A 33-year-old financial analyst in California recently quit his job to devote himself to an unpaid job teaching math on the Internet, and his lessons are reaching almost 100,000 people a month. Salman Khan’s voice is heard every day on the net --- by tens of thousands of students around the world who are hungry for help learning math. He has posted 1,200 lessons on YouTube ... lessons that appear on an electronic blackboard, which range from basic addition to advanced mathematics for science and finance. And they are free.

Khan lives in Silicon Valley, with his wife, a doctor, and their new baby. He got the idea for his “Khan Academy” four years ago, when he taught a young cousin how to convert kilograms to grams. With Khan’s help, the cousin got good at math, and Khan began a new career.

Now, Khan records his lessons himself, but he never goes on camera. “It feels like my voice in their head. You’re looking at it and it feels like someone’s over your shoulder talking in your ear, as opposed to someone at the blackboard, which is distant from you,” he said.

When Springfield High School in Palo Alto, California invited Khan to speak in person --- he immediately connected to the students there.

The idea of short lessons that can be played over and over again attracted high school senior Bridget Meaney. She says she had trouble with math in the seventh grade. “I think the teachers are good, but they can’t teach at a speed that’s perfect for everyone,” she said. “I like the idea of learning something in class but then going back and pressing pause or rewind and actually getting a deeper understanding of it.”

Originally, Khan kept his lessons short because of YouTube restrictions. Now, he thinks short is better. “Education researchers now tell me that 10 minutes is how long someone can have a high level of concentration. And anything beyond that and your brain switches off,” he said.

For Khan, teaching math, science, and finance is just the beginning. He says he’s ready to expand his YouTube site to include other subjects as well.

41. What gave Khan the idea of teaching math online?

A. His success in helping his cousin learn math.

B. His discovery that many students found learning math difficult.

C. A suggestion made to him at a local high school.

D. His interest in Internet teaching.

42. Why does Khan never go on camera?

A. He’s too shy to show his face on camera.

B. It’s restricted by YouTube for education videos.

C. He wants to keep distance from the viewers.

D. He wants to create a more relaxed learning atmosphere（氣氛）.

43. From the passage, we know that ________.

A. Khan travels to many schools to promote his lessons

B. Khan plans to include more subjects in the future

C. Khan gives live math lessons every day for free

D. Khan set up the Khan Academy with his wife

44. Why does Bridget Meaney like Khan’s lessons?

   A. Khan teaches seventh grade math better than her teacher.

   B. The lessons can be watched repeatedly until fully understood.

   C. She can perfectly follow the pace of Khan’s teaching.

   D. She cannot concentrate when learning in class.

45. What does Khan mean by “short is better” in the 6^th paragraph?

   A. Keeping the lessons short can ensure better concentration.

   B. YouTube recommends short lessons for its site.

   C. Short lessons encourage students to return to the website.

   D. Students enjoy short mathematics lessons more.

When I was 14, I was employed for an after-school job selling subscription（訂單）to my hometown newspaper, the Houston Post. I 31         (send) to some of the city’s worst neighborhoods to ask door to door. Even though I was often searching for garage apartments after dark, I was grateful 32        the work. It was a challenge because people didn’t like 33       stranger to knock on their door, especially a kid 34       (try) to get them to buy something. One time, a man slammed（砰地關(guān)上）35     door in my face and screamed, “I don’t want a paper”. 36       I forced myself to knock again and was able to tell him how great the paper was. I ended up selling him a subscription. I was soon 37    the top subscription sellers and, like other successful salesman, was given the 38       (responsible) for training newcomers. Having all those doors slammed in my face as a kid 39      (give) me the strength to stand up again, 40      helped me a lot in my life.

Two old beggars were sitting on a busy street corner. They watched helplessly as scores of people walked by, some purposely __16___ them and others too caught up in their own cares to even notice their ____17____. Every so often, a kind-hearted woman or a small child would drop a few coins in the _____18____ which lay in front of them.

