On October 19, 1959, the first Special English program was broadcast on the Voice of America. It was an experiment. The goal was to communicate by radio in clear and simple English with people whose native language is not English. Experts said the goal was admirable, but the method would not work. They were proved wrong. The Special English programs quickly became some of the most popular on VOA. And they still are.
Forty years later, Special English continues to communicate with people who are not fluent in English. But during the years its role has expanded. It also helps people learn American English. An
d it provides listeners, even those who are native English speakers, with information they cannot find elsewhere.
Today, Special English broadcasts around the world seven days a week, five times a day. Each half-hour broadcast begins with ten minutes of the latest news followed by 20 minutes of feature programming. There is a different short feature every weekday about science, development, agriculture and environment, and on the weekend, about news events and American idioms.
Three elements make Special English unique. It has a limited vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science. Special English is written in short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. No idioms are used. And Special English is spoken at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of Standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are English speakers understand complex subjects.
Through the years, Special English has become a very popular tool for teaching English, even though it was not designed as teaching program. It succeeds in helping people learn English in a non-traditional way. Individuals record the programs and play them over and over to practice their listening skills. In countries around the world, English teachers assign Special English to their students. They praise it for improving their students' ability to understand American English and for the content of the programs. Universities and private companies in many countries produce packages of Special English materials for student use.At the beginning, Special English program was .
| A．well received |
| B．rejected by native people |
| C．doubted by some professionals |
| D．intended for teaching English |
What kind of English is spoken on Special English?
| A．British English. |
| B．American English. |
| C．Both British and American English. |
| D．Not certain. |
Which of the following are the elements that make Special English unique?
a．limited vocabulary
b．short simple sentences
b．good communication method
d．slow speed
e．interesting feature programming
| A．a, b, c | B．a, c, d | C．a, b, d | D．b, d, e |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．Special English has been founded for less than 50 years. |
| B．Native English speakers don’t have a great affection for Special English. |
| C．Special English usually starts with 20 minutes of the latest news. |
| D．People can learn some idioms from Special English. |
From the last paragraph we can infer that .
| A．listening to Special English can be a student’s homework |
| B．listening to Special English can improve the content of the program |
| C．some student record the Special English material for sale |
| D．learning English from VOA is a traditional way for English learner. |
For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people fro one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest(征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured(忍受). The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow windows of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
Then there is the time spent being "processed" at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being "processed" at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday-maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and the limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people’s lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing –or so we are told. . Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today.
They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1 ?
| A．Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages. |
| B．The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short. |
| C．The freedom of has helped people realize their dreams. |
| D．Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place. |
How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph 2 ?
| A．By giving instructions. |
| B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By following the order of time. |
| D．By giving example. |
According to Paragraph 3, passengers are turning back to modern high-speed trains because__________.
| A．they pay less for the tickets |
| B．they feel safer during the travel |
| C．they can enjoy higher speed of travel |
| D．they don’t have to waste time being “processed” |
What does the last sentence of the passenger mean?
| A．They could enjoy free and relaxing travel. |
| B．They needed the clock to tell the time. |
| C．They preferred traveling on horseback. |
| D．They could travel with their master. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Air travel benefits people and industries. |
| B．Train travel has some advantages over air travel. |
| C．Great changes have taken place in modern travel. |
| D．The high speed of air travel is gained at a cost. |
San Francisco has its cable cars. Seattle has its Space Needle. And. Longview has its squirrel bridge. The bridge, which has attracted international attention, is now a local landmark.
The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy road without getting flattened by passing cars.
The original bridge was built over Olympia Way on the west edge of the library grounds. Before the bridge was built, squirrels had to avoid traffic to and from the Park Plaza office building where office staff put out a nutty feast for the squirrels. Many times，Peters and others who worked in and near Park Plaza witnessed squirrels being run over.
One day Peters found a dead squirrel with a nut still in its mouth, and that day's coffee break discussion turned into squirrel safety. The group of businessmen cooked up the squirrel bridge idea and formed a committee to ask the blessing of the City Council(市政会). The Council approved, and councilwoman Bess LaRiviere jokingly named the bridge "Nutty Narrows".
After architects designed the bridge, Amos Peters and Bill Hutch started Construction. They built the 60-foot bridge from aluminum and lengths of fire hose(消防水带). It cost $l,000.
