A study of English learning problems was carried out among a total of 106 foreign students. It shows that most students considered understanding spoken English to be their biggest problem on arrival. This was followed by speaking. Writing increased as a problem as students discovered difficulties in writing papers that they were now expected to hand in. Reading remained as a big problem.
Information gained helped us in determining where special attention should be paid in our course. Although many students have chosen to join the course with a reasonable motivation, we considered it important to note what seemed to encourage interest. Nearly all the students have experienced some kind of grammar-based English teaching in their own country. To use the same method would be self-defeating because it might reduce motivation, especially if it has failed in the past. Therefore a different method may help because it is different.
Variety of activity was also seen as a way of maintaining or increasing motivation. Several years ago we had one timetable that operated throughout, but we soon found that both the students and the teachers lost interest about halfway through the ten weeks. This led us to a major re-think, so in the end we brought it into line with the expressed language needs of the students.What does the passage want to tell us?
| A．Foreign students have more problems. |
| B．There are many ways to improve English. |
| C．Teaching should meet students’ needs. |
| D．English learning problems should be studied again. |
Writing became a bigger problem when foreign students __________.
| A．had to write their papers |
| B．became better at speaking |
| C．became less interested in reading |
| D．had fewer problems with listening |
We may infer from the last two paragraphs that_________.
| A．different teaching methods should be used |
| B．grammar-based teaching seems to be encouraging |
| C．English courses are necessary for foreign students |
| D．teaching content should be changed halfway |
The New York Philharmonic(爱乐乐团) came to an unexpected stop on Tuesday night when an audience member’s cell phone started ringing and wouldn’t stop.
Conductor Alan Gilbert was nearing the end of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony(交响乐) when the interruption began. As eh New York Times writes, the symphony, “contains some of the most spiritual and peaceful music ever written.”
As the cell phone continued to ring, the iPhone’s signature ringtone, Gilbert stopped the entire performance. And yet shockingly the phone continued to ring. “Nothing happened,” Gilbert told the Times, “Nobody was to blame for it. It was unbelievable.”
Gilbert said minor cell phone interruptions have become common and rarely interfere with a live performance. The Philharmonic does what it can to remind to audience to turn off their cell phones before the performance begins. But the audience and performers stood by in astonished silence as Gilbert asked the offender(肇事者) to silence the phone, only to hear it continue.
Mr Gilbert said audience pointed out two people sitting where the sound was coming from. “They were staring at me firmly,” he said of the couple. Eventually, the man put his hand in his pocket and the ringing stopped.
The conductor said he asked the man if he was sure the phone was quieted. “Then he nodded his head,” Mr Gilbert said.
People in the hall had been shouting for the sound to stop. Mr Pelkonen reported that they yelled: “Thousand-dollar fine!” “Kick him out!” “Get out!”
Once the phone was finally silenced, Gilbert apologized to the audience. They responded with cheers and applause(掌声). And the performance continued.The underlined words “interfere with” in the third paragraph means “ ”.
| A．enjoy | B．attend | C．disturb | D．complete |
What do we know about the offender?
| A．He silenced the phone the moment he was reminded to. |
| B．He enjoyed the ringtone so he kept the phone ringing. |
| C．He quieted the phone after hearing people’s angry shouts. |
| D．He didn’t like the music so he wouldn’t silence the phone. |
What does the writer of this passage intend to imply?
| A．It’s not acceptable to carry an iPhone to a concert. |
| B．It’s rude to attend a concert with the phone ringing. |
| C．It’s necessary to quiet the phones when the performance is over. |
| D．It’s common for a conductor to make an apology to the audience. |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．iPhone ringtone bring New York Philharmonic to a stop |
| B．iPhone signature ringtone defeats New York Philharmonic |
| C．New York Philharmonic puts on a successful performance |
| D．New York Philharmonic stops the audience using iPhone |
Express delivery: How you can buy your groceries from a virtual supermarket
Aug, 1st, 2011 Daily Mail
A “virtual supermarket” consisting of posters of goods put on platform walls is set to be introduced at London Underground stations. Passengers “shop” by scanning QR—Quick Response—codes of the items they want to buy using their smart phones. These goods are later delivered to their home address. Supermarket giant(巨头) Tesco successfully trialed the hi-tech store in a South Korean underground station and there are now plans to bring the concept to Britain.
