Joe Connor comes from Kinsley and works in an office in Kansas City． His job is a typical nine﹣to﹣five， Monday﹣to﹣Friday job． So at the weekend， he does something different． He likes traveling but he works as a volunteer too． He helps different people for free． Every weekend，there's a new project．
This weekend， Joe is helping to build a house． You can see him in the photo． He's moving a large blue panel（板子）． It's part of a wall． Joe isn't a professional builder， but that's the interesting thing about this project． The other people are "weekend builders" too. These "weekend builders" are from the small town of Greensburg in Kansas． A year ago， a tornado（龙卷风） hit their town． After the tornado， the community started a project to build new homes． The project is for 30 new homes． They get some help from a building company and a group of volunteers． Joe says，"I heard about the tornado and the new project． I knew some people in Greensburg． I wanted to help．"Joe's friends are here this weekend too． They're working with Jill and Scott．
Jill and Scott are both from Pratt， and they are building their "dream house". Jill （on the right） is standing near his new house． He's holding a part of the new wall． They're making the house that can fight against tornadoes ﹣that's why it has an unusual shape．
Their house is almost ready， so next weekend， Joe is moving to a different project． Why does he do？"Though busy， I can help people． I can make friends and that is fun! So， why not？" he says．
（1）How long does Joe work every workday？
| A． |
7 hours． |
| B． |
8 hours． |
| C． |
9 hours． |
| D． |
10 hours． |
（2）Which place did the tornado hit？
| A． |
Kindle． |
| B． |
Kansas City． |
| C． |
Pratt． |
| D． |
Greensburg． |
（3）Why does Joe choose to work as a volunteer？
| A． |
He can make money to travel． |
| B． |
The work brings him pleasure． |
| C． |
He always has lots of free time． |
| D． |
He is good at building houses． |
（4）What is the writer of the text doing？
| A． |
Showing different projects． |
| B． |
Introducing a tornado． |
| C． |
Talking about a photo． |
| D． |
Helping build a house． |
7 January, 2014
A new report says more and more international students are attending colleges and universities in the United States. It also notes a large increase in the number of international students from China.
These findings are from the latest Open Doors Report. The report documents the record number of international students in the United States during 2012, 2013 school year. It says more than seven hundred sixty-four thousand four-hundred such students were attending American colleges and universities during the last two years. That represents an increase of almost six percent than one year earlier.
On the other hand, the number of Americans studying overseas (海外) increased by one percent, which reached nineteen thousand this year.
The report says one hundred ninety-four thousand students at American colleges and universities were from
China. That is an increase of more than twenty-three percent over the year before. Peggy Blumenthal, an expert(专家) of international education, described the effect of the increase in Chinese students.
"Now they have been coming for some time. But this year was the highest level ever." She says many Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children. The children mainly choose to study in America.
"We know many of them have enough income to be able to afford to send them anywhere in the world that they want to go. And for the most part, looking around the world, Chinese students still prefer to come to the United States as their choice."
Chinese students are not the only ones who want to attend American colleges and universities. After China, India sends the second largest number of students to the United States for higher education. India has about one hundred thousand students in American schools. South Korea is third with about seventy two thousand students.
Why do so many foreign students study in the United States? Peggy Blumenthal provides one reason.
"The advantage America has is that we have a huge system and a very perfect system. So there are over four thousand universities and colleges in the United States. Among them are some top ones in the world, and what that tells us is there is still a lot of room to host international students."
Foreign students represent less than four percent of the total student population in American higher education. And from Learning English, that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Bob Doughty. Thanks for listening.Bob Doughty seems to be ________.
| A．an exchange student from the USA |
| B．an expert of international education |
| C．a viewer of VOA |
| D．a reporter from VOA |
Which country below has the fewest students studying overseas?
| A．South Korea | B．India | C．China | D．America |
Which is NOT the reason why so many Chinese students go to the USA for further study?
A. Lots of Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children
B. The USA has a huge and a very perfect education system.
C. There is a lot of room to host international students in the USA.
D. The USA has some top universities and colleges in the world.Which of the following statement is true?
| A．China has 122,000 more students than South Korea at American colleges and universities. |
| B．The number of Americans studying overseas is becoming smaller and smaller. |
| C．The number of Asian students has an increase of 6% over the past two years. |
| D．Most of the international students in the United States are Chinese. |
This passage from VOA Special English is most likely to be ________.
| A．An advertisement | B．A radio programme | C．A science report | D．A tour guide |
Several years ago, a television reporter was interviewing three of the most important people from local businesses. One was a very rich banker, another owned one of the largest companies in the world, and the third owned many buildings in the center of New York.
