2016新目标九年级英语每周阅读训练含答案

九年级英语每周阅读训练(2016.03.28)

Happiest place in the world

——The statue of the little mermaid is a famous landmark in Denmark. “童话王国”丹麦被评为世界上最幸福的国家。

What is your impression (印象) of Denmark? Many of you may know it as a country of fairy tales (童话) because it is the home place of Heinz Christian Andersen. But now Denmark has a new title: the happiest country in the world, according to the 2016 World Happiness Report.

The report chose countries considering the following six factors (因素): GDP per capita

(人均生产总值), healthy life expectancy (平均寿命), low government corruption (腐败), a sense of social support, freedom to make life choices and a culture of generosity (慷慨).

Denmark is neither the richest nor the biggest country. So why do the 5.7 million people of Denmark smile so much?

“We have no worries. And if we do worry, it’s about the weather. Will it rain today, remain grey or get cold?” Knud Christensen, a 39-year-old social worker from Copenhagen, explained to the Independent.

Denmark has a series of policies (政策) that benefit its people. For example, the country supports parents if they want to be with their children, especially newborn babies. Danish families receive a total of 52 weeks of parental leave (育婴假). While American women only have an average of 10.3 weeks.

Besides, women in Denmark don’t need to worry about whether they are treated unfairly by their male colleagues (男同事). In Denmark, gender equality (性别平等) is the priority (优先). In 1915, the country gave women the right to vote (选举). You also see women in the political world. The country now has its first female prime minister (总理), Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

The Nordic country is also famous for its biking culture. In Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, bikes are used for about 50 percent of its people’s trips to school or work. Biking is not only good for reducing environment pollution, but it’s also good for people’s health. Just 30 minutes of biking a day adds an average of one to two years to a person’s life expectancy, The Huffington Post reported.

Fun facts about Denmark

Hello, Santa Claus

Every July, Santa Clauses from around the world go to Copenhagen to celebrate the World Santa Claus Congress. The celebration includes parades (游行), swimming competitions and other activities. Santas also talk about funny things like how to make chimneys bigger, so that it is easier

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for a Santa to get through. A tasty treat

The Danish pastry (丹麦酥), or simply a Danish, is a traditional snack in Denmark. Now, the food is world famous. It is a sweet-flavored snack with many layers (层). Some are topped with chocolate, sugar or nuts. Some may be stuffed (充满) with fillings like jam or cream. Danish pastries come in different shapes including circles with fillings in the middle. The famous bird

In 1984, Danes voted for their national bird. And a species of white swans (天鹅) called the mute swan got the most votes. Danish people love white swans, which became famous in the story The Ugly Duckling (《丑小鸭》) written by Hans Christian Andersen. Did you know?

Have you heard of the word “hygge”? In English, the word can be translated to coziness (舒适). But hygge is more than that: having a tasty meal with families, chatting with friends under the sunshine on the weekends, enjoying classical music or having a movie night. All these things can be called hygge, which is the lifestyle of Danish people.

1. The report chose the happiest country according to the following factors EXCEPT _____.

A. their people’s looks B. GDP per capita C. their people’s life expectancy D. a culture of generosity 2. What does the weather example want to show?

A. Danish people don’t like rain. B. Danish people hate cold weather. C. Denmark often has bad weather. D. Danish people don’t worry much. 3. In Denmark, _____.

A. women don’t like to work B. people enjoy some good policies C. men and women are treated unfairly D. women don’t have the right to vote 4. What does the last paragraph talk about?

A. Denmark’s big biking culture. B. How Denmark protects their environment. C. Why Danish people live a long life. D. Biking, the best transportation.

A major tip for eating at US restaurants

——US people have a custom to tip servers. 美国人的小费文化从何而来？

If you ever go to the US and eat at a restaurant, there’s a very important difference you should know about. US people have a custom to give money to waiters and waitresses as a tip for their work.

But why is this? Shouldn’t waiters get paid enough by their bosses? Well, many waiters and waitresses get paid below the US minimum wage (最低工资) and work for tips to make up for that. According to the American travel website Trip Advisor, some states pay their servers (服务员) only $2.13 (about 14 yuan) per hour.

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While no one makes you tip, if you are at a sit-down restaurant, it is usually expected that you tip your waiter 15 to 20 percent of what your bill is.

It’s not just for waiters either. Hotel maids, hairdressers and taxi drivers also usually work for tips. But it is much more expected to tip waiters.

The US hasn’t always had this tipping culture. In fact, people were mostly against it until the Prohibition Era (禁酒令时代) in the 1920s. The government said no one could sell alcohol (酒). Then, restaurants had trouble making enough money. So they started to ask people to tip their waiters.

This tipping culture has lasted through the years, but most people don’t like it. Some think restaurant bosses use it as an excuse to not pay their workers well. There isn’t much action being taken to make a change yet. So for now, be sure to tip your waiter when in the US. Answer the following questions:

1. Are waiters and waitresses well paid in the US?

_________________________________________________________________________ 2. How much does a customer usually tip his or her server?

_________________________________________________________________________ 3. Who also works for tips in the US?

_________________________________________________________________________ 4. What happened to restaurants when they couldn’t sell alcohol?

_________________________________________________________________________ 5. What do people think about this tipping culture?

_________________________________________________________________________

Lasers may be the answer to a rainy day

——Lasers may help control rain. 激光或许可以控制天气哦！

Lasers (激光) have many uses including improving someone’s eyesight, playing DVDs, cutting diamonds (钻石) and the list goes on and on. Now, there could be a new use for this powerful tool – changing the weather!

The Swiss physicist Jean-Pierre Wolf is working on using laser beams (激光束) to change the weather for the better. He eventually wants to use it to help stop climate change. Sounds crazy, right? Well, there is already something kind of like it.

Cloud seeding (云催化) is a way people stop rain from falling. It uses rockets to release chemicals into the atmosphere (大气层), but it’s not known what this might do to the environment.

So Professor Wolf wants to find a better way to do this, and a laser is a good choice since the only thing it uses is light, not chemicals. But how would it work? According to CNN, it would make new clouds.

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