Every year, a handful of new words enter the world’s collective vocabulary, but only one has the honor of being named Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year. And this year’s top honor goes to “selfie”.
The frequency of the word selfie used in the English language has increased by 17,000 per cent since this time last year. This figure is calculated by Oxford Dictionaries using a research program which collects around 150 million English words currently in use from around the web every month. To qualify, a word need not have been invented within the past 12 months but it does need to stand out or become notable at that time.
Selfie is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as: “A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.” Oxford Dictionaries said the earliest known usage is an Australian online forum post in 2002. A man posted a picture of injuries to his face when he tripped over some steps. He apologized for the fact that the picture was out of focus, saying that it was not because he was drunk but because it was a selfie.
Judy Pearsall, editorial director for Oxford Dictionaries, said: “Using the Oxford Dictionaries language research program, we can see a phenomenal upward trend in the use of selfie in 2013, and this helped to win its selection as Word of the Year.” She also added: “Social media sites helped to popularize the term, with selfie appearing on the photo-sharing website Flicker as early as 2004, but usage wasn’t widespread until around 2012, when selfie was being used commonly in mainstream media sources.”
Selfies have taken the world by storm. Everyone from the first family to ordinary people has taken the time to pose for a selfie. Celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Lawrence, and Jennifer Aniston have all showed their new haircuts with selfies this year. Selfie was added to the Oxford Dictionaries online in August, but not yet in the Oxford English.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．The definition of the word “Selfie”. |
| B．The widespread usage of the word “Selfie” in 2012. |
| C．“Selfie” has been chosen as the Word of the Year of 2013. |
| D．“Selfie” began to be used in the Oxford English. |
What can we learn from the passage about the word Selfie?
| A．Social media sites helped to popularize the word Selfie. |
| B．The frequency of the word “selfie” has increased to 17,000 % since 2004. |
| C．Celebrities and the first family have all showed their new haircuts with selfies. |
| D．The earliest known usage of “selfie” was a man who was drunk. |
The word “selfie” was chosen the Word of the Year by _____________.
| A．A social media website. |
| B．The photo-sharing website Flicker. |
| C．A research program by Oxford Dictionaries. |
| D．People who take picture using a smart phone or webcam. |
In which column of a newspaper can we find this article?
| A．Arts | B．Entertainment |
| C．Science | D．Culture |
Did you know that many people today are getting extra work by taking translating jobs online?
It’s true! And you can do it too. Many companies in the USA need translators now to translate simple documents online from Chinese to English, such as emails, website content, movie subtitles and more.
Companies like Real Translator Jobs are actively seeking translators from China to fill demand. There are more translation jobs than people to complete them. This leaves a big opportunity for anyone to start doing this and earn extra money.
Do you have to speak perfect English? No! Even basic knowledge of English is OK. This is really a job for anyone from China who wants to do it.
We spoke to one student from Beijing, Harris, who has been doing this for 2 years now and is earning between $150 and $225 every day. He completes about 3 to 4 jobs per day which takes him about 3 hours. It’s an incredible amount of money to earn on your spare time!
It is great that we now live in the “Information Age” and opportunities like this are available to people in China to earn extra money working from home over the Internet. It’s something that our parent’s generation could have never imagined. This type of work is surely to do great things for young people in China.
If you would also like to do this, it’s easy to get started. Just follow these steps:
1. Sign up at Real Translator Jobs (where Chinese translators are needed now), or a similar service.
2. Review the job posting and complete the ones you like.
3. Get paid once per month by cheque, PayPal or bank wire transfer.
I hope you enjoyed this information and good luck earning extra money online translating documents.What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．How to find a job on the Internet |
| B．How to earn extra money |
| C．Getting extra work by taking translating jobs online |
| D．How to find a friend on the Internet |
Which of the following is not mentioned about the documents online translated?
| A．Articles. | B．Emails. |
| C．Website content. | D．Movie subtitles. |
If one company in the USA needs a translator, he or she ______.
| A．should speak perfect English |
| B．can speak basic English |
| C．must come from China |
| D．must come from Beijing |
Which step is not followed if you get started the translating job online?
| A．Signing up at Real Translator Jobs. |
| B．Reviewing and completing the job posting. |
| C．Getting paid once per month by cheque. |
| D．Getting paid once a month in cash. |
It's generally believed that people act the way they do because of their personalities and attitudes. They recycle their garbage because they care about the environment. They pay $5 for a caramel brulée latte because they like expensive coffee drinks.
