7 January, 2014
A new report says more and more international students are attending colleges and universities in the United States. It also notes a large increase in the number of international students from China.
These findings are from the latest Open Doors Report. The report documents the record number of international students in the United States during 2012, 2013 school year. It says more than seven hundred sixty-four thousand four-hundred such students were attending American colleges and universities during the last two years. That represents an increase of almost six percent than one year earlier. On the other hand, the number of Americans studying overseas(海外) increased by one percent, which reached nineteen thousand this year.
The report says one hundred ninety-four thousand students at American colleges and universities were from China .That is an increase of more than twenty-three percent over the year before. Peggy Blumenthal, an expert（专家）of international education, described the effect of the increase in Chinesestudents.
"Now they have been coming for some time. But this year was the highest level ever." She says many Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children. The children mainly choose to study in America.
"We know many of them have enough income to be able to afford to send them anywhere in the world if they want to go. And for the most part, looking around the world, Chinese students still prefer to come to the United States as their choice."
Chinese students are not the only ones who want to attend American colleges and universities. After China, India sends the second largest number of students to the United States for higher education. India has about one hundred thousand students in American schools. South Korea is third with about seventy-two thousand students.
Why do so many foreign students study in the United States? Peggy Blumenthal provides one reason.
"The advantage America has is that we have a huge system (系统)and a very perfect system. So there are over four thousand universities and colleges in the United States. Among them are some top ones in the world, and what that tells us is there is still a lot of room to host international students.
Foreign students represent less than four percent of the total student population in American higher education. And from Learning English, that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Bob Doughty. Thanks for listening. Bob Doughty seems to be ________.
| A．an exchange student from the USA |
| B．an expert of international education |
| C．a viewer of VOA |
| D．a reporter from VOA |
Which country below has the fewest students studying overseas?
| A．South Korea | B．India | C．China | D．America |
Which is NOT the reason why so many Chinese students go to the USA for further study?
A. Lots of Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children
B. The USA has a huge and a very perfect education system.
C. There is a lot of room to host international students in the USA.
D. The USA has some top universities and colleges in the world.Which of the following statement is true?
| A．China has 122,000 more students than South Korea at American colleges and universities. |
| B．The number of Americans studying overseas is becoming smaller and smaller. |
| C．The number of Asian students has an increase of 6% over the past two years. |
| D．Most of the international students in the United States are Chinese. |
Can plants talk？Modern research has found something amazing：they do communicate with each other.
It has been known for some time that plants use chemicals to communicate with each other.This happens when a plant gets attacked by insects.The plant gives out chemicals from the leaves that are being eaten.This is like a warning，or a call for help："I'm being attacked!"When another plant gets the chemicals，it starts to give out its own，different chemicals.Some of these chemicals drive insects away.Others attract the wasps （黄蜂；蜜蜂）!The wasps kill the insects that are eating the plants.Scientists hope to learn more about this plant warning system，so that we can use it to grow more crops.
More surprisingly，plants also use sound to communicate.People can't hear these sounds，but plants are making them.Some plants make noises with their roots.Corn and chili plants do this.Some trees make clicking noises when there is not enough water.
Most surprisingly of all，plants have an amazing system of communication that can link nearly every plant in a forest.Scientists call this system the "wood wide web".The wood wide web is linked underground by fungi （霉菌）.It links the roots of different plants to each other.It is in some ways similar to the Internet we use.Using the wood wide web，plants can share information and even food with each other.However，it may lead to bad effects.Plants may use it to steal food from each other，or spread chemicals to attack other plants.Perhaps one day scientists will learn how to create a "firewall" to help prevent these attacks within the wood wide web.
Scientists are learning more every day about the secret ways in which plants talk to each other.Maybe one day we will know enough about plant communication to be able to "talk" with them ourselves.
（1）What will plants do when they are attacked by insects？
A.They will kill the insects by themselves.
B.They will control the wasps to kill the insects.
C.They will send out signals to ask for help.
D.They will produce chemicals as a warning or a call for help.
（2）How are the wood wide web linked by fungi？
A.By making noises with their roots.
B.By connecting the roots of different plants to each other.
