D
Whenever you buy something, it is possible that someone has already worn, eaten, or tested
it to make sure it is safe and do what is supposed to do. But what if you wanted a special suit to keep a shark from hurting you? Who wants to test a product like it?
"I do! " says Jeremiah Sullwan, a scientist in California "You have to believe in what you sell, right?"
Sullivan. owns SharkArmor Tech, a company that makes a $ 49400 sharksuit that even a great white shark can’ t bite through. Before Sullivan could sell his sharksuits, he needed to make sure his design would work. Sullivan put on the sharksuit and jumped into a shark feeding ground. "I need to know exactly what a human body could expect to go through," he says. Sharks moved all around him and then attacked his arm. Sullivan felt the bite but no teeth. He was uncomfortable at times, but not painful. The suit works! "
"I’ve now been bitten thousands of times but. never badly," says Sullivan, who now works with shows like Wild Kingdom, and programs for the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.
So,are you all set to buy a sharksuit? Before you do, you should know that the suit weighs 20 pounds and makes swimming almost impossible--not so practical for a day on the beach. And in fact, Sullivan wants only professionals, such as filmmakers, scientists and drivers, to have sharksuits. Why? Because even if someone is wearing a sharksuit, they could get seriously hurt if they treat diving with a 4,OOO-pound shark as a game.
During sharksuit testing, sharks have thrown Sullivan to a bottom o/ reefs(礁) and tried to take him off into the deepest part of the ocean. "However," Sullivan says," you don't need to be afraid of sharks. It’s actually pretty hard to get a shark to bite you, "
The first paragraph is written to .
| A．start a discussion |
| B．introduce the topic of the text |
| C．show the main points of the text |
| D．test readers' knowledge |
Why did Sullivan get close to sharks?
| A．To see if his sharksuit works. |
| B．To study what sharks feed on. |
| C．To catch a special kind of white shark. |
| D．To learn how to swim with sharks safely, |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．Most people won't wear the sharksuit to the beach |
| B．People like to go to the beach with the sharksuit. |
| C．The sharksuit makes a perfect day on the beach |
| D．The sharksuit can’t be worn for a whole day. |
We can learn from the text that the sharksuit _
| A．works well for swimmers |
| B．is light but uncomfortable |
| C．keeps sharks away from humans |
| D．is designed for special purpose |
B
We answer some questions this week in our series on getting into an American college or university.
The first question is about our recent discussion of English language test. Vo Ngoc from Vietnam would like to know about the TOEIC, which is designed to measure skills of English as spoken in the workplace.
The Educational Testing Service administers the TOEIC. It says the test measures the language skills of people working in an international environment. American colleges and universities accept scores from the TOFEL and often the IELTS. If you miss our report on these tests, you can find it at our website www. unsv. com..
Tahir Mahood from Pakistan asks how to improve his English before taking these kinds of tests. Well, you can start by looking for ways to use English as much as you can Watch American movies and TV shows and read books in English Look for English speakers to talk to.
The Internet has many free materials for Engiish learners. Visitors to www. unsv. com. for example, can read, listen and watch programmes on many different subjects. The U.S. Department of Education recent launched a free website designed to help immigrants learn English.
The site is called USA Learns at www. usalearns, org, like www. chinadaily. cn, intended for English learners in China
Next,a question from Turkey:Hasan Eker asks about getting a postdoctoral position in the U. S. This is work generally done by a person who recently earned a PhD. The National Post-doctoral Association in Washington has information about international postdocs on its website www. Nationalpostal.org.
And, finally, we have questions from Iran, Afghanistan and Indonesia about how to pay an education through jobs. There’re rules that restrict the kinds of jobs that foreign students
can have while studying in the U. S.
What-s the purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract more people to the website. |
| B．To introduce the TOEIC to readers. |
| C．To ask questions on entering American universities. |
| D．To help deal with some puzzles on entering American colleges. |
According to the passage, TOEIC is .
| A．a must for those who go to American universities |
| B．designed for whoever apply for a job with companies |
| C．to test a student’s language skills in the workplace |
| D．a test for students to graduate from universities |
A person wb.o wants to learn. English can go to the following EXCEPT.
| A．www. unsv. Com |
| B．www. national postdoc. org |
| C．www. usalearns. Org |
| D．www chinadaily. cn, |
What can we know from the passage?
