This year’s World Food Prize will honor two leaders of hunger-fighting groups based in the United States. The winners are David Beckmann of Bread for the World and Jo Luck of Heifer International. They will share the prize of 250,000 dollars. The World Food Prize usually goes to researchers or top policy officials. This is the first time it will recognize the work of nongovernmental groups.
Heifer International provides donated animals and training to farmers in 50 countries. Jo Luck remains president until next year. Under her leadership, the group’s budget grew from less than 10,000,000 dollars to more than 130,000,000 dollars. Jo Luck, “People pass on their gifts of not just animals but also gifts of training and leadership. We have seen cases where we have been gone 5 and 10 years and we go back and they have developed roads and built schools, and they have other communities receiving the animals and the training. You just give them those resources and that training and opportunity, and you cannot hold them back.” She told the story of a woman from a poor village in Zimbabwe. A family member helped send her to school in the United States with earnings from a donated milk goat. She received a doctoral degree. Jo Luck, “That is what a goat did. That is one example. The animal is only the catalyst(催化剂). That is the beginning of many other things that follow.”
David Beckmann became president of Bread for the World in 1991. He is an economist and a Christian clergyman(牧师). Bread for the World organizes people from religious and non-religious groups to write, call and visit members of Congress(国会). The purpose is to support measures to improve the lives of the poor. David Beckmann points to big increase in American development assistance. He said, “I think that would not have happened without the support of hundreds of thousands of people and churches that are part of Bread for the World and that keep the pressure on their members of Congress.” The prize committee also credited his efforts with helping to increase aid to needy families in the United States.The World Food Prize honors ________.
A.people who fight against hunger |
B.researchers or top policy officials |
C.people from nongovernmental groups |
D.people who have advanced human development |
Why does Jo Luck receive the prize?
A.Under her leadership, people develop roads and build schools. |
B.She has served Heifer International for almost 20 years. |
C.Under her leadership, Heifer International helps farmers in 50 countries. |
D.She makes the group’s budget grow to more than 130 million. |
What has David Beckmann done to deserve the prize?
A.He has trained farmers in 50 countries. |
B.He has made a great contribution to science. |
C.He has led Bread for the World for more than 20 years. |
D.He has aimed to support measures to improve the lives of the poor. |
ARIEL, West Bank: A suicide bomber blew up near Israeli soldiers outside a Jewish settlement in the West Bank yesterday, killing at least three people and wounding about 30 others, the settlement's mayor and rescue workers said.
"A suicide bomber came and there were many soldiers...and he blew himself up." said Ron Nachman, mayor of the settlement of Ariel. "Soldiers were among the casualties. "People on the spot said the bomber blew up after soldiers eating at a food stand in a petrol station at the entrance of the settlement found him. According to some people on the spot accounts reported by Israeli media, a soldier shot and wounded the bomber, who then exploded.
The Magen David Adorn ambulance service said at least three people were killed and at least 30 wounded in the blast, which set the bomber burning at Ariel, about 25 kilometers east of Tel Avi v.
A fire brigade official said: "The bomber was still burning when we got there and we put out the fire immediatelly."
Meanwhile, a blast shook homes in Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp early yesterday, damaging buildings but causing no injuries, Palestinian sources said. They said the bomb was planted outside the home of a member of Palestimian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction in Ain el-Hilwch camp, and exploded while the family was sleeping.
Some of people including ________were killed or wounded in the blast accident.
A.soldiers | B.mayor |
C.rescue workers | D.a fire brigade official |
The suicide bomber blew himself up because________.
A.there was something wrong with his brains |
B.a soldier shot and wounded him |
C.he couldn't see the settlement's mayor |
D.he wanted to make himself known |
What does the underlined word "casuahies" probably mean in the second paragraph?________
A.sufferers | B.killers | C.passersby | D.losers |
It can be concluded that the passage is most probably part of a (n)________.
A.announcement | B.advertisement |
C.news report | D.science research |
Some people believe that international sport brings about good will between the nations and that ff countries play games together they will learn to live together. Others say that the opposite is true: that international contests encourage false national pride and lead to misunderstanding and hatred. There is probably some truth in both arguments, but in recent years the Olympic Games have done little to support the view that sport encourages international brotherhood. Not only was there the terrible incident with the murder of athlets, but the Games were also ruined by those incidents caused mainly by minor national contests.
One country received its second - place medal with great anger after the hockey final. There had been noisy scenes at the end of the hockey match, the losers objecting to the final decisions. They were certain that one of their goals should not have been dismissed and that the opposite side's victory was unfair. Their manager was angry when he said: "This wasn't hockey. Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished. "The president of the society said later that such words could result in the pause of the team for at least three years.
The American basketball team announced that they would not give away first place to Russia, after a fighting end to their contest. The game had ended in quarrel. It was thought at first that the United States had won, by a single point, but it was announced that there were three seconds still to play, A Russian player then threw the ball from one end of the court to the other, and another player beat it into the basket. It was the first time the USA had ever lost an Olympic basketball match. The judges discussed the matter for four and a half hours before announcing that the result would stand. The American players then decided not to receive the silver medals.