As the crowd began to die down, they started to _____19_____ their things and go back to their evening shelter. Just as they were getting ready to leave, they noticed a man walking toward them. He was obviously a rich man—they could tell that from his finely tailored business suit.

The first beggar whispered to the second with _____20_____, “He’s coming our way!”

The two tried not to look ____21____ at the man as he stepped closer to them, but they couldn’t ____22____ looking up with hope as he reached into his pocket and took something out.

“Thunk” was the only sound they heard as what looked like a piece of hard _____23_____, wrapped in tissue paper hit each of their waiting hats. The rich man _____24____ and continued on his way, not making a backward glance.

“How insulting(侮辱人的)!” said the first beggar. “He could have_____25______ left us a few coins or a spare bill, but he makes fun of us with a piece of rock candy. Who does he think we are? ____26____? There’s no way we can even eat this—we have no _____27_____.” He picked up the object and threw it into the gutter.

“I haven’t had anything like this for ages,” the second beggar thought. “I can’t chew it, but I can suck on it for a while, and the sugary juices will stay in my _____28_____ for a long time. How nice of that man to offer me something so sweet！”

With that, he ____29____ the white tissue paper, but to his ____30____, there was no hard rock candy inside. However, into his fingers fell a shiny white pearl worth thousands of dollars.

11.   The old man was born and lives in the neighborhood, so he _________ _________ ________ (熟悉) this area.

12.   Nelson Mandela is willing to ________ all his life _________ ________ （致力于為…而斗爭(zhēng)）for the equal rights for the black people.

13.   _______ _______ ________ （在…幫助下）of my teacher, I have made rapid progress in English.

14.   In China, most parents ________ ________ ________（認(rèn)為…很重要）to their children’s education now.

15.    With time going by, my memory seems to get worse.

= ________ _______ ________ by, my memory seems to get worse.

1.      We all have some ___________(缺點(diǎn)) and we should improve ourselves.

2.      Does environment___________(決定)one’s character?

3.      She refused to give the taxi___________(費(fèi)用) because of the delay.

4.      Do you have any ______________(保險(xiǎn))on your car?

5.      What’s your _____________(態(tài)度) to this idea? Is it good or bad?

6.      Since Li Ming _________________ here, he has got along well with his neighbours. （settle）

（李明在這里定居后，和鄰居們相處得很好。）

7.      While_________( walk) the dog, you were careless and it got loose and was hit by a car.

你在遛狗的時(shí)候，你不小心讓狗松開(kāi)了，結(jié)果被車撞了。

8.      When people use words and ____________(express) different from the “standard language”,it is called a dialect.(當(dāng)人們用不同于“標(biāo)準(zhǔn)語(yǔ)言”的詞語(yǔ)和表達(dá)時(shí)，那就叫做方言。)

9.      Earthquakes are one of the most deadly natural________(災(zāi)難) in the world.

10.    More ________(避身處)for the homeless should be built in some big cities.

96. What I like best is a book that helps me think about life deeply.

My ______ is a book that helps me think about life deeply.

97. As soon as he entered the building, he heard a sharp cry coming out of it.

   ______ ______ the building, he heard a sharp cry coming out of it.

98. I suggested taking a trip to Hong Kong next month, but my father disagreed.

   I suggested that we ______ ______ ______ to Hong Kong next month, but my father 

   disagreed.

99. I hope you can inform me of everything that will happen.

   I hope you can keep me ______ ______ everything that will happen.

100.There are over 100 new products from different companies that are being shown in the

   exhibition room.

   There are more than 100 new products developed by different companies ______ ______ in 

   the exhibition room.

