Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, even adults?
They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Films Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln Center. Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.
“What’s really exciting is that it’s film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. “We want to make this a national event,” Ms. Gardner added.
The nine shorts to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B.B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005. “A lot of the material is really mature,” Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group. “The Choice is about the history of a family and Master Anti-Smoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke.” Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’ feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.
The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and full-length film whose title is Pressures.Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival ____.
| A．is organized by a middle school |
| B．is as famous as the Toronto Festival |
| C．shows films made by children |
| D．offers awards to film school students |
Which of the following is true of Wingspan Arts?
| A．It helps young filmmakers to make money. |
| B．It provides arts projects for young people. |
| C．It’s a media arts and leadership-training group. |
| D．It’s a national organization for young people. |
The underlined word “shorts” in Paragraph 4 refers to _____.
| A．short trousers | B．short kids | C．short films | D．short stories |
Movies to shown in the festival ____.
| A．cover different subjects. |
| B．focus on kids’ life |
| C．are produced by Global Action Project |
| D．are directed by Ms. Gardner |
At the end of this film festival, there will be ____.
| A．various awards | B．“red carpet” interviews |
| C．an open reception | D．a concert at Lincoln Center |
A recent Living Social survey showed that Americans may live up to their poor reputation while travelling abroad. But what’s more surprising is that many of those surveyed self-identified themselves as ‘ugly’ Americans and the world’s worst travelers.
Those in the U.S. ranked themselves as the worst travellers by a shocking 20 per cent, followed by 15 per cent saying the Chinese were the most substandard tourists.
Americans topped the list as being the worst-behaved travelers in a survey of 5,600 respondents, 4,000 of whom were Americans. Other respondents were in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. But even American respondents considered their compatriots(同胞) as the worst travelers from a list of 16 nationalities.
Canadians and Australians also put Americans in the No. 1 spot. Irish respondents pointed to U.K. residents and U.K. respondents gave Germans the nod. On the other hand, 37% of Americans opted for "none of the above" in answer to the worst-tourists question, displaying more tolerance and open-mindedness than the other nationalities.
Other survey questions had respondents admitting pilfering from hotels. Four in ten U.S. survey-takers said they’d stolen something – mostly towels (28%) and bathrobes (8%). Other popular pinched items included pillows, remote controls, Bibles and sheets.
Not surprising is that Americans have less time off from work than other nationalities. Americans reported getting 16 days off, compared with 28 days for the Irish, 27 days for Australians, 23 days for U.K. workers; and 21 days for Canadians.
In the travel mishaps department, the most common travel disaster reported by Americans was lost luggage on an airline (21%)； bad weather (21%)； and getting very lost (16%).
As for places Americans most want to see, Disney World and Las Vegas made the top 10, but they weren't at the top of the heap. And New York didn't make the cut.What percentage of American respondents is in the survey?
| A．20 % | B．15% | C．71% | D．37% |
The underlined word “pilfering” in Para. 5 most probably means ________.
| A．taking | B．bringing | C．stealing | D．borrowing. |
According to the survey, what kind of things are most taken away by Americans?
| A．towels and pillows |
| B．bathrobes and remote controls. |
| C．towels and Bibles |
| D．bathrobes and towels. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Chinese were announced as the world’s worst travellers. |
| B．The global worst travellers were announced. |
| C．Disney World is the best destination to Americans. |
| D．European travellers were the best in the world |
Work Your Mind
Here’s something to think about the next time you ask your teacher for help: struggling with schoolwork on your own can help you learn. According to a recent study, the more you struggle while you are learning new information, the better you can remember it later.
This theory might surprise you. When teachers are presenting new information, they often give students lots of help. But a new study shows this may not be the best way to support learning. “Don't be too quick to get help when learning something new,” education expert Manu Kapur told TFK. “Try to work on it yourself even if it means trying different ways.”
Kapur came up with the idea that struggling can lead to better learning. Then he tested it out on students in Singapore. He separated students into two groups. In the first group, students were asked to solve math problems with the teacher’s help. In the second group, students were asked to solve the same problems by helping one another, instead of getting help from the teacher.
With the teacher’s help, students in the first group were able to find the correct answers. Students in the second group did not solve the problems correctly. But they did come up with a lot of good ideas. The students were then tested on what they had learned. The group without any help from a teacher scored much higher than the group who had help. Kapur said working to find the answers helped students understand the process, not just the solution.
Kapur’s advice for kids is to put a lot of effort into learning something new rather than going to your teacher for help. “Simply doing a little work or nothing at all won’t work,” says Kapur. “The struggle needs to be a genuine attempt to figure out or solve a problem in as many ways as possible.”When you have doubt on schoolwork, you’d better ____________.
| A．ask your teacher for help |
| B．make it clear by yourself |
| C．ask your classmates to help you |
| D．ask your parents for help |
What’s Manu Kapur educational idea on learning new knowledge?
| A．Give students much help as soon as possible. |
| B．Let students learn it on themselves in one way. |
| C．Let students learn it by themselves in the same way. |
| D．Let students learn it for themselves in different ways. |
How did Kapur check his idea on better learning?
| A．By asking questions. |
| B．By solving art problems. |
| C．By group comparations. |
| D．By solving science problems. |
What is most important in learning knowledge?
| A．Getting the teacher’s help. |
| B．Getting the student’s help. |
| C．Grasping the learning course. |
| D．Receiving the final solution. |
Sailing Through History
A group of 1,309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated maiden voyage in 1912. Of the 2,227 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died. The ship, which was headed to New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants, who were seeking a better life in America.
Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship, are on the Balmoral. They want to remember the doomed ship and those who died on her first and last voyage. The historic liner had set sail on April 10, 1912, from Southampton. Late at night on April 14, she hit an iceberg. In the early morning hours of April 15, the Titanic sank.
The Balmoral is following Titanic’s original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic’s last port of call before sailing to New York.
Balmoral will then cruise the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg that ripped the ship’s hull(外壳). On Sunday, April 15, at 2:20 a.m.—the time the Titanic went down—passengers and crew will hold a memorial service. The next two days will be spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.
Until today, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there’s a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.How many passengers in Titanic survived at last?
| A．More than 1500. | B．About 1309. | C．About 1000. | D．Less than 750. |
How many countries does the Balmoral reach before sailing to New York?
| A．Two. | B．Three. | C．Four. | D．five. |
The Balmoral will stay in Canada just __________.
| A．in memory of the dead passengers in the Balmoral |
| B．in memory of the survivors in Titanic |
| C．in memory of the dead passengers in Titanic |
| D．in memory of the survivors in the Balmoral |
What might be the most important contribution of sunken Titanic?
| A．Its site attracts more exploring teams. |
| B．It makes the later ships more secure. |
| C．Some of its items are on public display. |
| D．More trips are planned to its wreckage. |
Luggage
We ask you to keep a medium – sized suitcase per person, but a small holdall can also be taken onto the coach.
Seats
Requests for particular seats can be made on most coach breaks（巴士旅游）when booking, but since seats are booked on a first come, first serve basic, early booking is advisable. When bookings are made with us, you will be offered the best seats that are available on the coach at that time.
Travel Documents
When you have paid your deposit(订金) we will send you all the necessary documents, so that you receive them in good time before the coach break leaving date. Certain documents, for example, air or boat tickets, may have to be reserved and your guide will then give them to you during the break.
Special Diets
If you require a special diet, you must inform us at the time of booking with a copy of the diet. This will be told to the hotels on your coach break. The hotels for certain coach breaks are tourist class and they may not have the equipment to deal with special diets. Any extra costs must be paid by yourself before leaving the hotel.
Accommodation (住宿)
On any coach break there are only a limited number of single rooms. When a single room is available, it may be subject to an extra charge and this will be shown on the brochure page.
Entertainment
Some of our hotels arrange extra entertainment which could include music, dancing, films, etc. The nature and frequency of the entertainment presented is decided by the hotel and therefore not guaranteed and could be withdrawn if there is a lack of demand or insufficient numbers in the hotel.If you want to choose certain seats of the coach, you should .
| A．take little luggage |
| B．avoid traveling in holidays |
| C．book your seats well in advance |
| D．arrive early on the leaving date |
What should you do if you need a special diet?
| A．Bring your own food with you. |
| B．Tell the organizer while booking. |
| C．Inform the hotel when you arrive. |
| D．Pay extra money with the booking. |
It may be necessary to pay extra for .
| A．single rooms | B．particular seats |
| C．entertainment | D．hand luggage |
Where is the passage mostly taken from?
| A．A fashion magazine. | B．A business report. |
| C．A legal document. | D．A travel brochure. |
Have you ever intended to be fully absorbed in your work but found yourself distracted by e-mail, the Internet and other things throughout the day? According to the survey made by a famous university in the USA, most people have the experience.
"People often lose their concentration when they are bored, of course, but also when they are engaged in challenging tasks," says Peter Bregman, the head of the survey. "They sometimes have a feeling to escape from what's difficult or boring, so they jump out," he says. The part of the brain devoted to attention is connected to the brain's emotional center. Any strong emotion —quarrels with colleagues, problems at home —can interrupt our attention. Studies over the last decade have shown that too much work to do at a time can easily lead to distraction.
Refocusing is hard for many people. Robert Epstein suggests the following, "Stop and listen to some soft music for a few minutes. Find a good friend or a teacher and say out your matter on your mind. Go for a short walk or take a deep breath, where you breathe in deeply, count to five slowly, hold it and breathe out very slowly." This can "blow out all the tension and the unwanted in your mind to restore your focus."
Take more control by structuring your time and becoming more aware of your behaviors. "Setting the phone alarm to go off every hour is my way of creating awareness," Mr. Bregman says. "You have to inform yourself that you've lost focus in order to do something about it." Starting the day with a to-do list is also important, such as when to eat, when to go to the gym or take a walk. But if it's overly ambitious, you will put yourself in a state of anxiety, which makes it hard for the brain to concentrate. "Choosing three or four things as your priority for the day allows your brain to settle down and focus," he says.According to the passage, which is NOT the reason why some people can be distracted from their work?
| A．They don't want to be devoted to their work. |
| B．They are disturbed by the Internet and other things. |
| C．They can't find interest in their work. |
| D．They feel their work is too hard for them. |
Which incident might NOT interrupt your attention?
| A．You were scolded by your teacher. |
| B．You had words with your good friend. |
| C．You went to school at six as usual. |
| D．Your mother and father had a quarrel. |
What's the meaning of the underlined word "restore" in the passage?
| A．recover | B．reform | C．release | D．react |
According to Robert Epstein, how can we refocus on what we should do?
| A．Listen to rock music for some time. |
| B．Turn to your good friends or teachers for help. |
| C．Run around the playground for some time. |
| D．Take a breath from time to time. |