The reporter was talking to them about being important.
“How do we know if someone is really important?” the reporter asked the banker.
The banker thought for a few moments and then said, “I think anybody who is invited to the White House to meet the President is really important.”
The reporter then turned to the owner of the very large company. “Do you agree with that?” she asked.
The man shook his head, “No. I think the President invites a lot of people to the White House. You’d only be important if while you were visiting the President, there was a telephone call from the president of another country, and the President said he was too busy to answer it.”
The reporter turned to the third man. “Do you think so?”
“No, I don’t.” he said. “I don’t think that makes the visitor important. That makes the President important.”
“Then what would make the visitor important?” the reporter and the other two men asked.
“Oh, I think if the visitor to the White House was talking to the President and the phone rang, and the President picked up the receiver, listened and then said, ‘it’s for you.’”This story happened in ________.
A. U.N. B. U.S.A. C. U.K. D. P.R.C.There are________in this passage.
| A．three men | B．three women and one man |
| C．four men | D．three men and one woman |
The banker and the owner of one of the largest companies in the world ________.
| A．had similar opinions about the reporter’s question |
| B．disagreed with each other |
| C．had been invited to the White House many times |
| D．didn’t reply to the reporter |
The owner of one of the largest companies thought ________.
| A．he himself was really important because he owned one of the largest companies in the world |
| B．the President was really important because the president of another country called him |
| C．the visitor was really important if the President would rather treat him than answer an important phone call from another country |
| D．none of them was really important |
The underlined word you in the last paragraph refers to (指的是) ________.
| A．the television reporter | B．the owner of many buildings |
| C．the President | D．the visitor to the White House |
Wanda Shopping Centre Coupons (优惠券)
| Six Hours Free Parking If you spend ￥100 or more in our stores, you will receive six hours of free parking. When you have spent ￥100 or more, just take this coupon to the customer (顾客) service desk and they will stamp your parking ticket to allow 6 hours of free parking. Offer available until December 14 |
| Win a ￥1000 CD Collection Win your choice of ￥1000 worth of CDs from JoJo’s Music Store. Just buy any two CDs and your name will go into the lucky competition. Select your own prize from various CDs of rock, pop, jazz and classical music. The competition ends on December 14. Prize announced on December 21. Check JoJo’s store for more information. |
| 10% Off Present this coupon at the Book Store to get a 10% discount on any books you want. We have lots of books to choose from, including children's books, novels, travel guides and science fictions. You're sure to find something that you will enjoy. Shop now for Christmas, we have plenty of toys as gifts for you. Offer available until December 14. |
| Half-price Movie Tickets Buy any full-price movie ticket on weekdays, and you can buy a second ticket for a friend for only half price. The latest movies are all here, showing in any of our theaters at Wanda Sopping Center. Off available until December 14 |
| Free Soft Drink Buy any meal for at least ￥6 at Mike's Café, and get a free soft drink ,We serve the best fast food in the Shopping Center. Come in and try our delicious meal and our excellent service. You won't be disappointed! Free soft drink offer ends December 14. |
What are the advertisements for?
| A．Food you can order. | B．Places to go on vacation. |
| C．Special offers at a shopping center. | D．Things on sale in a big store. |
. If you have spent￥100, you'll get ________ at the shopping center.
| A．six hours of free parking | B．a free soft drink |
| C．a movie ticket at half price | D．two free CDs |
Which of the following is not mentioned at this shopping center?
| A．Book store. | B．Music store. | C．Restaurant. | D．Toy store. |
If you want to buy some books for￥50 with the coupon, you will have to pay________.
| A．￥40 | B．￥45 | C．￥55 | D．￥60 |
We can know from this passage________.
| A．you and your friends can use these coupons at Christmas |
| B．there is more than one theatre in the center |
| C．you will win ￥1000 worth of CDs from JoJo’s Music Store if you buy two CDs |
| D．you only need to pay 6 yuan for the best fast food. |
A Lesson from the Elder
Grandfather was an elder Cherokee Native American who had a wrinkled, nut brown face and kind dark eyes. His grandson often came in the evening to sit on his knee and asked the many questions that children would ask.
