Only three local students won Chinese Blog（博客）Competition. And 15 of the 18 awards went to students from China.
170 students’ task: to get a fully-designed blog up and running, complete with many posting based on a theme of choice—all written in Chinese.
Themes ranged from local opinions－such as the usage of Singlish, education and whether Singapore can be a cultural centre－to food blogs.
The entries were judged on Language proficiency（熟练程度）and the quality of writing, as well as the design and level of exchanging ideas with readers.
Academics from the National University of Singapore and the SIM University IT experts, and a journalist from Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao in Singapore made up the judges.
In the end, only three Singaporean students made it to the award list—the rest of the awards were swept up by students from China.
“No surprise.” said Mr. Chow Yaw Long, 37, teachers in charge from Ianova Junior College, which organized the event. “Although the topics were local subjects, the foreign students were generally better in terms of the content of the posts and their grasp of the Chinese language.”
One of the three local students winning the first prize in the Best Language Award was blogger Christina Gao，19, from the Saint Andrew’s Junior College, who spared no effort in researching for and writing her blog. Each entry took her between five and seven days to produce, complete with pictures and even podcasts（播客）.Her advice for bloggers is: Be responsible. “Some bloggers out there only seek to blame the authorities and other bloggers.” Said Miss Gao. “I think they lack responsibilities and there is no value to their posts.”The competition was organized by _______
| A．the National University of Singapore |
| B．Chinese newspaper Lianhe Zaobao |
| C．Ianova Junior College |
| D．the Saint Andrew’s Junior College |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Chinese students won most of the awards. |
| B．Not all the themes were about local subjects |
| C．The blogs could be written in Chinese or Singlish. |
| D．The judges were from university in Singapore and China. |
What Miss Gao said suggests that _____________
| A．she likes to blame the authorities |
| B．she has a sense of responsibility |
| C．she thinks highly of the others’ blogs |
D．she loves to read v aluable posts |
Here is the tour that's voted “3rdbest tour in London” on the Best Things to Do－TripAdvisor! Hairy Goat is the best and most original tour company in London．
Do you like walking around a city and discovering something that makes a great photo? London is full of interesting photo chances and maybe you need someone to lead you to them．The tour is perfect for team events，families，groups of friends and school or college classes．
Bring A fully charged camera and plenty of memory cards or film，a drink and wear comfortable walking shoes．Dress for three hours' walking outside．
Price ￡45 per adult (18yrs and over)，￡40 per child (12-15yrs) and full-time students (student ID required)．Some tours to be booked and paid in advance．Please call or email for details．Please follow the links on the website or call Corinna at +44(0)7540832771．
Meet in front of the Royal Exchange Building at Bank Underground Station．Take Exit 3 or 4 from the underground station．
When See the website for scheduled dates．
Duration Three hours，at a comfortable walking pace．
Finish By an underground station within the city．Location varies daily．A family of four，including a son of 19 and a daughter of 13，should pay ________．
| A．￡180 |
| B．￡160 |
| C．￡170 |
| D．￡175 |
According to the passage，the tour．
| A．is intended for individuals only |
| B．offers chances to take great photos |
| C．has been voted the best tour in London three times |
| D．takes three hours on a sightseeing vehicle |
According to the passage，which statement is NOT true?
| A．Hairy Goat organizes the tour． |
| B．The tour finishes at the same location every day． |
| C．People can go through the website to find the date． |
| D．All the tours are not to be booked in advance． |
Have you ever used Facebook? Many people are being lured (引诱) onto it with the promise of a fun，free service without realizing they're paying for it by giving up large amounts of personal information．Facebook then attempts to make money by selling their data to advertisers that want to send targeted messages．
Most Facebook users don't realize this is happening．Even if they know what the company is up to，they still have no idea what they're paying for Facebook because people don't really know what their personal data is worth．
The biggest problem，however，is that the company keeps changing the rules．Early on，you keep everything private．That was the great thing about Facebook — you could create your own little private network．Last year，the company changed its privacy rules so that many things — your city，your photo，your friends' names—were set，by default (默认) to be shared with everyone on the Internet．
According to Facebook's vice-president Elliot Schrage，the company is simply making changes to improve its service，and if people don't share information，they have a “less satisfying experience”．
Some critics think this is more about Facebook looking to make more money．Its original business model，which involved selling ads and putting them at the side of the page，totally failed．Who wants to look at ads when they're online connecting with their friends?
