Ridgewood is a small, quiet town 20 miles from Manhattan. It is a typical suburban town, perfect for raising children away from the fast pace of the city. However, some Ridgewood kids feel as upset as if they were on the city’s busy streets. In addition to hours of homework, Ridgewood’s children are occupied with afterschool activities — from swimming to piano to religious classes.

Out of desperation one day, the town decided to schedule another activity. This one was called “Ridgewood Family Night — Ready, Set, Relax!” Instead of schedules filled with sports, music, or overtime at the office, some of the town’s 25,000 residents decided to take the night off and stay home. For a few months before Family Night, a committee of volunteers worked hard to spread the word. Younger students took “Save the Date for Me” leaflets home to their parents. The mayor issued a statement, and schools and clubs agreed to cancel homework and meetings so families could relax and be together.

The tension between a hope for a more relaxed lifestyle and the knowledge that the benchmark for success has been raised in recent years weighs heavily on the minds of the townspeople. Some parents like to recall a different kind of childhood, one without so many scheduled afterschool activities. However, these same parents feel obliged to make sure their children are prepared to survive in today’s high-pressure work environment. They are afraid that any gap in their children’s physical or intellectual development might mean they won’t be admitted to the “right” universities and won’t succeed in a more and more competitive world.

Nevertheless, it seems that Family Night worked, at least to a point. Cars moved easily around Ridgewood’s normally busy downtown streets, and stores and restaurants saw a drop in business. Some families ate supper together for the first time in months.

Initially, there was great hope of taking back their lives. But sadly, few families believe that one night will change their lives. Many are sure that they will fall back into the habit of over-scheduling their children to be overachieving adults.

1.The writer describes Ridgewood as a town where ________.

A. residents take little notice of education

B. children are stressful and over expected

C. parents are concerned about children’s safety

D. children lead a life of relaxed, ordinary rhythms

2.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about the Family Night?

A. Schools assigned no homework.

B. Fewer people ate in the restaurants.

C. The streets were less crowded.

D. People enjoyed meeting each other.

3.According to the passage, the parents in Ridgewood ________.

A. have conflicting desires about what experiences to offer their children

B. are happy with the lifestyle they have chosen for themselves and the children

C. believe that it is their duty to make a change for the stressful life style

D. are worried about their children’s lacking of big ambition

4.We may get the conclusion from the passage that ________.

A. the concept of Family Night will become a regular part of life in Ridgewood

B. Ridgewood people believe the Family Night will change their way of living

C. Family Night is not as popular as people have originally thought

D. schools are worried about students being given too much free time

 

In a natural disaster—a hurricane, flood, volcanic eruption, or other catastrophes—minutes and even seconds of warning can make the difference between life and death．Because of this, scientists are working to use the latest technological advances to predict when and where disasters will happen．They are also studying how best to analyze and communicate this information once it is obtained．

On September 29, 1998, Hurricane Georges made landfall in Biloxi, Mississippi, after damaging Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and several islands of the Caribbean badly with torrential rains and winds up to 160 km per hour．Few people lost their lives along the Gulf Coast of the United States, although hundreds died in the Caribbean．

This was a very different outcome from 1900, when a powerful Gulf Coast hurricane made an unexpected direct hit on Galveston, Texas, killing at least 6,000 people．

Vastly improved hurricane warnings explain the different circumstances at either end of the 20th century——residents of Galveston had no advance warning that a storm was approaching, while residents of Biloxi had been warned days in advance, allowing for extensive safety precautions（预防）．

At the same time that people in Biloxi were thankful for the advance warning, some residents of New Orleans, Louisiana were less satisfied．A day before Georges made landfall, forecasters were predicting that the hurricane had a good chance of striking New Orleans．Because much of New Orleans lies below sea level, the city is at risk for flooding．Emergency management officials must begin evacuations（疏散）well before a storm strikes．But evacuation costs money: businesses close, tourists leave, and citizens take precautionary measures．The mayor of New Orleans estimated that his city' s preparations for Georges cost more than 50 million．After Georges missed New Orleans, some residents questioned the value of the hurricane forecasts in the face of such high costs．

The different views on the early warnings for Hurricane Georges show some of the complexities related to predicting disasters．Disaster prediction is a process of providing scientific information to the government officials and other decision makers who must respond to those predictions．

1.What is the purpose of disaster prediction according to the passage?

    A. To identify the cause of disasters．

    B. To save people' s lives and property．

    C. To prevent natural disasters from happening,

    D. To apply advanced technology to disaster prediction．

2.Which of the following areas suffered the most severe damage?

    A. Puerto Rico．                       B. New Orleans．

    C. Biloxi, Mississippi．               D. Galveston, Texas．

3.The city residents of New Orleans were unsatisfied because __   _ .

    A. the forecast hurricane did not hit the city

    B. the hurricane warning arrived rather late

    C. their preparations were made in vain

    D. they suffered from a heavy hurricane attack

4.What does the passage mainly talk about?

    A. The different ways of disaster prediction．

    B. Technological advances in disaster prediction．

    C. The importance and uncertainty of disaster prediction． 

    D. The benefits and preparations of disaster prediction．

 

The news of the mayor’s coming to our school for a visit was __ on the radio yesterday.

A. turned out    B. found out    C. given out    D. carried out

The mayor will go to Beijing by train _____ by air.

A．instead of         B．instead           C．in place of         D．in place