Dear Teresa Silva,
The official of the university has reported to us that you are an English major who meets the high standards for membership in Sigma Tau Delta. As is known, Sigma Tau Delta was founded in 1924 at Dakota Wesleyan University. It is an international collegiate honor society for students of English. It presently has over 850 chapters in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. Over 9,000 new members are admitted into the organization annually.
Sigma Tau Delta’s purpose is to promote literature and writing and to advance the study of the written word. Members gather annually in the spring at the international meeting to present papers and share experiences and ideas within the English subject. The Society offers tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, awards, as well as publication chances in its journals The Rectangle and The Sigma Tau Delta Review.
It is our pleasure if you can complete the application for Sigma Tau Delta membership. If you would like to be included in this spring’s induction (入会) ceremony, please complete the application form, and include amount to cover both local and international fees. Your completed form must be received by date to be considered for the upcoming induction ceremony.
We congratulate you on your outstanding academic record and hope you will join us as a Sigma Tau Delta member. If you want to get more information, please visit our website www.sigmataudelta.org, or give us a call. The phone number is 583-2864.
Sincerely,
Emily Lister According to the passage, Sigma Tau Delta ______.
| A．deals with language learning |
| B．opens its door to all the students of English |
| C．changes its members every year |
| D．mainly takes charge of scientific publications |
At the annual meeting, members of Sigma Tau Delta have the chance to ______.
| A．meet all the chapter leaders |
| B．receive tens of thousands of dollars |
| C．share experiences and views |
| D．choose a particular subject as a major |
This passage is basically a letter of _____.
| A．introduction | B．congratulation | C．thanks | D．invitation |
When you're surfing the Internet on your laptop from your dorm or home, do you know your personal details are being gathered secretly? And would you be surprised to know the information may be sold cheaply to advertisers and marketers?
According to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, all it takes is a tiny file in a computer－a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters－to record the computer user's age, gender, location, favorite movies and hobbies.
The newspaper reports that Lotame Solutions Inc., a New York company, uses an advanced software called “beacon” to capture what people are typing on a website.
Lotame packages that data into profiles (个人资料) about individuals, only without their names, and sells the profiles to companies seeking customers. Batches of such data may be sold for a few dollars.
The Wall Street Journal survey discovered that spying on Internet users is one of the fastestgrowing businesses on the World Wide Web.
The “cookie”－a tiny text file put on your PC by websites or marketing firms which might be used to remember your preferences for one site, or to track you across many sites is already old news. There are new and more complex tools such as “beacon” which scan in real time what people are doing on a webpage. These beacons instantly assess the Internet user's location, income, shopping interests and even medical conditions.
Millions of Internet users around the world also face unprecedented (空前的) threats. Private, sensitive, personal and business information is being gathered and sold without their knowledge.
Companies insist the information they gather is anonymous(匿名的) and the data is used harmlessly. But the technology has grown so powerful that even some of the biggest websites in the US don't know that they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers. These include MSN.com and Yahoo.com.
Next time you visit a webpage and find an ad banner advertising something you've been planning to buy, don't be amazed that your computer can read your mind.The purpose of the passage is to ______.
| A．introduce a tiny file in a computer－a single code |
| B．show how your individual information was let out when you surf the Internet |
| C．show how to protect your privacy |
| D．introduce a sophisticated software called “beacon” |
All of the following statements are not true EXCEPT ______.
| A．Lotame sells the profiles about individuals to companies seeking customers with their age, gender, location, hobbies and names |
| B．spying on Internet users is the fastestgrowing business on the World Wide Web |
| C．some of the biggest websites in the US know they were installing intrusive files on visitors' computers |
| D．a tiny file in a computer－a single code consisting of a long series of numbers and letters can record the user's information |
What’s the writer’s attitude to the issue?
| A．neutral | B．optimistic | C．worried | D．indifferent |
I turned 16 on Friday, but the Driver’s License Office in my small hometown was only open on Tuesday, so I had to wait through that extremely long weekend and an endless Monday before going in for my examination.
I came to the Driver’s License Office half an hour earlier that Tuesday morning, pacing back and forth on the worn porch waiting for the office to open at eight. I reviewed the driver’s manual for the hundredth time. I was ready. I knew the manual backward and forward; I had made an “A” in my driver’s training course, and I was a genius behind the wheel.
