A new language exchange program is helping Brazilian students practice their English and it helps cheer up the lonely lives of elderly American retirees(退休人员).
FCB Brazil developed the Speaking Exchange Project and CAN school in Brazil, put it into practice . They help the students have conversations with the retirees in Chicago . Chatting on the Internet about their families, hobbies, futures make them form special friendship in the process.
To help the students improve their English, the video conversations are recorded, allowing students to review them and improve. One heart-warming conversation in the video is between an old lady and a girl talking about travel.
“Are you planning some day to go to Brazil?” The girl asks the lady. “Oh, I would love to!” She says. The girl then tells her,“ You can stay in my home if you want, ”making the lady laugh happily. At the end of their conversation, the girl expresses her grattitude(感激) for her help in improving her language skills.“ I want to thank you for this exchange of experience, ”she says . The lady put her hand to her heart and says, “Girl, if you were here, I’d give you a big hug.”The students in Brazil chat online with the students in America.
FCB Brazil developed the Exchange Project to help students to improve their English..
The conversations between the students and the retirees aren’t allowed to recorded.
The old lady invites the girl to live with her.
The girl expresses her thanks to the lady for improving her English by chatting .
The dodo was a ground nesting(筑巢), flightless bird. An adult dodo could grow to a height of about a meter and weigh between 45-50 pounds. The natural habitat of this kind of bird lay in the forest of Mauritius.
Seed(种子) and fruits that were found in the forest were the main food of the dodo birds. As they could easily get the food they required in the forest, they didn’t need to fly. As time went by, they finally lost the ability to fly. It turned out to be a major disadvantage for dodos, as they were left with no ability to protect themselves against human beings’ attacks in their natural habitat, which drove this kind of bird to extinction(灭绝).
The extinction of the dodo started in 1505, when Portuguese sailors set their foot on the Island of Mauritius. Before this, the dodo didn’t face any danger. People began to hunt them. It was not long before animals, like cats, pigs and monkeys, were also introduced to the island by humans. When ships arrived, the rats on these ships came onto the land. Though these animals were not able to attack huge dodos, it was easy for them to attack dodos’ nests on the ground. These animals continued to feed on dodo eggs.
The dodo became a relatively(相对地) rare bird in Mauritius at the beginning of the 17th century, and became extinct in the end. The last reported sighting of a dodo was in 1681. Why did the dodo lose its ability to fly?
| A．Because it liked walking on the ground. |
| B．Because it had no enemies in the forest. |
| C．Because it was too big to fly. |
| D．Because it didn’t need to fly to look for food. |
What can we learn from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Humans hunted for dodos for money . |
| B．Dodos’ nesting places were attacked by human beings. |
| C．The dodo became extinct because of human activity. |
| D．Other animals on the island lived mainly on dodos’ meat. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．The extinction of the dodo. |
| B．The appearance of the dodo. |
| C．The actions taken to protect the dodo. |
| D．The punishment for hunting the dodo. |
This dictionary tells you about English words and how to use them in reading, writing and speaking English. It gives the meaning of words, and it can help you with spelling, word building, grammar and pronunciation as well.
To use your dictionary correctly, you need to understand how the dictionary works. At the front of the book, you will find some exercises to help you make the most use of your dictionary. If you look up the word “centre”, you will find two spellings for this word. “Centre” is used in British English, while “center” is used in American English. When there are differences between British and American spelling, the dictionary shows it with the word “BrE” for British English and “AmE” for American English.
The dictionary also helps you pronounce words correctly. If you turn to the inside back face, you will see all the phonetic letters(音标) with some words to show you how they are pronounced. Just have a look at this page when you’re not sure how to say a word.
The most important reason for using a dictionary is to find out the meaning of a word— its definition. In this dictionary, the definitions have been written using only 2000 words. This means that the definitions of even the most difficult words are simple and easy to understand.According to the passage, “theater” is used in _______ English.
| A．Australian | B．Canadian |
| C．American | D．British |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．All of the words in the dictionary have two spellings. |
| B．You can turn to the inside back face if you are not sure about the pronunciation. |
| C．There are two thousand words in this dictionary. |
| D．The dictionary can help you with listening, speaking, reading and writing. |
The dictionary explains ________.
| A．some of the difficult words |
| B．the words of two meanings |
| C．all the easy words |
| D．all the words in a simple way |
As Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves on Friday on his first overseas tour, which includes stops in Moscow and three African countries, Beijing’s media is very interested in Xi’s famous wife Peng Liyuan, who will be traveling with him.