One day the grandson came to his grandfather with a look of anger on his face and the following story. “Father and I went to the store today and because I helped him, he bought me a present---a jack-knife. I went outside to wait for father and to admire my new knife in the sunlight. Some town boys came by and saw me. They surrounded me and started saying bad things. They called me dirty and stupid and said that I should not have such a fine knife. The largest of these boys pushed me back and I fell over one of the other boys. I dropped my knife and one of them picked it up and they all ran away laughing. I hate them. I hate them all."
The elder Cherokee, with eyes that had seen too much, lifted his grandson's face so his eyes looked into the boy's face. Grandfather said, "Let me tell you a story. I, too, at times, have felt a great hate for those who have taken so much with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down and does not hurt your enemy. It is like drinking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times. It is as if two wolves are inside me.... It is a terrible fight.
One wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. It will only fight when it is right to do so and in the right way. This wolf stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, modesty, kindness, friendship, sympathy, generosity, truth, and faith.
The other wolf is full of anger. The least thing will set off his fiercest temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so much. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. This wolf represents fear, envy, greed, self-pity, guilt, lies, false pride and superiority.
Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me for both of them try to control my spirit. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person too.”
The boy looked into his grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied.... "The one you feed."The boy was angry because __________.
A. he was not satisfied with his present
his back was badly injured in a fight
he had waited for his father for too long
his jack-knife had been taken away by some boysHow does the good wolf do things in the story?
| A．He never fights against others. |
| B．He tries to get on well with others. |
| C．It is hard for him to live with other wolves. |
| D．Sometimes he had a terrible fight because some one hit him. |
We can learn from the third paragraph that _________.
| A． “hate” is healthy |
| B．“hate” hurts oneself |
| C． “hate” is complicated |
| D． “hate” harms one’s enemies |
What did Grandfather mean by saying "The one you feed" in the last paragraph?
| A．We should feed the two wolves equally. |
| B．Living in harmony with others is important. |
| C．Our feelings should be expressed at the right time. |
| D．The choices we make determine who we will become. |
Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima was born on 22 September 1976 in a poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Like most of his childhood friends, Ronaldo began his soccer career playing barefoot in the streets of his neighborhood. At the age of 14, he joined S Cristovo soccer club and only two years later became the star of Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte scoring a total of 58 goals in 60 matches and earning himself a reputation for his explosive pace and outstanding finishing skills. His goal-scoring record and unusual agility led him to be included in the Brazilian World Cup winning team the following year. After the World Cup, many top European football clubs were trying to sign him. Many people, including Brazilian football legend Pelé, referred to him as the most promising footballer of his generation.
Since his transfer to Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, Ronaldo’s biography is one of success after success. Two Copa América s, a UEFA Cup, a Dutch Cup, a Spanish League Cup, and two awards as best player in the world, all in the space of two years, are some of Ronaldo’s impressive achievements. On arrival to Inter-Milan in 1997, Ronaldo became the idol of the local fans who refer to him as “il Fenomeno.”
Since the 98 World Cup he has suffered two serious knee injuries that have severely limited his appearances. Just when people began to wonder whether Ronaldo would be able to continue with his football career, he proved to the world that he still could play. In the World Cup held in Korea and Japan, the magical striker won the Golden Shoe award and tied Pelé's Brazilian record for career World Cup goals with 12. He helped Brazil capture its fifth World Cup championship on June 30 with a 2-0 win over Germany. It was the third time that Ronaldo has ever played in the World Cup. We can infer from the passage that Ronaldo _________.
| A．comes from a rich family |
| B．began to play soccer at the age of 15 |
| C．won a total of 58 goals when he was 20 years old |
| D．became a star of Cruzeriro Belo Horizonte in 1992 |
Why did so many top European football clubs try to sign Ronaldo?
| A．Because he had played in the World Cup. |
| B．Because he often played in very important matches. |
| C．Because he was the most promising footballer of his generation. |
| D．Because he could play hard though he suffered two serious knee injuries. |
From the passage we can infer that Ronaldo took part in ________big international soccer matches in all.
| A．eight | B．eleven | C．twelve | D．five |
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