The Queen’s English is now sounding less upper-class, a scientific study of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts has found. Researchers have studied each of her messages to the Commonwealth countries since 1952 to find out the change in her pronunciation from the noble Upper Received to the Standard Received.
Jonathan Harrington, a professor at Germany’s University of Munich, wanted to discover whether accent changes recorded over the past half century would take place within one person. “As far as I know, there just is nobody else for whom there is this sort of broadcast records,” he said.
He said the noble way of pronouncing vowels (元音) had gradually lost ground as the noble upper-class accent over the past years. “Her accent sounds slightly less noble than it did 50 years ago. But these are very, very small and slow changes that we don’t notice from year to year.”
“We may be able to relate it to changes in the social classes,” he told The Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper. “In 1952 she would have been heard saying ‘thet men in the bleck het’. Now it would be ‘that man in the black hat’. Similarly, she would have spoken of ‘the citay’ and ‘dutay’, rather than ‘citee’ and ‘dutee’, and ‘hame’ rather than ‘home’. In the 1950s she would have been ‘lorst’, but by the 1970s ‘lost’.”
The Queen’s broadcast is a personal message to the Commonwealth countries. Each Christmas, the 10-minute broadcast is put on TV at 3 pm in Britain as many families are recovering from their traditional turkey lunch (传统火鸡午餐).
The results were published (发表) in the Journal of Phonetics.What is the text mainly about?
| A．The relationship between accents and social classes. |
| B．The Queen’s Christmas speeches on TV. |
| C．The changes in a person’s accent. |
| D．The recent development of the English language. |
The Queen’s broadcasts were chosen for the study mainly because ______.
| A．she has been Queen for many years |
| B．she has a less upper-class accent now |
| C．her speeches are familiar to many people |
| D．her speeches have been recorded for 50 years |
Which of the following is an example of a less noble accent in English?
| A．“dutay” | B．“citee” | C．“hame” | D．“lorst” |
We may infer from the text that the Journal of Phonetics is a magazine on ______.
| A．speech sounds | B．Christmas customs |
| C．TV broadcasting | D．personal messages |
Scientists from South Korea are trying to convert（转化）sound waves into electricity. The research could lead to charging a cell phone from a conversation or providing energy to the nation’s electricity system generated（产生）by the noise during rash-hour traffic.
“Just as speakers transform electrical signals into sound, the opposite process —turning sound into a source of electrical power — is possible,” said Young Jun Park and Sang-Woo Kim, the joint authors of a new article in the journal Advanced Materials.
Harvesting energy from phone calls and passing cars is based on materials known as piezoelectrics. When bent, piezoelectric materials turn that mechanical energy into electricity. Lots of materials are piezoelectric: cane sugar, quartz （石英）and even dried bone which could create an electrical charge when stressed. For decades, scientists have pumped electricity into piezoelectric materials for use in environmental sensors, speakers and other devices.
Over the past few years, however, scientists have made dramatic advances in getting electricity out of piezoelectric devices. In an experiment, by using sound waves, which at 100 decibels（分贝）were not quite as loud as a rock concert （a normal conversation is about 60-70 decibels）, the South Korean scientists produced a mild electrical current of about 50 millivolts（毫伏）. The average cell phone requires a few volts to function, several times the power this technology can currently produce.
“But the real question is whether there is enough surrounding noise to act as a power source as for a cell phone,” said McAlpine, a leading scientist. A consumer probably wouldn’t want to attend a rock concert or stand next to a passing train to charge his cell phone. The South Korean scientists agree but they expect to get a higher power output as they continue their work.According to the two South Korean scientists, ________.
| A．sound waves can travel faster than electricity |
| B．new materials can send cell phone signals better |
| C．using cell phones adds to heavy traffic in rush hour |
| D．electricity and sound can be transformed into each other |
We know from the passage that piezoelectric materials ________.
| A．can produce electricity when stressed |
| B．are good at changing electricity into sound |
| C．can reduce the noise of passing cars |
| D．have been widely used in phones and cars |
It can be inferred from the South Korean scientists’ experiment that ________.
| A．it is hard to change sound into electricity under current conditions |
| B．it is impossible to make use of loud sound |
| C．the technology has a long way to go to have a practical use |
| D．the technology can power cell phones easily |
What McAlpine doubts about the technology is ________.
