Every day we are bombarded with images, videos, music and news. In this age of visual and aural hyper-stimulation, the medium of radio is making a phenomenal comeback.
“We're at the dawn of a golden age of audio," said US-based podcaster Alex Blumberg in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. In the last month alone, 15 percent of US adults listened to a radio podcast. These statistics, released by Edison Research, reveal the successful evolution of traditional radio broadcasts to the present day's digital podcast format. The term "podcast," was coined in 2004, but the trend only started gaining mainstream popularity in recent years. Since the leap in consumer demand for smartphones and tablets, podcast subscription rates have only accelerated.
The appeal of the podcast partially resides in its multiplatform delivery and on-demand capabilities. You can tune in during those extra minutes of the day when you're walking to the shops, waiting in a queue or riding the subway. Similar to television shows, podcasts are generally free to download and most offer new content every week.
Donna Jackson, 22, Sydney university media graduate, listens to podcasts two or three times a week, via iTunes .”I listen while I'm pottering around the house doing something else. It makes completing a boring task a lot more enjoyable..... And it's an easy way of keeping in touch with what's going on in the rest of the world," she said.
Unlike television and music, the audio format has the potential to create a deep impression on readers. Blumberg says this comes down to the podcast's ability "to create intimacy and emotional connection." Sydney University undergraduate Hazel Proust, major in social work and arts, agrees. "When you're tuned in, it feels as if the voice of the podcast's narrator is talking directly to you. It's comforting," said Proust.From the passage, we can learn that____.
| A．Radio is developing more quickly than mediums with images, videos, music and news. |
| B．Podcast has its origin in the traditional radio broadcasts. |
| C．In the last month alone, 15 percent of world adults listened to a radio podcast. |
| D．Podcast was becoming popular from 2004. |
By saying "We're at the dawn of a golden age of audio," Alex Blumberg wants to
Tell us that ______
| A．Traditional radio broadcasts will be loved by people again. |
| B．Radio has attracted more people than TV and other forms of media . |
| C．Radio will be more and more popular in the form of podcast. |
| D．The Sydney Morning Herald will help radio become popular again. |
For podcast, which is wrong?
| A．You can listen to it at any time and any place. |
| B．You can download it without pay. |
| C．You can learn new content every week from it. |
| D．You can listen to it according to your own demand. |
From the last paragraph, we can infer
| A．television and music has become less popular . |
| B．Hazel Proust has different opinions with Blumberg |
| C．podcast can build up close relationship with listeners |
| D．using podcast the narrator can talk to listeners directly |
Life is filled with challenges. As we get older, we come to realize that those challenges are the very things that shape us and make us who we are. It is the same with the challenges that come with friendship. When we are faced with a challenge, we usually have two choices. We can try to beat it off, or we can decide that the thing presenting the challenge isn't worth the trouble and call it quits. Although there are certainly times when calling it quits is the right thing to do, in most cases all that is needed is commitment and communication.
When we are committed to something, it means that no matter how painful or how uncomfortable something is, we will always choose to face it through instead of running away from it. Communication is making a space for discussion and talking about how you feel as opposed to just saying what the other person did wrong. If you can say to a friend, "I got my feelings hurt", rather than "You hurt my feelings", you are going to be able to solve the problem much faster.
In dealing with many challenges that friendship will bring to you, try to see them for what they are: small hurdles you need to jump or get through on your way through life. Nothing is so big that it is impossible to get over, and hurt only serves to make us stronger. It is all part of growing up, it happens to everyone, and some day you will look back on all of this and say, "Hard as it was, it made me who I am today. And that is a good thing."The writer believes that challenges ________.
| A．are always born with friendship |
| B．help build friendship |
| C．are never worth attention |
| D．help us grow |
If your friend hurts your feelings, you are advised to ____.
| A．point out your friend's mistake |
| B．calm yourself down |
| C．start a proper conversation |
| D．run away from it |
The whole passage is centered on the relationship（关系）between ___.
| A．friendship and challenges |
| B．commitment and friendship |
| C．friendship and growth |
| D．challenges and chances |
Grandpa was a carpenter (木匠). One day he was making some boxes for the clothes his church was sending to an orphanage (孤儿院) in Egypt. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. He drove back to the church, but his search turned out to be fruitless.