China’s new First Lady, one of the country’s most famous folk singers and a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador(亲善大使) for Tuberculosis(结核病) and HIV/AIDS, has long been as well known as her husband.
The news that she would come along with her husband on the trip has already brought her to the attention of the world on China’s micro-blogging service
“Each country’s First Lady has her own style and charm, and the thing that the world loves is color and difference,” says Tsinghua University political scientist Tang Xiaoyang.
As Peng and President Xi start their trip to Moscow, Tanzania, South Africa and the Republic of Congo, the outing is the president’s first chance to shape his image as China’s new leader before foreign audiences.
Renmin University journalism professor Zhong Xin says there are high expectations that Peng will help her husband pass on a friendly image of China.
“Mrs. Peng is beautiful and popular.” Zhong said, explaining that the new First Lady will not only influence herself, but the president and the whole country.
| Peng Liyuan—China’s New First Lady |
|
| A short |
● Beautiful and popular. ● Famous for her folk ● Well-known as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. |
| Her overseas tour |
● Setting out with President Xi. ● Starting her overseas tour on Friday, |
| Widespread attention on her |
● Beijing’s media shows ● The world expects her to be |
Do you know of anyone who uses the truth to deceive(欺骗)? When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can give you a false picture．
For example, someone might say, “I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery(彩票). It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy is a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought $ 200 worth of tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he left out important information on purpose. That’s called a half-truth. Half truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Some officers often use this trick. Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she tries another term. One of the persons who don’t support her says, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!” That’s true. However, an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net gain of two million jobs.’’
Advertisers will sometimes use half—truths. It’s against the law to make false statements so they try to mislead you with the truth. An advertisement might say, “Nine out of ten doctors advised their patients to take Yucky Pills to cure toothache. ”It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Company.
This kind of thing happens too often. It’s a sad fact of life: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well.We may infer that the author believes people should ________.
| A．buy lottery tickets if possible |
| B．make use of half—truths |
| C．be careful about what they are told |
| D．not trust the Yucky Company |
How many examples does the writer give to show how the truth is used to deceive?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Using half truths is against the law. |
| B．Technically, half truths are in fact lies. |
| C．Yucky Pills is a very good medicine for toothache. |
| D．Governor Smith did a good job during her last term. |
Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．He’s really a big loser! |
| B．Sometimes the truth can lie． |
| C．Advertisers will sometimes use half truths． |
| D．It’s against the law to make false statements． |
Two men were sitting together in a plane. They were on a long journey. One of the men was a businessman. The other was a farmer. They sat without talking for a while, then the farmer said, “Let’s do something to pass the time.”
“What do you want to do?” the businessman asked. “We can ask each other riddles.” The farmer said, “You start.” “Let’s make the rules first,” the businessman said. “That’s not fair. You are a businessman with much knowledge. You know more things than I do. I am just a farmer.”
“That’s true.” The businessman said. “What do you want we should do?” “If you don’t know the answer to a riddle, you pay me $100. And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay you $50.” The farmer said. The businessman thought about this, then he said, “OK. That’s fair. Who will go first?”
“I will,” The farmer said. “Here is my riddle. What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies?” The business man repeated the riddle, “What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies? Mm, that’s a good one. I’m afraid I don’t know the answer.” He gave the farmer $100, then said, “Tell me the answer. What has three legs when it walks, but only two legs when it flies?” “I don’t know.” The farmer said and gave him $50.What does the word “riddle” mean in this story?
| A．A difficult question to find the answer to. |
| B．Something to help to make rules. |
| C．Something to win money. |
| D．a kind of game in doing business. |
Why did the businessman agree to give more money if he lost?
| A．He made much more money than the farmer. |
| B．He thought he knew more than the farmer. |
| C．He was interested in making riddles. |
| D．He was better at playing riddle games. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The two men made rules for their riddle. |
| B．The farmer was much cleverer than the businessman. |
| C．The two men made their riddle game more interesting by paying it for money. |
| D．The business was not as clever as the farmer, but the businessman had more money than the farmer. |
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