"This past year has been one of great celebration for many. The enthusiasm which greeted the Diamond Jubilee was, of course, especially memorable for me and my family.
It was humbling that so many chose to mark the anniversary of a duty which passed to me 60 years ago. People of all ages took the trouble to take part in various ways and in many nations. But perhaps most striking of all was to witness the strength of fellowship and friendship among those who had gathered together on these occasions.
On the barges and the bridges and the banks of the river there were people who had taken their places to cheer through the mist, undaunted by the rain. That day there was a tremendous sense of common determination to celebrate, triumphing(战胜) over the elements.
That same spirit was also in evidence from the moment the Olympic flame arrived on these shores. The flame itself drew hundreds and thousands of people on its journey around the British Isles, and was carried by every kind of deserving individual, many nominated for their own extraordinary service.
As London hosted a splendid summer of sport, all those who saw the achievement and courage at the Olympic and Paralympic Games were further inspired by the skill, dedication, training and teamwork of our athletes. In pursuing their own sporting goals, they gave the rest of us the opportunity to share something of the excitement and drama.
We were reminded, too, that the success of these great festivals depended to an enormous degree upon the dedication and effort of an army of volunteers. Those public-spirited people came forward in the great tradition of all those who devote themselves to keeping others safe, supported and comforted.
For many, Christmas is also a time for coming together. But for others, service will come first. Those serving in our armed forces, in our emergency services and in our hospitals, whose sense of duty takes them away from family and friends, will be missing those they love.
At Christmas I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story. A young mother and a dutiful father with their baby were joined by poor shepherds and visitors from afar. They came with their gifts to worship(崇拜) the Christ child. From that day on he has inspired people to commit themselves to the best interests of others.
This is the time of year when we remember that God sent his only son 'to serve, not to be served'. He restored love and service to the centre of our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.
It is my prayer this Christmas Day that his example and teaching will continue to bring people together to give the best of themselves in the service of others.
I wish you all a very happy Christmas. "Who most probably is the maker of this speech?
A.Queen of Great Britain. | B.King of Great Britain. |
C.Prime Minister of Great Britain. | D.Mayor of London. |
What might be the main purpose of this speech?
A.To make a summary of what has been done in the past years. |
B.To offer congratulations on the arrival of Christmas. |
C.To hold an anniversary celebration of an event. |
D.To express respect for and loyalty to God. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned by the speaker?
A.Enthusiasm and Friendship. |
B.Dedication and effort. |
C.Sacrifice and service. |
D.Civilization and peace. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The speaker was too busy to attend the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. |
B.Volunteers played a key role in the success of the Diamond Jubilee. |
C.The speaker showed great respect for those still at work at Christmas. |
D.The strength of the Christmas story lies in the worship of Jesus Christ. |
From New Delhi to Beijing,commuters(通勤者)spend a lot of time stuck in traffic.In the United States,Los Angeles(L.A.)and San Francisco tie for second place(并列第二)for having the worst traffic problems.Washington,D.C.is in first place with the worst traffic,according to the Texas A&M Transportation Institute.
In L.A..drivers spend sixty-one hours every year stuck in traffic.These drivers know all too well how bad the traffic can be.Professor Cyrus Shahabi also knows about traffic jams.He said,“It’s a prison of cars.There are too many cars,you can’t move around a lot.I live more than 65 kilometers from my office at the University of Southern California.in L.A..I’m always late even with the help of a navigation(导航)system.I thought it would be appropriate to do something to solve it.”
Therefore,he and PhD student Ugur Demiryurek decided to develop an app for that.The ClearPath app claims to do what other navigation systems cannot.Professor Shahabi says his program uses historical data to predict traffic conditions even before the driver leaves the house.
ClearPath uses two and a half years worth of traffic data from 9,000 sensors(传感器)on the roads of L.A..It also collects information on accidents.
Professor Shahabi says his system does more than just respond to current traffic conditions.With ClearPath,he says,a driver can enter what time he wants to leave on a specific time and date,and ClearPath will give the fastest route.It looks at the entire road network,including surface streets as well as highways,before the driver hits the road.
Ugur Demiryurek says they will launch the free ClearPath app for roads in L.A.in two months.In a year,he and Professor Shahabi hope to have ClearPath available nationwide and overseas once they can collect traffic data from other cities.
“I thought always that L.A.had the worst traffic,but now I know that Shanghai,Beijing,Seoul,Tokyo,believe it or not,Singapore,Hong Kong definitely are examples that can immediately use this.”The ClearPath app can mainly be used to __________.
