第二节: Alan等5个语言学习者都想借助于计算机辅助学习来提高语言水平。下面是六个最新开发的语言辅助学习软件。请阅读不同学习者的特点与要求和六个学习软件的相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。注意，其中有一项是多余的。
61. Alan is an English teacher in a high school. He intends to develop his career by improving his languages skills, especially his oral English. Besides, he wants to learn some other languages so that he will have less difficulty in communicating with local people when he travels in Europe this summer.
62. Jennifer, a little school girl, finds English words difficult to remember. She is good at drawing as well as dancing. She is fond of listening to stories and telling stories. Her parents are trying to find all interesting ways to aid her English study.
63. Bob has a girlfriend teaching English at a language center. He always finds they have had little time to be together because his girlfriend is always occupied with her work. He is determined to find all effective teaching tools to lighten her burden from her work.
64. Jack, a businessman, usually writes e-mails to his business partners around the world. But he is often confused when choosing the proper words in his writing. He needs a dictionary to be installed into the computer so that it can be convenient for him to find the exact meaning of a word. He also hopes to enlarge his vocabulary by doing exercises in the computer when he is free.
65. Tom, a school boy, lost his interest in English because he wastes too much time playing computer games and reading science fiction. His teacher finds vocabulary is a big problem to him. So his parents are wondering how they can help improve his English as well as develop his interest in the subject.
Oxford phrasebuilder Genie
The phrasebuilder Genie sits on top of your word processor while you are writing or on top of a webpage you are reading. When you come across a word you are not sure of, you click on it and the meanings will appear in the Genie, taken from the Advanced Learner’s dictionary. There’s a lot more too; there is a massive exercise bank of over 4,000 exercises drawn from the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, which is excellent for vocabulary development. The program also includes study pages which can be printed out and photocopied.
Word Invaders
In this version, the aliens (外星人) are in the form of words, which come down towards you in groups of four, in a line. Three of them are similar, one is either different, or incorrect English. If you choose correctly, you gain points; if you choose incorrectly, you lose them. There are six levels, from Beginner to Advanced, and five different sections to overcome. The program has a word store of 2,400 different vocabulary items.
Vocabulary Builder
Using Vocabulary Builder is a fun way for young children to learn basic vocabulary. The program combines pictures, text and sound to make an interactive flash card system which teachers can use to help in basic language teaching. Students can choose whether to learn vocabulary, play vocabulary games or record their own story using the vocabulary they’ve learned.
Beat the Clock
The name says it all! This is a game designed to boost students’ vocabulary levels by giving a definition (定义) of a word, which they must type in the box. However, they don’t have time to sit and think forever about the word, because they are playing against the clock. They will get a high score only if they can guess the word quickly. The program is divided into six levels, from beginner to advanced, and tests all parts of English vocabulary.
Exercise Generator
The generator is for busy teachers who want to produce really professional-looking, paper-based reading and vocabulary activities, tests, homework and exam practice material for their students. It enables you to do it in minutes! It’s also an extremely fast and economical way of building a resource for a library or self access centre.
Tell Me More Pro
Tell Me More Pro, covers key areas of English and a range of other languages including Spanish and German. The program involves oral and written expressions, comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. From the menu, students can choose the lesson in which they want to work and then pick them from a variety of activities.
