Reading for pleasure is declining among primary-age pupils, and increasing numbers of "time poor" parents are dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children once they start school.
Research presented to a conference last week found that, while parents read to preschoolers, this later tails off, and by the final year of primary school only around 2% read to their children every day. Once children can read skillfully, parents tend to step back, and this usually happens at the age of seven or eight. The report also found that 82% of teachers blame the government's “target--driven" education policies for the fact that fewer children are reading for pleasure.
They believe that a straitjacket (束缚) of strictly organized schooling is containing young people's ability to read more widely. Two-thirds of teachers surveyed said they lacked time in the school day to introduce a variety of books and that this was a “major obstacle to being able to develop a level of reading". Teachers also cited as main factors the reduction in the number of school librarians, who could put interesting books before children, and the rise in "screen time", switching children from reading to playing games.
The majority of teachers said the curriculum's (课程) " emphasis on reading as a skill to be mastered" was increasing the pressure. This was compounded by parents who saw reading just as a focus of learning, a skill critical to career advancement in a competitive world.
Reading habits and the digital revolution in publishing were key topics of debate at the conference. The theme of the lack of British culture was supported by children's writer Frank Cottrell Boyce, who wrote the scripts(手稿 ) for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Olympics.
“We discovered the whole nation had forgotten that they did the industrial revolution," he said.
“Books are so central to it; books can be written by anyone. A lot of the pleasure of a book is listening to somebody read it to you. "
"We found a real love of reading among teachers, and a strong desire ,to encourage more children to read for pleasure ,”said Rob Cheney," However, the teachers also had an overpowering sense of frustration with their situation." "Touch-screen phone and tablets ( 平板电脑）are naturally attractive to children ," the survey Said ,and predicted a period of awkwardness as everyone else adapts . By 2018, children's television will have adopted the presence of this second screen, and it "will be strange not to have children, at home drawing along on tablets and then having these appearing live in the show ".
The hope is “that user-friendly screens could, if material is adapted and downloaded easily, present an opportunity for more ambitious publishing - for example, books children can either read or choose to have read to them; or digital books with moving pictures instead of photos to clarify factual and scientific points. Parental controls that are easy to use would be key, the conference was told, such as "a warning for when devices use the Wi-Fi, especially after bedtimes", to allow parents to shut off access to children in the home.What leads to parents' dropping the practice of sharing bedtime stories with their children?
| A．Children have less time to spend with their parents after they start school. |
| B．Parents think it unnecessary to do so when children can read themselves. |
| C．The government’s education policies have placed much burden on children. |
| D．Children don't like parents reading stories to them when they are seven or eight. |
Which of the following is not teachers' point of view?
| A．Children are prevented from reading widely enough in school. |
| B．Schools pay attention to reading skills instead of reading for fun. |
| C．Playing video games reduces children's time spent on reading. |
| D．School libraries can't provide good books for lack of money. |
The word "compounded" (Paragraph 4) most probably means ______.
| A．worsened | B．preserved | C．reduced | D．improved |
It can be inferred from the article that ______.
| A．children don't like reading because books are not attractive |
| B．British people enjoyed reading books very much in the past |
| C．teachers forbid their students to read more books for fun |
| D．children should enjoy more freedom to use the Wi-Fi at home |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Parents should set a limit to their children's using electric devices at home. |
| B．Children are encouraged to read as many interesting books as they can. |
| C．Children miss out on pleasures of reading a good book in modern life. |
| D．Experts appeals to the government to reduce the heavy burden on children. |
Erik Weihenmayer was born with an eye disorder. As a child his eyesight became worse and then, at the age of 13, he lost his sight completely. However, he did not lost his determination to lead a full and active life.
Erik became an adventurer. He took up parachuting, wrestling and diving. He competed in long-distance biking, marathons and skiing. His favorite sport, though, is mountaineering.