C.By sharing food and information with each other.
D.By spreading chemicals to each other.
（3）What is the writer's intention of the last paragraph？
A.To give people hope for further studies.
B.To praise scientists for their great achievements.
C.To call on people to protect the plants on Earth.
D.To inspire people to communicate with plants.
（4）What is the structure of the passage？
A.
B.
C.
D.
（5）Which is the best title for the passage？
A.The Secret Language of Plants
B.The Study about the Plant Warning System
C.The Plants that Give Warnings
D.Why Scientists Do Research about Plants
When I was a girl growing up，I cannot once ever remember either my mum or my grandma wasting food.
Anything we didn't eat at one meal was leftovers（剩菜）.I can remember my grandma making a huge pot of potatoes.We would all eat until we were full enough，but there were always about half of the potatoes leftover.A few days later，Grandma would take those potatoes out of the fridge，boil some noodles，add some vegetables and mix them all together.And I also remember when I watched my mum fry bacon （煎培根）for us in the mornings，she would always take the oil carefully and pour it into a bottle.Then she would use it later to add flavor to so many other dishes.I was an adult before I realized that potatoes didn't actually taste like bacon!
I learned their lessons well，and after I grew up，I tried to never waste food myself.I always planned the week's meals ahead of time and only bought what was on my shopping list so that nothing went to waste.Every meal went into our stomachs and any leftovers were later eaten by either myself my boys，my husband or my dogs.To me，throwing food into the bin was just wrong.
However，when it comes to living，there are no leftovers.Life is just like a feast.Each moment that you don't live is lost forever.Life cannot be saved or stored.Each day is a fresh beginning.Live each moment of your life to the fullest，then.
（1）The writer's grandma used the leftover potatoes to .
A.mix with noodles
B.boil some vegetables
C.fry bacon
D.throw away
（2）Why did the potatoes cooked by the writer's mum taste like bacon？
A.Because she mixed the bacon with potatoes.
B.Because she put potatoes into the containers.
C.Because she was good at cooking.
D.Because she poured the bacon oil into potatoes.
（3）According to the passage，how did the writer save food in her way？
A.By shopping ahead of time.
B.By throwing it into the litter bin.
C.By following her mother's shopping list.
D.By planning the next week's food.
（4）What does the underlined word " feast" in the last paragraph probably mean？
A.Sweat dream.
B.Large meal.
C.Happy story.
D.Beautiful picture.
（5）What can we learn from the last two paragraphs？
A.It is never too old to learn.
B.Eat to live，but not live to eat.
C.Neither food nor life should be wasted.
D.There is no such thing as a free lunch.
Shashiyu was once a poor village in Hebei Province，but now it has changed into a rich and livable place.
In the 1940s，villagers in Shashiyu had little food and few clothes，but they had a strong wish for a better life.Zhang Guishun，the Party secretary of Shashiyu，encouraged his villagers to do their best to pull themselves out of poverty. "In the ancient Chinese story，Yu Gong could move mountains with his strong will and hard work，why can't we？Nobody was born to be poor？" Hearing his words，the villagers decided to make a difference.
Led by the Communist Party of China（中国共产党），the villagers carried water and soil to their village from faraway places to improve their land.From 1966 to.1971，they reclaimed（开垦）lots of land and greatly improved their life.
However，the village encountered a new problem two decades later as the environment became heavily polluted by chemical plants and mine refineries built in 1990s.
The polluting factories were shut down in 2004，and villagers started grape cultivation，which soon became a main industry in Shashiyu.
In 2009，the city﹣level government invested over 1 million yuan（＄152，723）to change the village's exhibition hall into a museum in memory of development efforts made by earlier generations.
After 10 years，the village was called "National Forest Village".
Zhang said that the village started a yearly tourism festival in 2015 to attract travelers to pick grapes. "The grapes could be sold at a better price once Shashiyu becomes famous through this festival.Our villagers can then live even better lives， "he said.
（1）Why did Zhang Guishun use the story of Yu Gong to encourage the villagers？
A.Because Yu Gong had strong will and hard work.
B.Because Yu Gong was born poor too.
