ThisistheVOASpecialEnglishNews-优题课

Here is the Nine O’clock News：
1. President Absul Krim of Syria says that the danger of war in the Middle East is greater now than for the past two years. His country does not want war，he says，but the Syrian people have waited too long for an end to the troubles with their neighbors. If war comes，says Mr. Krim， Syria will be ready.
2. Ben Kitson，a writer of stories and plays for children，has died at his home in California. Mr. Kitson was 82. His most famous book of stories，“The Gentleman‘s House” sells all over the world，in more than twenty-five languages.
3. Policemen in New York have gone on strike. Their leader Mr. Paul Angeli says that they will return to work only when they receive more money for working long hours and doing what Mr. Angeli calls “the most dangerous job in the city”。
4. It has been a good year on the farm. The warm， wet spring and the fine summer have been very good for all kinds of food plants. This means that fruits and vegetables will cost less in the shops this year.
5. MORE than 1，100 people committed suicide（自杀）in Beijing last year， and experts have been encouraging the capital to set up a mental health care system as soon as possible，local media reported last week. About 20 per cent of the people of Beijing live in unhealthy conditions，with 3 per cent of these suffering from affective disorder and 5 per cent reporting symptoms（症状）of depression，according to the Beijing Mental Health Service Centre.
The Syrian people _______.

A．are ready and waiting for war

B．are ready to wait another two years for war

C．do not want war，but will be ready if it comes

D．are a great danger of peace in the Middle East

Mr. Kitson wrote _______.

A．plays and stories for children

B．82 stories about his home in California

C．in more than twenty-five languages

D．books，and then sold them all over the world

It can be inferred from the third piece of news that _________.

A．policemen in New York hate their dangerous jobs

B．policemen in New York love their important jobs

C．the government will refuse to raise the policemen‘s salary and the policemen will never return to work

D．the government will be forced to raise the policemen‘s salary and the policemen will return to work

As food plants have grown well， _______.

A．fruit and vegetables will be cheaper this year

B．there will be a warm，wet spring and a fine summer

C．food will be cheaper than it was in the spring

D．plants will be cheaper in the shops this year

What is the best title for the last pieces of news？

A．MORE than 1,100 people committed suicide（自杀）in Beijing last year.

B．About 20 per cent of the people of Beijing live in unhealthy conditions.

C．Beijing needs mental health care

D．People living in Beijing suffer a lot.

According to the dictionary definition of ‘create’，ordinary people are creative every day. To create means to bring into being，to cause to exist something each of us does daily. We are creative whenever we look at or think about something in a new way.
First，this includes an awareness（意识）of our surroundings. It means using all of our senses to become aware of our world. This may be as simple as being aware of color and texture（质地），as well as taste， when we plan a meal. Above all，it is the ability to notice things that others might miss.
A second part of creativity is an ability to see relationships among things. If we believe the expression，there is nothing new under the sun，the creativity is remaking or recombining（重组）the old in new ways. For example，we might do this by finding a more effective way to study or a better way to arrange our furniture，or we might make a new combination of camera lenses and filters to create an unusual photograph.
A third part of creativity is the courage and drive to make use of our new ideas，to ask for them to achieve some new results. To think up a new idea is one thing；to put the idea to work is another. These three parts of creativity are included in all the great works of geniuses，but they are also included in many of our daytoday activities.
Which of the following activities is NOT a creative one according to the passage？

A．To prepare for a meal.

B．To arrange the furniture in a special way.

C．To buy some books from a bookstore.

D．To write a letter with the computer.

There is nothing new under the sun really implies that__________.

A．a new thing can only be created at the basis of earliest things

B．a new thing is only a tale

C．we can seldom create new things

D．we can hardly see really new things in the world

What does the author think about the relationship between a new thought and its being put into practice？

A．It's more difficult to create a new thought than to use it in practice.

B．To find a new thought will clearly lead to the production of a new thing.

C．A man with an excellent ability of practice can easily become an inventor.

D．One may come up with a new thought，but can not put it into practice.

When I was a boy，I belonged to the Boy Scouts（童子军），so I used to go camping every summer，and once something happened which I have never been able to explain.
We were camping in a place above a river. After arriving，we all rushed down to the river and had a swim. Standing by the river，we noticed that it was surrounded（环绕）by cliffs（悬崖）。If someone wanted to reach the river at this point，he had to walk past our camp.
Several days later，the scoutmaster had to he away for a day. That afternoon，we had supper early. We were sitting round the fire，eating and talking，when a man walked past and went down towards the river. We all felt that this man looked very strange，but，because each of us was afraid of looking very stupid，no one said anything.
We ate rather slowly，taking as long as possible. After finishing，we collected our plates together so that we could take them to the river where we always washed them. But no one moved towards the river— we stood looking at each other ashamed. Then all shouting at once， we began talking about the man who had walked past us. We agreed how strange he looked and we wondered what he could be doing by the river. We knew that he could only return by passing through our camp.
An hour passed. Then one of the boys suggested we should creep（悄悄移动）down by the river so that we could see what the man was doing. Moving very slowly and keeping in the shadow， we crept down towards the bank. One boy climbed a tree so that he could see everything clearly. He called to us that there was no one there，so we ran down to the bank， looking every-where carefully. We could not understand where the man had gone.
When it got dark，we went back to our camp feeling bewildered. We told the scoutmaster what had happened in the evening. Smiling，he doubted that we had seen the man，but finally suggested we go and look again. We did，but there was no one there.
Many years have passed，but I still remember it as if it were yesterday. What did we see？I do not know.
The writer in the text mainly tells us _________.

