A nameless British millionaire is currently putting people to the test by handing out £1,000 to those he randomly meets in the street.All he'd ask is that they'd do something positive with the cash.The reactions are varied,from the surprised to the suspicious to the simply delighted.He has given away close to £100,000 to people he has met around the world.He hands those that he chooses a card explaining his project and allows them 48 hours to get in touch.
“Mr.Lucky” is from London,in his late thirties and appears wearing rolled-up jeans and with a camera around his neck.Working for an insurance company abroad,he earned his fortune and resigned last year after having realized he had more money than he knew what to do with.
“I once booked myself a flight into space;I thought I'd fulfill my childhood dream.Then I told my friends and when the conversation changed to what they would do if they had that amount of money,I felt embarrassed.Their ideas were much more generous,interesting and responsible than mine,” said Mr.Lucky.After canceling his space flight and struggling to choose a worthy cause for his cash,he decided to set up the WeAreLucky project.“I didn't want to just pass on my luck;I also wanted to share the responsibility.I decided to give away £1,000 every day.I'd asked the receivers to fill in a brief questionnaire to explain their intentions in using the money.”
But is handing over the responsibility to others really a responsible thing to do? How does he know the money will be used properly? “I'm not going to judge or start checking up on them.Sometimes what we need to do is just believing others,” he said with nearly childlike enthusiasm.How do people feel when offered £1,000 by “Mr.Lucky”?
| A.Shocked. | B.Cheerful. |
| C.Embarrassed. | D.Stressful. |
How did Mr.Lucky get so much money?
| A.Flying into space. |
| B.Giving out some questionnaires to people. |
| C.Setting up a web site. |
| D.Working in an insurance company. |
Which conclusion can be drawn from the third paragraph?
| A.What Mr.Lucky dreamed in his teens is to fly into space. |
| B.What Mr.Lucky wants to do is to pass on his fortune. |
| C.Why Mr.Lucky decided to set up the WeAreLucky. |
| D.Why Mr.Lucky changed the way he spent money. |
Why did Mr.Lucky hand out his money?
| A.He was easy-going and rich. |
| B.He wanted to help the poor. |
| C.He believed people could use it properly. |
| D.He needed people to share his responsibility. |
One of India’s top engineering schools has restricted Internet access in its boarding houses, saying addiction to surfing, gaming and blogging was affecting students' performance, making them lonely and even suicidal.
Authorities at the best Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai said students had stopped socializing and many were late for morning classes or slept through them. “Now, a student doesn’t even know who lives two doors away from him because he is so busy on the Internet,” said Prakash Gopalan, dean of student affairs. “The old dormitory culture of companionship and socializing among students is gone. This is not healthy in our opinion.”
IIT-Mumbai, with about 5,000 students, is one of seven IITs across India which are considered to be among the finest engineering schools in the world. They are also a talent pool for global technology giants. But their hard courses, tough competition and lonely campus lifestyle have taken an effect on students. Depressive and dysfunctional(不正常的) lifestyles are known to be common among IIT students, and at least nine have committed suicide in the past five years. Students have unlimited free Internet access in their boarding houses to help them in their studies, but many also use it to surf, chat, download movies and music, blog and for gaming.
Starting Monday, Internet access will be banned between 11 p.m. and 12.30 p.m. at IIT-Mumbai’s 13 boarding buildings to encourage students to sleep early and to try and force them out of their “shells”, Gopalan said. But the move has not gone down well with students who say they hate their lives being regulated. “Now they will say we need to listen to a lullaby(摇篮曲) to go to sleep,” said Rajiv, an electronics student. What measure has been taken in IIT- Mumbai?
| A.Students have unlimited free Internet access in their dormitories. |
| B.Students are forbidden to surf the Internet. |
| C.Internet access is unavailable in deep night. |
| D.Students must go to bed before 11 p.m. |
In the passage the students are told to _____.
| A.sleep through their lessons |
| B.break away from the Internet |
| C.go to sleep along with music |
| D.stop surfing, make friends |
We may infer from the last paragraph that _____.
| A.the banning order causes some complaints among the students |
| B.all electronics students hate the banning order |
| C.more students prefer listening to music to surf- ing the Internet |
| D.there is no Internet access on the IIT campus even |
Have you seen a yellow-and-black salamander (火蜥蜴)? How about a scarlet frog? Scientists haven’t spotted either species in more than 20 years. What happened to them? Are the creatures still out there, or are they extinct?