A. Foreign students are not allowed to do whatever jobs they like in the U. S.
B. Every graduate from colleges can get a postdoctoral position if they want to.
C. The IELTS is also necessary for job application like the TOEIC.
D. Students from Iran aren’t allowed to have jobs in the U. S.
It was Thanksgiving morning. I was busy preparing the traditional Thanksgiving turkey when the doorbell rang. I opened the front door and saw two small children in rags huddling together on the top step.
“Any old papers, lady?” asked one of them.
I was busy. I wanted to say “no” until I looked down at their feet. They were wearing thin little sandals （凉鞋）, wet with heavy snow.
“Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.”
They walked over and sat down at the table. Their wet sandals left marks upon the floor. I saved them cocoa and bread to fight against the cold outside. Then I went back to the kitchen and started cooking.
The silence in the front room struck me. I looked in. The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady, are you rich?”
“Am I rich? Pity, no!”
I looked at my worn-out slipcovers （椅套）. The girl put her cup back in its saucer （茶碟）carefully and said, “Your cups match your saucers.” They left after that, holding their papers against the wind. They had reminded me that I had so much for which to be grateful.
Plain blue china cups and saucers were only worth five pence. But they matched.
I tasted the potatoes and stirred the meat soup. Potatoes and brown meat soup, a roof over our heads, my man with a regular job, these matched, too.
I moved the chairs back from the fire and cleaned the living room. The muddy marks of little sandals were still wet upon my floor. Let them be for a while, I thought, just in case I should begin to forget how rich I am. The writer let the two children come in and served them well because ______.
| A．she wanted to sell old papers to them |
| B．she wanted to give them some presents |
| C．she showed great pity and care on them |
| D．she wanted to show her thanks to them |
The writer left the muddy marks of little sandals on the floor for a while to _______.
| A．show that she was a kind-hearted lady |
| B．remind her she shouldn’t forget how rich she was |
| C．leave room for readers to think about what being rich is |
| D．call up her memories of the good old days |
It can be inferred from the text that whether you are rich depends on _______.
| A．how much money you have made |
| B．what attitude you have had toward life |
| C．the way you help others |
| D．your social relationship |
A
The old lady got up early to be ready for the post．Although she seldom received letters or parcels，today she was sure there would be something．Myra wouldn’t forget her mother’s birthday, even if she seldom wrote at other times．Of course Myra was busy．Her husband had been made Mayor, and Myra herself had got a medal for her work for the aged．
The old lady was eighty today．She had put on her best dress．Perhaps Myra might come．The old lady was sure of that．Two spots of color brightened her cheeks．She was excited--like a child．She would enjoy her day．
Mrs. Morrison，a social worker，had brought a card and a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast．Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake．The little boy from the ground floor，Johnnie，had been up with a packet of candies，and offered to help her fetch the post．
“I guess you’ll get lots and lots of presents，“he said，I did last week when l was six．”
What would she like ? A pair of slippers，a table lamp，a book or a little clock．So many lovely things．
She stood by the window，watching．The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle．Her heart beat fast．Johnnie had seen him too and ran to the gate．And then he gave her four envelopes．Three were unsealed cards from old friends．The fourth was sealed，in Myra’s writing．
“No parcel，Johnnie?”
“No，granny．”
Maybe the parcel was too large to come by letter post．That was it．It would come later by parcel post．She must be patient．
But disappointment flooded her．She tore the envelope open unwillingly．A cheque fell to the floor like a bird with a broken、wing．Slowly the old lady bent to pick it up．With trembling fingers she tore it into little bits．What kind of work did Myra probably take?
| A．charity | B．paperwork |
| C．accounting | D．education |
What does the underlined word “it” mean?
| A．The reunion time she looked forward to． |
| B．The reason why there was no parcel． |
| C．The birthday gift she wanted most． |
| D．The slowest way to send a gift． |
How is the passage organized?
| A．In order of time． |
| B．In order of space． |
| C．In order of frequency． |
| D．In order of importance． |
The author seems to tell us that ．
| A．there is no love like that of the parent for the child |
| B．to accompany our parents should be the first law of nature |
| C．a mother’s voice is the most beautiful sound in the world |
| D．we never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents |
C
Dear David，
I’m glad you would like to share your feelings with me．It’s hardly surprising that yourfeelings of not being “grown up” have come on strongly at this point in your life，just before you’re about to become a father．You are asking：will I make a good father？How will I cope?