Finally, the door opened and a weary-looking man in a brown uniform let me in.
“Let me guess. You want to take the driver’s test.” his voice was not enthusiastic.
“Yes!” I answered in excitement.
“Ok, fill this out, and if you pass we’ll go for a drive.”
I grabbed the test and rushed to the desk where I filled it out in record time. A quick check showed that my paper was perfect.
“Let’s get in the car.” He tossed me a set of keys, and I slid behind the wheel. Everything was going smoothly as we pulled out of the empty parking lot. I signaled a right hand turn, and we were on a deserted street. This was going to be easy.
“Turn left and go up Young Blood Hill,” he ordered. My hometown is in the mountains, and Young Blood Hill was almost vertical (垂直的). As I eased up the steep hill and came to a stop at the top, I heard the car’s engine die. My heart sank. I would have to start it again without rolling back down the hill. I swallowed hard and turned the key; as I moved my foot from the brake, the car began to roll. I suppose I could have rolled all the way back to the bottom except for one thing. There was something behind me which stopped my roll with a rough shake and crash of glass—a police car.
The policeman wrote me a ticket as I looked over the damage, and the man from the Driver’s License Office slid behind the wheel. I waited until we had parked before I asked how long a person had to wait before taking the test again.What time does “that Tuesday morning” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．The morning when he made an “A” in his driver’s training course. |
| B．The morning when he knew the driver’s manual perfectly well. |
| C．The Tuesday morning right before his 16th birthday. |
| D．The first Tuesday morning immediately after his 16th birthday. |
Why didn’t the car roll back to the bottom?
| A．It hit a police car. |
| B．The engine died. |
| C．The writer braked it hard. |
| D．The man from the Driver’s License Office helped make it stop. |
From the underlined sentence “I grabbed the test and rushed to the desk where I filled it out in record time”, we can know that ______ .
| A．the writer didn’t like the man from the Driver’s License Office. |
| B．the writer was excited and eager to go for the driver’s test. |
| C．time for the test was tight. |
| D．the test paper was very easy. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．The man from the Driver’s License Office got a ticket. |
| B．The policeman drove the car away after the accident. |
| C．The writer failed the driving test. |
| D．The writer didn’t want to take the driving test again. |
The Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, is the best place in Europe for discovering dinosaur bones. Dinosaur Farm Museum was established in 1993. Since then, the museum has introduced the study of old bones to many more people.
What we offer
Visitors can enjoy our displays, or watch us cleaning dinosaur bones and other fossils found on the island’s beaches.
The museum has a variety of different fossils, many of them never displayed to the public before. As more are discovered all the time, you can be sure of seeing something new each time you visit.
We have a free Fossil Identification Service, so you can bring in any fossils you have and find out what they are. In addition, we have a reasonably-priced Museum Shop, where you can buy a souvenir of your visit. You could also bring a picnic and relax in our special picnic area.
Activities
Fossil hunts are organized from the museum and run all year round. Groups of up to 25 are guided on a local beach where they can search for fossils. All these hunts are fully licensed and insured, and guides can help to identify any fossils found and point out things of interest.
Due to the popularity of these hunts, all trips must be booked by a personal visit to Dinosaur Farm Museum.
Did you know…?
The BBC programme “Live from Dinosaur Island” was filmed along the coast here, and Dinosaur Farm Museum was the base for the television crew.
Find out more
Check out our website at www.isleofwight/dinosaurfarm to learn in detail how we dig for dinosaurs. You can also read about the many different kinds of dinosaurs which lived in this area, which was connected to Europe 120 million years ago.According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Isle of Wight is the best place in the world for discovering dinosaur bones. |
| B．There is a special picnic area for vistors. |
| C．The museum has a variety of different fossils which have been displayed to the public before. |
| D．Vistors can also find many different kinds of dinosaurs that live there. |
One can book a fossil hunt ______.
| A．through a BBC program |
| B．through the museum’s website |
| C．by making a call to the museum |
| D．by visiting the museum personally |
Which of the following is free of charge at the museum?
| A．Food for a picnic. |
| B．Attending fossil hunts. |
| C．A souvenir of the museum. |
| D．Having fossils identified. |
The passage is most probably taken from ______.
| A．a conference interview |
| B．a travel magazine |
| C．a history book |
| D．a science fiction |
Soccer is played by millions of people all over the world, but there have only been few players who were truly great. How did these players get that way---was it through training and practice, or are great players “born, not made”? First, these players came from places that have had famous stars in the past---players that a young boy can look up to and try to imitate. In the history of soccer, only seven countries have ever won the World Cup---three from South America and four from Western Europe. There has never been a great national team---or a really great player---from North America or from Asia. Second, these players have all had years of practice in the game. Alfredo Di Stefano was the son of a soccer player, as was Pele. Most players begin playing the game at the age of three or four.
