Movies in the theater get their recognition at awards ceremonies, such as the Oscars. But how about movies for phones? They are getting their turn at MoFilm—the first mobile film festival.
The first MoFilm competition received 250 entries from more than 100 countries. Entries were restricted to films that were five minutes or less in length—ideal for viewing and sharing on mobile phones. An independent jury then selected a shortlist of five film-makers. The winner was chosen from the shortlist by an audience voting using their phones.
New Platforms
The awards highlight the increasing impact that mobile phones are making in the entertainment industry. Many grassroots filmmakers start out with short films. They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work. Therefore, mobile phones are increasingly being seen as a new platform for these short works.
It is a good place for anyone who wants to express themselves and find a way to have that expression be seen by a wide audience. Just think about how many people have mobile phones in the world!
New Technology Advances
MoFilm is pioneering content for mobile and online services that is a world away from Hollywood. The majority of films made for mobiles are now short in length, taking into account the screen size. However this could be overcome as technology advances.
In the near future, longer films will likely be seen on the mobile phone. And there are mobile companies creating phones where users can watch movies at higher quality.
Wherever you see movies, one thing is certain: the quality of work, the simple ability at story telling, and the thing that inspires someone to tell a story can really come from anywhere. At the first MoFilm, .
A.movies in the theater got their recognition |
B.more than 100 countries took part in the competition |
C.ideal films were five minutes or less in length |
D.the winner was chosen by experts' voting |
They are thwarted by the lack of opportunities to screen their work. The underlined word means “ ”.
A.disappointed | B.surprised | C.frightened | D.encouraged |
Nowadays the majority of films made for mobiles are short in length because of .
A.online services | B.the mobile phone |
C.technology advances | D.the screen size |
What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Putting Movies on Mobiles |
B.Introduction of Latest Mobile Phones |
C.Mobile Phones’ Ceremonies |
D.Film Awards Broadcast on Mobile Phones |
Which statement is NOT true?
A.MoFilm is not a part of Hollywood. |
B.Mobile phones are considered to be a new platform for short films. |
C.MoFilm get their recognition through Oscars. |
D.Films made for mobiles will likely be cleaner. |
Doors and windows can’t keep them out; airport immigration officers can’t stop them and the Internet is a complete reproduction soil. They seem harmless in small doses, but large imports threaten Japan’s very uniqueness, say critics. “They are foreign words and they are infecting the Japanese language”.
“Sometimes I feel like I need a translator to understand my own language, ”says Yoko Fujimura with little anger, a 5-year-old Tokyo restaurant worker.“It’s becoming incomprehensible”.
It’s not only Japan who is on the defensive. Countries around th globe are wet through their hands over the rapid spread of American English. CocaCola,for example, is one of the most recognized terms on Earth.
It is made worse for Japan, however, by its unique writing system. The country writes all imported utterances(言论) except Chinesein a different script called katakana (片假名). It is the only country to keep up such a difference. Katakana takes far more space to write than kanjithe core pictograph (象形文字) characters that the Japanese borrowed from China 1,500 years ago. Because it stands out, readers complain that sentences packed with foreign words start to look like extended strings of lights. As if that weren’t enough, katakana terms tend to get puzzling.
For example, digital camera first appears as degitaru kamera. Then they became the more earpleasing digi kamey. But kamey is also the Japanese word for turtle. “It’s very disappointing not knowing what young people are talking about,” says humorously Minoru Shiratori, a 53yearold bus driver. “Sometimes I can’t tell if they’re discussing cameras or turtles.”
In a bid to stop the flood of katakana, the government has formed a Foreign Words Committee to find suitable Japanese replacements. The committee is slightly different from Frenchstyle language police, which try to support a law that forbids advertising in English. Rather, committee members and traditionalists hope a nonstop campaign of persuasion, gentle criticism and leadership by example can turn the tide.
12.According to the author, the reason why the Japanese is infectd greatly by English is .