Suddenly, he realized what happened. The glasses had slipped out of his pocket and fallen into one of the boxes, which he had nailed shut. His new glasses were heading for Africa!
Grandpa had six children and he had paid twenty dollars for the glasses that morning. “It's not fair,” he told God as he drove home. “I've been very faithful (忠诚的) in giving my time and money to YOUR work.”
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on holiday in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that helped him in Egypt, so he came to speak on Sunday night at my grandfather's small church in Chicago.
“But most of all,” he said, “I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, I had just broken my glasses. Then your boxes arrived. To my surprise, I found a pair of glasses in it and it fit me very well!”
The people listened, happy for the amazing glasses, but thought that the man must have confused their church with another. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. Sitting quietly in the back, with tears in his eyes, Grandpa realized that God had played a big trick on him.Where were Grandpa’s glasses lost?
| A．In a church in Egypt. | B．In the box he made. |
| C．On his way home. | D．At the orphanage. |
How did Grandpa feel when he found his glasses were lost?
| A．Calm. | B．Worried. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Disappointed. |
Who got the glasses in the end?
| A．Grandpa. |
| B．The orphanage. |
| C．Grandpa’s workmate. |
| D．The director of the orphanage. |
The people except the author’s grandpa in the church _________.
| A．sent the pair of glasses to Africa on purpose |
| B．knew the glasses that belonged to Grandpa |
| C．thought the director had made a mistake |
| D．were not interested in the director’s speech |
Venue (地点) The Ian Potter Centre
Admission Free entry
Charles Blackman is famous for his beautiful painting of dreams. In 1956, he heard for the first time Lewis Carroll’s extraordinary tale of Alice in Wonderland –the story of a Victorian girl who falls down a rabbit hole, meets a lot of funny characters and experience all kinds of things. At that time, Blackman’s wife was suffering form progressive blindness. The story of Alice moving through the strange situations, often disheartened by various events, was similar to his wife’s experiences. It also reflected so much of his own life. All this contributed to the completion of the Alice in Wonderland paintings.
Illustrator Workshop
Go straight to the experts for an introductory course in book illustration. The course includes an introduction to the process of illustration and its techniques, workshop exercise and group projects.
Dates Sunday 17 June &Sunday 5Aug.10am—1pm
Venue Gas Works Arts Park
Wonderful World
Celebrate the exhibition and Children’s Book Week with special activities just for the day, including a special visit from Alice and the White Rabbit
Date Sunday 24 June,11am—4pm
Venue Exhibition Space, Level 3
Topsy-Turvy
Visit the exhibition or discover wonderful curiosities in artworks in the NGV Collection and make a magic world in a box. Alice and the White Rabbit will be with you. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland will be screened
Dates Sunday 8,15,22,29 July, and Tuesday 24-Friday 27 July, 12noon—3pm
Venue Theatre, NGV Australia
Drawing Workshop
Distortions of scale ( 比例失真) can make artworks strange but interesting. Find out how Charles Blackman distorted scale in his paintings to create a curious world. Then experiment with scale in your own drawings. More information upon booking.
Date Friday 27 July,10:30am-3pm
Venue Foryer, Level 3Charles Blackman’s paintings come from ________.
| A．his admiration for Lewis Carrioll |
| B．his dream of becoming a famous artist |
| C．his wish to express his own feelings |
| D．his eagerness to cure his wife’s illness |
Which two activities can you participate in on the same day?
| A．Topsy-Turvy and Drawing Workshop. |
| B．Illustrator Workshop and Drawing Workshop. |
| C．Wonerful World and Topsy –Turvy. |
| D．Illustrator Workshop and Wonderful World. |
To understand the Alice in Wonderland paintings, you should go to ________.
| A．Exhibition Space .Level 3 |
| B．Gas Works Arts Park |
| C．Theatre, NGV Australia |
| D．Foyer, Level 3 |
Activities concerning children’s books are to be held
| A．on June 24,2007 | B．on July15,2007 |
| C．on July 24,2007 | D．on August 5,2007 |
Many gardeners believe that “talking” to their plants helps them grow---it turns out that they may not be crazy after all. According to the scientists from the University of Exeter, plants may keep communicating with each other through a secret “unseen” language.