Those are questions that scientists hope to answer. They recently set out around the world in search of those and other long-missing amphibians. An amphibian is an animal that spends part of its life in water and part on land. Frog, toads(蟾蜍), and salamanders are amphibians.
The experts are looking for about 100 species. They are searching at least 14 countries on five continents. They will look for the salamander in North America. They hope to find the scarlet frog in South America. They’re also looking for species in Africa, Asia and Australia.
Scientists are hopeful that they’ll find the amphibians—and soon! If the creatures are out there, they may need help. Many amphibians are endangered. The animals face many dangers including pollution and diseases. People cut down the forests where they live.
“If researchers can find the missing creatures, they might be able to figure out how to save them,” explains expert Robin Moore. He began searching for the amphibians earlier this month.
“This search will tell us a lot about how amphibians are doing,” Moore told WR News. “I don’t know what we will find, but that makes the search even more exciting.”
Lost in the Wild
Scientists’ hunt for missing amphibians is under way. Read about some of the species they hope to find.
Turkestanian salamander
This salamander is a mystery to scientists. Experts found a few of them more than 100 years ago, but none have been seen ever since.
Gastric brooding frog
Experts first discovered this frog in 1914 in eastern Australia. It may be extinct because of disease and habitat loss.
Rio Pescado stubfoot toad
Last sighting: 1995, in South America
Scientists hope to find this spotted toad in rivers and rainforests in Ecuador. The animal faces threats including pollution and disease. Which of the following animals hasn’t been seen for over a century?
| A.Rio Pescado stubfoot toad. |
| B.Gastric brooding frog. |
| C.Turkestanian salamander. |
| D.Scarlet frog. |
It can be learned from the passage that _____.
| A.the scarlet frog used to live in Africa |
| B.researchers have no way to save amphibians |
| C.the scientists will search 14 countries at most |
| D.Robin Moore has begun his search for amphibians |
Why do the scientists want to find the missing amphibians?
| A.Because they want to rescue the missing amphibians. |
| B.Because they want to set up a scientific program. |
| C.Because they want to do a scientific research on the missing amphibians. |
| D.Because they want to publish a report about the missing amphibians on WR News. |
What does Moore think of the search for endangered amphibians?
| A.It’s hopeful. | B.It’s interesting. |
| C.It’s tiring. | D.It’s dangerous. |
What is Home stay? Literally it is a home for you to stay at when you are not at home. To be specific, home stay provides foreign language students with the opportunity to speak native language outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home. Here is what you will experience in our British Home-stay Program.
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals. Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week. You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health.
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town centre (Zone 1) as much of central London is commercial and not residential(居住的). Zones 3 and 4 often offer smaller accommodation in a more crowded area. It is very convenient to travel in London by underground.
Meal Plans Available
• Continental Breakfast
• Breakfast and Dinner
• Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast. Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal(谷物类食品), bread and tea or coffee. Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England. Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee.
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission. You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy.
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room. This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student. However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practise English at home quite as much. The passage is probably written for _____.
| A.host willing to receive foreign students |
| B.foreigners hoping to build British culture |
| C.travellers planning to visit families in London |
| D.English learners applying to like in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A.Medical care. | B.Room cleaning. |
| C.Free transport. | D.Physical training. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
| A.Zone 3 is more crowded than Zone 2. |
| B.The business centre of London is in Zone 2. |
| C.Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre. |
| D.Zone 1 offers bigger accommodation. |
According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
| A.Dessert and coffee. | B.Fruit and vegetables. |
| C.Bread and fruit juice. | D.Centre and cold meat. |
Modern science suggests that a healthy lifestyle matters much to how long you can live and how well you live. Here are some tips for you to form a healthy lifestyle.