A.predict traffic conditions | B.kill the boring time |
C.avoid the traffic accidents | D.collect the current news |
What do we know from Professor Cyrus Shahabi’s words in Paragraph 2?
A.Living too far is his main reason for being late for work. |
B.Many drivers broke the traffic rules on their way to work. |
C.His invention was inspired by his experiences on his way to work. |
D.The navigation system he used on his way to work is out of date. |
What does Paragraph 5 mainly tell us about ClearPath?
A.Its working principal. | B.Its powerful function. |
C.Its appearance. | D.Its safety. |
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.L.A.has the worst traffic problems in the world.
B.Around the world ClearPath has been used widely.
C.Many cities can provide the data to do the study.
D.ClearPath will have a big market in the future.
This week Faith Lapidus and Doug Johnson will tell you about Chuck Berry.Chuck Berry,born on October 18,1926,is often called the father of rock and roll.He is one of the most popular and influential performers of rhythm-and-blues and rock‘n’roll music during the 1950s,1960s and 1970s.
He started singing in church when he was six years old.His interest in music stuck with him.A lot of Chuck Berry’s material is about teenage life,especially school.Chuck Berry left school when he was 17.He headed west with two friends,but they did not get far.They were arrested after they used a gun to steal a car in Kansas City,Missouri.He was set free after four years.
Chuck Berry signed his first recording contract in 1955,with the company Chess Records.Because one of his early hits,“Rock&Roll Music”,hit big in the United States then,which was greeted with enthusiastic reviews.Many other famous bands copied it again and again.
Filmmaker Taylor Hackford made a documentary called“Hail! Hail! Rock‘n’Roll”, named for a Chuck Berry song.It centered on the making of a concert to honor the musician on his 60th birthday in 1986.Guitarist Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones organized the concert.Listening to Chuck Berry songs got him interested in music.In Keith Richards’words,“I didn’t dream I could make a living at it but that’s what I wanted to do.”More than 75 artists and bands have done their own versions of Chuck Berry songs.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland,Ohio,included Chuck Berry in its first year of honors in 1986.The Hall of Fame had this to say:“While no individual can be said to have invented rock and roll,Chuck Berry comes the closest of any single figure to being the one who put all the essential pieces together.”
Thank you for your listening.Faith Lapidus and Doug Johnson were your announcers.The underlined words“hit big”in Paragraph 3 probably mean“__________”.
A.won great Success | B.made rapid progress |
C.got into big trouble | D.made a small difference |
Guitarist Keith Richards is mentioned in Paragraph 4 to show ___________.
A.music is a way of making a life | B.Chuck Berry influenced him a lot |
C.he disliked Chuck Berry in fact | D.he is a real fan of Chuck Berry |
Which of the following about Chuck Berry is true?
A.Chuck Berry was the first to invent rock and roll on his own. |
B.Chuck Berry was put into prison for leaving school in 1943. |
C.Chuck Berry can be said to have formed rock and roll’s basic structure. |
D.Chuck Berry is the most popular and influential performer. |
Where does this text probably come from?
A.An advertisement. | B.A science fiction. |
C.A magazine. | D.A radio report. |
Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to the patients at the clinic.
One evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. He’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old son. “Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus till morning.” He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success. “I guess it’s my face... I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments...” For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: “I could sleep in this chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.”
I told him we would find him a bed. When I had finished the dishes, I talked with him. He told me he fished for a living to support his five children, and his wife, who was hopelessly crippled(残疾的)from a back injury. He didn’t tell it by way of complaint. Next morning, just before he left, as if asking a great favor, he said, “Could I come back and stay the next time?” He added, “Your children made me feel at home. ”
On his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and the largest oysters(牡蛎)I had ever seen. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a. m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.
In the years he came to stay overnight with us and there was never a time that he did not bring us vegetables from his garden. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned how to accept the bad without complaint when facing the misfortune.Why did the author agree to let the man spend the night in his house at last?
A.Because the man said others refused to accommodate him. |
B.Because the man said he would not cause much inconvenience. |
C.Because the man said he had come from the eastern shore. |
D.Because the man said he had been hunting for a room since noon. |
How long would it take the man to travel from his home to Baltimore by bus?
A.About 1 hour. | B.About 2 hours. | C.About 3 hours. | D.About 4 hours. |
From the text we can know that_____________.
A.the author’s children were kind and friendly to the man |
B.the man was fed up with his hard-work and his family |
C.John Hopkins Hospital provided rooms-for the patients to live in |
D.the author and his family were thought highly of by his neighbors |
The author’s family were grateful to know the man because__________.