As a young man, Erik started to climb mountains. He reached the summit of Mount McKinley in 1995 and then climbed the dangerous 1000-meter rock wall of EI Capitan. Two years later, while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya with his girlfriend, they stopped for a time at 13, 000 feet above sea level---in order to get married. In 1999, he climbed Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America. And then, on May25, 2001, at the age of 33, Erik successfully completed the greatest mountaineering challenge of all. He climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world.
Erik invented his own method for climbing mountains. He carries two long poles, one to lean on and the other to test the way ahead of him. The climber in front of him wears a bell to guide him. Erik is a good team member. He does his share of the job, such as setting up tents and building snow walls.
Although he could not enjoy the view, Erik felt the excitement of being on the summit of Everest. He hopes that his success will change how people think about the blind. “When people think about a blind person or blindness, now they will think about a person standing on top of the world.”
60. What was unusual about his wedding?
A. He got married on the summit of Mount McKinley.
B. He got married when climbing Mount Everest.
C. His wedding was held after he prepared a lot.
D. His wedding was held at 13, 000 feet above sea level.
61. What is Erik’s special method for climbing a mountain?
A. He takes his girlfriend with him. B. He does his share of his jobs.
C. He uses two long poles to help himself. D. He keeps a good team around him.
62. Which of the following shows the right order of what happened?
a. He topped Mount McKinley. b. He became blind.
c. He challenged Mount Everest. d. He reached the peak of Kilimanjaro.
e. He climbed the rock wall of EI Capitan.
A. b, e, d, c, a B. b, a, e, d, c C. b, a, e, c, d D. b, e, a, d, c
With the start of BBC World Service Television, millions of viewers in Asia and America can now watch the Corporation's news coverage, as well as listen to it.
And of course in Britain listeners and viewers can tune in to two BBC television channels, five BBC national radio services and dozens of local radio station. They are brought sport, comedy, drama, music, news and current affairs, education, religion, parliamentary coverage, children's programmes and films for an annual license fee of ￡83 per household.
It is a remarkable record, stretching back over 70 years - yet the BBC's future is now in doubt. The Corporation will survive as a publicly-funded broadcasting organization, at least for the time being, but its role, its size and its programmes are now the subject of a nation-wide debate in Britain.
The debate was launched by the Government, which invited anyone with an opinion of the BBC - including ordinary listeners and viewers - to say what was good or bad about the Corporation, and even whether they thought it was worth keeping. The reason for its inquiry is that the BBC's royal charter runs out in 1996 and it must decide whether to keep the organization as it is, or to make changes.
Defenders of the Corporation - of whom there are many - are fond of quoting the American slogan. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The BBC ain't broke, they say, by which they mean it is not broken (as distinct from the word broke, meaning having no money), so why bother to change it?
Yet the BBC will have to change, because the broadcasting world around it is changing. The commercial TV channels － ITV and Channel 4－ were required by the Thatcher Government's Broadcasting Act to become more commercial, competing with each other for advertisers, and cutting costs and jobs. But it is the arrival of new satellite channels - funded partly by advertising and partly by viewers' subscriptions - which will bring about the biggest changes in the long term.
56. The world famous BBC now faces ________.
A. the problem of new coverage B. an uncertain prospect
C. inquiries by the general public D. shrinkage of audience
57. In the passage, which of the following about the BBC is not mentioned as the key issue?
A. Extension of its TV service to Far East.
B. Programmes as the subject of a nation-wide debate.
C. Potentials for further international co-operations.
D. Its existence as a broadcasting organization.
58. The BBC's royal charter （line 4, paragraph 4） stands for ________.
A. the financial support from the royal family B. the privileges granted by the Queen
C. a contract with the Queen D. a unique relationship with the royal family
59. The foremost reason why the BBC has to readjust itself is no other than ________.
A. the emergence of commercial TV channels
B. the enforcement of Broadcasting Act by the government
C. the urgent necessity to reduce costs and jobs
D. the challenge of new satellite channels
More than 600, 000 tourists from the Chinese mainland visited Taiwan last year, fulfilling expectations despite the impact of H1N1 flu and the global economic downturn.