A.that nothing can prevent it from entering into Japan
B.that English is the most recognized language in the world
C.that the government has not set up a special administration department to control this trend before it becomes popular in Japan
D.not clearly mentioned in this passage
13.By saying “counties around the globe are wet through their hands over the rapid spread of American English,”the author infers that .
A.even a restaurant worker in Japan may feel the English infection on Japanese
B.the flood of katakana has covered most of countries in the world
C.CocaCola is the most popuar on the earth and this product covers all the global market
D.many other countries are affected greatly by American English
14.According to the author, the last paragraph mainly deals with.
A.how French-style language police has prevented the infection of English
B.how Japanese Foreign Words Committee prevents the infection of foreign words
C.the suitable Japanese replacements
D.why committee members and traditionalists begin to declare a war against the infection of foreign words
15.Which conclusion can be drawn based on the opinions from the Japanese people (in paragraph 2 and 4 of this passage)?
A.The elders strongly advocates replacing the foreign words than young people.
B.All the people dislike speaking the foreign words, such as “digi kamey”.
C.They are so old that it is necessary to give some language assistance by a specialist.
D.People’s work determines the language they speak.
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9.A student of history is most likely to take listed above.
A.the fourth book B.the third book C.the second book D.the first book
10.The underlined word“others”in Paragraph 3 may include.
A.traffic accidents B.floods C.pollution D.diseases
11.It can be learned from one of the books how to.
A.repair your digital camera for yourself
B.work out the expenses before going to a restaurant
C.get the latest information about natural disasters
D.learn a lot about historian Alan Brinkley
London——Laura Spence has excellent grades, a place at Harvard University and a US $25,000 a year scholarship. The British Government says that is scandal(丑闻).
Not because the 13-year-old girl is going to Harvard, but because she was rejected by Oxford University. Her case makes people talk about the long-running problems about elitism(精英主义) in British education.
“I think it’s a scandal if a child has to go to Harvard rather than getting into Oxford, don’t you?” Education Secretary David Blunkett said on May 26th in an interview on BBC radio.
British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said in a speech on May 25th it was “an absolute scandal”, a girl with those grades was turned down by Oxford’s Magdalen College. He noted that Spence comes from Monkseaton in northeastern England, where people sometimes complain they get fewer chances than people living in the richer, more populous south.
Oxford and Cambridge University now take the majority of their students—53 percent—from publicly funded schools. Elite(精英)private schools such as Eton and Harrow account for the other 47 percent, even though they serve only 7 percent of secondary students.
A BBC reporter had seen notes of Spence’s interview at Magdalen. “As with other comprehensive school pupils, she’s low in confidence and difficult to draw out of herself in spite of being able to think on her feet,” the BBC quoted the notes as saying. Still, the notes concluded that Spence “will be an excellent doctor.”
“It appears as if some of our institutions have admissions procedures which may be because of absurd prejudices against children from comprehensive schools…are not giving these children a fair crack of the whip”, Education Minister Wicks told the BBC.
5.Laura Spence was rejected by Oxford University because.
A.she was a girl of 13 years old B.she lacked confidence and she couldn’t think by herself
C.she didn’t win excellent grades
D.she was a shy girl from a comprehensive school in the poorer, less populous north
6.If Laura Spence was from such a school as Eton,.
A.she would be admitted to Oxford B.she would be accepted by Harvard
C.she could cause longrunning problems about elitism in British education
D.she wouldn’t be an excellent doctor
7.What’s the meaning of “a fair crack of the whip”in the last paragraph?
A.A good chance. B.Warning. C.Rejection. D.Admission
8.According to Education Minister Wick’s words, we know he .
A.thought there was something wrong with procedures of admissions to their institutes
B.took the side of Oxford University
C.considered giving up children from comprehensive schools D.didn’t tell the truth to the BBC
Material Girl no more? Madonna says writing children’s books is more satisfying than being a movie star.