Should I have brought anotherlittle person into the world? Can l provide for it?Help!I thinknearly every sensitive about-to-be-parent must have these occasional feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy(不适)before the birth and it would be most unusual if you didn't share them．It's difficult，honestly，to feel grown-up unless you have something less grown-up to relate to．
The boss with a hen-pecking wife may feel like a seven-year-old when he’s at home．But as he walks through the office door，and knows he’s going to be surrounded by staff looking to him forAdvice，he grows into a fully mature man．And I think it’s a mistake to imagine that we all feel，aswe age，a kind of progression of states，from the baby to the adult．Most people feel，on Tuesday， about three years old，and on a Wednesday，around 80．
There's a common remark that “all men are little boys”，but it's not true．It's more true that men often behave like little boys．But nearly all people，at some moments in their lives，arecapable of groat maturity．
Once your baby arrives，you’ll soon feel less childlike，or rather，less often．When your childtries to put its fingers into the electric plug，the adult in you will rise up to prevent it．You’ll see
you have very little in common with a needy child，particularly if it's looking to you for comfort and support．
Comfort yourself，David，with two truths．One is that your friends laugh when they talk about this subject because they，like you，feel frightened．And remember that people who haven't grown
up don’t go around talking about the fact that they don’t feel grown-up．
Hope my advice will be helpful and good luck to you and your little one．
Yours sincerely，
Miss Advice
According to the passage，Miss Advice thinks David's self-doubt is ．
| A．valuable | B．natural |
| C．unusual | D．bearable |
From Paragraph 2，we can learn that people's sense of maturity ．
| A．will increase with age |
| B．is obviously seen at home |
| C．changes with different situations |
| D．becomes stronger with familiar people |
Miss Advice holds that ．
| A．all men behave like little boys |
| B．people tend to laugh at the subject |
| C．men with a baby feel more grown-up |
| D．people enjoy talking about their immaturity |
Miss Advice wrote the letter to -
| A．offer suggestions to a future father |
| B．teach people how to grow up |
| C．encourage people to be responsible |
| D．solve problems of the less grown-up |
A
A month after Hurricane Katrina，I returned home in New Orleans．There lay my house，reduced to waist-high rains，smelly and dirty．Before the trip，I’d had my car fixed．When the office employee of the garage was writing up the bill．she noticed my Louisiana license plate．“You from New Orleans?”she asked．I said l was，
“No charge．”She said，and firmly shook her head when I reached for my wallet．The next day I went for a haircut，and the same thing happened．
As my wife was studying in Florid，we decided to move there and tried to find a rental house that we could afford while also paying off a mortgage(抵押贷款)on our ruined house．We looked at many places，but none was satisfactory．We’d begun to accept that we’d have to live in extremely reduced circumstances for a while，when I got a very curious e-mail from a James Kennedy in California．He’d read some pieces I’d written about our sufferings forState，an online
magazine and wanted to give us(“noconditions attached”)a new house across the lake from New Orleans．It sounded too good to be true，but I replied，thanking him for his exceptional generosity，that we had no plans to go back．Then a poet of the University of Florida offered to let his house to me while he went to England on his one-year-paid leave．The rent was rather reasonable．Imentioned the poet’s offer to James Kennedy，and the next day he sent a check covering our entire rent for eight months．
Throughout this painful experience，the kindness of strangers backs my faith in humanity．It’s almostworthlosing you worldly possessions to be reminded that people really want to be kind when given a channel．
Which one shows the right time order?
①James Kennedy sent us a check．
②A poet offered his house to us．
③Our home was reduced to ruins．
④The garage employee charged us nothing．
⑤We came back to New Orleans．
| A．④③⑤①② | B．③④⑤②① |
| C．④③⑤②① | D．③④⑤①② |
What do you know about James Kennedy?
| A．He was a friend of the writer． |
| B．He offered the writer a house in California． |
| C．He worked for an online magazine． |
| D．He was concerned about the writer’s sufferings． |
It can be inferred from the passage that ．
| A．The mortgage on the ruined house didn’t needto be paid off |
| B．The house rents in New Orleans were reasonable after the hurricane |
| C．The writer rebuilt his faith in humanity by losing his worldly possessions |
| D．The writer made it through the painful period with people's kindness |
How is the passage developed?
| A．By showing contrasting facts． |
| B．By making classification |
| C．By giving examples． |
| D．By analyzing causes and effects． |
The moral view of violence, labeling it as bad and wrong, has done little to end it. The alternative view is to release our judgments and see violence for what it is: a form of suffering. This is a difficult change for many people. Not only are they in the habit of making knee-jerk(下意识的) judgments, but violent people cause harm, and therefore their suffering seems to deserve less sympathy.
