residents and staff have fled.
Yet on a recent sunny morning at Taha Hussein High School in Markada, the scene seemed almost normal as a teacher scolded students arriving late to class. There were small details that complicated the situation, though - for instance, a bell had to be rung manually(手动地)to mark the passing time because there was no electricity.
And the school’s being open doesn’t mean that violence hasn’t touched it.
“Sometimes people come with guns to see students, ”principal Firas Mahjoub said, “We are powerless to stop them. ”
Other problems plague upset the students. Hasaka province, where Markada is located, is troubled by shortages of basic services, for example.
“Many days I walk 10 kilometers to school, ”said Saad Hamid Saleh, an 11th-grader whose family was forced from their home in a nearby village by military shelling(炮轰). “The bus is too expensive. ”
Many of the students are refugees from other parts of Syria, forced from their homes by the fighting. That has made the school overcrowded.
“Our school was shelled twice, ”said Sarah Shibli, another 11th-grader whose family fled the city of Deirel-Zour, south of Markada, six months ago. “We also had bad experiences with the intelligence services. They came to school looking for people they suspected of fighting the government. ”
“We have left our village, ”said Wael Herma, who said he hopes to pursue an engineering degree after graduation to“help rebuild the country”.
But the shelling that forced his family to flee their village and led to his school being closed down has also taken its toll.
“I have no desire to study anymore, ”he said.
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the current education conditions in Markada, Syria?
A. Few schools are left that can be used as military bases or shelters. B. Sometimes the school year has to be postponed due to the war. C. Because of safety concerns, few parents are willing to send their kids to school.
D. Most of the city’s schools have suffered direct physical damage. 2. What are the problems students facing at Taha Hussein High School in Markada?
a. expensive transport b. overcrowded classes c. a shortage of teachers
d. a lack of food and drinking water e. threats of violence
A. abc B. bcd C. abe D. cde 3. What is the article mainly about? A. Refugees’ lives in Syria.
B. The long-lasting war in Syria.
C. How the war has affected students in Syria.
D. How the Syrian government has helped students get back to school. 4. The underlined phrase “taken its toll” in the second-to-last paragraph probably means“ ”. A. had bad effects B. had complicated causes C. surprised someone D. been carefully investigated
B
(2013·淮南模拟)
A mother was devastated, crying, yelling all she can in that dark corner. There was nobody to hear her yell and not a soul to calm her, because outside her house is a long winding lonely road. The wind was at rest and the leaves didn’t rustle, silence filling the air.
Loneliness was already killing her, but no one knows what made her cry. Losing something you love with all your heart isn’t really the pain you can ever overcome. Radha lost her baby, her only means to live. She saw her child getting killed and the accident was terrible. One lonely night, she was walking down the street to get a breath of fresh air with her child hugged tightly in her arms.
The whole time she walked with her child in her arms, the only thing
that worried her was Aryan’s future. She was imagining and feeling every day of the child’s growth, and figuring what she would have in store for him. But who knows what’s in store for us tomorrow, life can change in a second.
On that deserted road were a few street lights barely enough. It was this light that could be seen from a distance, but as it came closer it got brighter and brighter. That light changed Radha’s life into darkness forever. A speeding car came down that road. The driver came at a speed of 110 kmph throwing beer bottles out of his half open window. He was definitely drunk, and the speed took everything in its path. Just then, there was a loud cry, and silence set in again.
But the mother wasn’t hurt. She opened her eyes, unable to focus her eyes, and didn’t see Aryan. After a few minutes when her sight cleared up she looked all over in a panic for her baby, but alas. . . The child hadn’t even seen life.
Simply, don’t drink and drive. You could take a life, but kill a number of people.
5. The underlined word “devastated” in Paragraph 1 would probably mean“ ”. A. worried
B. scared D. weather-beaten
C. heart-broken
6. Which of the following statements is TRUE of Radha?