Music has long been considered to be an enjoyable pastime for many people． 35 The mental health benefits from music can't be argued．Music could also be helping you with many other health problems behind the scenes．
36 However, for the same reason, music can be very beneficial if one is in pain．By distracting （分心） the mind from the pain, music, people say, can lower stress and anxiety levels．This, of course, can lead to less pain．
Many people enjoy relaxing music in the evening prior to going to bed． 37 While the validity of the idea is still being assessed，the lowered stress can even be tied back to blood pressure．Similarly, according to researchers，listening to just 30 minutes of soft music every day may help with healthy blood sugar levels， through the lowering of stress and anxiety．
When it comes to heart health，there is speculation （推测） that it's not the style of music， but rather the tempo that makes it so good for your heart health．In one European study，participants listened to music as the researchers monitored their heart rates and blood pressure． 38 On the other hand，when the music slowed，the participants' stress and anxiety levels became lower and the effects on heart rates appeared to follow suit．
39 But there is a whole range of other health issues that turning up the radio could be beneficial for，which is what makes music so valuable．
| A． |
This feeling can also result in many other health problems． |
| B． |
Some experts say that music can be harmful if it is too loud． |
| C． |
This idea is a little off-the-wall but still has scientific backing． |
| D． |
They say it can play a big role in calming the brain enough to sleep． |
| E． |
The implications of music on overall well-being are really impressive． |
| F． |
It is also highly popular due to the individualized effects on stress and anxiety． |
| G． |
Interestingly，the more cheerful the music was，the faster their heart rates were． |
|
A． The format of magazines enables children to be exposed to a wide variety of subjects． B． Magazines and newspapers provide adults with critical news． C． Being exposed to magazines and newspapers benefits you a lot． D． Keep interesting magazine pictures to give children story ideas． E． Magazines are valuable assets for many people， but in particular to children． F． Magazines and newspapers are expensive now but out of style． |
Magazine Articles： More Valuable Than You May Think
Parents are often surprised when teachers suggest their children read magazines． Read on to learn about the benefits that reading magazines offers to young readers and how to introduce your children to the medium．
Magazine Benefits
Magazine articles can provide reluctant readers with a lively， breezy writing style that can inspire them to read more．
The articles in magazines are generally short， which allows a child to finish reading a feature article without losing interest due to a short attention span． The writing in magazines also tends to be easy to read， especially if it is a children's publication．
By allowing your child to read magazines at an early age， you are encouraging development of a useful skill．（1） Getting into the habit of reading periodicals as a child will foster the habit of reading news articles that may continue into adulthood．
（2） Magazine articles challenge students to think about issues they may have never considered or cause them to rethink their world view． Information is available in a wide variety of reading levels because magazines are written for every audience imaginable． Many publications cover the same material in different writing styles that might make it easier for your child to comprehend．
Magazine Activities
Reading magazines as a family can be used to introduce each other to the various interests that each family member possesses． When your children are finished with their magazines， encourage them to pass their issue on to a sibling or other family member．
Once each family member has finished reading each magazine， you can use them for art and writing projects． These projects are for family members of all ages：
1． Cut out pictures to help your preschool and kindergarten children learn their alphabet， numbers， and colors．
2． （3） Paste the picture at the top of a page and have them write a story about what is happening or what the picture represents．
3． Clip pictures to create a collage． Many teenagers love using their artistic talents to collage．
（4） The skills that students utilize and strengthen when reading magazines can be applied to higher level reading and other academic subjects． Encouraging your child to read by giving them a magazine subscription could cause them to take the leap from being a reluctant reader to a voracious page﹣turner．
|
A． committed B． compared C． contact D． delegation E． destructive F． humbleG． negotiate H． respelled I． similarityJ． superiors K． witnessed |
Some Very "American" Words Come from Chinese
Many of the Chinese words that are now part of English were borrowed long ago． They are most often from Cantonese （粤语） or other Chinese languages rather than Mandarin． Let's start with them．
kowtow
The English word kowtow is a verb that means to agree too easily to do what someone else wants you to do， or to obey someone with power in a way that seems （1） ． It comes from the Cantonese word kau tau， which means "knock your head"． It refers to the act of kneeling and lowering one's head as a sign of respect to （2） such as emperors， elders and leaders． In the case of emperors， the act required the person to touch their head to the ground． Britain's Lord George Macartney refused to "kau tau" to the Qianlong Emperor． Soon after， the English word "kowtow" was born． In 1793， Britain's King George III sent Lord George Macartney and other trade ambassadors to China to （3） a trade agreement． The Chinese asked them to kowtow to the Qianlong Emperor． As the story goes， Lord Macartney refused for his （4） to do more than bend their knees． He said that was all they were required to do for their own king．
It is not surprising， then， that Macartney left China without negotiating the trade agreement． After that， critics used the word kowtow when anyone was too submissive to China． Today， the usage has no connection to China， nor any specific political connection．
