. Today, homelessness strikes much younger part of society. In fact, a 25-city survey by the U. S. Conference of Mayors in 1987 found that families with children make up the fastest growing part of the homeless population. Many homeless children gather in inner cities; this transient(變化無常的) and frequently frightened student population creates additional problems — both legal and educational — for already overburdened（負擔過重的）urban school administrators and teachers. Estimates of the number of homeless Americans range from 350,000 to three million. Likewise, estimates of the number of homeless school children vary radically. A U.S. Department of Education report, based on state estimates, states that there are 220,000 homeless school-age children, about a third of whom do not attend school on a regular basis, But the National Coalition for the Homeless estimates that there are at least two times as many homeless children, and that less than half of them attend school regularly. One part of the homeless population that is particularly difficult to count consists of the “throwaway” youths who have been cast of their homes. The Elementary School Center in New York City estimates that there are 1.5 million of them, many of whom are not counted as children because they do not stay in family shelters and tend to live by themselves on the streets. Federal law, the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, includes a section that addresses the educational needs of homeless children. The educational provisions of the McKinney Act are based on the belief that all homeless children have the right to a free, appropriate education.
1.
It is implied in the first paragraph that ____.
A.
the writer himself is homeless, even in his eighties
B.
many older homeless residents are going on strike in 25 cities
C.
there is a serious shortage of academic facilities (設施).
D.
homeless children are denied the opportunity of receiving free education
2.
The National Coalition for the homeless believes that the number of homeless children is _____.
A.
350,000
B.
1,500,000
C.
440,000
D.
110,000
3.
One part of the homeless population is difficult to estimate. The reason might well be ____.
A.
the homeless children are too young to be counted as children
B.
the homeless population is growing rapidly
C.
the homeless children usually stay outside school
D.
some homeless children are deserted by their families
4.
The McKinney Act is mentioned in this passage in order to show that ___.
A.
the educational problems of homeless children are being recognized
B.
the estimates on homeless children are hard to determine
C.
the address of grade-school children should be located
D.
all homeless people are entitled（有權利的） to free education
Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感覺) of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh. Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知) of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills. Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries. To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses(假設), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink. “We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.
1.
According to Paragraph 1, a person’s emotion may be affected by ______.
A.
the visitors to his office
B.
the psychology lessons he has
C.
his physical feeling of coldness
D.
the things he has bought online
2.
The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ______.
A.
adults should develop social skills
B.
babies need warm physical contact
C.
caregivers should be healthy adults
D.
monkeys have social relationships
3.
In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to ______.
A.
evaluate someone’s personality
B.
write down their hypotheses
C.
fill out a personal information form
D.
hold coffee and cold drink alternatively
4.
We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.
abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences
B.
feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide
When your pet meets your infant(嬰兒)，it might not be love at first sniff. When Jennifer brought her baby home from the hospital, her cherished dogs had very different reactions. Her Boxer, Sonya, was immediately gentle and protective. But Tiger, the Pomeranian, was less welcoming. “If any diapers(尿布)or toys were on the floor, he peed on them,” says the Greenbrier, mom. In the eyes of a pet, there’s a new star in home who’s stealing his spotlight. Even the gentlest animal will probably act up if he doesn’t get his usual attention. These simple steps will help your pet adjust and keep your baby safe. Introduce Them with Care Your newborn and per’s first encounter can set the tone for their relationship. To make it as smooth as possible, try this trick from Caryn Ruiz：“Before we left the hospital, my husband took blankets home to our dog, Daisy, so she’d know our newborn Devon’s smell.” When you get home, have your husband carry the baby so you can greet your pet without worrying about her jumping on you. A cat will likely walk away at first, while a dog probably wants to investigate right away. To introduce your baby, get down on your pet’s level and let her have a hello sniff. Don’t panic and pull your baby away unless your pet is barking or hissing, because it’ll send the message that the baby is a threat. Learn the Safety Basics No matter how smoothly the introduction goes, there are certain safety rules you should follow. Never leave your baby alone with the pet. Even the gentlest animal can react unpredictably. Your baby’s crying could frighten your cat, or your dog could suddenly become territorial. Consider setting up baby gates to limit your pet’s access. To keep your cat from jumping into the bassinet(有篷蓋的搖籃), try putting mosquito netting over the top. Cats hate sticky paws, so keep the crib(有欄桿的嬰兒床)and changing table off-limits by lining the edges with sticky strips made for furniture. You can also train your dog to sleep in a crate(大木箱).
1.
At the beginning of the passage, the author uses the stories to_____.
A.
illustrate possible reactions when pets meet a newborn baby
B.
show that pets don’t like a newborn baby
C.
prove how friendly a pet is when it meets a newborn baby
D.
introduce how terrible the pets are when a mother gets a baby home
2.
Who is Sonya mentioned in the 1 st paragraph?
A.
Jennifer’s dog.
B.
Jennifer’s baby.
C.
Jennifer’s husband.
D.
A pet expert.
3.
What can we infer from the passage?
