As computers become more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly relying on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei, the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said, “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic (审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion. Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory (必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
| A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing |
| B．To Type or To Hand Write |
| C．Writing By Computer Will Replace Writing By Hand |
| D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters |
The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because ______.
| A．they are usually asked to e-mail their Homework and Essays |
| B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
| C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
| D．computers have become a trend and fashion in China |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE of the advantages of handwriting?
| A．Handwriting contains the writer's emotion. |
| B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
| C．Handwriting can impress people well and build one’s self-confidence. |
| D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
The underlined expression “taking stock in” (Paragraph 4) probably means _____.
| A．getting bored with | B．getting dependent on |
| C．becoming crazy about | D．getting curious about |
We can draw the conclusion from the passage that _______.
| A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer |
| B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day |
| C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting |
| D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality |
Western New Bridge Library Announcement
| Shortened Library Hours for Spring Break Library Hours have been shortened to 7hours a day （9:00am-4:00pm）for Spring Break from March 21 to March 30． |
| Coming Events |
| ·On Monday, March 21, at 10:30 am, Scott Sutton, a children’s writer, will tell stories to kids over seven．Sutton’s attractive style will surely inspire everyone present! ·At l:00pm, on March 23, the Georgetown musicians will present an Irish folk concert, which will be entertaining for the entire family．Come for the music and stay to check out some relevant books for the rest of the week! ·On Thursday, March 24, at 2:00pm, the annual Children's Gathering will take place in Room 201, the second-floor．Pick up an invitation in the Children's Room and return your RSVP（回复） to reserve your seat at the table by 3:00pm on Wednesday day, March 23．Only children are allowed in the gathering． ·At 10:30 am, on Friday, March 25, Enzo Monfre of the his kids’ science show, ENZOology, will bring Fossbls live! Surely Enzo will take the audience back in time, deep beneath the surface of the earth, to uncover the mysteries of killer dinosaurs, and more Enzo recently appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres Show-come and see him at the library! |
| Please note: In case of emergency, please call the Help Desk at 926-3736 and follow the procedures outlined on the voice message．The call-down service is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies．The Help Desk supplies service to you all the year round! For questions about all these, please contact hld@wnbl．org |
| Come for the great Fun; Stay for the relevant Books! |
To attend the annual Children's Gathering, one has to ____．
| A．make a reservation | B．apply in advance |
| C．buy a ticket | D．contact the call-down service |
According to the passage, Enzo Monfre will ____．
| A．show the children around a zoo |
| B．tell stories to children over seven |
| C．be present at the science show in person |
| D．lead the children to the Ellen DeGeneres Show |
．The Help Desk in this library supplies service____．
| A．during the daytime | B．incase of emergency |
| C．till the end of the Spring Break | D．after 22:00 pm every day |
We can learn from the passage that children can ____．
| A．attend all the activities with their parents |
| B．borrow some relevant books for the activities |
| C．participate in the activities from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm |
| D．choose only one of the activities according to their interest |
Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family．Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, "Mom, I can't peel potatoes．I have only one hand．"
Mom never looked up from sewing．"You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told me．"And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!"
In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next．When it was my turn, I shook my head．Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying．
That night I told Mom about it．She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look． The next afternoon, she took me back to school．At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars．
"Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised．She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm．Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung （横档） I reached．I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs．I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open．
One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing．I could hear Mom come into my room．"Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the girls would dance with me．"
For a long time, I didn't hear anything．Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat．" Her voice was soft and weak．I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks．Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf．She had never let me see her tears．Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom's attitude
when she made the child peel potatoes?
| A．Cruel． | B．Serious． | C．Strict． | D．Cold． |
From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ____．
| A．the skill to circle round a bar |
| B．the skill to throw and catch things |
| C．the speed of one's hand movement |
| D．the strength and skill to hang and swing |
What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply?
| A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it． |
| B．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity． |
| C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher． |
| D．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up． |
The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ____．
| A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep |
| B．the child's experience reminded Mom of that of her own |
| C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph |
| D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child's growth |
Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.
The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.
Decibels（分贝）measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.
Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.
A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales' ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.
Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.
Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?
| A．The man-made noises. | B．The noises made by themselves. |
| C．The sound of earthquakes. | D． The sound of the ice-breaking. |
Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?
| A．Different places with different types of noises. |
| B．The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises. |
| C．The ocean animals' reaction to noises. |
| D．The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean. |
We can know from the passage that many researchers think that the noise limit of one hundred twenty decibels would _____.
| A．prevent them from doing their research work |
| B．benefit them a lot in their research work |
| C．do good to their health |
| D．increase the industrial output |
According to the passage, what will scientists most probably do in the future?
| A．They will try their best to decrease noise. |
| B．They will work hard to cut down noise pollution. |
| C．They will study the effect of different noises. |
| D．They will protect animals from harmful noises. |
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling 
habits.
In fact, it’s likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a husband or wife, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a police or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you’ve never intended to be seen.
Some experts tell us boundaries are healthy, and it’s important to reveal (暴露) yourself to your friends, family and lovers in stages, at proper times. But few boundaries could remain. The digital equipment makes it easy for strangers to know who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can even reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is: Does that matter?
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey shows that 60 percent of them feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people often say one thing and do another. Only a tiny number of Americans change the behaviors in an effort to protect their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track your automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessandro Acquits has run a series of tests, and these tests show that the majority of Americans will not keep personal secret just in order to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券)
But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health: when you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone, do you wish you’d done more to protect it. So, when it comes to privacy, why do so many people say one thing and do another? And what can be done about it? What would be the experts advise on the relationships between friends?
| A．Friends should open their hearts to each other. |
| B．Friends should always be faithful to each other. |
| C．There should be a distance even between friends. |
| D．There should be fewer secrets between friends. |
The author says “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret” because ______.
| A．modern society has finally entered a much opened society |
| B．people leave privacy around when using modern technology |
| C．there are always people who are curious about others’ affairs |
| D．many search engines profit by selling people’s privacy |
According to Alessandro Acquits, most Americans _________.
| A．like to exchange their personal secret for the commercial benefit |
| B．aren’t interested in the pitiful commercial benefit to keep their personal secret |
| C．pay no attention to their personal secret for the commercial benefit |
| D．can’t keep the balance between their personal secret and the commercial benefit |
The best title for the passage could be _________?
| A．Is Privacy As Important As Health |
| B．What Can Be Done to Protect the Privacy |
| C．Does Privacy Matter |
| D．Does Modern Technology Reveal Privacy |
As computer games get to look more lifelike, it seems that their violence is spilling over into real life. It is reported that some dozens of children have been murdered since 1997, which has been linked to all obsession (着迷) with violent video games. Recently the parents of a 14-year-old murder victim in the UK blamed the killer's obsession with the game Manhunt, causing a government review of legislation (立法) to protect children.
Psychologists think there may be many reasons why violent games are more harmful to children than violent movies. Firstly, players are actively involved in violence, and may begin to see using weapons as second nature. Secondly, violent games provide repetitive aggressive (侵犯的) experiences that are rewarded by more killing.
Many studies have shown that people who play violent games regularly are more likely to show high levels of aggression. For instance, in 2000, scientists in Iowa State University found that people who played violent games were more likely to admit involvement in aggressive behaviors, including assaults (侵犯人体罪) or robberies.
A study of 13 to 14-year-old children showed that more than half had played games recommended only for over18s. The more violent the games they played, the more they considered physical aggression to be acceptable. Besides, children who play violent games are more prone (有做……倾向的) to arguing with teachers and fighting.
Experimental studies have also hinted at a possible link. In one, scientists asked a group of students to play a violent game, while another group played the nonviolent. Those who played the violent games were faster to react to aggressive words subsequently (随后) flashed on screen. We may infer from the first paragraph that .
| A．computer games have little to do with violence in real life |
| B．Manhunt has resulted in the death of one of its plays |
| C．lifelike computer games are forbidden in the UK |
| D．legislation to protect children in the UK still needs improving |
Violent games are more harmful to children than violent movies because .
| A．violent movies are not so attractive to children |
| B．the viewers can't take part in violent movies |
| C．violent movies are not popular with children |
| D．children can win awards in violent games |
What will be probably discussed in the paragraph following the passage？
| A．Further research on the harm of violent games. |
| B．Further differences between violent game and nonviolent games. |
| C．Ways to protect children from violent games. |
| D．The result of more experimental studies. |
What would be the best title for the passage？
| A．Games and Murder |
| B．Should Computer Games become lifelike？ |
| C．Legislation, effective or not？ |
| D．Violent Games and Nonviolent Games |