I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled. I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket．
I stood watching her, speechless. What on earth… ?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room – if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control. ” With that, she left the room．
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly． We can infer from the passage that ________．
| A．the secretary didn’t care about the writer |
| B．the writer was bad-tempered |
| C．the agent was not responsible for his own work |
| D．the wife of the writer was not sensible |
Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was angry with his agent． |
| B．He was mad at the telephone． |
| C．He was impatient with the secretary． |
| D．He was anxious about his wife． |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She was speechless． |
| B．She threw the phone away． |
| C．She shouted at him． |
| D．She called the agent in person and scolded him． |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His changeable feelings． | B．His wife’s suggestion． |
| C．His own behavior． | D．His wife’s sweet kiss． |
What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?
| A．Smart words | B．Anxious feelings |
| C．Surprising looks | D．Unusual actions |
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.
A
Two workers was rescued 188 hours after they trapped in a coal mine collapse(倒塌)in the south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region The two were among 18 miners trapped after the mine, collapsed midday on July 2 because of days of heavy rain.
A total of 71 miners were working underground when the accident occurred on July 2---49 managed to escape. Rescuers have got eight bodies so far.
Ye Fangyong, commander of the rescue headquarters, said that the place where the survi- vors were found was at 320 meters underground. It was filled with mud after the collapse, but there was still room for fresh air. He said three more miners trapped at a work platform390 meters underground may survive because the place also have some space for fresh air.
Rescuers had believed that four other miners would be found with the rescued two, but the chances of the remaining 12 being found alive are not good due to the conditions in the mine.
However, the rescuers have not given up. They are using scientific measures such as a water-proof radar device(裟置)to help find the exact locations of trapped workers. Moreover, rescuers have been offered 2 million yuan for each miner they pull out alive.
The two survivors have been identified a) 41-year-old Liu Jiagan and 35-year-old Qin Hongdang. They are in safe condition.
Before they were rushed to Heshan People's Hospital for treatment, they told rescuers in weak voices that they survived under the mine by drinking spring water that seeped(渗漏) through the top of the shaft(矿井).The local mine coal accident was probably reported on.
| A．July8 | B．Julylo | C．July2 | D．July3 |
What caused the coal mine break down?
| A．Workers abnormal xvc}rking |
| B．Typhoonn. |
| C．Days of heavy rajp |
| D．Shock of the ca:thquake |
According to the passage,th. e rrmPrs could be alive unaerground if .
| A．there is some space for fresh air |
| B．they are equippeci with water-proof raciar device |
| C．they drink enough water |
| D．there is enough food |
Which of the following is TRUE accoraing to the passage?
| A．Scientific measures are used to help rescue the trapped workers. |
| B．Each miners being pulled out alive will be offered 2 miliion yuan. |
| C．Officials offered to give the continuing rescuers higher rank |
| D．Water-proof radar- will be puf down to give light. |
E
People talk about energy everywhere．Green energy, for example．Then, energy independence．It has a nice ring to it．Doesn' t it? If you think so, you' re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession（经济衰退）．
"Energy independence" and its rhetorical （修辞的） companion "energy security" are, however, unreliable concepts that are rarely thought through．What is it that we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil．But there are reasons that we buy all that oil from elsewhere．
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running．Yes, there is a trickle （ 涓涓细流） ）of biofuel （ 生物燃料 ）available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction．
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don't really want to produce all their own oil．They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad．Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection．To what extent are Americans really willing to tolerate the environmental influence of domestic（国内的） energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade．It allows for eoonomic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs t1i;m we do, we benefit．And although you don't read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries．
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to keep its economy stable．When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices．At the same time, we get massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world．What does the author say about energy independence for America?
| A．It sounds very attractive． |
| B．It ensures national security． |
| C．It will bring oil prices down． |
| D．It will protect the environment． |
Why does America rely heavily on oil imports?
