Only three local students won Chinese Blog Competition. And 15 of the 18 awards went to students from China.
170 students’ task: to get a fully-designed blog up and running, complete with many postings based on a theme of choice—all written in Chinese.
Themes ranged from local opinions－such as the usage of Singlish, education and whether Singapore can be a cultural centre－to food blogs.
The entries were judged on Language proficiency（熟练程度）and the quality of writing, as well as the design and level of exchanging ideas with readers.
Academics(学者) from the National University of Singapore and the SIM University IT experts, and a journalist from Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in Singapore made up the judges.
In the end, only three Singaporean students made it to the award list—the rest of the awards were swept up by students from China.
“No surprise, ” said Mr. Chow Yaw Long, 37, teachers in charge from Innova Junior College, which organized the event. “Although the topics were local subjects, the foreign students were generally better in terms of the content of the posts and their grasp of the Chinese language. ”
One of the three local students winning the first prize in the Best Language Award was blogger Christina Gao 19, from the Saint Andrew’s Junior College, who spared no effort in researching for and writing her blog. Each entry took her between five and seven days to produce, complete with pictures and even podcasts
Her advice for bloggers is: Be responsible
“Some bloggers out there only seek to blame the authorities and other bloggers.” Said Miss Gao. “I think they lack responsibilities and there is no value to their posts.” The competition was organized by ___________.
| A．the National University of Singapore | B．Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao |
| C．the Saint Andrew’s Junior College | D．Innova Junior College |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Not all the themes were about local subjects. |
| B．Chinese students won most of the awards. |
| C．The blogs could be written in Chinese or Singlish. |
| D．The judges were from universities in Singapore and China. |
What Miss Gao said suggests that ___________.
| A．she likes to blame the authorities | B．she thinks highly of the others’ blogs |
| C．she has a sense of responsibility | D．she loves to read valuable posts |
The passage is mainly about ___________.
| A．how Chinese students won the awards in the competition |
| B．why bloggers should take responsibility for their blogs |
| C．what the result of the competition was |
| D．how Miss Gao won the first prize in the competition |
Researchers Look Behind the Tears to Study Crying
Many people found themselves unusually moved by the historic presidential inauguration（就职演说）last week in Washington．Watching the huge crowds，we saw laughter，cheers，hugs---but also many tears．
It made us wonder, why do people cry? Surely tears must be good for us—away to calm the mind and cleanse the body．Yet studies show that crying sometimes makes people feel worse．
Three researchers in Florida and the Netherlands recently looked more deeply into the subject．They examined detailed descriptions of crying experiences．Psychologist Jonathan Rottenberg at the University of South Florida says they wanted to study crying as it happens in everyday life，not in a laboratory．
The team analyzed information from the International Study on Adult Crying．As part of that study，three thousand people in different countries，mostly college students，wrote about recent crying experiences．They noted causes，surroundings and any people involved in the event．They also reported how they felt after they cried．
Professor Roaenberg says the research showed that all crying experiences are not created equal．Crying does not always make a person feel better，he says．About ten percent of people reported feeling worse after they cried．
But a third felt better after crying．And a majority reported the experience as helpful．
The research showed that people who cry alone may not do as well as those with others around．People who reached out for emotional support at the time---and received it---reported better results from the crying experience．
But Professor Rottenberg says those who felt shame or embarrassment while crying were less likely to report that crying had been helpful．
Research has shown that women cry more often and more intensely than men．But it may not have better effect，says the psychologist．The new findings，he says，did not show that a person’s sex was an advantage of beneficial crying．In other words，just because women cry more does not mean they are more likely to have a“good”cry．
The paper entitled “Is Crying Beneficial?”appeared in December in Current Directions in Psychological Science And there is more to learn．Jonathan Rottenberg says the science of crying is still in its infancy．Why did the author mention the presidential inauguration in Washington in the first paragraph?
| A．Because he was impressed by the laughter, cheers，hugs and tears． |
| B．Because he wanted to introduce the topic about crying． |
| C．Because he wanted to show people’s dissatisfaction with the result． |
| D．Because it was the historic moment that many people cried |
How did the researchers carry out the research?