| A．the noise pollution | B．the sound resource |
| C．the cost of piezoelectrics | D．the safety of devices |
| Shangri-La Hotel Singapore Singapore 22 Orange Grove Road, 258350 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Coffee shop or café ● Elevator/lift ● Gift shops ● Restaurants in hotel ● Outdoor swimming pool ● Free Internet access Check-in time: 2:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets not allowed |
Swissotel Merchant Court Singapore 20 Merchant Road, 058281 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Coffee shop or café ● Elevator/lift ● Restaurants in hotel ● Outdoor swimming pool ● Television in lobby Cheek-in time: 3:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets not allowed |
| Royal Plaza On Scotts Singapore 25 Scotts Road, Orchard, 228220 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Elevator/lift ● Gift shops ● Restaurants in hotel ● Smoke-free environment ● Outdoor swimming pool Check-in time: 2:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets not allowed |
Landmark Village Hotel Singapore 390 Victoria Street, 188061 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Coffee shop or café ● Elevator/lift ● Restaurants in hotel ● Outdoor swimming pool Check-in time: 2:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets allowed |
Which of the following can you do in every hotel mentioned above?
| A．You can have a swim. | B．You can have free coffee. |
| C．You can check in at the same time. | D．You can’t bring your pet with you. |
In which hotel can you buy things on the Internet?
| A．Shangri-La Hotel Singapore | B．Swissotel Merchant Court |
| C．Royal Plaza On Scotts | D．Landmark Village Hotel |
The purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to make people enjoy their trips | B．to persuade people to visit Singapore |
| C．to introduce four hotels in Singapore | D．to improve the hotel services |
When looking back at the scary situation that happened to him on Saturday, Patrick Canney said he couldn’t still believe that it was true. It was a situation that could have ended with a tragedy for Patrick, his father and his sister. But it didn’t really happen thanks to Patrick.
That morning, Patrick’s father was driving down busy Interstate 95 in Peabody, Massachusetts. The car started going really slowly, which seized Patrick’s attention. And then he realized that something was wrong. At that point, Patrick found his father was having a seizure （中风）.
“It was really scary,” he said. “It was unlike anything that had ever really happened to me.” But Patrick didn’t act scared. He took control of the situation and got behind the wheel of the SUV. He turned the key off and pulled the car over to the breakdown lane （车道）. He then stopped the SUV, grabbed a cell phone out of his dad’s pocket and called 911 for help.
Patrick’s 9-year-old sister was in the SUV, too. He told his little sister not to worry about it. Then he opened the door and stood right next to the guard rail. Thanks to Patrick’s description of their location during the 911 call, Massachusetts State Police were able to locate the Canneys within minutes -- and get them all to safety.
“A 12-year-old boy’s clear thinking and decisive action actually saved this family from a tragedy,” said state police spokesman David. “That’s Patrick. He is cool and collected. I couldn’t imagine what would be the result if he were panicked （惊慌失措）.”
Patrick’s father was expected to recover fully from the seizure. And thanks to Patrick, all of the Canneys are still alive. “The word hero may be overused in our society,” said David. “But Patrick is surely that -- and then some.”As soon as he found his father had a seizure, Patrick ________.
| A．told his sister not to worry | B．called the police for help at once |
| C．tried his best to save his father | D．managed to take control of the car |
The underlined word “collected” in Paragraph 5 means “_________”.
| A．confused | B．positive | C．calm | D．serious |
What did David think of Patrick?
| A．Patrick should learn from real heroes in society. |
| B．Patrick was a cool boy who matched the word hero. |
| C．Patrick should be rewarded for his behavior. |
| D．Patrick should protect his family carefully in the future. |
Which of the-following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．A kid made every effort to survive in a car crash. |
| B．A kid turned into a lifesaver after his father was ill. |
| C．A kid learned how to become a hero by using his wisdom. |
| D．A kid saved his sister when they drove on a highway. |
The iPhone has become one of the most popular mobile phones in the United States. An 18-year-o1d student in California has used his knowledge of the device to create his own business,gaining national recognition for his work.
