Low-Cost Gifts for Mother's Day

Gift No. I

Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part? This one is free.

Gift No. 2

Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.

Gift No. 3

Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."

Gift No. 4

Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构). Gift givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.

48. What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?

A. Take notes.

B. Be with her.

C. Buy medicine.

D. Give her gifts.

49. Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep?

A. In Gift No. 1.   B. In Gift No. 2.

C. In Gift No. 3.   D. In Gift No. 4.

50. Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to

A. enjoy good sleep     B. be well-organized

C. get extra support     D. give others help

Mauritius, with its full name the Republic of Mauritius, an island country, lies 1,200 miles off the southeastern coast of Africa, and just east of Madagascar, another African island country, which is larger by far than Mauritius. It covers 788 square miles and has a population of 1,100,000, about 750,000 Indians, 300,000 Chinese and 20,000 Whites included. They are living together peacefully, although they share such different beliefs as Hindu, Roman Catholic, Muslim and so on. 

The country can be divided into many parts with different climates all because of its peculiar terrains (地形). In the center there are volcanoes (火山) several thousand feet high, and 90% of its arable land is covered with sugarcane.

There were no people living on the island before the Dutch landed on it in 1638. The Dutch relinquished it in 1710, and five years later, the French came and succeeded in planting sugarcane there. It was conquered (征服) by Britain in 1818. As a result, its official language is English. The main big cities are Beau-Bassin and Mahebourg, with Port Louis as its capital.

Mauritius has many rare and unique animals, such as the snakes, parrots and lizards. The giraffe is a type of animal with a very long neck and legs and yellow skin with dark spots. It is the tallest of all living animals.

Mauritius was extremely poor when it declared its independence in 1968. In the past ten years, obvious economic prosperity (繁荣) has shown itself in this island country. Nowadays its business, culture and tourism are developing rapidly. Every year, thousands of millions of people rush there to enjoy the silver sad beach and song and dance performances with native national characters.

The underlined word “relinquished” in the third paragraph means _______.

A. took its place          B. gave it up

C. left for it              D. held it out

The right order that shows the history of Mauritius should be _______.

a. seized by the French          b. became its master

c. ruled by the Dutch            d. conquered by the British

A. b, a, c, d                B. a, c, d, b

C. d, c, a, b                D. c, a, d, b

According to the passage all of the following statements are TRUE except ________.

Arable land covers 90% of the country’s total area   

It was the rule of foreigners that made the Mauritius people live in poverty

More than half of Mauritius population are Indians

Britain ruled the island longer than French and Dutch

  So long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning , they will continue to undertake to do for children that which only children can do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that“ reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible”.
  Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also public activity. It can be seen and observed.
  Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private ,for learning is an occupation of the mind ,and that process is not open to public scrutiny.
  If teacher and learner roles are not interchangeable ,what then can be done through teaching that will aid the child in the quest（探索）for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. “Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children. ”
  When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher fulfil them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated. Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of leaning to read by reading.

  71．The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that ________.
  A. it is one of the most difficult school courses
  B. students spend endless hours in reading
  C. reading tasks are assigned with little guidance
  D. too much time is spent in teaching about reading
  72．The teaching of reading will be successful if ________.
  A. teachers can improve conditions at school for the students
  B. teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading
  C. teachers can devise the most effcient system for reading
  D. teachers can make their teaching activities observable
  73．The underlined word“ scrutiny” most probably means“________”.
  A. inquiry            B. observation
  C. control            D. suspicion
  74．According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when ________.
  A. children become highly motivated
  B. teacher and learner roles are interchangeable
  C. teaching helps children in the search for knowledge
  D. reading enriches children’s experience
  75．The main idea of the passage is that ________.
  A. teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read
  B. teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible
  C. reading ability is something acquired rather than taught
  D. reading is more complicated that generally believed