An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same tome.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起)the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor(市长)appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致)can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point ,putting all their energy
And passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultinatel was Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process. or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
A.To invite authors to guide readers. |
B.To encourage people to read and share. |
C.To involve people in community service. |
D.To promote the friendship between cities. |
Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?
A.They had little interest in reading. |
B.They were too busy to read a book. |
C.They came from many different backgrounds |
D.They lacked support from the local government |
According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?
A.In large communities with little sense of unity |
B.In large cities where libraries are far from home |
C.In medium-sized cities with a diverse population |
D.In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached |
The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean
A.exchanged ideas with each other |
B.discussed the meaning of a word |
C.gamed life experience |
D.used the same language |
According to Nacy, the degree of students of the project is judged by
the careful selection of a proper book
the growing popularity of the writers
C. the number of people who benefit from reading.
D. the number of books that each person reads.
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall
At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city
Monday, 7th of January until Sunday, 13th of January 2008
Feast until you’re full! Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets.Order from the following:
●Succulent chicken rice ●Spicy salty beef
●Delicious noodle dishes ●Plump pork chops
●Seafood specialties ●Crunchy vegetables
●Sweet tropical fruit
Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven.
Win Prizes and Gifts!
Spend $20.00 or more and win instant prizes from our lucky draw box.
Collect a free party balloon and whistle for each young diner.
Enjoy a free meal if you are the first customer of the day at any of our stalls.
Win a holiday to Western Australia.A free raffle ticket is given to everyone here.Just fill in your information and place your entry in the box provided.
Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January.
Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you:
●May Lee ●Jackie Chen
●Kim Yap ●Kamal
Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out.Munchies Food Hall does NOT sell ____.
A.lamb(羔羊) | B.beef | C.pork | D.chicken |
The prices at Munchies are.
A.lower than usual | B.bargain prices for the opening |
C.lower for two people | D.lower if you spend $21.00 |
Everyone who eats at Munchies will receive a.
A.free raffle ticket | B.lucky draw coupon |
C.free meal | D.balloon and whistle |
I will find out who has won the trip to Western Australia when I _ _.
A.watch Channel 3 television |
B.come down to Munchies at noon |
C.read The Straits Times on the 15th of January |
D.attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall |
Swimming is one of those activities that can be learned early in life. Little children can learn to swim as soon as they walk. In fact, you need the same skills in walking as in swimming. However, I believe that five is the best age to learn. By five or six, a child knows fear of water, a very important thing to know. It's wise to be afraid to recognize true danger. Young ones understand that the water can sometimes be very dangerous.
To really benefit from swimming, every swimmer should learn as soon as possible, these four basic strokes; butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and crawl. I feel that one of these-the breaststroke-is different from the others, since some young swimmers use this stroke naturally, without any training.
In swimming there are certain rules every swimmer should follow:
1. Never swim alone! No matter how good you are in the water, don't risk drowning(溺死) by swimming alone. If you swim by yourself, with no life guards or friends with you, you may get into trouble.
2. Don’t go beyond your abilities. Most swimmers know enough not to swim too far from the bank or the beach. Showing off by doing dangerous tricks is not good.
Swim safely and you will continue to swim and alive.
3. Don’t smoke. Swimming depends on a healthy body; good lungs are part of it.
4. Work at any activity that builds muscles. Little children can learn to swim as soon as _____.
A.they can talk | B.they start walking |
C.they have no fear of the water | D.they are five or six years old |
The author believes that swimming beyond your abilities is_____.
A.good | B.sensible | C.dangerous | D.smart |
According to the passage, you should not swim alone because_____.
A.the water is too cold |
B.your parents would not be happy |
C.something in the water might attack |
D.you might drown |
Americans with small families own a small car or a large one. If both parents are working, they usually have two cars. When the family is large, one of the cars is sold and they will buy a van(住房汽车)
A small car can hold(容纳)four persons and a large car can hold six persons but it is very crowded(拥挤). A van hold seven persons easily, so a family three children could ask their grandparents to go on a holiday travel. They could all travel together.