91. Both people are perfectly suited to doing the job. It was not easy to make our ______ (select).

92. I heard that the match would be ______ (broadcast) live at 7 p.m. this Sunday.

93. Usually, only when you show ______ (respectful) for others will others respect you.

94. With ______ (encourage) from her parents, she finally realized her dream of being a dancer.

95. There was a power cut and all the lights ______ (go out) suddenly last night.

81. The a______ age of the students in my class is 15.

82. Born in a rich family, she cares little about how much she e______ a month.

83. Students have to make p______ for their final exams at the end of the term.

84. How can I ever repay you for your k______?

85. Keeping calm is the most important thing you should remember in times of e______.

86. It was clear that the girl was ______ (使不高興) by the news. I should not have told her.

87. Whenever he is criticized, the first thing he’d do is to ______ (辯解) himself.

88. The headmaster encourages the students to think about what they would like to do after they

   ______ (畢業(yè)).

89. She is gaining weight because she eats too much ______ (甜點(diǎn)).

90. According to the rules, if your bag is overweight, you will have to pay ______ (額外的)

   money for it.

 When it comes to the world of computers, green computing is becoming popular. But what is green computing?

   The term “green computing” is one that is being used in many different markets and areas all over the world in today’s global technology. However, many computer users aren’t sure what it means. Green computing is actually quite easy to explain and to do—it is basically learning to use computer resources more efficiently to protect the environment as well as saving energy. The main goal is to reduce the use of energy and materials that harm the environment.

   Green computing started as early as 1992, when the EPA created Energy Star program that improved computing equipment and technologies. Because of this program sleep pattern appeared and many computer users began to adopt this policy to help save energy when they were not using their computers. In October of 2006, Energy Star made the requirements stricter for computers. Because of these new requirements, there are over 20 states that have now set up a special recycling program for old computers to help with green computing.

   Many of today’s IT systems are beginning to rely on both people and hardware to help push their computer systems toward a more green computing system to help both the company and others. This is a hard balance to achieve, as it has to satisfy users. Many companies are learning the best ways that they can go greener when it comes to their computing and also help their business in the process. While many home computer users may not be quite as familiar with green computing as large firms, this term is starting to become more mainstream all around the world.

   As is known to us, Washington University in St. Louis became the first college in the United States to ban (禁止) selling bottled water in 2009. Since then, more than a dozen small colleges and schools have done the same. The ban isn’t because the schools don’t want students to have easy access to water. Instead, the goal is to encourage students to bring reusable bottles to save money and, more importantly, to save the environment.

   Many people believe that producing and using bottled water not only wastes money but also harms the environment. They say that bottled water is unnecessary because public water supplies in the U.S. are among the best in the world. These people believe that water fountains and reusable bottles with easy access to filling stations are a better choice.

   But the makers of bottled water argue that plastic bottles make up a small portion of the nation’s total waste. They say it’s unfair to single out (單獨(dú)挑出) their product when so many other items are packaged (包裝) in plastic containers, and what’s more, water is a healthy choice compared to some sodas and juices that are also sold at school.

   What do you think: Should sales of bottle water be banned from schools? We want to hear your opinion. Write a 200-word response. Send it to tfkasks4you@timeforkids.com. Your response may be published in a future issue of Time For Kids. Please include your grade level an contact information for your parent or teacher if you want your response to be published. The deadline (截止時(shí)間) for responding is August 31, 2012.

67. Some colleges and schools ban selling bottled water in order to       .

    A. save water                                                B. encourage students to bring water from home

    C. reduce pollution                                D. keep students away from bottled water

68. The main disadvantage of bottled water is probably that       .

    A. it is too expensive                                B. it is not fresh

     C. it’s not convenient to carry                     D. Its bottle can’t be reused

69. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

     A. Bottled water is healthier.

     B. Sodas and juices are of great harm.

     C. Students think it unfair to ban selling bottled water.

     D. The makers of bottled water are against banning selling bottled water.

70. The purpose of the passage is to       .

     A. ask for students’ opinions                     

B. tell people a piece of news

     C. call on students to save the environment      

D. wish more schools to ban selling bottled water