Chinese high school students have the longest study hours compared to their peers(同龄人)in Japan , the US  and South Korea. A survey conducted by the four countries said.
The survey, released by the China Youth and Children Research Center on Monday, was jointly conducted with instructions in the four countries in September-October of 2008. It covers nearly 4,000 students in senior schools and vocational high schools in the four countries. About 78.3 percent of Chinese students said they spend more than eight hours at school and 56.7 percent said they study at least two more hours each day at home .by contrast, only 24.7 percent of their peers in the US , 20.5percent in Japan and 15.4 in Korea study more than two hour s after school.
Around 60 percent of all students surveyed said their burden for studies was the heaviest. However the Japanese felt their burden was the worst with respondents (应答者) reaching 79.2 percent
Among the five biggest headaches for young people in the four countries were: 0ver-sheduling ranked first, followed by a boring leisure life, unsatisfied appearance, little time for exercise and making friends, and no spare money
“Moderate(适度的)study pressure can better drive students to develop, however, too much will press their development space, and can even cause harm to their physical and psychological health” the survey said
“Balancing their studies and all round development is a very important task” it said.
【小题1】What would be the best title for the text?

A．Chinese high school students study more

B．high school students need more rest

C．heavy burdens of high school students

D．big headaches of high school students

【小题2】 Which of the following is not true about the survey?

A．it took about two months.

B．it was conducted in four countries.

C．Nearly 4,000 students took part in it.

D．it was done only in senior high schools.

【小题3】 Which of the following troubles the high school students most?

A．being busy

B．feeling bored

C．lacking pocket money

D．feeling unsatisfied with their teachers

【小题4】 According to the survey, ________

A．study pressure is harmful to students’ health

B．students need to achieve all round development

C．the Chinese students felt their burden for studies were the heaviest

D．most students are suffering from physical and psychological health problems

SHANGHAI - Health experts in Shanghai are calling for more protection for young children as the latest research shows about half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke.

About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in families, 50 percent in public places, and almost 6 percent on public transportation, shows a research released by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center on Tuesday.

"Not only adults but also children and newborn babies are at risk for the adverse effects of passive smoking," said Tang Jingyan, a doctor at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

"Actually, those young children whose bodies are still growing and developing are more sensitive to the effects of secondhand smoke."

Research has shown that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke will suffer from more colds, coughs and sore throats, and they are more likely to suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia and will have a higher risk of developing cancer.

Doctors even suggested that children suffering passive smoking are more likely to have behavioral problems and may not develop mentally as quickly as their peers.

Other research by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center has found that more than 80 percent of child patients in the center live in a smoke-filled household, where one or both parents smoke.

"Though doctors have stressed the harm of passive smoking over and over, it is still hard to reach a totally 'smoke free' home," said a pediatrician named Zhang Yiwen, noting that parents are often tempted to smoke even though they have learned the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

China has 540 million people suffering from passive smoke, 180 million of them younger than 15. The age of smokers is also getting lower, earlier reports said.

"There are more young smokers than before. You can see young people wearing a school uniform and carrying a schoolbag light a cigarette on the street. Some of them are even female students," said Jing Xingming, a professor of children's developmental behavior at the center.

"Children like to imitate adults, especially their parents. If parents often smoke at home, it is very likely children will develop a smoking habit, which can cause a vicious circle," Jin said.

Reports from the Ministry of Health said China has about 350 million smokers, of whom 15 million are underage smokers. Also, around 40 million of the country's 130 million children aged between 13 and 18 had tried smoking, and 15 million had become addicted to tobacco.

 

1.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. About half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke.

B. Experts are calling for more protection for youngsters from smoking.

C. More and more youngsters are picking up the habit of smoking.

D. Smoking does great harm to the health of the youngsters.

2.What kind of the youngsters most possibly develop a habit of smoking?

A. Children of non-smoking mothers.                             B. Children of non-smoking fathers.

C. Children of heavy smokers.                                               D. Children from some smoking centers.

3. Which of the following disease may not be connected with secondhand smoking?

  A. Cancer.                 B. Behavioral problems.           C. Sore throats.        D. Coughs.    

4. The underlined word “vicious” in the last paragraph but one most probably means ___________.

A. complete                        B. simple                             C. great                    D. bad

5.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. About 80% of the children in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center smoke heavily.

B. About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

C. About 540 million people are heavy smokers in China.

D. Children aged between 13 to 18 are more likely addicted to smoking.

 

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.

Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping (录像) the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is.”

The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings (兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”

66．The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.

       A．show the relationship between parents and children

       B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table

       C．report on the findings of a study

       D．give information about family problems

67．Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ____________.

       A．they are busy serving food to their children

       B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table

       C．they have to pay more attention to younger children

       D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family

68．By saying “Middle children are invisible” in Paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children _________.

       A．have to help their parents to serve dinner

       B．get the least attention from the family

       C．are often kept away from the dinner table

       D．find it hard to keep up with other children

69．Lewis’ research provides an answer to the question _________.

       A．why TV is important in family life

       B．why parents should keep good order

       C．why children in small families seem to be quieter

       D．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life

70．Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?

       A．It is important to have the right food for children.

       B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner.

       C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently.