It's undeniable that behavior comes from our inner dispositions (性情), but in many instances we also draw inferences about who we are, as suggested by the social psychologist Daryl Bern, by observing our own behavior. We can be strangers to ourselves. If we knew our own minds, why would we need to guess what our preferences are from our behavior? If our minds were an open book, we would know exactly how much we care about the environment or like lattes. Actually, we often need to look to our behavior to figure out who we are.
Moreover, we don't just use our behavior to learn about our particular types of character—we infer characters that weren't there before. Our behavior is often shaped by little pressures around us, which we fail to recognize. Maybe we recycle because our wives and neighbors would disapprove if we didn't. Maybe we buy lattes in order to impress the people around us. We should not mistakenly believe that we always behave as a result of some inner disposition.
Whatever pressures there can be or inferences one can make, people become what they do, though it may not be in compliance (符合) with their true desires. Therefore, we should all bear in mind Kurt Vonnegut's advice: "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”According to the passage, personalities and attitudes are commonly believed to _______.
| A．determine one's behavior |
| B．reflect one's taste |
| C．influence one's surroundings |
| D．result from one's habits |
Which of the following would Daryl Bern most probably agree with?
| A．The return of a wallet can indicate one's honesty. |
| B．A kind person will offer his seat to the old. |
| C．One recycles plastics to protect the environment. |
| D．One buys latte out of true love of coffee. |
What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in the passage?
| A．We fail to realize our inner dispositions. |
| B．We can be influenced by outside pressures. |
| C．Our behavior is the result of our true desires. |
| D．Our characters can shape our social relationships. |
What does the author mainly discuss in the passage?
| A．Personalities and attitudes. |
| B．Preferences and habits. |
| C．Behavior and personalities. |
| D．Attitudes and preferences. |
A couple who held hands at breakfast every morning even after 70 years of marriage have died 15 hours apart. Helen Felumlee, died at 92 on April 12. Her husband, 91-year-old Kenneth Felumlee, died the next morning.
The couple’s eight children say the two had been inseparable since meeting as teenagers, once sharing the bottom of a bunk (双层) bed on a ferry rather than sleeping on night apart.
They remained deeply in love until the very end, even eating breakfast together while holding hands, said their daughter, Linda Cody. “We knew when one went, the other was going to go,” she said. According to Cody, about 12 hours after Helen died, Kenneth looked at his children and said, “Mon’s dead.” He quickly began to fade, surrounded by 24 of his closest family members and friends when he died the next morning. “He was ready,” Cody said, “He just didn’t want to leave her here by herself.”
Son Dick said his parents died of old age, surrounded by family.
The pair had known each other for several years when they eloped（私奔）in Newport across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, on Feb. 20, 1994. At two days shy of his 21st birthday, Kenneth-who went by Kenny-was too young to marry in Ohio. “He couldn’t wait.’ son Jim said.
Kenneth worked as a railroad car inspector and mechanic before becoming a mail carrier for the Post Office. He was active in the church as a Sunday teacher.
Helen stayed at home, not only cooking and cleaning for her own family but also for other families in need in the area. She taught Sunday school, too, but was known more for her greeting card ministry, sending cards for birthdays, sympathy and the holidays to everyone in her community, each with a personal note inside. “She kept Hallmark in business,” daughter-in-law Debbie joked.
When Kenneth retired in 1983 and the children began to leave the house, the Felumlees began to explore their love of travel, visiting almost all 50 states by bus. “He didn’t want to fly anywhere because you couldn’t see anything as you were going,” Jim said.