A total of 606, 100 mainland tourists visited Taiwan in the past year, with each spending nearly $1, 800 on the island, including accommodation and shopping, Shao Qiwei, chairman of the Beijing-based Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits, said on Friday.
“We see good cooperation between tourism industries across the Straits taking shape,” Shao said. Since July 2008, when Taiwan first opened to mainland tourists, about 660, 000 mainland tourists have visited the island and spent $1.13 billion there, benefiting local transportation as well as the retail, entertainment and health industries.
In four months starting August last year, mainland tourists spent $65.72 million through UnionPay payment cards, figures from mainland bankcard association China UnionPay showed.
“Years of isolation between the two sides have made Taiwan an attractive place for mainland tourists,” said Zheng Lijuan, deputy (副的) general manager of CITS International MICE Co. Ltd.
But under the impact of H1N1 flu since May, the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan had also dropped sharply, leading to industry insiders（内部的人）casting doubt as to whether the goal of attracting 600, 000 mainland tourists to Taiwan in 2009 could be achieved.
Despite the unfavorable conditions, a string of relaxed rules last year have spurred (刺激) the interest of mainland tourists in visiting Taiwan.
In the past year, Taiwan has opened to mainland residents in 25 provinces, up from the initial 13 provinces. Relaxed rules have also allowed five tourists to form a group to visit Taiwan, instead of the initial requirement of at least 10 tourists. Mainland tourists can also stay in Taiwan for a maximum of 15 days, instead of the initial 10 days.
Combined with mainland business groups, more than 900, 000 mainland travelers visited Taiwan in 2009, Christine Lai, director of the Taiwan Strait Tourism Association, told China Daily.
Without releasing the goal for this year, Lai expressed hopes that mainland tourists would head to Taiwan on second or even third visits.
66. Why do mainlanders like to visit Taiwan?
A. Taiwan is a very beautiful island.
B. There are many shops, malls and bookstores in Taiwan.
C. The accommodation and transportation are very good in Taiwan.
D. Years of isolation between Taiwan and mainland makes it an attractive place.
67. What was the original goal of mainland tourists to Taiwan in 2009?
A. 660, 000 B. 606, 100 C. 600, 000 D. 900, 000
68. The number of mainland tourists to Taiwan in 2009 was fulfilled because .
A. the residents of 25 provinces could visit Taiwan
B. mainland tourists could stay in Taiwan for 15 days
C. the Chinese government made a string of relaxed rules
D. there were no impacts of H1N1 flu in Taiwan and mainland
69. We can infer from the text that .
A. there may be a goal for Mainland tourists visiting Taiwan in 2010
B. Chinese mainland tourists can stay in Taiwan for a maximum of 10 days
C. the global economic downturn had not influnced Taiwan’s travel industry
D. H1N1 flu had not made the number of the mainland tourists to Taiwan drop
70. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Visitors to Taiwan will slowdown
B. Mainland tourists to Taiwan hit mark
C. More and more mainland tourists visit Taiwan
D. H1N1 and global economic influence Taiwan’s travel industry
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The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down” . You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I noticed every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I looked down on the computer and asked her, “What do all you people do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s good, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington, ” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know, ” she said, pointing at the dark screen. “Only ‘IT’ knows. ‘It can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.
56. Where do you often hear these frightening words “Our computer is down”?
A. At the airport. B. At the gate. C. On business. D. In the ticket office.
57. What could the girl in the ticket office do without asking the computer?
A. She could do nothing.
B. She could sell a ticket.
C. She could write out a ticket.
D. She could answer the passengers’ questions.
58. What does the underlined word “down” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. White. B. Broken. C. Black. D. Dark.
59. We can learn from the last paragraph that _______.
A. a modern computer won’t be down
B. computers can take the place of human
C. there will be great changes in computers
D. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people
60. The best title for the article is _______.
A. Asking the Computer B. When the Computer Is Down
C. The Computer of the Airport D. The Most Frightening Words
