During the ten-day vacation, they traveled to France their own expense

A. on         B. with         C. at         D. in

During the school year many parents take on the role of driver as they drive their children from one lesson to another. It can be understood that many of us want our children to have a little taste of everything, from organized sports to music, dance and more. But we overdo it, leaving our children feeling a little tired, and according to parent educator Diane Loisie, it’s their school work that suffers the most. “After school, if they’re busy in a number of sporting events, besides they need to do their homework, then the time they’ll feel sleepy is in the classroom. Your child needs free time. So if you’re filling up that after school time, then it’s during the day they’re going to be taking a break. ”

 Professor Claire McDermott agrees that there’s a lot to be gained from sometimes putting those planned lessons and activities away. “Relaxing time is important for children. It’s time just to do the things they want to do. A child can go up to their room, or they can play around. It doesn’t look like useful time; parents certainly wouldn’t be saying ‘Wow, are they ever learning things now?’ But this relaxing time gives both the body and the brain just a wonderful chance to relax after a day. It helps a child prepare for sleep, but it also helps to understand the learning that’s gone on that day. ”

 It’s hard to prevent signing our kids up for some activities and lessons. After all, many of us want our children to have a head start in life and the chance to join in great activities in the arts or sports is a part of that. However, Loisie feels that in the long run most children feel better with just a few key activities because it gives them an opportunity to master them. “When we get our children in too many activities because we want our children to experience everything, then what we’re doing is setting them up not to be good at one thing or gaining a skill. ” So choose your children’s activities wisely. It may be one of the best things you’ve ever done for your kids… and for the family driver!

What is the biggest disadvantage for children to attend too many lessons after school?

 A. They can get bored easily about everything.

 B. They might have no time to do the homework.

 C. They might not pay much attention to learning.

 D. They cannot easily focus on learning during the day.

What should we think of children’s playing around aimlessly?

 A. It is simple.

 B. It is helpful.

 C. It is a bad habit.

 D. It is a waste of time.

Why should parents limit the activities our children attend?

 A. Because children have no time.

 B. Because children cannot learn many things.

 C. Because children do not have enough sleep.

 D. Because children cannot focus on too many activities.

What is the main idea of this passage?

 A. Don’t be children’s drivers after school.

 B. Choose activities for your children wisely.

 C. Make your children learn as much as possible.

 D. Let children learn something from various subjects.

A severely handicapped teenager who cannot walk,talk or hold a paintbrush has won a place at Oxford to study fine art.

Hero Joy Nightingale,16,who communicates through hand movements,is to be given assistants to paint and sculpt on her behalf.Her mother Pauline Reid “translated for” her daughter during interviews for the place at Magdalen College.

The teenager is the most severely handicapped student ever to be granted a place at Oxford.She suffers from “locked-in syndrome”,a profound apraxia caused by brain damage that renders her body useless and her voice mute.

She is unlikely ever to be able to walk,feed or care for herself but,thanks to the efforts of her mother,she can communicate.When Hero was four,Pauline devised a complicated system of hand gestures that equate to the alphabet.

A spokesperson for Oxford said,“The university welcomes applications from students with disabilities.In cases where students are profoundly disabled,there may be many issues that need to be carefully addressed before an individual can take up a place,such as establishing how the student can best be taught and examined.”

Hero,who suffers almost daily epileptic fits and has a hole in her heart,has not attended school since she was six.She has been taught at home by her mother and father,the pro-vice chancellor of Kent University.

Peter Giles,her art tutor until last year,said she has a genuine talent for art.“She is ferociously gifted.We would sit together and her mother would grab her daughter’s hand and then we would begin work,”he said.

Together,they built several modern sculptures from plaster and metal.“The instructions would take a while to decipher.But eventually,they would come,and eventually make sense.”

Hero’s classes will be held at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art.

Hero communicates with others _________.

A.through common hand movements

B.by typing words on computer

C.through a complicated system of hand gestures devised by her mother

D.by drawing pictures on a board

According to the passage,how does Hero paint or sculpt?

A.She instructs her assistants to paint or sculpt through hand movements.

B.She gives instructions,and her mother paints or sculpts following her instructions.

C.She paints or sculpts with her own hands.

D.She gives instructions,her mother “translates” them,and her assistants paint or sculpt according to the “translations”.

From the story we can infer _________.

A.Oxford welcomes any handicapped student who is good at fine art

B.Hero has not attended school since she was six

C.Hero is gifted in fine art

D.Hero is a strong-minded girl who loves life very much

Which of the following is NOT true?

A.Hero is the most seriously handicapped student ever to be admitted to Oxford.

B.Oxford will admit a disabled student without any requirements.

C.Hero has been taught by her parents at home for10 years.

D.Hero is not able to walk,talk or hold a paintbrush.

A new study says one part of the human brain may become smaller as the result of a condition known as jet lag. Jet lag results from flying long distances in an airplane. People with jet lag may feel extremely tired for several days. They may also have problems thinking clearly and remembering.

Recently a researcher at the University of Bristol in Britain reported the findings of his jet lag study, which involved twenty young women who worked for international airlines. They had served passengers on airplanes for five years. These flight attendants flew across many countries and at least seven time zones. In the study, the flight attendants had different amounts of time to recover from jet lag. Half the women spent five days or fewer in their home areas between long flights The other half spent more than fourteen days in their home areas.

The researcher took some saliva from the women's mouths to measure levels of a hormone(荷尔蒙) that increases during stress (紧张). He tested them to see if they could remember where black spots appeared on a computer screen. And he took pictures of their brains to measure the size of the brain's temporal lobes (脑叶).

It was found that the women who had less time between flights had smaller right temporal lobes. This area of the brain deals with recognizing and remembering what is seen. The same group performed worse and had slower reaction times on the visual memory test. And their saliva samples showed higher levels of stress hormones.

The researcher believes the brain needs at least ten days to recover after a long trip. He says airline workers told him their ability to remember got worse after working on planes for about four years. Other studies have shown that increased feelings of stress can cause a loss of cells in the part of the brain that controls memory.

Scientists say more tests are needed to study the effects of jet lag on the brain. They want to find out if too much jet lag could permanently (永久性的) affect memory.

According to the text, jet lag _________.

A. can cause difficulties in speaking

B. can make people feel tired for a few weeks

C. can be only found in flight attendants

D. can be caused by flying over several time zones

It can be inferred from the text that _________.

A. the conclusion is refused by many scientists

B. scientists fear that this research is not done properly

C. every scientific conclusion needs the support from many tests

D. the women who were examined in the research were not healthy

From the result of the research we can see that _________.

A. the women who have longer rest at home show better memory

B. the women who fly in short time have smaller right temporal lobes

C. the women who have longer flights fail the memory test

D. the women who rest more than 14 days produce less hormones

What is the subject discussed in the text?

A. The cause of jet lag.      B. A story of a group of flight attendants.

C. The importance of having enough rest after flights.

D. A research about the effects of jet lag on the brain.

During the ten-day vacation, they traveled to France their own expense

A. on         B. with         C. at         D. in