Mr.Hagen and his wife had a third child last year. This made them sell a second car and bus a van. Their children sixth and seventh seat are used to put other things, for a family of five must carry many suitcases(衣箱)when they travel. When they arrive at their grandparents' home, the suitcases are brought into the two seats can then carry the grandparents.
Americans call vans motor homes. A motor home is always used for holidays. When a family is traveling to the mountains or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or to the seaside, they can live in their motor home for a few days or weeks. All the members of a big family can enjoy a happier life when they are traveling together. That is why motor homes have become very popular. In America there are many parks for motor homes. From the passage, a van is also called ____________.
A.a motor car | B.a motor home | C.a motorbike | D.a big truck |
Before Mr. Hagen and his wife bought a van, they__________.
A.sold their old house |
B.moved to their grandparents' house |
C.built a new place for a van |
D.sold their second car |
Americans usually use motor homes____________.
A.to travel with all the family members of holiday |
B.to do some shopping with all the family members |
C.to visit their grandparents at weekends |
D.to drive their children to school every day |
Motor homes have become popular because___________.
A.they can take people to another city when people are free |
B.they can let families have a happier life when they go out for their holidays |
C.some people think motor homes are cheap |
D.big families can put more things in motor homes |
In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business .But he was not a good artist .So he invented a very simple camera (照相机).He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden .That was the first photo.
The next important date in the history of photography (摄影术) was in 1837.That year, Daguere, another Frenchman, took a picture of his reading room .He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. This kind of photo was called a Daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's way .Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all around the world .People took picture of famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, photography was developed .Then photographers could take picture of people and moving things .That was not simple .The photographers had to carry a lot of film(胶片) and other machines. But this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard.
Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many picture of great people .The pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike(栩栩如生的)
Photography has also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century .Some photos were nor just copies of the real world .They showed feelings, like other kinds of art.The first photo taken by Niepce was a picture of ____________
A.his business | B.his house | C.his garden | D.his window |
The Daguerreotype was____________.
A.a Frenchman | B.a kind of photo |
C.a kind of camera | D.a photographer |
If a photographer wanted to take pictures of moving things in the year of 1840, he had to__________.
A.watch lots of films |
B.buy an expensive camera |
C.stop in most cities |
D.take many films and something else with him. |
Mathew Brady______________.
A.was very lifelike |
B.was famous for his unusual pictures |
C.was quite strong |
D.took many pictures of moving people |
More than half of the world’s population live in cities. Traffic and pollution are becoming big problems in big cities all over the world. In cities like Mexico City, Shanghai or Cairo the quality of air is getting worse every day. In the United States, people spend more time sitting in traffic jams.
Some of the world’s cities have already found the answer to the problem. In Bogota, the capital of Columbia, the government has taken measures to improve the quality of life for the city’s 8 million people. They created over a thousand new parks, a new public transport system, and built hundreds of cycling and walking paths. People who live in the city also joined in making their city one of the most livable (适合居住的) places in South America.
Today city planners around the world are looking for ways to provide more room for living and less room for cars. In America, public transport has increased over 2 % since the mid 1990s — not much but a start. More and more people leave their cars at home and get on buses, trains or even ride a bike to work. Some cities are far better at planning than others. In Amsterdam, for example, only 40 % of the population use their cars to get to work, 35 % ride bikes while 25% use public transport. In Paris, about half of the city’s workers drive their cars to work.
For cities in developing countries, the problems have just started. Traffic is getting worse as more and more people can afford to buy a car. The writer listed Mexico City, Shanghai and Cairo as examples of cities of ______.
A.heavy traffic | B.air pollution |
C.rapid development | D.large population |
What did Bogota do to improve the quality of life for its people?
A.It shut down some factories in the city. |
B.It introduced a foreign public transport system. |
C.It encouraged people to plant trees in the city. |
D.It built new parks and a new public transport system. |
From the third paragraph, we can learn that ______.
A.35% of the population in Paris ride bikes to work |
B.half of the people in Amsterdam drive their cars to work |
C.a quarter of the people in Amsterdam use public transport |
D.American public transport has increased much since the 1990s |
What would be the best title of the text?
A.Ways to solve traffic jams |
B.New changes in transport systems |
C.People’s new choice in big cities |
D.Parks instead of cars for cities |