Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald
We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:
James Anthony, Drummoyne
James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.
As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”
Joe Bollen, Turranmurra
Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)
Maria Ieraci, Sydney
Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.
Ron Bennett, Sydney
Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?
| A．Joe’s | B．Maria’s | C．Ron’s | D．Jame’s |
The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.
| A．the spirit of the nation | B．the position of the country |
| C．the tradition of Britain | D．the expectations of the people |
What does the Union Jack refer to?
| A．the British flag | B．A former British ruler |
| C．group of stars | D．A former symbol of Australia |
Which of the following shows the correct matches of the designs and their designers?
A．by Maria by Ron by Joe by James  |
B．by Joeby Mariaby James by Ron |
C． by Ron by James by Maria by Joe   |
| D．by Jamesby Joe by Ron by Maria |
From Monday until Friday most people are busy working or studying, but in the evenings and on weekends they are free to relax and enjoy themselves. Some watch TV or go to the movies; others take part in sports. It depends on individual interest. There are many different ways to spend our spare time.
Almost everyone has some kind of hobby. It may be anything from collecting stamps to making model airplanes. Some hobbies are very expensive, but others don’t cost anything at all. Some collections are worth a lot of money; others are valuable only to their owners.
I know a man who has a coin collection worth several thousand dollars. A short time ago he bought a rare fifty-cent piece worth $250！He was very happy about his purchase (buying) and thought the price was reasonable. On the other hand, my youngest brother collects matchboxes. He has almost 600 of them but I doubt if they are worth any money. However, to my brother they are extremely valuable. Nothing makes him happier than to find a new matchbox for his collection.
That’s what a hobby means, I guess. It is something we like to do in our spare time simply for the fun of it. The value in dollars is not important, but the pleasure it gives us is.The word “individual” in the first paragraph most probably means .
| A．different | B．strange | C．secret | D．one’s own |
According to the passage, most people are from Monday until Friday.
| A．free to relax and enjoy themselves | B．busy working or studying |
| C．free to take part in sports games | D．busy watching TV and going to the cinema |
Something that one enjoys doing in one’s spare time is a .
| A．job | B．pleasure | C．hobby | D．contribution |
In the writer’s opinion, .
| A．all hobbies are very expensive | B．some hobbies don’t cost anything |
| C．hobbies are worthless | D．hobbies are valuable to everybody |
I moved to this area seven years ago. For years I have had noisy neighbours. Ever since I moved into this flat, I’ve had to put up with noise during the night. I decided I’d had enough and I’ve been looking for a new flat since the beginning of the year. I haven’t found anything till now. Every week I go to the estate agent’s（当地房地产代理人的）office, but it’s the same story. “I might have something by the end of the week” he says, or, “Wait till next week. I think I might have a few flats by then.” I’ve seen a few flats during my search, but I don’t like any of them. One flat I saw has been empty for two years. “It’s got a busy road on one side and a railway on the other!” I said loudly, “I want peace and quiet.” Last week I visited the agent again. “I won’t leave till you show me something,” I said. “I’ve got just the flat for you.” I went to see it and I was frightened. “But it’s next to a cemetery!” I cried. “But you won’t have noisy neighbours,” my agent said. “It’s exactly right for peace and quiet!”The writer has had to bear the noise in this area for years.
| A．about seven | B．six | C．nine | D．four |
The writer decided to move away because .
| A．he had been looking for a new flat | B．his neighbours were not friendly |
| C．he could no longer stand the noise | D．he wanted to sell his old flat |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The writer would like a quiet place to live in. |
| B．The agent didn’t want to help the writer at all. |
| C．The writer has seen several flats already. |
| D．It seemed rather difficult to rind a fight flat. |
The main idea of the passage is .
| A．how the agent tried to help the writer find a flat |
| B．why the writer was satisfied with the agent’s service |
| C．how difficult it was to find a new flat |
| D．you can depend on the estate agents for a nice flat |
The Writers’ Strike：Making the Best of the Worst
By now you are probably feeling the effects of the TV writers’ strike－the decision of television writers to stop working. With few new TV shows, I present to you a list of shows available on DVD worth your viewing time to keep you going during this painful period.
Arrested Development is one of the funniest and most clever shows ever to have appeared on network TV. With a most perfect cast, the show sets out to cover the daily happenings of the Bluth family, a group of selfish staff who manage to still put family first.
For more comedy goodness, I recommend one of the sharpest comedies to have ever aired－30 Rock. Starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, two stars with impressive comic timing，the show gives you a glimpse into the making of a sketch show(幽默短剧), similar to Saturday Night Live, from the funny writers to the selfcentered cast all the way up to the boss.