For their experiment, the scientists picked a cabbage plant that is known to send out a gas when its surface is cut. In order to get video evidence of the communication, they changed the cabbage gene by adding the protein---luciderase(虫荧光素酶), which is what makes fireflies(萤火虫) glow in the dark.
When the changed cabbage plant was in full bloom, they cut a leaf off with a pair of scissors, and almost immediately, thanks to the luciderase, they could see the plant sending out “methyl jasmonate(茉莉酸甲酯)”.
While this was a known fact, what was surprising was the fact that the minute this gas began to give out, the nearby cabbage plants seemed to sense some kind of danger and started to send out a gas that they normally have to keep predators(捕食者) like caterpillars(毛虫) away.
What the scientists are not sure is whether the plants are trying to warn the other leaves or the near plants about the danger---something that will require further research However, the team, which is led by Professor Nick Smirnoff, is quite excited about the findings because this is the first time it has been proved that plants do not live a passive life, but actually move, sense and even communicate with each other.
However, before you get all concerned, they are quite sure that plants do not feel the pain when they are cut, since they do not have nerves---so go ahead and bite into that juicy carrot!What’s the best title of the passage?
| A． Plants Can Send Some Gas |
| B． Plants Can Communicate with Each Other |
| C． The “Unseen” Language of Plants |
| D． Plants Can’t Feel Pain |
What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 1 mean?
| A． Gardeners | B． Plants |
| C． Scientists | D． Fireflies |
When the plant sent out methyl jasmonate, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
| A． The nearby cabbage plants seemed to sense some kind of danger. |
| B． The nearby cabbage plants started to send out a gas. |
| C． The nearby cabbage plants tried to warn the near plants. |
| D． The nearby cabbage plants communicated through a secret language. |
According to the experiment, plants ________________.
| A． don’t live a passive life |
| B． can feel pain when they are cut |
| C． can warn the other leaves about danger |
| D． can talk with each other |
When we see well, we do not think about our eyes very often. It is only when we cannot see perfectly that we realize how important our eyes are.
People who are near-sighted can only see things that are very close to their eyes. Everything else seems blurry. Many people who do a lot of work, such as writing, reading and sewing become near-sighted. People who are far-sighted suffer from just the opposite problem. They can see things that are far away, but they have difficulty in reading a book unless they hold it at arm’s length. If they want to do much reading, they must get glasses, too.
Other people do not see clearly because their eyes are not exactly the right shape. They have what is called astigmatism (散光). This, too, can be corrected by glasses. Some people’s eyes become cloudy because of cataracts (白内障). Long ago these people often became blind. Now, however, it is possible to operate on the cataracts and remove them.
Having two good eyes is important for judging distances. Each eye sees things from a slightly different angle. To prove this to yourself, look at an object out of one eye; then look at the same object out of your other eye. You will find the object’s relation to the background and other things around it has changed. The difference between these two different eye views helps us to judge how far away an object is. People who have only one eye cannot judge distances as people with two eyes.We should take good care of our eyes .
| A．only when we can see well |
| B．only when we cannot see perfectly |
| C．even if we can see well |
| D．only when we realize how important our eyes are |
The underlined word blurry in the second paragraph probably means .
| A．obvious | B．possible | C．clear | D．unclear |
Having two eyes instead of one is particularly useful for .
| A．seeing at night |
| B．seeing objects far away |
| C．looking over a wide area |
| D．judging distances |
People who suffer from astigmatism have .
| A．one eye bigger than the other |
| B．eyes that are not exactly the right shape |
| C．a difficulty that can be corrected by an operation |
| D．an eye difficulty that cannot be corrected by glasses |