gung﹣ho
Another borrowed word that came about through （5） between two nations is gung﹣ho． In English， the word gung﹣ho is an adjective that means extremely excited about doing something． The Chinese characters "gong" and "he" together mean "work together， cooperate．" The original term gongyehezuoshe means Chinese Industrial Cooperatives． The organizations were established in the 1930s by Westerners in China to promote industrial and economic development． Lt． Colonel Evans Carlson of the United States Marine Corps observed these cooperatives while he was in China． He was impressed， saying "…all the soldiers （6） themselves to one idea and worked together to put that idea over．" He then began using the term gung﹣ho in the Marine Corps to try to create the same spirit he had （7） ． In 1942， he used the word as a training slogan for the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion during World War II． The men were often called the "Gung Ho Battalion．" From then， the word gung﹣ho spread as a slogan throughout the Marine Corps． Today， its meaning has no relation to the military．
typhoon
In English， a typhoon is a very powerful and （8） storm that occurs around the China Sea and in the South Pacific． The word history of typhoon had a far less direct path to the English language than gung﹣ho． And not all historical accounts are the same． But， according to the Merriam﹣webster New Book of Word Histories， the first typhoons reported in the English language were in India and were called "touffons" or "tufans．" The word tufan or al﹣tufan is Arabic and means violent storm or flood． The English came across this word in India and borrowed it as touffon． Later， when English ships encountered violent storms in the China Sea， Englishmen learned the Cantonese word tai fung， which means "great wind．" The word's （9） to touffon is only by chance． The modern form of the word typhoon was influenced by the Cantonese but （10） to make it appear more Greek．
|
A． Clear solutions already exist for reducing greenhouse gas emissions． B． Despite this， how our dietary choices affect climate change is often underestimated． C． Food， especially livestock， also lakes up a lot of room D． In developed countries， vegetarianism would bring all sorts of environmental and health benefits． E． No matter how much their carnivorous friends might deny it， vegetarians have a point： cutting out meat delivers multiple benefits． F． Though a relatively small increase in agricultural land， this would more than make up for the loss of meat． |
W hat would happen if the world suddenly went vegetarian？
People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons． Some do it to make animal suffering， others because they want to pursue a healthier lifestyle． Still others are fans of sustainability or wish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions． （1） And the more who make the switch， the more those perks would manifest on a global scale．
Jarvis and other experts at Colombia's International Centre for Tropical Agriculture carried out researches to see what might happen if meat dropped off the planet's menu overnight．
First they examined climate change． Food production accounts for one﹣quarter to one﹣third of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activities worldwide， and the worst of responsibility for those numbers falls to the livestock industry． （2） In the US， for example， an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases because of the meat they eat than from driving two cars but it is cars， not steaks， that regularly come up in discussions about global warming．
（3） Of the world's approximately 12 billion acres of agricultural land， 68% is used for livestock． Should we all go vegetarian， ideally we would give at least 80% of that pastureland （牧场） to the restoration of grasslands and forests， which would capture carbon and further alleviate climate change．
The remaining 10 to 20% of former pastureland could be used for growing more crops to fill gaps in the food supply．（4） That's because one﹣third of the land currently used for crops is dedicated to producing food for livestock not for humans．
|
A． suspected B． fortunately C． invasions D． inevitable E． accustomed F． unreliable G． features H． acknowledged I． inclusion J． transferred K． instantly |
The iPhone X， Apple's new smart phone， is equipped with facial recognition． （1） ， its scanner can unlock the system． It requires no buttons to be pressed， being always ready to read your face． Android users can expect similar （2） as well．
For the millions of people who will soon depend on facial recognition to check their email， send a text or make a call， it will be quick， easy and pretty "cool" to use． However， as we grow （3） to the technology， we cannot become numb to the problems that come with it．
Facial recognition is already used everywhere． In China， police use the technology to identify people who jaywalk （乱穿马路）． In the United State， more than half of all adults are in a facial recognition database that can be used for criminal investigation． Governments， however， are not the only users of facial recognition． Retailers （零售商） use the technology in their stores to identify （4） shoplifters． One social media app in Russia allows strangers to find out who you are just by taking a photo of you．
However， different users of facial recognition produce different levels of accuracy． Camera distance， lighting， facial pose all affect the accuracy． Officials at the New York Police Department， for example， have （5） at least five misidentifications by their facial recognition system． If the iPhone's new system is similarly （6） ， no one will consider it to be acceptable security for our personal information． （7） ， it probably won't be． But for many of the systems elsewhere， mistakes and （8） of privacy might be unavoidable．
As the smart phone of choice for many users， the iPhone's （9） of facial recognition may encourage consumers to accept the technology elsewhere． However， even as we choose to explore the convenience facial recognition might offer， we should also be suspicious of the many ways it can be used． Facial recognition may well be （10） ． Its risks need not be!