Incidents of this kind will continue as long as sport is played for honors or money rather than for the love of the game. The suggestion that sportsmen should compete as individuals , or in non national teams, might be too much to hope for. But in the present organization of the Olympics there is far too much that encourages dangerous nationalism.
According to the author, recent Olympic Games have ________.
A.brought about goodwill between the nations |
B.made only false national pride |
C.hardly showed any international friendship |
D.led to more and more misunderstanding and hatred |
What did the manager mean by saying, "... Hockey and the International Hockey Society are finished"? ________.
A.His team would no longer take part in international games |
B.Hockey and the society are both ruined by the unfair decisions |
C.There should be no more hockey matches organized by the society |
D.The society should be dismissed |
What conclusion can be drawn from the passage? ________.
A.The organization of the Olympic Games must be improved |
B.Athletes should compete as individuals in the Olympic Games |
C.Sport should be played competitively rather than for the love of the game |
D.International contests lead to misunderstanding between nations. |
The Fourth "21th Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.
Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.
Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association (CUESA).
Co-sponsors (联办单位): English Speaking Union (ESU), Lotus Software (China)Co. Ltd. , Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.
Date: March 26 ( Friday), 1999.
Place: Hilton Shanghai.
Competition Format (形式) : Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three -minute off - hand speech and a three - minute question and answer period with the judges.
Prepared speech period: six minutes.
Q & A period: three minutes.
Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony (和谐)in a new age + your personal opinion. (Topice for the off hand speech will be given on the day of competition).
Prizes: Besides books and certificates (证书), the top two winners will be offered scholarships(奖学金) to travel to the annual international English -speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 1999. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one - year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language(IATEFL)
The main purpose of this passage is ________.
A.to invite you to take part in the competition |
B.to tell you some information of the competition |
C.to help to improve your spoken English |
D.to show you how to win the competition |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?________.
A.Where and when it will take place. |
B.Its program. |
C.What each winner will be offered. |
D.The number of its competitors. |
Suppose you get the sixth place, you'll________ .
A.travel to London for free. |
B.become a one - year member of IATEFL |
C.get some money , some books and a certificate |
D.get a chance to study in Singapore |
An "off- hand speech"is________.
A.a speech not longer than three minutes |
B.a speech without preparation |
C.a speech with a piece of paper in hand |
D.a speech which is well prepared |
Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants. But in the executive(主管的) circle, beauty can become a liability.
While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.
Handsome male executives were considered having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.
Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.
All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.
Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly"qualifies required.
This is true even in politics, "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently, " says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates(候选人). She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, in order of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.
The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.
The word "liability" most probably means ________.
A.disadvantage | B.advantage | C.misfortune | D.trouble |
Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness________
A.turns out to be a disadvantage to men |
B.is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women |
C.has as little effect on men as on women |
D.affects men and women alike |
It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often________.
A.practical | B.supportive | C.old - fashioned | D.one - sided |
The author writes this passage to ________.
A.give advice to job - seekers who are attractive |
B.discuss the disadvantages of being attractive |
C.demand equal rights for women |
D.state the importance of appearance |
President Clinton was born in the little southern town of Hope, Arkansas, on August 19,1946. But his name was not Bill Clinton. It was William Jefferson Blythe. His mother named his for his father, who had been killed in a car accident a few months before he was born. When Bill was four years old, his mother married Roger Clinton who then legally became Bill’s father. Roger Clinton and Bill’s mother had a son, Roger Jr.
Bill Clinton studies international affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, D. C. He won a Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford University in Britain. There, he met other students with whom he has continued life-long friendships. One of them is Robert Reich, who was just nominated to be Secretary of Labor. After Oxford, Bill Clinton earned a law degree at Yale University.
In 1973, Bill Clinton became a law professor at the University of Arkansas, but he was too interested in politics to stay at the university. He campaigned for the House of Representatives but was defeated. In 1976, he was elected General for the state of Arkansas, the state government’s chief lawyer.
Two years later, Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas. He was defeated for re-election after his first two-year term. But he was elected Governor again in 1982. He has been re-elected to that office every two years since then.
Bill Clinton married lawyer Hillary Rodham Rodham in 1975. She kept Rodham as her last name until it became an issue during her husband’s 1980 campaign for governor. Since then, she has been known as Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Clintons have a daughter, Chelsea.
70.We learn that Bill Clinton’s father ________.
A.died before Bill Clinton was born |
B.died when Bill Clinton was a few months old |
C.left his wife after Bill Clinton was born |
D.was his mother’s second husband |
71.Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas in ________.
A.1976 | B.1978 | C.1980 | D.1973 |
72.Hillary Rodham did not change her last name until ________.
A.she married Clinton |
B.she gave birth to their daughter |
C.Clinton campaigned for President |
D.Clinton was defeated in his campaign for governor |