       D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner

Nowadays people are troubled by the violence that spreads throughout the media. Movies, television and video games are full of gunplay and bloodshed, and one might reasonably ask what’s wrong with a society that presents videos of violence as entertainment.
Viewing large amounts of violent television and video games may well contribute to violent behavior in certain individuals. The trouble comes when researchers downplay uncertainties in their studies or overstate the case for causality（因果关系）. Skeptics were dismayed several years ago when a group of societies including the American Medical Association tried to end the debate by issuing a joint statement: “At this time, well over 1,000 studies… point to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children.”
Freedom-of-speech advocates accused the societies of catering to politicians, and even disputed the number of studies (most were review articles and essays, they said). When Jonathan Freedman, a social psychologist at the University of Toronto, reviewed the literature, he found only 200 or so studies of television-watching and aggression. And when he weeded out “the most doubtful measures of aggression”, only 28% supported a connection.
The critical point here is causality. The alarmists say they have proved that violent media cause aggression. But the assumptions behind their observations need to be examined. When labeling games as violent or non-violent, should a hero eating a ghost really be counted as a violent event? And when experimenters record the time it takes game players to read “aggressive” or “non-aggressive” words from a list, can we be sure what they are actually measuring? The intention of the new Harvard Center on Media and Child Health to collect and standardize studies of media violence in order to compare their methodologies, assumptions and conclusions is an important step in the right direction.
Another appropriate step would be to tone down the criticism until we know more. Several researchers write, speak and testify quite a lot on the threat posed by violence in the media. That is, of course, their privilege. But when doing so, they often come out with statements that the matter has now been settled, drawing criticism from colleagues. In response, the alarmists accuse critics and news reporters of being deceived by the entertainment industry. Such clashes help neither science nor society.
【小题1】Why is there so much violence shown in movies, TV and video games?

A．Showing violence is thought to be entertaining.

B．Something has gone wrong with today’s society

C．Many people are fond of gunplay and bloodshed.

D．There is a lot of violence in the real world today.

【小题2】What is the skeptics’ view of media violence?

A．Violence on television is fairly accurate reflection of real-world life.

B．Most studies exaggerate (夸大) the effect of media violence on the viewers.

C．A causal relationship exists between media and real-world violence.

D．The influence of media violence on children has been underestimated.

【小题3】The author uses the term “alarmists” to refer to those who _________.

A．use standardized measurements in the studies of media violence

B．initiated the debate over the influence of violent media on reality

C．insist on a direct link between violent media and aggressive behavior

D．use appropriate methodology in examining aggressive behavior

【小题4】The underlined phrase “weeded out” in Paragraph 3 most probably means _________.

A．got rid of things that are not good	B．removed unwanted parts from something
C．picked out things that are useful	D．took away unnecessary details of a report

【小题5】What does the writer think of the debate concerning the relationship between the media and violence?

A．He more than agrees with the views held by the alarmists.

B．It should come to an end since the matter has now been settled.

C．The past studies in this field have proved to be misleading.

D．More studies should be conducted before conclusions are drawn.

SHANGHAI - Health experts in Shanghai are calling for more protection for young children as the latest research shows about half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke.

About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in families, 50 percent in public places, and almost 6 percent on public transportation, shows a research released by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center on Tuesday.

"Not only adults but also children and newborn babies are at risk for the adverse effects of passive smoking," said Tang Jingyan, a doctor at the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

"Actually, those young children whose bodies are still growing and developing are more sensitive to the effects of secondhand smoke."

Research has shown that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke will suffer from more colds, coughs and sore throats, and they are more likely to suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia and will have a higher risk of developing cancer.

Doctors even suggested that children suffering passive smoking are more likely to have behavioral problems and may not develop mentally as quickly as their peers．

Other research by the Shanghai Children's Medical Center has found that more than 80 percent of child patients in the center live in a smoke-filled household, where one or both parents smoke．

"Though doctors have stressed the harm of passive smoking over and over, it is still hard to reach a totally 'smoke free' home," said a pediatrician named Zhang Yiwen, noting that parents are often tempted to smoke even though they have learned the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

China has 540 million people suffering from passive smoke, 180 million of them younger than 15．The age of smokers is also getting lower, earlier reports said.

"There are more young smokers than before．You can see young people wearing a school uniform and carrying a schoolbag light a cigarette on the street．Some of them are even female students," said Jing Xingming, a professor of children's developmental behavior at the center.

"Children like to imitate adults, especially their parents．If parents often smoke at home, it is very likely children will develop a smoking habit, which can cause a vicious circle," Jin said.

Reports from the Ministry of Health said China has about 350 million smokers, of whom 15 million are underage smokers．Also, around 40 million of the country's 130 million children aged between 13 and 18 had tried smoking, and 15 million had become addicted to tobacco.

1.What is the main idea of the passage?

   A．About half of the youngsters are suffering from secondhand smoke.

   B．Experts are calling for more protection for youngsters from smoking.

   C．More and more youngsters are picking up the habit of smoking.

   D．Smoking does great harm to the health of the youngsters.

2.What kind of the youngsters most possibly develop a habit of smoking?

   A．Children of non-smoking mothers.        B．Children of non-smoking fathers.

   C．Children of heavy smokers.                  D．Children from some smoking centers.

3.Which of the following disease may not be connected with secondhand smoking?

      A．Cancer.               B．Behavioral problems.     C．Sore throats.       D．Coughs.  

4.The underlined word “vicious” in the last paragraph but one most probably means ___________.

       A．complete             B．simple                 C．great                   D．bad

5.What can be inferred from the passage?

   A．About 80% of the children in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center smoke heavily.

   B．About 45 percent of children suffer passive smoking in the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

   C．About 540 million people are heavy smokers in China.

   D．Children aged between 13 to 18 are more likely addicted to smoking.