It didn't take long before reports of squirrel, using the bridge started. Squirrels were even seen guiding their young and teaching them the ropes. The story was picked up by the media, and Nutty Narrows became known in newspapers all over the world
In 1983, after 20 years of use, Peters took down the worn-out bridge. Repairs were made and cross-pieces were replaced. The faded sign was repainted and in July 1983, hundreds of animal lovers attended the completion ceremony of the new bridge.
Peters died in l084, and a ten-foot wooden squirrel sculpture was placed near the bridge in memory of its builder and his devotion to the project.The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in order to______.
| A．offer squirrels a place to cat nuts |
| B．set up a local landmark |
| C．help improve traffic |
| D．protect squirrels |
What happened over the coffee break discussion?
| A．The committee got the Council's blessing |
| B．The squirrel bridge idea was born |
| C．A councilwoman named the bridge. |
| D．A squirrel was found dead |
What does the underlined phrase “teaching them the ropes” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?
| A．Passing them a rope. |
| B．Directing them to store food for winter. |
| C．Teaching them a lesson. |
| D．Showing them how to use the bridge. |
Which of the following is TRUE of the squirrel bridge?
| A．It was replaced by a longer one. . |
| B．It was built from wood and metal. |
| C．It was rebuilt after years of use. . |
| D．It was designed by Bill Hutch. |
What can we learn about Amos Peters?
| A．He is remembered for his love of animals. |
| B．He donated $ l,000 to build the bridge. |
| C．He was a member of the City Council. |
| D．He was awarded a medal for building the bridge. |
Wugging, or web use giving, describes the act of giving to charity at no cost to the user. By using Everyclick.com, which is being added to a number of university computers across the UK, students can raise money every time they search, but it won’t cost them a penny.
Research shows that students are extremely passionate about supporting charity — 88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity. This age group is often the least likely to have their own income. 19% of 22 to 24 year olds have short-term debts of more than £5,000. With rising personal debt levels in this age group, due to university tuition fees or personal loans and a lack of long-term savings, traditional methods of donating to charity are often not appealing (有感染力的) or possible.
Beth Truman, a 21 year old recent university graduate, has used Everyclick.com to donate to her chosen charity, the RSPCA, for two years and has seen the “wugging” movement grow in popularity with students. “When you’re at university you become more socially aware, but it’s sometimes hard to give to others when you have little money yourself,” says Beth. “Wugging is great for people in this age group as it allows them to use the technology on a daily basis to give to charity, without costing them a single penny.”
Wugging is perfect for people who want to be more socially aware and supportive but don’t feel they have the means to do so. Students using the web can raise money for causes they care about without costing them anything in terms of time or money, and charities get a valuable source of funding.
Everyclick.com works like any other search engine, allowing users to search for information, news and images but users can decide which of the UK’s 170,000 charities they would like to support through their clicks. Everyclick.com then makes monthly payments to every registered charity. Launched in June 2005, Everyclick.com is now the eighth largest search engine and one of the busiest charity websites in the UK.According to the passage, “wugging” is actually ______.
| A．a website |
| B．a charity-related action |
| C．a school organization |
| D．a student movement |
In the case of charity, Everyclick.com ______.
| A．frees students of the financial worries |
| B．receives much money from students |
| C．offers valuable information to students |
| D．praises students for their money-raising |
What does Beth Truman think of the “wugging” movement?
| A．It makes Everyclick.com popular in the UK. |
| B．It becomes easy to do charity because of it. |
| C．It results in students’ more social awareness. |
| D．It helps students to save money. |
From the passage, we can conclude that ______.
| A．most full time students do charity on the Internet every day |
| B．Everyclick.com helps students pay for the college education |
| C．“wugging” is a win-win idea for both students and charities |
| D．Everyclick.com is the most successful search engine in the UK |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．“Wugging”,a new popular term on the Internet. |
| B．British people show strong interest in charity. |
| C．More Britain charities benefit from the Internet. |
| D．Students raise money for charity by “wugging”. |
"The noise made by boats of whale-watching tourists may be causing communication problems for the animals," British researchers said last week.
Whale watching is a popular tourist activity in places where groups of killer whales (虎鲸) live. Every day, dozens of boats filled with tourists go to watch the beautiful animal. Unfortunately, the engines of the boats make a lot of noise, and that may be causing problems for the whales, according to a report in the US science magazine Nature .
