Jarden Zinc Products, a large zinc plant a few miles outside Greeneville, Tennessee, has a special claim. Since 1982, it has been the only supplier of penny blanks for the U. S. Mint (铸币厂). It’ s a good business for Jarden—since 2000, the company has earned more than $ 800 million. But it may not be a good deal for the U. S. The value of the penny has been dropping for years. In 2006, it began to cost more than a penny to make a penny. It now costs 2 ￠ to produce a 1 ￠ coin. Many countries have stopped using pennies. Is it time for the U. S. to do the same? Jarden and the zinc industry are fighting to keep the penny. Since 2006, Jarden has given $1.2 million to Americans for Common Cents (ACC). The group’ s mission is to keep the penny in use. Mark Weller is ACC’ s executive director. He argues that there are three main reasons for keeping the penny: Without it, we would become more reliant on the five-cent coin, which also has problems: charities that depend on penny drives would not be able to raise as much money: and a 2012 survey shows that 67% of Americans want to keep the penny. Many people surveyed said they feared they would end up paying more for products. Many experts disagree with ACC. They point to the dozens of countries that have gotten rid of their lowest-value coins without raising prices for consumers. And charities don’ t seem too concerned either. President Barack Obama says the mint could explore using cheaper metals to make pennies. Steel is less expensive than zinc. Pennies are 97. 5% zinc and 2. 5% copper. But no matter what it is made of, the penny’ s days may be numbered. Most in-store purchases are now made with credit cards, not cash. Is it time for a change?

How fit are your teeth? Are you lazy about brushing them? Never fear: An inventor is on the case. An electric toothbrush senses how long and how well you brush, and it lets you track your performance on your phone. The Kolibree toothbrush was exhibited at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It senses how it is moved and can send the information to an Android phone or iPhone via a Bluetooth wireless connection. The toothbrush will be able to teach you to brush right (don’ t forget the insides of the teeth!) and make sure you’ re brushing long enough. “It’ s kind of like having a dentist actually watch your brushing on a day-to-day basis, “ says Thomas Serval, the French inventor. The toothbrush will also be able to talk to other applications on your phone, so developers could, for instance, create a game controlled by your toothbrush. You could score points for beating monsters among your teeth. “We try to make it smart but also fun, “ Several says. Serval says he was inspired by his experience as a father. He would come home from work and ask his kids if they had brushed their teeth. They said “yes“ , but Serval would find their toothbrush heads dry. He decided he needed a brush that really told him how well his children brushed. The company says the Kolibree will go on sale this summer, for $ 99 to $ 199, developing on features. The U. S. is the first target market. Serval says that one day, it’ll be possible to replace the brush on the handle with a brushing unit that also has a camera. The camera can even examine holes in your teeth while you brush.

If you don’t put the milk in the refrigerator, it may______. go by go off go on go back

Purchasing the new production line will be a ______ deal for the company. profitable tremendous forceful favorite

The birth rate in a city______to fall as its gross domestic product (GDP) rises steadily. estimates anticipates assumes tends

There is no______to the house from the main road. access avenue exposure edge

John: I heard that you’ re going to move. How about the new house? Steve: Oh, it’ s perfect!【D1】______The surrounding is homey. And I love that huge yard, the dome window with the attic, and the fireplace in the bedroom. John: Wow, it sounds gorgeous!【D2】______ Steve: Not that expensive, as a matter of fact. It’ s really under price! John: How could that be? Steve: Our realtor said,【D3】______and he has to move and live with his parents! John: What a piece of luck! It has brought a lot of lovely color to your face! What’ s the location? It’ s hard to find such a house in the city. Steve: Yes.【D4】______ John: Isn’ t it very inconvenient for you to go to work? Steve: A little bit. But now we are expecting our baby and we decided not to raise the kid in the city. John: How sweet! You are already considerate parents for the baby! A. It must be very expensive to get such a nice house. B. the guy who’ s selling the house has lost his job C. It’ s everything we have been looking for. D. Our house is outside of the city.

Imagine a school that expected its students to become literate without any formal instruction. Most parents would be alarmed by such an approach, which would leave their children confused and with gaps in their understanding. This however has been the philosophy on character development in many of our schools. Why is the development of character seen as somehow different from the other skills that we teach? Of course there will always be learning by osmosis (耳濡目染) in any school, but as a teacher and primary school head I have found that a child’ s moral literacy is strengthened when they acquire the building blocks of good character such as consideration, courage and honor: qualities which are commonly known as virtue. I personally find that exploring a virtue over a two-week period provides a simple and effective program that allows for the creative input of both teacher and student and a chance for the virtue to embed itself. Once a lesson on a virtue such as honesty has been completed, we need to allow time for children to practice this concept just as would be the case with fractions or verbs. Allowing children to role play a situation such as making up excuses to cover a mistake can be enormously interesting, and the drama can be frozen allowing the characters to be questioned about their feelings and motives. It’ s also a safe way for children to experience for themselves how a lie usually goes out of control. Our role as educators is also to look for opportunities to help our students as they attempt to strengthen their characters. When something goes wrong we guide the young person to the virtue that will prevent it from happening again. For instance, when a student thoughtlessly disturbs the calm atmosphere of the library, instead of a response such as, “ that was really disrespectful and selfish of you!“ we draw out from them the required virtue: “ When you’ re walking through the library, what virtues do you need to use?“