| A．They studied crying experiences not only in everyday life but also in labs． |
| B．They collected the crying experiences of the students at the colleges． |
| C．They studied the crying experiences of grown-ups from various countries． |
| D．They noted their own crying experiences and compared with others． |
We can learn from the passage that ．
| A．it may be better to cry alone than with others around |
| B．some support from others may make crying helpful |
| C．women who cry more often may have better effects than men |
| D．the effects will be better if you feel shy while crying |
The underlined phrase in the last paragraph probably means ．
| A．in the early stage | B．in a secret state |
| C．in the first place | D．in good condition |
BEIJING, Sep. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The extra-large model baby in the Spain Pavilion（馆） was “conceived”（构思）by a Spanish filmmaker, Shi Yingying reports. 
Visitors admiring the 6.5-meter-high giant baby, Miguelin, in the Spain Pavilion may be surprised to realize that it was not the concept of a famous designer or a group of groundbreaking engineers. It came from one filmmaker’s interpretation of the meaning of “Better City, Better Life”.
Spanish director Isabel Coixet developed the idea after being asked to contribute to Expo 2010 Shanghai.
“They asked me to do something to tell the Chinese audience about Spain in the future and the first thing jumping to my mind was a baby,” said Coixet. “If we really fight to have better cars, better cities and better lives, it’s for them - for our children.”
Despite her Spanish heritage, Coixet doesn’t focus on making Spanish films or using Spain as the setting. Fans of her various award-winning films, including My Life Without Me, The Secret Life of Words and Elegy, may not even be aware of Coixet’s Spanish background.
“The borders between countries are just illusion（假象）,” said Coixet. “Some directors feel really comfortable telling stories that belong to their territory.”
But Coixt feels the opposite: “I'm more comfortable outside my country. It gives me a strange freedom.”
One of her favorite things about being a director is the freedom. “The thing is that the world is wide and this freedom lets you make films everywhere,” she said.
Coixet’s curiosity took her latest exploration and movie work to Japan. In the movie Map of the Sound of Tokyo, the Catalan actor Sergi Lopez is the owner of a wine shop in Tokyo, and Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi is a young woman who works both as a fishmonger and as a hired killer.
The conflict of the two people's very different worlds and the tango-like relationship they develop is just one representation of what Coixet is able to produce by mixing cultures.
While she doesn’t know if she will shoot a film in Shanghai, two things have caught her attention: Shanghainese women and crickets（蟋蟀）.
After just arriving in the city, she was surprised by the mix of old Chinese culture in a booming chief city “Behind the skyscrapers, there is a flower and bird market with heaps of crickets and birdcages in,” she said. “I'm totally amazed with the city.”The huge baby represents the idea that ______________.
| A．our children are the new generation full of imagination. |
| B．our children will develop the friendship between China and Spain. |
| C．our children are our future. |
| D．our children will understand the meaning of “better city, better life”. |
We learn from the passage that Coixet’s award-winning films were set ____________.
| A．only in Spain. | B．only in Japan. |
| C．mainly in the countries outside Spain. | D．mainly in the countries within Europe. |
According to Isabel Coixet, a flower and bird market behind the high rises_______________.
| A．shows people in Shanghai are living a rich life spiritually and materially. |
| B．reflects prosperity of the market. |
| C．indicates the Chinese people are leading a rich life. |
| D．represents the traditional culture of China. |
From the passage we can learn that ____________.
| A．Isabel Coixet is dissatisfied with the design of the extra-large model baby. |
| B．A mix of different cultures is reflected in Isabel Coixet’s films. |
| C．Isabel Coixet feels less comfortable while making films all over the world. |
| D．Isabel Coixet designed the huge baby according to the requirement of a group of engineers. |
I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence(吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased（亡故的）woman said to me, “If only I sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow, she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died. ”At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out bad, they believe that the opposite course keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to his tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.The author had to conduct the two women’s funerals probably because____.
| A．he was minister of the local church | B．he wanted to comfort the two families |
| C．he was an official from the community | D．he had great pity for the deceased |
People feel guilty for the death of their loved ones because ____.
| A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow. |
| B．they had neglected the natural course of events |
| C．they believed that they were responsible |
| D．they didn’t know things often turn in the opposite direction |
According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that _____
| A．everything in the world is predetermined |
| B．there’s an explanation for everything in the world |
| C．the world can be interpreted in different ways |
| D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world |
What’s the idea of the message?
| A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery |
| B．Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault |
| C．Every story should have a happy ending |
| D．In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away |
The other day I heard a few local musicians talking:
“I hate all the terrible pianos in this town. I hate that rubbish they play on the radio. They can’t even understand a bit of music.”