The privacy issue has already landed Facebook in hot water in Washington．In April，Senator(议员) Charles Schumer called on Facebook to change its privacy policy．He also urged the Federal Trade Commission to set guidelines for social-networking sites．“I think the senator rightly communicated that we had not been clear about what the new products were and how people could choose to use them or not to use them，”Schrage admits．
I suspect that whatever Facebook has done so far to invade our privacy is only the beginning，which is why I'm considering deactivating(撤销) my account．Facebook is a handy site，but I'm upset by the idea that my information is in the hands of people I don't know．That's too high a price to pay．What do we learn about Facebook from the first paragraph?
| A．It is a website that sends messages to targeted users． |
| B．It makes money by putting on advertisements． |
| C．It profits by selling its users'personal data． |
| D．It provides loads of information to its users． |
What does the author say about most Facebook users?
| A．They are reluctant to give up their personal information． |
| B．They don't know their personal data enriches Facebook． |
| C．They don't identify themselves when using the website． |
| D．They care very little about their personal information． |
Why does Facebook make changes to its rules according to Elliot Schrage?
| A．To provide better service to its users． |
| B．To follow the Federal guidelines． |
| C．To improve its users'connectivity． |
| D．To expand its scope of business． |
Why does the author plan to cancel his Facebook account?
| A．He is dissatisfied with its current service． |
| B．He finds many of its users untrustworthy． |
| C．He doesn't want his personal data abused． |
| D．He is upset by its frequent rule changes． |
When Kate's paintings were on show in London，a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon (丝带）around a bomb”．Such comments seem to suggest Kate had a big influence on the art world of her time．Sadly，she is actually a much bigger name today than she was during her time．
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City，Kate suffered from polio（小儿麻痹症）at the age of seven．Her spine (脊柱)became bent as she grew older．Then，in 1925，her back was broken in several places in a school-bus accident．Throughout the rest of her life，the artist had many operations，but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back．However，the accident had an unexpected side effect．While lying in her bed recovering，Kate taught herself to paint．
In 1929，she got married to Diego Rivera，another famous Mexican artist．Rivera's strong influences on Kate's style can be seen in her early works，but her later works from the 1940s，known today as her best works，show less influence from her husband．
Unfortunately，her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and1940s，even in her home country．Her first one-woman show in Mexico was not held until 1953．For more than a decade after her death in 1954，Kate's works remained largely unnoticed by the world，but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last．What does the underlined phrase “a much bigger name” in paragraph 1 most probablymean?
| A．A far better artist． |
| B．A far more gifted artist． |
| C．A much stronger person． |
| D．A much more famous person． |
The terrible pain Kate suffered was caused by．
| A．polio |
| B．her bent spine |
| C．back injuries |
| D．the operations she had |
Kate's style had become increasingly independent since the．
| A．1930s |
| B．1940s |
| C．1950s |
| D．1970s |
What is author's attitude toward Kate?