A．the story of his childhood	B．a strange camping experience
C．about a stranger by the river	D．about a good place for camping.

Why did the boys eat their supper slowly？

A．They wanted to delay going to the river bank.

B．They were sailing for their scoutmaster.

C．They had a supper earlier than usual.

D．They were taking while eating.

The word “bewildered” in the text probably means _________.

A．ashamed	B．nervous
C．unable to understand	D．eager to know something

The writer still remembers the event because________.

A．the boys acted foolishly

B．the camping place is beautiful

C．there has been no explanation for the event

D．he particularly enjoyed his camping that summer.

Everyone’s at it，even my neighbors. I thought I might be the only person left in the world who hadn't done an eBay deal. So，I decided to try my hand at online auction（网上拍卖）。
Buying for beginners：Sign up on www.ebay.co.uk. Most items（e.g. tables, computers, and books） ready for auction will come with a picture and a short description；others may be marked with "Buy It Now" and have a fixed price. You can buy these right away.
If the item is being auctioned，you offer the highest price you are prepared to pay and eBay bids（出价）for you. The bid will be increased little by little until it goes beyond your highest bid，then you are emailed and asked if you would like to bid again. Auctions last up to 10 days and when they finish you get an email telling you whether you have won the item.
How to pay： Sellers decide how they would like to be paid and you need to check this before placing a bid as you might not want to post a cheque or postal orders. The easiest way is through PayPal，an online payment system that takes the money away from your credit card （信用卡）。
Selling made simple：If you plan to sell on eBay，it helps to include a picture of the item. I followed my friends' advice and put up the items I wanted to sell for a 10-day auction，starting on a Thursday. This way, buyers had two weekends to bid.
The big things in life：It' s easy to post a small item，but furniture is a big part of eBay and this has to be collected or sent by deliverymen (邮递员). Check the ways of delivery before you bid.
What is the passage mainly about？

A．How to make payment online.

B．Ways of making delivery online

C．Advantages of an online-auction system.

D．How to use an online-auct

ion system.

After bidding for an item，a buyer______

A．will get what he wants in ten days

B．should make payment immediately

C．has chances to make higher bids

D．may check its picture and description

The easiest way of making payment mentioned in the passage is______

A．through an online payment system

B．through a local banking system

C．by sending the money to the seller

D．by paying the deliveryman directly

The 2012 London Olympics had enough problems to worry about. But one more has just been added --- a communications blackout caused by solar storms.
After a period of calm within the Sun, scientists have detected the signs of a fresh cycle of sunspots that could peak in 2012, just in time for the arrival of the Olympic torch in London.
Now scientists believe that this peak could result in vast solar explosions that could throw billions of tons of charged matter towards the Earth, causing strong solar storms that could jam the telecommunications (通信) satellites and interact links sending five Olympic broadcast from London.
“The Sun’s activity has a strong influence on the Earth. The Olympics could be in the middle of the next solar maximum which could affect the functions of communications satellites,” said Professor Richard Harrison, head of space physics at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.
At the peak of the cycle, violent outbursts called coronal mass ejections (日冕物质抛射) occur in the Sun’s atmosphere, throwing out great quantities of electrically-charged (带电) matter. “A coronal mass ejection can carry a billion tons of solar material into space at over a million kilometers per hour. Such events can expose astronauts to a deadly amount, can disable satellites, cause power failures on Earth and disturb communications,” Professor Harrison added. The risk is greatest during a solar maximum when there is the greatest number of sunspots.
Next week in America, NASA is scheduled to launch a satellite for monitoring solar activity called the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which will take images of the Sun that are 10 times clearer than the most advanced televisions available.
The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory helped to make the high-tech cameras that will capture images of the solar flares (太阳耀斑) and explosions as they occur.
Professor Richard Holdaway, the lab’s director, said that the SDO should be able to provide early warning of a solar flare or explosion big enough to affect satellite communications on Earth “If we have advance warning, we’ll be able to reduce the damage. What you don’t want is things switching off for a week with no idea of what’s caused the problem,” he said.

The phrase underlined part in paragraph one most probably refers to _______ during the 2012 Olympics.

A．the state of the Olympic torch being put out

B．the failure of broadcasting systems

C．the transportation breakdown in London

D．the destruction of weather satellites

What can be inferred about the solar activity described in the passage?

A．The most deadly matter from the corona falls onto Earth.

B．The solar storm peak occurs in the middle of each cycle.

C．It takes several seconds for the charged matter to reach Earth.

D．The number of sunspots decreases after coronal mass ejections.

Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A．Solar Storms: An Invisible Killer

B．Solar Storms: Earth Environment in Danger

C．Solar Storms: Threatening the Human Race

D．

Solar Storms: Human Activities to Be Troubled