Vincent Quigg is the CEO of TechWorld. His company is kind of like a hospital for iPhones,specializing in customizing and repairing iPhones. Vincent Quigg launched TechWorld while in high school. “My mom became single a couple of years ago and I had to grow up. And in order to keep my lifestyle, I had to find different ways to keep my phone, keep a car, transportation and all that stuff. So I had to find ways to be entrepreneurial.” An organization cal1ed the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. or NFTE, helped the young man get started. His mother, Carla Quigg: “He quit the class, which made me very disappointed.”
“It was extremely hard for myself to find a business to start and run with it. But once I had that ‘aha moment’or what I knew I wanted to go with, it was really easy and extremely fun.”
At the time, Vincent worked for the electronics store BestBuy. He says people always came into the store with broken electronic devices. He decided that repairing those devices was what he wanted to do. He not only re-registered for the NFTE class, but he also won the organization’s national competition for best young entrepreneur.His business has grown through word-of-mouth. Vincent says he now fixes up to l0 phones per week. He earns about $l,500 each month in sales. TechWorld has two other employees. Kacee Wheeler is one of them. He works on the technical side of the business while Vincent Quigg now deals with finances and planning. He says he wants to continue to grow his business.What is Vincent Quigg’s company specialized in?
| A．Customizing and repairing iPhones. | B．Advertising and selling iPhones. |
| C．Helping students set up business. | D．Offering people medical advice. |
What drove Vincent to start his own business?
| A．His special family education background. |
| B．The need to keep his former way of 1ife. |
| C．The desire to be the CEO of a company. |
| D．The encouragement from another company. |
What does the underlined phrase “aha moment” probably mean?
| A．The moment to celebrate success. |
| B．The moment to comp1ain hardship. |
| C．The moment to have a great idea. |
| D．The moment to have great fun. |
What can we 1earn from the text?
| A．Vincent started his own business with the help of his col1ege. |
| B．Vincent went through great difficulty in the beginning. |
| C．Vincent promotes his business by large scale advertisements. |
| D．Vincent’s mother was disappointed by his achievement. |
Shopping for clothes is not the same experience for a man as it is for a woman. A man goes shopping because he needs something. His purpose is settled and decided in advance. He knows what he wants, and his objective is to find it and buy it; the price is a secondary consideration. All men simply walk into a shop and ask the assistant for what they want. If the shop has it in stock, the salesman promptly produces it, and the business of trying it on goes forward at once. All being well, the deal can be and often is completed in less than five minutes, with hardly any chat and to everyone's satisfaction. For a man, slight problems may begin when the shop does not have what he wants, or does not have exactly what he wants. In that case the salesman, as the name implies, tries to sell the customer something else, he offers the nearest he can to the article required. No good salesman brings out such a substitute without least consideration; he does so with skill and polish（完美）: “I know this jacket is not the style you want, sir, but would you like to try it for size. It happens to be the color you mentioned." Few men have patience with this treatment, and the usual response is: “This is the right color and may be the right size but I should be wasting my time and yours by trying it on.
Now how does a woman go about buying clothes? In almost every respect she does so in the opposite way. Her shopping is not often based on need. She has never fully made up her mind what she wants, and she is only “having a look round". She is always open to persuasion: indeed she sets great store by what the saleswoman tells her, even by what companions tell her. She will try on any number of things. Uppermost in her mind is the thought of finding something that everyone thinks suits her. Contrary to a lot of jokes, most women have an excellent sense of value when they buy clothes. They are always on the lookout for the unexpected bargain. Faced with a roomful of dresses, a woman may easily spend an hour going from one rail to another, to and fro often retracing her steps, before selecting the dresses she wants to try on. It is a tiresome process, but apparently an enjoyable one. Most dress shops provide chairs for the waiting husbands.According to the passage, a man’s shopping is based on _______.
| A．his money | B．his hobbies | C．his need | D．his friends |
Why does a lady welcome suggestions from anyone while buying a dress?
| A．Because she wants to buy a dress that every one thinks suits her. |
| B．Because she doesn’t know how to buy a dress. |
| C．Because she doesn’t know whether to buy it or not. |
| D．Because she wants to show herself off in public. |
What does a man do when he can not get exactly what he wants?
| A．He buys a similar thing of the colour he wants. |
| B．He usually does not buy anything. |
| C．At least two of his requirements must be met before he buys. |
| D．So long as the style is right, he buys the thing. |
The passage mainly talks about the ______ between men shoppers and women shoppers for clothes.
| A．similarities | B．differences | C．varieties | D．intentions |