| A．It wants to expand its storage of raw oil． |
| B．Its own oil reserves are quickly running out． |
| C．Its own oil production falls short of demand． |
| D．It wants to keep its own environment untouched． |
What does the author say about oil trade?
| A．It improves economic efficiency． |
| B．It makes for economic recession． |
| C．It brings benefit only to the sellers． |
| D．It saves the cost of oil exploration． |
What is the author' s purpose in writing the passage?
| A．To explain the increase of international oil trade． |
| B．To raise Americans' awareness of the energy crisis． |
| C．To argue for America' s dependence on oil imports． |
| D．To stress the importance of energy protection． |
D
Whenever people think of charity, the first word that jumps into their mind may be money donated to the needy．However, 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 4 cost them a penny．
Research shows that students are extremely enthusiastic about supporting charity —88% of full time students have used the Internet to give to charity．This figure is high considering 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 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" 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 charity－related action |
| B．a website |
| C．a school organization |
| D．a student movement |
In the case of charity, Everyclick．com____．
| A．receives much money from students |
| B．frees students of the financial worries |
| C．offers valuable information to students |
| D．praises students for their money-raising |
From the passage, we can conclude that____．
| A．most full time students do charity on the Internet every day |
| B．Everyclick．com is the busiest charity website in the UK |
| C．Everyclick．com helps students pay for further education |
| D．"Wugging" is a win-win idea for both students and charities |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．"Wugging", a popular term on the Internet |
| B．Students collect money for charity by " Wugging" |
| C．More British charities benefit from the Internet |
| D．Charity enjoys increasing popularity with the British |
C
People laugh and people cry．But it is thought that emotions such as anger, or joy, typically make Americans feel uncomfortable and embarrassed．The shedder of tears （落泪者） is likely to apologize, even when a great tragedy was the cause．The observer of tears is likely to do everything possible to put an end to the emotional tears．But judging from recent studies of crying behavior, both those responses to tears are often inappropriate and may even be counterproductive （适得其反）．
Humans are the only animals clearly known to shed emotional tears．Since evolution has given rise to few purposeless physiological responses, it is logical to assume that crying has one or more functions that increase survival．
Although some observers have suggested that crying is a way to ask for assistance form others （as a crying baby might from its mother）, the shedding of tears is hardly necessary to get help．Vo-cal （出声的） cries would have been quite enough, more likely than tears to gain attention．So, it appears that there must be something special about tears themselves．
Indeed, the new studies suggest that emotional tears may play a direct role in easing stress． University of Minnesota researchers who are studying the chemical composition of tears have recently separated two important chemicals from emotional tears．Both chemicals are found only in tears that are shed in response to emotion．Tears shed because of exposure to cut onion would contain no such substance．
Other researchers are looking into the usefulness of tears as a means of diagnosing human ills and monitoring drugs．At Tulane University's Teat Analysis Laboratory Dr．Peter Kastl and his colleagues report that they can use tears to detect drug abuse, to study the causes of "dry eye" syndrome （综合症）and the effects of eye surgery, and perhaps even to measure exposure to environmental pollutants．What does the phrase "both those responses" in Paragraph 1 refer to ?
| A．Crying out of sorrow and shedding tears for happiness． |
| B．The embarrassment and unpleasant feelings of the observers． |
| C．Linking illness with crying and finding the chemical composition of tears． |
| D．The tear shedder' s apology and the observer' s effort to stop the crying． |
It is known from the first paragraph that____．
| A．shedding tears gives unpleasant feelings to Americans |
| B．crying may often result in tragedy |
| C．crying usually wins sympathy from other people |
| D．one who sheds tears in public will be blamed |
What does the author say about crying?
| A．It is a pointless physiological response to the environment． |
| B．It must have a role to play in man' s survival． |
| C．It is meant to get attention and assistance． |
| D．It usually produces the desired effect． |
From the passage we can infer that____．
| A．it is unnatural for people to shed tears |
| B．we can reduce our stress by shedding tears |
| C．shedders of tears can' t get help by crying loudly |
| D．unlike animals, humans can shed tears for survival |