Keep a scientific diet. Keep in mind that sugar can be removed from our diet completely. Over intake of sugar is one of the main reasons for getting fat. Over intake of protein or fat and low intake of fiber can also lead to getting fat. We need only a few grams of protein every day to keep our body in order. Like rain to crops, not the more the better.
Be always in a good mood. There is a relation- ship between the mood and health. A good mood keeps you in high spirits. Thanks to the internet, we can enjoy and learn much without going out. Take a look at some online shops and pick up some bargains, enjoy music and movies and chat with some good friends. Just keep happy.
Enough sleep. Two studies show the reasons why teens and adults don’t have enough sleep. With teens, a major reason is mobile phone use; with adults, it’s work. Meanwhile, a third study of young children shows that a lack of sleep in early life may lead to serious problems in future. Everyone needs at least 8-hour sleep to recover from tiredness and the hurt caused by hard work in the daytime.
Proper exercise. Do exercise to keep away from fatness. Because of the quick pace of modern life, you don’t have time to do exercise every day, but at least three times a week and 45 minutes each time.The author wrote the passage to _____.
| A.tell the readers how to take proper exercise every day |
| B.provide some advice on how to form a healthy lifestyle |
| C.ask people to care about their health rather than their work |
| D.make some surveys among those who have health problems |
Which of the following can lead to getting fat according to the passage?
| A.low intake of protein. | B.low intake of fat. |
| C.over intake of fiber. | D.over intake of sugar. |
The main reason why teenagers don’t have enough sleep is that they _____.
| A.use mobile phones too much |
| B.have too much homework |
| C.eat too much sugar every day |
| D.don’t have enough exercise |
How many minutes do you need to do exercise at least every week?
| A.45 minutes. | B.90 minutes. |
| C.115 minutes. | D.135 minutes. |
IMAGINE that you are in school, giving a speech to your class.
Now think what it feels like when stammering(口吃)makes it a struggle to communicate your thoughts and feelings to other people.
The King’s Speech, which won the best picture at
the Academy Awards, highlights(突出) stammering along with other speech-related problems. The movie tells the story of Britain’s King George Ⅵ, who became king after his brother Edward Ⅷ gave up the crown to marry an American woman.
As a result of British actor Colin Firth’s performance, people are starting to realize that stammering can damage a person’s self-confidence and cause him/her to escape from life.
“The problem is unseen and unheard,” said Norbert Lieckfeldt, an expert at the British Stammering Association, in an interview with The Guardian newspaper.
“Stammering masks(遮盖) your ability,” he said, “It's a serious disability(残疾).”
Most stammerers face bullying(欺负) in school, something that is “usually carried over into the workplace”.
George Ⅵ’s stammer took away his confidence as a speaker. But Samantha Mesango, a speech coach based in the UK, believes that speech problems are more common than most people realize. “Some simply don't like the sound of their own voice; others are scared of speaking in public,” she said.
Travis Treats from Saint Louis University’s department of communication sciences in the US, praised The King’s Speech. He said it shows that “how one’s speech does not mean what one is inside”.
He also added that people who stammer need to be heard and our society should recognize that they have a lot to give to the world. What is the point of the first two paragraphs?
| A.To tell readers about speech speaking. |
| B.To show how harmful a stammer is. |
| C.To draw the attention of readers to the problem of a stammer. |
| D.To show how a stammer makes a person popular |
According to the article, King George Ⅵ _____.
| A.was a hero during World War Ⅱ |
| B.took the place of his brother |
| C.married a divorced American woman |
| D.was a failure because of his stammer |
What is Norbert Lieckfeldt’s view of the challenge of a stammer?
| A.A stammer can destroy a person’s self-confidence. |
| B.A stammer is a serious problem for many people but it is often ignored. |
| C.People who stammer need to have their own voice. |
| D.People who stammer do better in work than in school. |