NYPD to Scan Facebook, Twitter for Trouble
Aug, 11th, 2011 Forbes
The New York Police Department announced it will form a new unit to search social media as part of its law enforcement(执行) efforts, responding to the criminals’ growing use of these sites to plan and celebrate illegal activities. The NYPD unit created particularly to comb social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and BlackBerry messenger for information on planned crimes and their criminals.
Space Junk(太空垃圾) reaching “tipping point”, report warns
Sep 3rd, 2011 Toronto Sun
The amount of debris(碎片) orbiting the Earth has reached “a tipping point” for crashes, which would produce more debris that may be dangerous to astronauts and satellites, according to a US study. According to the US Space Surveillance Network, the number of orbital debris jumped from 9,949 in December 2006 to 16,094 in July 2011.The “virtual supermarket” would be introduced to Britain because of .
A. the successful experience of a hi-tech store in South Korea
B. the wide use of smart phones for scanning QR codes
C. the large varieties of goods in the supermarket
D the convenient home delivery system around Londonwe can learn from the news that .
| A．people with mobile phones can shop at London Underground stations |
| B．Facebook, Twitter, and BlackBerry messenger are not popular in the US |
| C．the amount of space junk has more than doubled in the past few years |
| D．more and more criminals are using social media sites for crimes |
what does the underlined word “comb” in the second piece of news mean?
| A．Create. | B．Operate. | C．Block. | D．Search. |
The third piece of news will be in the section of the newspaper.
| A．sports | B．opinion | C．science | D．business |
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps. One should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting us in age.
Men often discover their similarity to each other by the common love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, “Love me, love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this: “Love my, love my book.” The book is a truer and higher bond(纽带) of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. They live in him together, and he in them.
A good book is often the best container of a life preserving the best that life could think out; for the world of a man’s life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts. Thus the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which become our steady companions and comforters.
Books are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay(腐朽), but good books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author’s minds, ages ago.
The great and good do not die, even in this world. Preserved in books, their spirits walked abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect(智者) to which one still listens.The writer introduces the topic of the passage by .
| A．describing life experience of great writers |
| B．telling his own story of reading good books |
| C．presenting the best thoughts in good books |
| D．comparing good books to good friends in life |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．Readers feel sympathy for the author. |
| B．Readers live together with the author. |
| C．Readers and the author share the same feeling. |
| D．Readers are the author’s companions and comforters. |
which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．We can learn about the great and good through books. |
| B．The most important part of a man’s life is his treasures. |
| C．Good books help us to know about their authors’ friends. |
| D．Books are often regarded as best containers in our life. |
the passage mainly tells us that .
A. one should have some good friends
B one should read as many books as possible
C. one should keep company with good books
D books are the most lasting products of human efforts
Recently we told you about a finding that more years of school could help students get higherscores on intelligence tests．That was the finding of a study of teenage males in Norway．Now，other research shows that physical activity may help students do better in their classes .
The research comes as educators in some countries are reducing time for activities like physical education．They are using the time instead for academic subjects like maths and reading．The studies appeared between 2007 and 2013．They included more than 55，000 children，aged 6 to 18．
Amika Singh：“Based on the results of our study，we can conclude that being physically active is beneficial for academic performance. There are，first，Physiological explanations，like more blood flow, and so more oxygen to the brain．Being physically active means there are more hormones(荷尔蒙)produced like endorphins(内啡肽)．And endorphins make your stress level lower and your mood improved, which means you also perform better.”