Although both experienced declining health in recent years, Cody said, each tried to stay strong for the other. “That’s what kept them going,” she said.From the second paragraph we can infer ______.
| A．Helen and Kenneth have two children |
| B．Helen and Kenneth have eight children |
| C．Helen and Kenneth once stayed on a ferry together |
| D．Helen and Kenneth loved each other since teenage times |
From what Cody said, we can learn the children _____.
| A．were not in front of their father |
| B．don’t look after their father |
| C．foresaw their father would go |
| D．surrounded their father |
What can we learn from the fifth paragraph?
| A．Helen and Kenneth got married when they didn’t reach the demanded ages. |
| B．Helen and Kenneth got married after they had known for 2 days. |
| C．Helen didn’t wait for Kenneth. |
| D．Kenneth was 22 years old when they got married. |
How many jobs did Kenneth get?
| A．Four. | B．Three. | C．Two. | D．One. |
One morning, Ann’s neighbor Tracy found a lost dog wandering around the local elementary school. She asked Ann if she could keep an eye on the dog. Ann said that she could watch it only for the day.
Tracy took photos of the dog and printed off 400 FOUND fliers（传单）, and put them in mailboxes. Meanwhile, Ann went to the dollar store and bought some pet supplies, warning her two sons not to fall in love with the dog. At the time, Ann’s son Thomas was 10 years old, and Jack, who was recovering from a heart operation, was 21 years old.
Four days later Ann was still looking after the dog, whom they had started to call Riley. When she arrived home from work, the dog threw itself against the screen door and barked madly at her. As soon as she opened the door, Riley dashed into the boys’ room where Ann found Jack suffering from a heart attack. Riley ran over to Jack, but as soon as Ann bent over to help him the dog went silent.
“If it hadn’t come to get me, the doctor said Jack would have died,” Ann reported to a local newspaper. At this point, no one had called to claim the dog, so Ann decided to keep it.
The next morning Tracy got a call. A man named Peter recognized his lost dog and called the number on the flier. Tracy started crying, and told him, “That dog saved my friend’s son.”
Peter drove to Ann’s house to pick up his dog, and saw Thomas and Jack crying in the window. After a few moments Peter said, “Maybe Odie was supposed to find you, maybe you should keep it.”What did Tracy do after finding the dog?
| A．She looked for its owner |
| B．She gave it to Ann as a gift. |
| C．She sold it to the dollar store. |
| D．She bought some food for it. |
How did the dog help save Jack?
| A．By breaking the door for Ann. |
| B．By leading Ann to Jack’s room. |
| C．By dragging Jack out of the room. |
| D．By attending Jack when Ann was out. |
What was Ann’s attitude to the dog according to Paragraph 4?
| A．Sympathetic | B．Doubtful |
| C．Tolerant | D．Grateful |
For what purpose did Peter call Tracy?
| A．To help her friend’s son. |
| B．To interview Tracy |
| C．To take back his dog. |
| D．To return the flier to her. |
Well I decided to cut my front lawn （草坪）today, especially since I live on a main street downtown with lots of traffic. Anyway, I finished mine and decided to cut my neighbor—Jean’s grass while I was at it. She is a sweet person who has gone through some trying times in the last year. Her brother passed away of cancer last year; her sister (who lives with her) is mentally challenged—yet so sweet!
It was a difficult time with physical and mental challenges that led her employer in our local hospital to let her go after 25 years of service! Lastly, my neighbor Jean, who is a nurse in our local hospital, was diagnosed with esophageal （食道） cancer in December. She went through radiation and a long recovery—but thankful she is in remission（缓解）.
Anyway, in short I was leaving my house this afternoon and she stopped me to thank me for cutting her grass. She told me her dad passed away on Friday and she just arrived home from the funeral service, so she didn’t know when I would have time to cut her grass. So, when she arrived home and saw it cut she was more than happy and grateful! I said to her “You are welcome, just a small act of kindness for a neighbor.”
I did it for exercise and shared pleasure not knowing it meant more to her than just doing a neighbor a favor!Although a lot of unfortunate matters happened to Jean, she is still _____.
| A．pessimistic | B．optimistic |
| C．depressed | D．disappointed |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “trying” in the first paragraph?
| A．Happy. | B．Exciting. | C．Simple. | D．Hard. |
What can we learn from the first three paragraphs?
| A．Jean is unlucky. |
| B．Jean lives happily. |
| C．Jean has retired. |
| D．Jean’s employer doesn’t like her. |
How does Jean feel about the author helping her cutting grass?
| A．She feels sad. |
| B．She feels only happy. |
| C．She feels very happy and thankful. |
| D．She feels easy. |
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