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A

Shorter School Week

In most of the United States， students attend class for five days each week—Monday through Friday. Schools are required to hold classes for about 180 days a year. Recently， schools in some areas of the country have begun discussing the idea of holding classes for four days a week. Classes would meet either Monday through Thursday， or Tuesday through Friday. Some schools in twelve American states are now using that plan.

The students still have the same number of total hours in class as before. But they attend school for a longer time on each of the four days. In the western state of Colorado， schools on the four-day plan hold classes for 7.5 hours a day for 144 days. Traditional schools meet for 6 hours a day for 180 days.

Many schools on the four-day plan offer special programs for students or teachers， trips or sports competition on the fifth day. Officials say this gives students even more time in class than the traditional schools. Students do not have to miss school to go to the activities. Students can also go to doctors or other appoint-ments on the fifth day.

The main reason for shortening the school week is an economic one. Small school systems say they can save money by not giving meals or transportation for students on the fifth day. And they say research shows that students are not harmed by the shorter week.

Opponents （反對(duì)者） of the four-day plan say the research is not clear on this. They say the four-day plan has not been shown to improve students learning. And they say that three days off from school each week is a long time away from class.

1. Each year American schools hold classes for ___ .

A. 20 weeks B. 36 weeks

C. 40 weeks D. 45 weeks

2. How can the four-day plan benefit the students according to the text？

A. They are friendlier.

B. They become healthier.

C. They are more active in class.

D. They have more time for other activities.

3. Whats the main purpose of the four-day plan？

A. To save money.

B. To ease city traffic.

C. To improve school learning.

D. To make the kids work harder.

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the opponents are kind of ___ .

A. worried B. disappointed

C. unfriendly D. satisfied

B

Friendship Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday in the month of August. People give their loved ones or friends friendship bracelets （手鏈） and other gifts to celebrate their friendship. The culture of friendship bracelets is as old as even thousands of years.

After the WWII， the Para cord （繩子） bracelets became very popular. These were also known as survival bracelets. One of the main reasons is that it was often used for a rescue （援救） purpose. Para cord， used in the parachute （降落傘）， does not wear away easily and is strong and durable. Because of its light weight， people could carry it along easily. If required， it could be made a very long rope and be used as a rescue rope. Hunters used it to find their way that they could return without getting lost.

Today there are all kinds of Para cord bracelets， made of colored strings. Girls like thinner and colorful bracelets. Many choose to make the bracelets by themselves for their dear friends. This not only appeals more to the feelings of people but also makes them know how much their friends mean to them. People keep the bracelets given by their friends long. Many people choose colored strings keeping the depth of their friendship in mind. White， yellow， orange and red show the different levels of friendship. Pure friendship is shown in white； the red color means love. An orange friendship bracelet is given to show strong friendship and yellow as simple friendship. Today， not only do the young people sport these friendship bracelets， but even the old do.

Does friendship have an age？ Yes. Friendship is like the wine， and the older you get， the stronger your friendship is.

5. What is the main reason for Para cord bracelets becoming popular？

A. They can bring you good luck.

B. They are used in the parachute.

C. They are colorful and beautiful.

D. They can be used as rescue ropes.

6. The underlined word “durable” in Paragraph 2 probably means

“___”.

A. beautiful B. long-lasting

C. important D. expensive

7. What can we learn from the passage？

A. Hunters used Para cord to catch animals.

B. Friendship Day is the first day of August.

C. Few girls like thinner and colorful bracelets.

D. Many people make the bracelets by themselves.

8. What does this passage mainly talk about？

A. The importance of friendship.

B. How to celebrate Friendship Day.

C. The culture of friendship bracelets.

D. How to choose friendship bracelets.