The whales travel in groups, and communicate with each other through sonic (声波的) calls that some scientists refer to as singing. The sounds of the boat engines may be creating too much background noise for the whales to be able to hear each other.
The researchers listened to recordings of whale calls made between 15 and 25 years ago, before whale-watching became popular. These were compared to more recent recordings.
They found that the animals have started to sing for longer than they used to, like a person shouting to a friend across a noisy room.
It is believed that the whales are trying to communicate hunting or breeding(繁殖) information. Scientists said that, "if this is prevented, the future of the world's whale population could be in danger."
"Animals became slow in mind and repeat themselves in noisy areas," said Volker Deecke, a Canadian biologist. "They have to say things twice or three times in order to be understood.”
The killer whales studied were living off the coast of northwestern America. The number of killer whales in this area has been falling for several years, but scientists are not sure why.The passage mainly tells us______.
| A．The problems of whale-watching |
| B．how killer whales communicate with each other |
| C．the reduced population of killer whales caused by whale-watching |
| D．hearing problems of the killer whales caused by whale watching. |
Now in a noisy background, the killer whales have to__________.
| A．sing in a louder voice |
| B．sing longer |
| C．travel in smaller groups |
| D．get nearer to each other |
Scientists believe that killer whales sing to_______.
| A．warn each other of dangers |
| B．keep in the same group |
| C．send useful information |
| D．enjoy themselves |
From the passage, we can feel that the author is_______.
| A．angry |
| B．hopeful |
| C．worried |
| D．disappointed |
Which of the following is the possible result of whale-watching?
| A．Fewer fish in the ocean. |
| B．Misunderstanding between the whales. |
| C．Reduced number of the whales in the area. |
| D．Serious water pollution along the coast. |
Jacqueline Bouvier Rennedy OnassIis was one of the most private women in the world, yet when she went to work as an editor in the last two decades of her life, she revealed(展现) herself as she did nowhere else.
After the death of her second husband, Greek shipping magnate (巨头 ) Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline's close friend and former While House social secretary Letitia Baldrige made a suggestion that she consider a career(职业) in publishing. After consideration, Jacqueline accepted it. Perhaps she hoped to find there some ideas about how to live her own life .She became not less but more interested in reading. For the last 20 years of her life, Jacqueline worked as a publisher's editor, first at Viking, then at Doubleday, pursuing (迫求 ) a late-life career longer than her two marriages combined. During her time in publishing, she was responsible for managing and editing more than 100 successfully marketed books. Among the first books were in the Russian Style and Inventive Paris Clothes. She also succeeded in persuading TV hosts Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell to transform their popular television conversations into a book, The Power of Myth. The book went on to become an international best-seller. She dealt, too, with Michael Jackson as he prepared his autobiography(自传)，Moonwalk.
Jacqueline may have been hired for her name and for her social relations , but she soon proved her worth. Her choices, suggestions and widespread social relations were of benefit both to the publishing firms and to Jacqueline herself. In the books she selected for publication, she built on a lifetime of spending time by herself as a reader and left a record of the growth of her mind. Her books are the autobiography she never wrote, Her role as First Lady, in the end, was overshadowed by her performance as an editor. However, few knew that she had achieved so much. We can learn from the passage that Jacqueline________.
| A．became fond of reading after working as an editor |
| B．was in charge of publishing 100 books |
| C．promoted her books through social relations |
| D．gained a lot from her career as an editor |
The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means that______.
| A．Jacqueline ended up as an editor rather than as First Lady |
| B．Jacqueline’s life as First Lady was more colorful than as an editor |
| C．Jacqueline was more successful as an editor than as First Lady |
| D．Jacqueline’s role as First Lady was more brilliant than as an editor |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Jacqueline’s two marriages lasted more than 20 years |
| B．Jacqueline’s own publishing firm was set up eventually |
| C．Jacqueline’s view and beliefs were reflected in the books she editor. |
| D．Jacqueline’s achievements were widely known |
The passage is mainly______.
| A．an introduction of Jacqueline’s life both as First Lady and as an editor |
| B．a brief description of Jacqueline’s lifelong experiences |
| C．a brief account of Jacqueline’s career as an editor in her last 20 years |
| D．an analysis of Jacqueline’s social relations in publishing |