A.he often brought them fish and vegetables from his garden |
B.he paid them money for his staying |
C.he taught them how to accept the bad without complaint |
D.he stayed only overnight with the writer’s family |
This year some twenty-three hundred teenagers (young people aged from 13 to 19) from all over the world will spend about ten months in US homes. They will attend US schools, meet US teenagers, and form impressions of the real America. At the same time, about thirteen hundred American teenagers will go to other countries to learn new languages and gain a new understanding of the rest of the world.
Here is a two-way student exchange in action. Fred, nineteen, spent last year in Germany with George’s family. In turn, George’s son Mike spent a year in Fred’s home in America.
Fred, a lively young man, knew little German when he arrived, but after two months’ study, the language began to come to him. Schools were completely different from what he had expected—much harder. Students rose respectfully when the teacher entered the room. They took fourteen subjects instead of the six that are usual in the United States. There were almost no outside activities.
Family life, too, was different. The father’s word was law, and all activities were around the family rather than the individual(个人). Fred found the food too simple at first. Also, he missed having a car.
“Back home, you pick up some friends in a car and go out and have a good time. In Germany, you walk, but you soon learn to like it.”
At the same time, In America, Mike, a friendly German boy, was also forming his idea.“I suppose I should criticize(批评) American schools,” he says. “It is far too easy by our level. But I have to say that I like it very much. In Germany we do nothing but study. Here we take part in many outside activities. I think that maybe your schools are better in training for citizens(公民). There ought to be some middle ground between the two.The world exchange programme is mainly to ________.
A.help teenagers in other countries know the real America |
B.send students in America to travel in Germany |
C.have teenagers learn new languages |
D.let students learn something about other countries |
Fred and Mike agreed that ________.
A.American food tastes better than German food. |
B.Americans and Germans were both friendly |
C.German schools were harder than American schools |
D.There were more cars on the streets in America |
What is special in American schools is that ________.
A.there is some middle ground between the two teaching buildings |
B.students go outside to enjoy themselves in a car |
C.students usually take fourteen subjects in all |
D.there are a lot of after-school activities |
After experiencing the American school life, Mike thought _________.
A.German schools trained students to be better citizens |
B.A better education should include something good from both America and Germany |
C.American schools were not as good as German schools |
D.The easy life in the American schools was more helpful to students |
Money and Happiness
A Guide to Living the good life
Author: Laura Rowley
Publisher: Wiley (March 1, 2005)
Laura Rowley makes us all understand the money-happiness connection in our own lives so that we spend our time and our efforts wisely. She offers insight that every reader can use to make smarter decisions that will lead to living a rich life in every possible definition of the term.
The Happiness Makeover
How to Teach Yourself to Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day
Author: M. J. Ryan
Publisher: Broadway (May 10, 2005)
Ryan’s own desire to be happier first led(引领) her to study what is known about happiness from brain science, psychology, and the wisdom traditions of the world. The Happiness Makeover draws on this wide-ranging knowledge and presents a plan that will help you:
Clear away happiness hindrances(障碍物) like worry, fear, envy, and grudges
Discover happiness boosters like meaningful work, challenge, and gratitude
Learn to think optimistically(乐观地)(it is really possible!)
Find daily ways to truly enjoy, even relish, the moments of your life Happiness
The Science Behind Your Smile
Author: Daniel Nettle
Publisher: Oxford University Press (July 1, 2005)
This is the first book to look thoroughly at what happiness is and how it works. Nettle examines whether people are basically happy or unhappy, whether success can make us happy, why some people are happier than others, and much more.
Hormones(荷尔蒙), health, and Happiness
Author: Steven F. Hotze
Publisher: Forrest Publishing (April, 2005)
Dr Steven Hotze is leading a wellness revolution that advances a new model of health care. In Hormones, Health, and Happiness you are shown how to reach and maintain optional cell, tissue(身体组织), and organ(器官) functioning so that you can enjoy a better quality of life.At least how many books are written by women according to the passage above?
A.4 | B.3 | C.2 | D.1 |
Whose model will possibly help readers obtain health naturally(自然地)?
A.Laura Rowley | B.Ryan’s | C.Daniel Nettle’s | D.Steven F. Hotze’s |
Which book is the result of the author’s own need to know more about happiness?
A.Hormones, health, and Happiness |
B.Money and Happines |
C.The Happiness Makeover |
D.The Science Behind Your Smile |