Her book, The English Roses, wen t on sale on September 15th, appearing in 100 countries and in 30 languages as the first in her series of tales for children. The pop diva (女歌唱家), whose only book until now was the 1992 photo essay titled “Sex”, said she wrote the books to teach children some of the life lessons she’s learned over the years.
“The most fun that I’ve had of all the things I’ve done successfully has been to write these books. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m not doing it to become more famous, and I’m not doing it to become richer. I’m doing it because I want to share something I know with children.”
Hours after its release, the 43page book was already No. 3 on Amazon, com’s sales list. The first print is 1 million copies worldwide, with more than 750,000 in the United States. The English Roses is about a friendship shared by four girls and their mutual (共同的) envy of a beautiful classmate, with illustrations (插图) by fashion artist Jeffrey Fulvimari.
“There is one lifegiving force in the world,” Madonna declared. “When we disconnect from this lifegiving force, that’s when we bring pain and suffering into our lives. Each of the stories has to do with different ways you disconnect from God. ”Madonna also said she was deeply affected by the experience of raising two children, Lourdes, 6, and Rocco, 3. The English Roses is the latest among a growing number of celebritywritten children’s books.
The next book in the series, “Mr Peabody’s Apples,”will be out in November.Each tale is set in a different time and place and has new characters and different illustrators.
1.How many books does Madonna’s series of tales include?
A.At least 3. B.4. C.At least 2. D.6.
2.According to the idea of Madonna, the underlined phrase “life-giving force”in Paragraph 5 refers to .
A.The English Roses. B.God C.Mr Peabody’s Apples. D.her life
3.When Madonna said writing children’s books was more satisfying than being a movie star,she meant that .
A.she was more satisfied with her writing children’s books
B.she was more satisfied as a movie star C.being a movie star was not really successful
D.she was not a Material Girl any more
4.According to the passage,Madonna wrote the book The English Roses in order to .
A.provide children with funB.teach children some life lessons
C.teach children how to become famous D.share her success with children
While still in its early stages, welfare reform has already been judged a great success in many states-at least in getting people off welfare. It’s estimated that more than 2 million people have left the rolls since 1994.
In the past four years, welfare rolls in Athens County have been cut in half. But 15 percents of the people who left in the past two years took jobs that paid less than $6 an hour. The resuit: The Athens County poverty rate still remains at more than 30 percent-twice the national average.
For advocates (代言人) for the poor, that’s an indication that much more needs to be done.
“More people are getting jobs, but it’s not making their lives any better,” says Kathy Lairn,a policy analyst at the Center on Budget and policy Priorities in Washington.
A center analysis of US Census data nationwide found that between 1995 and 1996, a greater percentage of single, female-headed households were earning money on their own, but that average income for these households actually went down.
But for many, the fact that poor people are able to support themselves almost as well without government aid as they did with it is in itself a huge victory.
“Welfare was a poison. It was a toxin(毒素) that was poisoning the family,” says Robert Rector, a welfarereform policy analyst. “The reform is changing the moral climate in lowincome communities. It’s beginning to rebuild the work ethic(道德观), which is much more important.”
Mr. Rector and others argued that once “the habit of dependency is cracked, ”then the country can make other policy changes aimed at improving living standards.
13.From the passage, it can be seen that the auther .
A.believes the reform has reduced the government’s burden
B.insists that welfare reform is doing little good for the poor
C.is overenthusiastic about the success of welfare reform
D.considers welfare reform to be fundamentally successful
14.Why aren’t people enjoying better lives when they have jobs?
A.Because many families are divorced. B.Because government aid is now rare.
C.Because their wages are low. D.Because the cost of living is rising.
15.What is worth noting from the example of Athens County is that .
A.greater efforts should be made to improve people’s living standards
B.15 percent of the people there have been employed for two years
C.50 percent of the population no longer relies on welfare
D.the living standards of most people are going down
16.From the passage we know that welfare reform aims at_______ .
A.saving welfare funds B.rebuilding the work ethics(观念)
C.providing more jobs D.cutting government expenses