This is the age of being busy. Many of us live in busy places and have busy lives. Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there. Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families. Kids are busy, too, going to school and doing a lot of homework after school and on weekends.
Busy isn’t bad, necessarily. If you are not busy enough you might be bored. But if you are too busy, you might break down. For example, if you have a soccer game that runs late on a school night and you haven’t eaten dinner or done your homework, that’s a not-so-fun kind of busy. We wanted to know what kids thought, so we did a kidsPoll about being busy with 882girls and boys aged 9 to 13.
Almost all of them said they felt stressed because they were too busy. About half said they felt this way once in a while or some of the time. But 17% said they felt this way most of the time and 24% said they felt this all the time! Oh dear, that’s no fun.
Only 4% of kids said they wanted less free time and 18% said they already had just the right amount. But, no big surprise, 61% of kids wish they had a lot more free time. If they had more time, most would spend it hanging out or playing with friends.
Often, adults plan large parts of a kid ’s day, especially during the school year. kids can’t tell their parents they’ll be skipping school(逃学) today to get more free time! But they can tell their parents they’d like to play a game or read a book during their free time instead of watching TV.
【小题1】The purpose of the first paragraph is to _____.

This is the age of being busy. Many of us live in busy places and have busy lives. Even the roads are busy as we try to get from here to there. Adults are busy going to jobs and taking care of their families. Kids are busy, too, going to school and doing a lot of homework after school and on weekends.

Busy isn’t bad, necessarily. If you are not busy enough you might be bored. But if you are too busy, you might break down. For example, if you have a soccer game that runs late on a school night and you haven’t eaten dinner or done your homework, that’s a not-so-fun kind of busy. We wanted to know what kids thought, so we did a kidsPoll about being busy with 882girls and boys aged 9 to 13.

Almost all of them said they felt stressed because they were too busy. About half said they felt this way once in a while or some of the time. But 17% said they felt this way most of the time and 24% said they felt this all the time! Oh dear, that’s no fun.

Only 4% of kids said they wanted less free time and 18% said they already had just the right amount. But, no big surprise, 61% of kids wish they had a lot more free time. If they had more time, most would spend it hanging out or playing with friends.

Often, adults plan large parts of a kid ’s day, especially during the school year. kids can’t tell their parents they’ll be skipping school(逃学) today to get more free time! But they can tell their parents they’d like to play a game or read a book during their free time instead of watching TV.

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to _____.

2.By giving the example of a late soccer game, the writer intends to tell us______.

3.According to the passage, the KidsPoll is done to carry out research on _____.

4.From the passage, we can infer that the writer agrees kids can_____.

BELIEVE it or not, the color of the tie Barack Obama wears to the inauguration（就职典礼） is now a hotly debated topic. The level of public interest in Obama’s tie might seem strange but many people believe his choice will symbolize the type of government he plans to run, as the color of a politician's tie is thought to convey ideas of power, trustworthiness and more.

Polities of ties

It may be the least practical item of male dress, but it is arguably the most expressive. In the UK and many other countries around the world, conservative（保守的）politicians may wear a blue tie and their liberal opponents a red one. In America, the colors go the other way round. The Republicans have in recent years become associated with the color red, and the Democrats with blue. But in spite of this, Bush wears blue ties more often than any other color.

What they mean

According to Sharon Haver, editor of focusonstyle, com, in America the feelings associated with colors overrule （压制） their political significance. “A guy who wants to be regarded as strong and in charge would wear red,” Haver says. Unsurprisingly, the business tycoon Donald Trump is known for wearing red ties. But what about blue? According to Haver, “Blue is a softer color…Look at the sky. It's peaceful and calm and trustworthy.”

Selecting the right tie for the right occasion

● Perfect job interview tie

Perhaps no other tie-wearing occasion is as important as the job interview. Gilchrist, the fashion expert, advises playing it safe and choosing a conservative one. Best choices are solids, stripes or small patterns. An excellent color is burgundy（酒红色）or another serious color. Avoid pink or yellow, which suggest that the wearer lacks gravity.

Pattern ties, Gilchrist suggests, should be limited to a maximum of three colors. A striped tie is a safe choice as this is acceptable to everyone. Last, Gilchrist recommends saving the expensive “hip” tie for those applying for glamorous creative jobs.

● Date-night tie

When picking out the fight tie for taking a girl out on a date, spend more time considering color than pattern. According to studies, women are attracted to men wearing the color blue, because blue gives the image of a "stable, faithful, constant, always there" person. So what is the worst color to wear on a date? “flattened caterpillar（毛虫）yellow-green”, according to Gilchrist, “it will repel both sexes equally.”

1.Why are people interested in the tie that Obama wears to the inauguration?

    A．Because they think the tie he wears will enable them to know about his personalities and policies.

    B．Because they want to advise him on how to select an appropriate tie for such a big

occasion.

    C．Because they think the ties will tell if he is trustworthy as they expected when he assumes

office.

    D．Because they believe the tie is an essential part of dressing to a mature politician like

Obama.

2.What can we infer about Bush, the former president, from the passage?

    A．He was probably liberal in his policies when he was in power.

    B．He was a Republican when he served as president.

    C．He wore only blue ties and had no ties of alternative colors.

    D．He wanted to make himself unique by the tie that he wore.

3.The example of "the business tycoon Donald Trump" is given to           .

    A prove that color reflects people's feelings to a certain degree.

    B．show that Donald is so wealthy that he can afford expensive ties.

    C．tell that Donald is physically strong and can handle everything.

    D．explain that red is a popular color, especially with businessmen.

4.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?

    A．Ties can be ignored by politicians since it is the least practical item of male dress.

    B．Do choose ties carefully before dating, because it is the most important occasion.

    C．Why to avoid pink or yellow in job interviews is that they don't match the atmosphere.

    D．The more colorful the tie is, the more likely you'll get the job you want.

5.The underlined word "repel" in the last paragraph is most close to “       ”in meaning.

    A．puzzle   B．attract      C．delight D．disgust

Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams, Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity（默默无闻） or neglect．
Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．
Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball．They meet and falHn love with each other．But when Mary has to．rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked（邪恶的） stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．
The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modem day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．
"The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．"The focus is firmly on following your dream．"
【小题1】The first paragraph is mainly to _____．