| A．Devotion． |
| B．Sympathy． |
| C．Worry． |
| D．Encouragement． |
One dark and stormy night，an elderly man and his wife entered the hall of a small hotel in Philadelphia，hoping to get shelter for the night．
The clerk，a friendly man with a beautiful smile，explained that there were three conferences in town．“All of our rooms are taken，”the clerk said，“but I can't send a nice couple like you into the rain at one o'clock in the morning．Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It's not a suite，but it will be good enough to make you comfortable for the night．”The couple agreed．
As the elderly man paid the bill the next morning，he told the clerk，“You are the kind of person who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States．Maybe someday I’ll build one for you．”The clerk looked at them and smiled．The three of them had a good laugh．
Two years passed．The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the elderly man，asking the clerk to pay him a visit．The elderly man met him in New York，and led him to the corner of the Fifth Avenue and 34thStreet．He then pointed to a great new building there，a reddish stone one with watchtowers thrusting (插入) up to the sky，and told the clerk that it was the hotel he had just built for him to manage．
That wonderful building was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel．And this young clerk whose name was George C．Boldt never foresaw the return of events that would lead him into the manager of one of the world's most attractive hotels．Why did the elderly man build a hotel for the clerk?
| A．He was grateful to the clerk． |
| B．They had a bet at first． |
| C．He wanted to please the clerk． |
| D．He wanted to sell the hotel． |
Which of the statements about the story is NOT true?
| A．The story took place at about one a．m． |
| B．The old couple were too poor to afford a luxurious room． |
| C．The clerk was willing to help those in need． |
| D．The clerk received an unexpected invitation from the old man． |
According to the text，the clerk．
| A．helped the couple because he thought they were poor． |
| B．hoped that the old couple could give him a large amount of money． |
| C．didn't expect to receive things in return from the old couple． |
| D．became rich，thanks to his own efforts． |
Which of the following proverbs suits the story the best?
| A．Every little thing helps． |
| B．Make hay(干草)while the sun shines． |
| C．Accidents will happen． |
| D．One good turn deserves another． |
When we hear of dangerous diseases, cancer and heart disease are often what first comes to mind．Recently, a virus (病毒) called Ebola has reappeared in Guinea (a country in West Africa), killing 62 people so far．It leads to viral hemorrhagic fever, which is characterized by high fever and internal bleeding etc, Ebola can kill 90% of those infected, especially in underdeveloped societies like those in Africa.
Ebola is named after the Ebola River, where it was first discovered in 1976．There are five different types of the Ebola virus, each named after where they first happened: Sudan, Ivory Coast, Restoon, Bundibugyo, and Zaire．The deadliest of the five, Zaire, was responsible for the 2012 outbreak, and is believed to be attacking Guinea.
Ebola is naturally found in fruit bats (果蝠), which pass on the virus to other animals by biting or sucking on (吮吸) their blood．Humans who are suffering from the Ebola infection might have touched the bodily fluids (液体) of the infected animals．Once infected, a human becomes a carrier of the deadly virus.
Since we live in an interconnected world, where the situation in one country can affect us all, the influences of Ebola are huge: damaging trade relations, affecting foreign visitors, and weakening entire countries．Already the Guinea virus is spreading fast with a few cases spotted in Conakry — the capital of Guinea, far away from the origin of the virus．It is feared that the disease may have already reached neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone, too.
Unfortunately, there are no disease-specific treatments for Ebola．Healthcare workers only supply the infected people with water to keep them in good condition．Since there have been many cases of nurses catching the disease from patients, they are forced to wear strict protective clothes, and in some cases, not even allowed to get close to the affected．The fact that there is no cure for the Ebola virus is what makes the outbreak a challenging one to control.The news of Ebola in Guinea is mentioned to ________.
| A．make a brief summary |
| B．introduce the topic of the text |
| C．compare Ebola with cancer |
| D．show the latest study of viruses |
What can we learn about Ebola?
| A．It is a newly discovered virus. |
| B．It is the most dangerous virus in the world. |
| C．It was named after where it first happened. |
| D．It could cause immediate death for anyone infected. |
What is mainly described in Paragraph 3?
| A．What the Ebola virus is. |
| B．The influences of Ebola. |
| C．The treatments for Ebola. |
| D．How the Ebola virus spreads. |
Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
| A．Ebola is a highly infectious virus. |
| B．Ebola is now very common in Guinea. |
| C．Those with a fever must be infected by Ebola. |
| D．Females are more easily to be infected by Ebola. |