Finally, many great players come from the same kind of neighborhood---a poor, crowded area where a boy’s dream is not to be a doctor, lawyer, or businessman, but to become a rich, famous athlete or entertainer. For example, Liverpool, which produced the Beatles, had one of the best English soccer teams in recent years. Pele practiced in the street with a “ball” made of rags. And George Best learned the tricks that made him famous by bouncing the ball off a wall in the slums(贫民窟) of Belfast.
All great players have a lot in common, but that doesn’t explain why they are great. Hundreds of boys played in those Brazilian streets, but only one became Pele. The greatest players are born with some unique quality that sets them apart from all the others.According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?
| A．Soccer is popular all over the world, but truly great players are few. |
| B．Millions of people all over the world are playing soccer, but only seven countries have ever had famous stars. |
| C．Only seven countries from South America and Western Europe have ever had national teams. |
| D．Soccer seems the least popular in North America and Asia. |
The world “tricks” at the end of Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______.
| A．experience | B．training |
| C．skills | D．cheating |
The Brazilian streets are mentioned to show that ______.
| A．a great soccer player may be born in a slum area |
| B．people in poor areas are born with some unique quality |
| C．children in poor areas start playing football at the age of three or four |
| D．famous soccer players live in slum areas |
The writer mentions all the factors that may affect a soccer player’s success except ______.
| A．his family background | B．his neighborhood |
| C．his character | D．his practice |
Every year in America, high-school students who want to go to college take a national examination called the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT in a shortened way. Their score is an important factor in determining which colleges will admit them. The Scholastic Aptitude Test measures one’s mathematical ability and use of the English language. Traditionally, the English part involved grammatical questions and paragraphs that test reading comprehension.
But the SAT folks have added a single question, to be answered in an essay, handwritten on the spot. That’s an interesting way to test writing ability, but content aside, have you ever seen young people’s handwriting lately? Or anyone’s for that matter, in this age of computer keyboards? Students write numbers and sign their names on bank checks. They scribble class notes in what can generously be described as the written word.
Yet today’s kids are asked to write, thoughtfully and clearly, for several minutes on this SAT Test. Good luck to the text scorers who must work out difficultly the scrawl (潦草的笔迹)of young people who’ve been typing on computers since the age of three! Teachers insist that good handwriting can not only help one’s score on the SAT, but also, later on in life, impress potential employers. And don’t forget, we all have to turn to handwriting from time to time, as computers go down when power goes out.
Then how to improve the handwriting? Well, with a few simple steps you can improve your handwriting.
Position the pen. You should hold the pen between the forefinger and the thumb. You should then rest it near the first knuckle（指节）of the middle finger. The rest of your fingers should be curled （卷曲) under your hand and your hand should remain relaxed.
Evaluate your handwriting. What do you like and what you don’t like about the way you write? Make changes to your letters till you like how they look.
Take your time. Make sure that, while you are writing, you take your time. Speed is bound to make your writing messy- looking. If it is worth writing well, then take your time.
Practice. Practice it a lot; it’s not enough to do it once and hope for the best. It has to be something you work at to make great improvements.The SAT tests students on __________.
| A．math, English, reading and handwriting |
| B．math, grammar, reading and handwriting |
| C．math, foreign language and writing |
| D．math, foreign language and handwriting |
Which of the following should you avoid when improving your handwriting?
| A．Practice writing a lot. |
| B．Writing as fast as you can. |
| C．Relaxing your hand when holding the pen. |
| D．Changing your letters till you like how they look. |
The text is to present the fact that __________.
| A．writing seems to be very important in the SAT |
| B．those who will go to college have to take the SAT |
| C．students should practice handwriting more often |
| D．kids don’t know how to write in the computer age |