A.
Cats are more welcoming than dogs when they meet a newborn baby.
B.
You must show your baby to your pet dog when it is barking.
C.
You should never keep a baby together with your pet.
D.
The first introduction of your newborn baby to your pet is important.
4.
According to the passage, to keep your baby safe, you should do the following things EXCEPT_____.
A.
introducing your baby to your pet with care
B.
leaving your baby alone with your pet at the first day when they meet
There are four types of persons who go to work part-time. These include retirees who want a bit more income or socialization, parents who want to spend more time with their children, college and high school students and temporary agency workers who want more experience. Many people enjoy the advantages of working part-time, but benefits are rarely offered to part-time employees. Most people are hoping for health insurance and retirement benefits when taking a job. Traditionally, companies only offer benefits to employees who work 30 hours or more a week. This is only a 25% reduction in hours, so it doesn’t free up a lot of time for the employee who needs part-time hours. Even when a part-timer is offered health benefits, he is rarely offered paid time off and retirement benefits. Dental benefits are almost never offered to part-time employees. Many businesses hire part-time employees for the simple reason of saving money. If they work less than a certain number of hours, the employers don’t need to pay for benefits. There are companies, however, that are beginning to offer benefits to part-time employees. This includes benefits for health, paid time off and retirement plans. Some companies have begun to offer this in order to take in high quality, trained professionals who just want part-time hours. If a company wants a qualified employee, it will have to compete with other companies. People who may only want to work part-time may be forced to take a full-time job to get the benefits. Companies who offer benefits to part-timers have an advantage by offering more choices to their employees in terms of hours. Conducting an Internet search is probably the quickest way to find companies that provide benefits for part-time employees. Many large corporations like Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and Whole Foods offer benefits to part-time employees among other things. Look for companies that offer a team approach to their employees. Employees are given choices and part of decision-making in the business. Businesses that allow employee input are more likely to offer benefits to part-timers.
1.
People prefer to work part-time mainly because they __________.
A.
don’t want to spend more time on work
B.
have so many household and social affairs
C.
hope to have more money, time and experience
D.
only expect to make more friends
2.
From the second paragraph we can learn that part-timers _______.
A.
can enjoy as many benefits as full-timers
B.
prefer retirement benefits to health insurance
C.
often retire without enjoying any benefit
D.
often enjoy fewer benefits than full-timers
3.
What’s the advantage of hiring part-time employees?
A.
They don’t need the insurance.
B.
They can save employers some money.
C.
They have no choice but to work hard.
D.
They can be also changed into full-timers.
4.
We can infer from the last paragraph that _________.
A.
it’s easy to find companies providing benefits
B.
companies not allowing employee input don’t offer any benefit to part-timers
C.
Starbucks in England doesn’t provide benefits to full-timers
Mouse potatoes joined couch potatoes (who spend much time watching TV on the couch), google officially became a verb and drama queens (extremely emotional persons) finally found the attention when they crossed over from popular culture to mainstream English language. The mouse potato, the himbo (attractive, empty-headed man) and drama queen were among 100 new words added to the 2006 update of America’s best-selling dictionary, the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary《韋氏大詞典》. The Internet search engine Google also found its way into the dictionary for the first time as a verb, meaning to find information quickly on the worldwide web. New words and phrases from the fields of science, technology, pop culture and industry are chosen each year by Merriam-Webster’s team of editors after months of looking through books, magazines and even food labels. “They are not tracking spoken language. They are looking for evidence that words have been used in the written English language,” said Arthur Bicknell, senior editor of Merriam-Webster. Other words first coming into the dictionary this year were soul patch (a small growth of beard under a man’s lower lip), unibrow (two eyebrows joining together) and supersize - the fast food industry phrase for extra large meals. The technology world contributed ringtones (changeable incoming cellphone call signals) and spyware (software installed in a computer to track a user’s activities) while biodiesel (生物柴油) and avian influenza(禽流感) came from the world of science. America’s first dictionary - Noah Webster’s A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language - was published 200 years ago and also introduced some fresh words that have now become familiar. Those “new” words in 1806 included slang, surf, psychology, naturally and Americanize.
1.
The mouse potato refers to ____________.
A.
a mouse that lives by potatoes
B.
a person who spends much time on the computer
C.
a mouse that is shown on the screen of the computer
D.
a person who likes to eat mice and potatoes
2.
Which group of words and phrases is NOT the fresh words for the dictionary of this year?
A.
mouse potatoes, google, supersize， drama queen.
B.
himbo, soul patch, unibrow, supersize.
C.
ringtones, spyware, biodiesel, avian influenza.
D.
couch potatoes, surf, psychology, Americanize.
3.
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the text?
A.
New words and phrases were introduced into the dictionary have close relationship with the time.
B.
New words and phrases chosen by the editors of the dictionary have been used in written English somewhere.
C.
Some words that are now familiar to us used to be fresh words collected in the dictionary.
D.
The Merriam-webster Collegiate Dictionary becomes the best-seller because 100 new words are added to it.