You hurt me, so why should I have sympathy for you? It should be the other way around. Does it take a saint(圣人) to make the change from strong anger to sympathy?
Turning points arrive when we can make a choice not to suffer in silence. We then strike a soul bargain that is fearful but necessary. The bargain is that redemption(解救) is possible through love. The absence of love is absolutely the problem, and love is absolutely the solution. We don’t have to reach into another area to locate the magic power of love that is available to us here and now.
The problem is that love comes through a fallible human being. The rule is constant work on the spiritual path to clear away the obstacles that prevent love from coming through us. The work is much more like working on blocked pipe system than it is like copying a saint.
Hope is the emotion that keeps this dogged work even when results seem to be slow or impossible. Can I love the terrorist who harms my country? Can I love the criminal who wants to harm me? At the level of the soul I already do, and the spiritual path is a means to arrive at that level.
No one is required to leap into sudden sympathy for terrorists, or even to announce publicly that our enemies deserve love. But in our souls each of us harbors the knowledge that only love is going to bring violence to an end. No matter how you and I live our outward lives, our spiritual lives must remain devoted to that vision.Which one is NOT true for moral view of violence?
| A．It thinks violence is bad and wrong. |
| B．It plays an important role in ending violence. |
| C．It is a knee-jerk judgment of people. |
| D．It thinks violent people deserve less sympathy. |
Why should violent people deserve sympathy?
| A．Because we should perform like a saint. |
| B．Because love is absolutely the solution. |
| C．Because our spiritual lives must remain devoted to that vision. |
| D．Because they are first in suffering then choose violence, so they need love. |
What's the meaning "The problem is that love comes through a fallible human being"?
| A．Human being is full of love. |
| B．It is difficult and long way. |
| C．Human being is easy to make friends. |
| D．It's a problem to get love from an imperfect huan being. |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Violence Is Harmful to Us |
| B．Love Can End Violence |
| C．Change Our View of Violence |
| D．Our Soul Needs Purifying |
When Dekalb Walcott III was just 8 years old, his father, a Chicago fire chief, let him tag along on a call. Dekalb says a lot of kids idolized basketball player Michael Jordan when he was growing up in Chicago in the 1990s. Not him.
"I wanted to be like Dekalb Walcott Jr.," he says of his father.
So when his dad asked if he wanted to go on that call with him when he was 8, Dekalb was excited. "I'm jumping up and down, saying, 'Mom, can I go? Can I go?'"
The experience changed Dekalb's life, he tells his dad on a visit to Story Corps. "My eyes got big from the moment the alarm went off." the younger Dekalb says. "This is the life that I want to live someday."
Now 27, the younger Dekalb is living that life. He became a firefighter at 21 and went to work alongside his dad at the Chicago Fire Department. Before his father retired, the pair even went out on a call together—father supervising（监督）son.
"You know, it's everything for me to watch you grow," his father says. But he also recalls worrying about one particular fire that his son faced."
I received a phone call that night. And they said, 'Well, your son was at this fire.' I said, 'OK, which way is this conversation going to go? ' Dekalb Walcott Jr. recalls.
"And they said, 'But he's OK. And he put it out all by himself. Everybody here was proud of him.'
And the word went around, 'Who was out there managing that fire? Oh, that's Walcott! That's Walcott up there!' So, you know, moments like that, it's heaven on Earth for a dad."