Because the company was doing more business, it was necessary to______the factory. extend increase rise broaden

Our society has changed and______in it. so the people have the people have so so have the people have the people so

These plastic flowers look so______that many people think they are real. beautiful natural artificial similar

Even if they are on sale, these refrigerators are equal in price to, if not more expensive than, ______at the other store. anyone the others that the ones

A completely new situation is likely to______when the school leaving age is raised to 16. arouse rise arise abide

We felt very sad when we heard the news that the______manager was killed in his office yesterday. respectful respectable respective respecting

The interviewer should take down notes at the moment the person______answer the questions. to be interviewed interviewing being interviewed interviewed

Many a delegate was in favor of his proposal that a special committee______to investigate the incident. were set up was set up be set up set up

He said there was nothing to be______. ashamed ashamed in ashamed of ashamed at

The theme of the International Literacy Day this year is the connection between literacy and sustainable development. Literacy helps reduce poverty and enables people to find jobs and obtain higher salaries. It is one of the most efficient ways of improving the health of mothers and children, understanding doctors’ prescriptions and gaining access to healthcare. The lives of more than two million children under the age of five were saved between 1990 and 2009 thanks to improvements in the education of women of reproductive age. Literacy facilitates access to knowledge and triggers a process of empowerment and self-esteem that benefits everyone.

Interviewer: How long did you live in the States? Interviewee: I was there for two years, in New York, and I enjoyed it tremendously. What I liked best was that I could work and still lead a normal life. I mean, the shops are open till 10:00 p. m. Interviewer: All shops? Interviewee: Yes, everything. Food shops, chemists, and department stores.【D8】______And on public holidays, only the banks are shut. Interviewer: I see, emm... Do you think New York is as multinational as London? Interviewee: Oh, that’ s for sure. But it’ s not as mixed【D9】______like there’ s Russian, the German section and China Town. But I think the major difference between these two cities was the height of the place. Everything was up in the Big Apple. We lived on the thirty-fifth floor. And of course everything is faster and the New Yorkers are much ruder. Interviewer: Oh! In what way? Interviewee: Well, pushing in the street, fights about getting on the bus,【D10】______And of course the taxi drivers! New York taxi drivers must be the rudest in the world! A. nationalities stay in their own areas B. people don’t queue like they do here in England. C. Cultures vary from country to country. D. Some supermarkets are open twenty-four hours a day.

Speaker A: Do you know Beijing opera? Speaker B: Of course.【D5】______ Speaker A: Can you introduce Beijing opera to me? I want to know something about it. Speaker B: Well, the plot of a Beijing opera is not so complicated. And there are four main types of character: the lead, the female lead, the painted face and the clown. Speaker A:【D6】______What’ s that? Speaker B: Yes, the characters are differentiated by their faces. Faces are painted in different patterns with different colors to reveal their insistent characters. Speaker A: Oh, that may be very interesting. Speaker B: Sure, the make-up in Beijing opera is almost an art in itself. Speaker A: It’ s wonderful. I want to go and see. Speaker B:【D7】______ Speaker A: What a good idea! A. I heard the face of Beijing opera is very famous. B. Why not go with me just tonight? C. I was born in Beijing. D. I am interested in Beijing opera.

The old idea that child prodigies “burn themselves“ or “overtax their brains“ in the early years, therefore, are prey to failure and (at worst) mental illness is just a myth. As a matter of fact, the outstanding thing that happens to bright children is that they are very likely to grow into bright adults. To find this out, 1, 500 gifted persons were followed up to their thirty-fifth year with these results. On adult intelligence tests, they scored as high as they did as children. They were, as a group, in good health, physically and mentally. Eighty-four percent of their group were married and seemed content with their life. About 70 percent had graduated from colleges, though only 30 percent had graduated with honors. A few had even flunked out (退学) , but nearly half of these had returned to graduate. Of the men, 80 percent were in one of the professions or in business, managers or semi-professional jobs. The women who had remained single had offices, business, or professional occupations. The group had published 90 books and 1, 500 articles in scientific, scholarly, and literary magazines and had collected more than 100 patents. In a material way they didn’ t do badly either. Average income was considerably higher among the gifted people, especially the men, than for the country as a whole, despite their comparative youth when last surveyed. In fact, far from being strange, maladjusted (难以适应) people locked in an ivory tower, most of the gifted were turning their early promises into practical reality.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

What does the sentence “the penny’ s days may be numbered“ in the last paragraph probably mean?

The penny coin is mainly made of______.

The mission of ACC is to______.

What is the main idea of the passage?