Many American youngsters earn their own allowance（零花钱）by doing temporary jobs for their neighbors. Babysitting is one of the common of these jobs. Most couples do not have maids or relatives living with them, and they need to have someone watch the children if they want to go out.

Another way is by mowing lawn in summer and clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter. Many people mow their own lawns，but often people prefer to give the job to a neighbor’s child. In winter, snow clearing from streets and highways is the government’s responsibility. Homeowners or tenants, however, must clear sidewalks and driveways. Since clearing snow is very tiring, many people prefer to hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves.

Besides, many American teenagers usually work two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday at the local supermarket. They work as cashiers or stockroom clerks. Or they help customers carry things to their cars. Other favorite jobs are waiting on tables in restaurants or working part-time at stores or gas stations.

By earning their own allowance，teenagers acquire a feeling of independence and a sense of responsibility which prepares them for a productive life in society.

1.What does “babysitting” mean in the first paragraph?

A. Watching a baby when its parents are out.                    B. Working as a maid.

C. Sitting with a baby.                                      D. Selling something.

2.How do American youngsters earn their allowance? Which one is NOT one of the ways?

A. By mowing lawn in summer.

B. By clearing snow from sidewalks and driveways in winter.

C. By working two to three hours after school and all day on Saturday or Sunday.

D. By doing some housework for the family.

3.When it comes to clearing snow，what do many people like to do?

A. Hire teenagers for this job rather than do it themselves

B. They do it themselves.

C. They hire their own children to do so

D. They don’t clean it at all.

4.What is the advantage of youngsters earning allowance?

A.They acquire a feeling of independence.

B. They acquire a sense of responsibility.

C. The actions prepare them for a productive life in society.

D. All of the above.

5.Who will clear the snow on the streets?

A. The inhabitants.              B. The neighbors

C. The government.            D. The police.

 

With healthy self-confidence you’ll take more chances and overcome obstacles faster. How do you boost your self-confidence? Here are some easy-to-try-out trips.

Speak well of yourself. We become what we think about most of the time. 1. If you continually tell yourself you “can’t do something”, you’re sure to create that reality for yourself, because that is how you see yourself. On the other hand, if you repeatedly say and think to yourself something like, “I am capable of creating a life I love”, soon you will begin creating a life you love.

Surround yourself with self-confident people and positive environments. It sounds a bit obvious, but if you have friends that lack confidence, you probably do too. If you’re surrounded by people who criticize others and speak poorly of themselves, get out! Remove yourself from their company.  2. Seek out friends who are confident and you’ll feel your confidence increasing.

 3. Don’t say you’re going to do something unless you really intend to do it. We’ve all met the “big talkers” – people who talk about their big plans but never do anything to make them happen. The “big talkers” lose face because no one believes they’ll do what they say they’re going to do.

Accept fear and obstacles as a natural part of life and growth. Don’t beat yourself up when you find yourself gripped(抓住) by fear and other emotions. 4.Be aware when these feelings are present but don’t let them stop you. Keep moving forward by telling yourself you’re much more than the obstacles you face and failures you experience.

 5. Once a month, take a few moments to write down all that you have done well. Acknowledge the work you do and your strengths on a regular basis. In doing so, you’ll begin seeing and appreciating all the good you do.

A．Start with small steps.

B．We become what we say about ourselves.

C．Negative environments are hard to escape.

D．Don’t judge yourself for having these feelings.

E. In fact, no company is better than bad company.

F. Take action on what you say you’re going to do.

G. Take time out to focus on all that you have done well.

 

—How do you think I should receive the reporter?

—___ you feel about him, try to be polite.

A．How             B. What                 C．Whatever               D．However

 

When an ant dies, other ants take it out of the nest, often within an hour after its death. This behavior interests scientists and they wonder how ants know for sure—and so soon—that another ant is dead. 

One scientist recently came up with a way to explain this ant behavior. Dong-Hwan Choe is a biologist, a scientist who studies animals and plants. He found that ants have a chemical on the outside of their bodies that signals to other ants, “I'm dead—take me away” when it is dead.

But there's a question to answer: As we know, if an ant is dead, it stops moving. But when an ant is sleeping or knocked unconscious, it is also not moving. However, other ants don't move the living ant out of the nest. How do they know this ant is not dead? Choe found that ants have another chemical on their bodies, which tells nearby ants something like, “Wait—I'm not dead yet” when it is not dead. Choe suspects that when an ant dies, the chemical that says, “Wait— I'm not dead yet” quickly goes away. When other ants detect the “dead” chemical without the “not dead yet” chemical, they move away the body.

To test his theory, Choe and his team put different chemicals on ants. When the scientists used the “I'm dead” chemical, other ants quickly moved the treated ant away. When the scientists used the “Wait—I'm not dead yet” chemical, other ants left the treated ant alone. Choe believes this behavior shows that the “not dead yet” chemical is stronger than the “dead” chemical when picked up by other ants. And that when an ant dies, the “not dead yet” chemical fades away. Other nearby ants then detect the remaining “dead” chemical and remove the body from the nest.

Understanding this behavior can help scientists figure out how to stop ants from invading new places and causing problems.

1.What is the function of the first paragraph?

A. Leading the following paragraphs.

B. Showing the main idea of the passage.

C. Introducing the background of the passage.

D. Giving a summary of the passage.

2.What can we learn from the passage?

A. Living ants can also be taken away when they are not moving.

B. When an ant dies, it can tell others using a certain chemical.

C. A living ant can pretend to be dead using a special chemical.

D. Ants often use chemicals to communicate with each other.

3.Which of the following descriptions about Dong-Hwan Choe is right?

A. Choe did this study in order to stop ants from invading new places.

B. Choe is a biologist who is only interested in animals, especially in ants.

C. Choe first came up with an idea to explain this ant behavior, and then did some tests to prove his theory.

D. Choe did the research on this ant behavior on his own.

4.What is mainly discussed in the passage?

A. experiments about how ants manage to keep their nests clean.  

B. experiments about why ants have special chemicals on their bodies.

C. experiments about why ants can have this removal behavior

D. experiments about how to decide whether an ant is dead or not.

 

---- Happy New Year to you!

---- ______! By the way, how do people ______ New Year in your country?

A．Thanks; honour

B．Happy New Year to you; respect

C．It’s kind of you; congratulate

D．The same to you; celebrate