“I’m never playing in that club again. Too many drunks and nobody listens to us.”
But, one younger musician said, “There are a few clubs that book my band a few nights a month, and I’m trying to find other places to play. I’m also looking to book a few summer festivals this year.”
I’ve heard that you are the average of the five people whom you spend the most time with, or to put it another way, you are who your friends are.
Attitudes are important. Whether they’re positive or negative, they’re rubbing off on you. If you’re around people who complain about lack of work and about other musicians, or blame (责怪) others, and you play the role of victim (受害者), chances are you will start to as well. So it’s time to take a look at the people you call “friends”.
This is an easy exercise: Make a list of the people who you hang out with, and simply stop spending time with the negative people on your list. Set a new standard (标准) for yourself and don’t become friends with people who fall below that standard.
Keep successful people around you and your own chances for success will be much better. Ask them how they do it. Ask if they will help you get the work you’re looking for, or maybe give you some advice to help you on your career path.Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Friends are the most important in one’s success |
| B．A friend in need is a friend indeed |
| C．How to make friendship last for ever |
| D．You are who your friends are |
The underlined sentence “they’re rubbing off on you” in Paragraph 6 means ______.
| A．they’ll help you achieve your goal |
| B．they’ll push you ahead |
| C．they’ll influence you |
| D．they’ll cover your shortcomings |
The musicians’ words at the beginning are written mainly to show ______.
| A．young people have greater chances of succeeding |
| B．the musicians’ living conditions are quite poor |
| C．people have poor taste in music |
| D．people have different attitudes towards the same thing |
By taking the exercise mentioned in Paragraph 7, you can ______.
| A．arrange the time with your friends properly |
| B．improve a lot in making more friends |
| C．come to the right way of making friends |
| D．develop a better relationship with your friends |
The passage is mainly written for ______.
| A．people wanting to succeed | B．musicians |
| C．managers | D．negative people |
A Train Floating On Air
A train that floats on air? It's not magic — it's magnets (磁).And it's close to reality.
In Virginia USA the fall of 2002, a train with no wheels traveled on air and carried college students across their campus.In Japan, a whisper-quiet railway engine hovered and raced at 350 miles per hour using magnets and electricity as the power.And in China, a magnet train line linked Shanghai with nearby Pudong Airport.
These trains use magnetic levitation (悬浮) technology, “maglev” for short. They use the same rules as the magnets you pick up at home or school: opposite poles of magnets attract each other, and like poles repel each other.
How does it work?
Powerful magnets on the bottom of the train repel magnets on the track, which is actually just a magnet-filled guiding way. With a magnetic field of sufficient force, the train will go hovering on air, which seemed impossible to us in the past.
When an electrical current is sent through the track, the train moves. Turn the current backwards and the train slows down.
Maglev doesn't rely on the friction (摩擦力) of wheels on track, so it can climb a much steeper hill than a traditional train. And it can travel easily in snow and ice, something that could bring normal trains to a screaming stop. Which of the following is a repelling action?
| A． | B． | C． | D． |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Electric currents decide the movements of a maglev train. |
| B．A magnet-filled guiding way is formed inside a maglev train. |
| C．Instead of electricity, magnets are used as the power of a maglev. |
| D．Maglev trains can climb hills with the help of magnetwheels. |
What is the difference between a maglev train and an ordinary train?
| A．Floating on a track, a maglev train is faster, quieter than an ordinary railway train. |
| B．A maglev train can climb mountains without power while an ordinary one can’t. |
| C．A maglev train can travel in college campus while an ordinary train is not allowed. |
| D．Travelling without a track, a maglev train is safer and smoother than an ordinary one. |
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