Dekalb Walcott Jr. retired in 2009. The younger Dekalb says he's proud of being a second-generation firefighter. "You know, it makes me look forward to fatherhood as well, because I'm definitely looking forward to passing that torch down to my son."The underlined phrase tag along in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．put out fire |
| B．watch basketball |
| C．follow his father |
| D．ask his mother’s permission |
Dekalb Walcott III determined to become a firefighter at the age of _________.
| A．27 | B．21 | C．8 | D．35 |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Dekalb Walcott III wants his son to become a firefighter too. |
| B．Dekalb Walcott Jr. is proud to be a second-generation firefighter. |
| C．Dekalb Walcott Jr. wants to pass the torch to Dekalb Walcott III. |
| D．Dekalb Walcott III is proud that his son has become an excellent firefighter. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Putting Out Fire: A Challenging Job for Father and son |
| B．Passing The Torch: A Firefighter Dad's Legacy |
| C．Dekalb Walcott III: A Second-generation Firefighter |
| D．Dekalb Walcott Jr.: A Chicago Fire Chief |
D
My mom has eyes in the back of her head. She also taught me from an early age to be suspicious of strange men, especially when they give you presents. One day, a “nice man” bearing flowers managed to steal 20 euros from her purse, while she was holding it in her hands. “He said he was collecting for a church charity so I pulled out a euro,” she explains, “He said ‘no, no, that’s too much’ and offered to look in my purse to find a smaller coin. He must have slid out that 20 euro note at the same time. I did not even notice until an hour later. I felt so stupid.”
According to neuroscientists, the key requirement for a successful pickpocket is not having nifty (熟练的) fingers, it’s having a working knowledge of the loopholes (漏洞) in our brain. The most important of these loopholes is the fact that our brains are not set up to multi-task. Most of the time that is a good thing — it allows us to filter (过滤) out all but the most important features of the world around us. But a good trickster can use it to against you. This kind of trick involves capturing all of somebody’s attention with other movements. Street pickpockets often use this effect to their advantage by manufacturing a situation that can not help but overload your attention system. Other strategies are more psychological. Pickpockets tend to hang out a “beware of pickpockets” signs, because the first thing people do when they read it is check they still have their valuables, helpfully giving away where they are. And in my mom’s case, the thief’s best trick was not coming across like a pickpocket. “He was a very nice guy and very confident. Not someone that would cause you to suspect,” she says. Apollo Robbins, a stage pickpocket, said smart move, like moving your hand in an arc (弧) motion rather than a straight line, is another popular strategy employed by tricksters.
At last, it should be pointed out that most thefts are opportunistic. The skill level of most thieves is far less than you think. But they are opportunistic enough to keep up with new technology.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．People’s brains are not designed to multi-task. |
| B．People’s brains can filter out all but the most important features. |
| C．Somebody’s attention can be distracted by a certain trick. |
| D．Somebody’s overload attention system. |
According to the passage, all of the following are pickpocket strategies except _________.
| A．having nifty fingers |
| B．hanging out “beware of pickpockets” sign |
| C．displaying confidence |
| D．moving hand in an arc motion |
In the author’s opinion, _________.
| A．people’s brains have many loopholes |
| B．thieves are more skillful than opportunistic |
| C．his mom’s losing money is nothing but a by-accident experience |
| D．signs reminding people of pickpockets can play a negative role in protecting valuables |
What will the author probably talk about next?
| A．Mom’s another suffering |
| B．Pickpockets concerning new technology |
| C．Pickpockets’ tricks |
| D．Apollo Robbins’ stage pickpockets |
B
My Left Foot (1989)
Imagine being a prisoner of your own body, unable to make any movements except to move your left foot. The main character in My Left Foot, based on the real story of cerebral palsy (大脑性麻痹) sufferer Christy Brown, can barely move his mouth to speak, but by controlling his left foot, he’s able to express himself as an artist and poet. For his moving performance of Brown, Daniel Lewis won his first Academy Award for best actor.
Shine (1996)
Do you have a talent you’re afraid to share with the world? David Helfgott seemed meant from childhood to be “one of the truly great pianists,” but the pressures of performing (and pleasing his father) resulted in a complete breakdown. Ten years in a mental institution didn’t weaken Helfgott’s musical gift: When he was rediscovered, he was playing concertos in a bar. Shine received s even Oscar nominations (提名), and Geoffrey Rush won best actor for his performance of Helfgott. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Nothing’s more powerful than the love between a parent and a child. In this heartbreaking Italian film, a father (Roberto Benigni) makes an unbelievable sacrifice for his 4-year-old son: trapped in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, the Jewish man convinces his boy that they are playing a complicated game. He manages to spare him the horror of the terrible war, and even in his final moments of life, keeps his son smiling and hopeful. Benigni won the best actor Oscar.