Also，students involved in organized sports learn rules and how to follow them．This could improve their classroom behavior and help them keep their mind on their work．
The study leaves some questions unanswered，however．Ms．Stash says it is not possible to say whether the amount or kind of activity affected the level of academic improvement．This is because of differences among the studies .
Also．they were mostly observational studies．An observational study is where researchers do not do controlled comparisons．They only describe what they observe．So they might observe a link that students who are more active often have better grades．But that does not necessarily mean being active was the cause of those higher grades．
The researchers said they found only two high - quality studies．They called for more high-
quality studies to confirm their findings．They also pointed out that “outcomes for other parts of the world may be quite different. ”
Still，the general finding was that physically active kids are more likely to do better in school．Ms．Singh says schools should consider that finding before they cut physical education programs．Her paper on “Physical Activity and Performance at School”is published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine．The passage mainly tells us that ＿＿＿＿
| A．a research on physical education has been done by the researchers |
| B．there exists a possibility that physical activity leads to higher grades |
| C．the amount or kind of activity directly affects academic level |
| D．the research shows that the children aged 6 to 1 8 don't do sports |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Being mentally active is good for academic subjects． |
| B．The more hormones you have，the more stressed you will get． |
| C．They have found many high-quality studies to prove the research． |
| D．The educators in the research think studies，not exercise，mean much to students． |
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 7 probably means ＿＿＿＿.
| A．good marks result from high-quality study |
| B．findings probably vary in different areas |
| C．physical activity will spread all over the world |
| D．academic performance depends on the surroundings |
What's the purpose of writing the passage?
| A．To call our attention to the sports at school． |
| B．To introduce all types of physical activities． |
| C．To represent the academic performance． |
| D．To improve students' health ． |
Dr．Ferguson energetically pushed the preparations for his departure，and in person directed the construction of his balloon．For a long time past he had been applying himself to the study of the Arab language and the various Mandingoe idioms，and，thanks to his talents in language，he had made rapid progress．
In the meanwhile，his friend，the sportsman，never let him out of
his sight-afraid，no doubt，that the doctor might take his departure，without saying a word to anybody．On this subject，he tried to discourage him with the most persuasive arguments，which，however，did NOT persuade Samuel Ferguson，and wasted his breath，by which the latter seemed to be but slightly moved．In fine，Dick felt that the doctor was slipping through his fingers．
The poor Scot was really to be pitied．He could not look upon the
blue sky without a wild terror: when asleep，he felt dizziness(眩晕)that made his head turn around；and every night he had visions of crashing down from immeasurable heights．
We must add that，during these nightmares，he once or twice fell out of bed. His first care then was to show Ferguson a severe bump(肿块)that he had received on the fall．“And yet，”he
would add，with warmth，“that was at the height of only three feet一not an inch more一and such a bump as this! Only think，then!”
This appeal，full of sad meaning as it was，did not seem to touch the doctor's heart．Not even the shadow of a doubt was ever suggested；and Samuel made an intolerable misuse of the first person plural：“‘Our’balloon，‘our’ car ；‘our’expedition.”
Dick trembled at them，although he was determined not to go ; he did not want to annoy his friend．Let us also disclose the fact that，without knowing exactly why himself，he had sent to Edinburgh for a certain selection of heavy clothing，and his best hunting-tools and fire-arms．Why did Dr．Ferguson start to learn new languages?
| A．To keep himself occupied． |
| B．To get ready for the departure． |
| C．To show his talent in language． |
| D．To Know more about balloon construction． |
We Call infer from the passage that Dick ＿＿＿＿.
| A．suffered from a disease during the nights |
| B．got hurt in a fall from the balloon in the evening |
| C．decided to take the adventure with the doctor at last |
| D．equipped himself with arms to frighten his friend |
Which word best describes Dr．Ferguson’s attitude towards his balloon flight?
| A．Excited． | B．Optimistic． | C．Worried. | D．Determined |
What’s the writing pattern of the passage?
| A．News． | B．Fiction． | C．Journal． | D．Biography． |
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