If you are looking for something more serious, or perhaps more juicy, Friday Night Lights might be more to your liking. If you are a fan of football, this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of great drama，both soapy and serious，this show is probably for you. If you are a fan of goodlooking people, this show is definitely for you.
If those shows were not enough for you, might I recommend a show with a more heartpounding excitement? The Amazing Race, after twelve seasons, still remains one of the most exciting shows on TV. Teams of two travel the globe with little to no money and experience farout adventures in an attempt to remain the last team standing.If you are fond of soapy TV shows, you will probably choose to watch________.
| A．Friday Night Lights |
| B．30 Rock |
| C．The Amazing Race |
| D．Saturday Night Live |
From the DVD shows listed above, we can learn that________.
| A．two teams won the amazing race |
| B．football fans enjoy The Amazing Race |
| C．the Bluths care about their family though selfish |
| D．30 Rock and Saturday Night Live have nothing in common |
The author writes the passage to tell us that________.
| A．the effects of the TV writers’ strike are great |
| B．the strike puts TV shows in the worst situation |
| C．watching DVD is a good choice during the strike |
| D．we should choose DVD shows according to our tastes |
The passage is most probably taken from
| A．a book review | B．a newspaper | C．a film poster | D．a DVD menu |
When Callie Rogers won almost 1.9 million pounds on the lottery(彩票) at 16, she hoped it would help her put her troubles behind her. The teenager came from a broken
home, had dropped out of school and was living in local authority care.
Rogers, from Cumbria, England, won the National Lottery in 2003. Then she began spending her money wildlly, buying four homes for her family, flash cars and designer clothes, partying and having some cosmetic (整容的) surgery. Two weeks after her win, she married and had two children. But then she spent 250, 000 pounds on cocaine (可卡因) and suffered depression. Earlier this year she lost the right to take care of her children because of her mental state.
She became addicted to drugs and attempted suicide three times as her life unraveled. She says the money brought her only misery. Now she is down to her last 100 000 pounds, but she has never been happier.
Now 22, she said：“Just a few months ago I was taking too many drugs and hated myself. I simply did not want to live any more. But now I have a new man and am finally becoming the woman I want to be. And it's only after I've spent most of my fortune that this has finally happened.”
“I need to get my act together and make my kids proud, and for the first time I really do think that's possible.” She credits her new boyfriend with giving her the stable home life she has always longed for and she now hopes to go to college and eventually become a counselor. “After all I've experienced, I think I have a lot of advice to offer，” she said.Why was Rogers not allowed to look after her children?
| A．She was in a bad mental state. | B．She was addicted to using drugs. |
| C．She was not responsible for them. | D．She was too poor to support them. |
What can we learn about Rogers from Paragraph 3?
| A．Being addicted to drugs cost her everything. |
| B．Money didn't bring her happiness as expected. |
| C．Rogers felt much happier with her money gone. |
| D．Too much money allowed her to do what she wanted. |
What caused Rogers to change and start a new life?
| A．The loss of money. | B．Her bitter past. |
| C．Her husband and children. | D．Her new boyfriend. |
Why does Rogers hope to go to college?
| A．She intends to find a good job. | B．She expects to become a professor. |
| C．She longs to improve her situation. | D．She wants to offer advice for others. |
My wife passed away a few years ago, and I went through the worst time in my life. I even wanted to kill myself. Just for my kids, I had to continue to live and work as a small town doctor at my medical clinic in Hawaii. My kids had gone to live on the mainland, and I was alone. Then they asked me to have a family trip.
On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids：“ I'm going to Afghanistan.”And a few weeks later, International Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care. In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs ，we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule.Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away.
In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami (海啸), Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil war, and Iraq after more and more bombs. Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee. We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees,_and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally. Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and food were also serious problems. “Adventure or not？”I often asked myself.
When my wife passed away, I thought my life was gone. But in reality, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, she went unconscious. I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have.
I thought about the moment many times during my“adventures”. I didn't know how predictive those words would be，but I knew that she was still with me.Where has the doctor been in the past few years?
| A．Some countries where he could set up clinics. |
| B．Some African countries where flu broke out. |
| C．The places where the earthquakes happened. |
| D．The places that the horrible disasters struck. |
How would the doctor describe his life after he had worked in Afghanistan?
| A．Tired and troublesome. | B．Busy and risky. |
| C．Meaningful and helpful. | D．Frightening and depressing. |
The underlined word“ refugees” means people________.
| A．who are robbed, killed, or wounded | B．who suffer from flu in movable clinics |
| C．who like to take adventures | D．who have lost homes because of disasters |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The doctor's wife encouraged him to work in foreign countries. |
| B．What the doctor said to his wife before her death became reality. |
| C．The doctor's adventures made him understand the love of his wife. |
| D．With the true love of his wife, the doctor started to change his life. |