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Few people can inspire us more than a good teacher. Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos got Oscar nomination for best actor) is a great one. Employed at a high school where kids are expected to fail, Escalante challenges his math students to struggle for better things, like getting good grades in the AP exam. Despite the obstacles in their lives, the classmates accomplish their goals, thanks to Mr. Escalante’s support. The real Jaime Escalante, the Best Teacher in America, says that Stand and Deliver is “ 90% truth, 10% drama.”
The underlined part in the passage means _________.
| A．The main character in My Left Foot is a prisoner |
| B．The main character in My Left Foot is a disabled person |
| C．The main character in My Left Foot is trapped by others |
| D．The main character in My Left Foot can’t control his whole body |
If you want to watch a movie about wars, which may be one of your choices?
| A．My Left Foot. | B．Life Is Beautiful. |
| C．Shine. | D．Stand and Deliver. |
Jaime Escalante has a talent for _________.
| A．teaching | B．drawing and writing |
| C．making stories | D．playing the piano |
What do the four movies have in common?
| A．They are all based on real stories. |
| B．The main characters all won Academy Award for Best Actor. |
| C．They are all inspiring stories that make a difference. |
| D．The main characters are all sick to some degree but succeed. |
B
People aren’t walking any more--- if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
I felt superior about this matter until the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in any hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune(免疫的), for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as a sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced –and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper exercise. A person who avoids exercise is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And walking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all.
It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world. He cannot learn in a car.
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.What was life like when the author was young?
| A．People usually went around on foot. |
| B．people often walked 25 miles a day |
| C．People used to climb the Statue of Liberty. |
| D．people considered a ten-hour walk as a hardship. |
The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that
| A．middle-aged people like getting back to nature |
| B．walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind |
| C．people need regular exercise to keep fit |
| D．going on foot prevents heart disease |
What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph6?
| A．A queue of cars |
| B．A ray of traffic light |
| C．A flash of lightning |
| D．A stream of people |
What is the author’s intention of writing this passage?
| A．To tell people to reflect more on life. |
| B．To recommend people to give up driving |
| C．To advise people to do outdoor activities |
| D．To encourage people to return to walking |
Here are the comments on CRI (China Radio International) given by people from different countries on the Internet.
| People |
Comments |
| Yingtian Hu Guangzhou, China |
This is the first time that I participate in CRI. And I like it very much. I hope its website will become the most excellent one with the foreign languages. And I choose the important news which I think has a great influence on our society and our lives. In the end, I hope that more and more persons join in CRI and make it perfect! |
| SujanParajuli, Select city, Nepal |
I am both a regular listener of CRI and visitor of its wonderful Website. First of all, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to CRI for its great efforts to keep the listeners up-to-date during the year 2008. We, the listeners, are greatly grateful to CRI for its praise-worthy efforts to quench the thirst of its dear listeners. During the Year 2008, I found all of your programs quite interesting, informative and educational. Once again, thanks a lot for offering lots of information, news, entertainment and many items which have indeed broaden the horizons of our knowledge and understanding as well. |
| Ibrahim Rustamov, Tajikistan |
With CRI, I was impressed by China’s rapid development in all spheres. But I felt so sorry to get to know about the snowstorms in China and Wenchuan earthquake. CRI and CCTV play a great role in introducing China to the world! Kudos! My friends and I wish CRI all the best! |
| Mike Thatcher, London |
My family and I are all keen on Chinese Culture, especially the beautiful Chinese folk music. Various interesting programs by CRI just open a window for us foreigners, through which we can know more about China and have a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Best wishes to CRI! Best wishes to China! |
Which of the following benefits of CRI is NOT mentioned above?
| A．CRI helps to keep its listeners up-to-date. |
| B．CRI helps its listeners to better understand China. |
| C．CRI helps its listeners to practice and improve foreign languages. |
| D．CRI helps its listeners broaden their knowledge with its rich contents. |
The underlined phrase “quench the thirst” refers to _____.
| A．satisfy one’s need |
| B．supply drinks |
| C．take care of |
| D．keep in touch with |
What can be concluded from the four comments?
| A．CRI has a great influence on our society and lives. |
| B．Wonderful though CRI is, there are still many weaknesses. |
| C．CRI plays an important role in introducing the world to China. |
| D．CRI has made great efforts to make itself better and gained popularity. |
My father was always a good gardener. One of my earliest memories is standing without shoes in the freshly tilled(翻耕的) soil, my hands blackened from digging in the ground.
