TherewasanAmericanwriterwhooft-优题课

The students start arriving on our upper playground from about 8:45 am. School begins at 8:55 am.
The children do their early morning work while their class teacher takes the attendance register (记录，登记). The attendance of every child attending school each morning and afternoon is recorded in a special book.
The teacher reads out each child’s name in turn. On hearing his/her name, the child replies 'yes Mrs. (teacher's name)' and the teacher notes down in the book whether the child is in school or not. Sometimes the children will answer their teacher in a different language e.g. French or German.
At 9:10 am the children go to assembly in our main hall. They sit on the floor in rows with the youngest children at the front and the older children at the back. As the children enter the hall they listen quietly to the music playing. Each week has a different musical theme and the children are asked to listen out for particular things.
In our assemblies the children listen to a story, sing a song and pray. The story is either taken from the Christian Bible or is a story with a moral. The songs we sing are particularly chosen with the children in mind. Some of our songs are sung with the English sign language.
To supply for the children of different faiths, some of our assemblies do not have a Christian theme. These assemblies are a time for us to gather together to celebrate the achievements of our children and of the school as a whole.
Every parent has the right to withdraw their child from a school assembly.
1. How many times does the teacher take the registration everyday?
A. Once. B. Twice. C. Three times. D. Not mentioned.
2. Basing on what do the children line up in the assemblies?
A. Body-weight. B. Body-height. C. Ages. D. Classes.
3. Where do the students listen to music every day?
A. In their classroom. B. In their dormitory.
C. In the main hall. D. On the upper playground.
4. According to the passage, what happens in an Assembly?
A. Tell stories in turns. B. Sing English songs sometimes with gestures.
C. Pray for good luck. D. Listen to stories taken from the Christian Bible.
5. Which of the following statements are NOT true?
A. All the activities in the assemblies have a theme based on the Bible.
B. The assemblies are for fun to get together.
C. It’s not the duty for the children to attend the assemblies.
D. The assemblies are to celebrate the achievements of our children.

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. CocaCola,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 Chinesein 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 kanjithe 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 earpleasing 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 53yearold 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 Frenchstyle language police, which try to support a law that forbids advertising in English. Rather, committee members and traditionalists hope a nonstop 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.CocaCola 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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A guided tour of everyday technology from the pages of the New York Times Circuits section, with easytounderstand explanations of the inner workings of computers, CD players, ATM’s, digital cameras and 76 other devices, 100 illustrations，St. Martin’s Press. 195 pages. Hardcover.
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The book gathers together the paper’s finest articles about humankind’s quest to understand natural disasters. Possible causes and effects of global warming are studied, as is the surprising force of nature’s violent excitement in such phenomena as hurricanes, forest fires, sinkholes and others. Illustrated, soft cover, 216 pages,$16.95.
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Every campaign since 1900—including the historic 200 races—in images from the New York Times Photo Archives.With 350 photos, contemporary newspaper reports and an introduction by prizewinning historian Alan Brinkldy DK Publishing. 410 pages. Hardcover.
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 longrunning 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 43page 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 lifegiving 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 celebritywritten 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