As a child, I loved following Dad around in the garden. I remember Dad pushing the tiller(耕作机) ahead in perfectly straight lines. Dad loved growing all sorts of things: yellow and green onions, watermelons almost as big as me, rows of yellow corn, and our favorite--- red tomatoes.
As I grew into a teenager, I didn’t get so excited about gardening with Dad. Instead of magical land of possibility, it had turned into some kind of prison. As Dad grew older, his love for gardening never disappeared. After all the kids were grown and had started families of their own, Dad turned to gardening like never before. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still took care of his garden.
But then, the cancer, bit by bit, invaded his body. I had to do the things he used to do. What really convinced me that Dad was dying was the state of his garden that year. The rows and rows of multicolored vegetables were gone. Too tired to weed them, he simply let them be.
For the first few years after he died, I couldn’t even bear to look at anyone’s garden without having strong memories pour over me like cold water from a bucket. Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden and started out with just a few tomatoes. That morning, after breaking up a fair amount of soil, something caught the corner of my eye and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, happily playing in the freshly tilled soil.Why did the author like the garden when he was a child?
| A．He wanted to be a garden-crazy like his father. |
| B．He loved being in the garden with his father. |
| C．The garden was full of his favorite food. |
| D．The garden was just freshly tilled. |
When all the kids started their own families, the author’s father _____.
| A．stopped his gardening |
| B．turned to other hobbies |
| C．devoted more to gardening |
| D．focused on planting tomatoes |
What happened to the garden when the author’s father was seriously ill?
| A．There was a great harvest. |
| B．The garden was almost deserted. |
| C．No plant grew in the garden at all. |
| D．The author’s son took charge of the garden. |
Why did the author start his garden with tomatoes?
| A．He wanted to honor his father. |
| B．His son liked the fields of tomatoes. |
| C．He only knew how to grow tomatoes. |
| D．He thought tomatoes were easy to manage. |
When 19-year-old Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation(基金会)，nobody understood what she was talking about .But Sophia knew just how important Make – A –Wish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one of her best friends .We were interested in finding out more, so we went to meet Sophia and listened to what she had to say .
Sophia told us that Make – A –Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980.It’s a charity(慈善机构)that helps children who have got very serious illnesses. Make – A –Wish help children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true,” Sophia explained .
We asked Sophia how Make – A –Wish had first started. She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris ,who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman .Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris’s dream come true ----so, with everybody’s help , Chris, only seven years old at the time ,had been a “policeman” for a day .“ when people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too ,and that was the beginning of Make–A –Wish,” explained Sophia.
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time. A Make-A-Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything
in the world. Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the
wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary, or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.
Sophia found out about Make-A-Wish because her best friend had .
| A．benefited from it | B．volunteered to help it |
| C．dreamed about it | D．told the author about it |
According to Sophia, Make-A-Wish .
| A．is an international charity |
| B．was understood by nobody at first |
| C．raises money for very poor families |
| D．started by drawing the interest of the public |
What is said about Chris in Paragraph3?
| A．He has been a policeman since he was seven. |
| B．He gave people the idea of starting Make-A-Wish |
| C．He wanted people to help make his dream come true. |
| D．He was the first child Make-A-Wish helped after it had been set up. |
Which of the following is true about Make-A-Wish volunteers?
| A．They are important for making wishes come true. |
| B．They try to help children get over their illnesses. |
| C．They visit sick children to make them feel special. |
| D．They provide what is necessary to make Make-A-Wish popular. |
Many people write to newspaper and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are held responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.
“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.
There are people who wish to remain anonymous(匿名的) for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he does not want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.
Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter of responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our own name that we honor what we say.What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?
| A．Writers need to provide their personal information in the game. |
| B．Publication must bear the writer’s full name, address and phone number. |
| C．Writers should be responsible for their names. |
| D．Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say. |
The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may _______.
| A．not get a reply |
| B．help to end a relationship |
| C．be accepted all the same |
| D．become a family problem |
Some people don’t want their names known because they are ________.
| A．hesitant to make a donation |
| B．unwilling to draw public attention |
| C．afraid of an accusation |
| D．ready for involvement |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．honor and writers |
| B．identity and signature |
| C．signature and responsibility |
| D．anonymity and signature |
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