C.Because the villagers worshiped Yu Gong.
D.Because Yu Gong became rich at last.
（2）From 1966 to 1971，what did the villagers do to improve their living situation？
A.They planted grapes to earn money.
B.They carried water and soil to their village to improve their lands.
C.They moved to another place to live a better life.
D.They built a lot of factories.
（3）Which word can be used to describe the villagers？
A.Hard﹣working.
B.Lazy.
C.Kind﹣hearted.
D.Stupid.
（4）When was Shashiyu called "National Forest Village"？
A.In 2009.
B.In 2004.
C.In 2015.
D.In 2019.
（5）Where can you probably read the passage？
A.In a storybook.
B.In a newspaper.
C.In a sports magazine.
D.In a science book
Nature and culture are often seen as opposite ideas.What belongs to nature cannot be the result of human activities and.on the other hand，cultural development is achieved against nature.However，this is not the only opinion on the relationship between nature and culture.Studies in the development of humans suggest that culture，whether taken as an effort against nature or a natural effort，is part of the development of the human species（物种）.
Several modern writers saw the process of education as a struggle（斗争） against human nature.We are born with wild natures，such as eating and behaving in a disorganized way or acting selfishly.Education uses culture as a way to get us out of our widest natures；it is thanks to culture that the human species could learn to adapt（适应） ，progress and raise itself above and beyond other species.
Over the past century and a half，however，studies in the history of human development have shown that the formation of culture is part of the biological adaptation.Consider，for example，hunting（打猎） .It seems to be an adaptation，which allowed humans to move into new and different areas，opening up the opportunity to change living habits.At the same time，the development of weapons（武器） is related to that adaptation—from rocks and stones to a set of hunting tools，and from hunting tools to rules relating to the proper use of weapons.Hunting also seems to be responsible for a whole set of bodily abilities，such as balancing on one foot.Just think of how this very simple thing is closely related to dance，a key expression of human culture.It is then clear that biological development and cultural development are closely tied.
The transmission of culture seems to be directly related to what's in our blood.Just as snails carry their shell，so do we bring along our culture.However，culture is also passed on among people of the same times or among people belonging to different populations.We can learn how to make jiaozi even if we were born from Russian parents in Paris just as we can learn how to speak English even if none of our family or friends speaks that language.
（1）What is Paragraph 2 mainly about？
A.Culture belongs to human nature.
B.Nature teaches humans how to adapt.
C.Humans are supposed to be well organized.
D.Education pushes the human species to progress.
（2）Why does the writer talk about hunting in Paragraph 3？
A.To suggest some possible ways of changing living habits.
B.To stress the importance of tools in humans' struggle for life.
C.To show how culture develops as humans adapt to the environment.
D.To explain why there is a need to call for the proper use of weapons.
（3）The word "transmission" in Paragraph 4 probably means " ".
A.system
B.spread
C.start
D.spirit
（4）What is the writer's opinion on the nature﹣culture relationship？
A.Culture and nature are separate yet balanced.
B.Culture depends much on nature to progress.
C.Nature and culture are different but connected.
D.Nature follows the unwritten rules set by culture.
School Gardens Could Help Children Try More Vegetables
It's not always enjoyable for children to eat vegetables.But what if a garden is built in the school？New research suggests that a gardening program in schools can increase children's vegetable intake（摄入量） .
How the Study Was Carried Out
The study was carried out in eight schools，Each school was in the gardening program for one school year.Every child in grades 3﹣5 received a total of eighteen 60﹣minute lessons across the school year.In the program，each school built a garden，where children learned to grow their own fresh produce，like fruit and vegetables.
The Benefits Children Could Get
The study found that vegetable intake if the children who grew their own produce increased greatly across the year.Related studies show that increased vegetable intake can improve health and cut the risk of chronic diseases（慢性疾病）.Not only are there benefits to health，increasing the variety of vegetables children are exposed（接触）to may also make mealtimes much easier." Children who are often exposed to a variety of vegetables are more likely to try new foods，" explains Dr.Kerry Jones.For children，growing their own food is a powerful tool to increase their intake of the food.（2）
Any opportunity to expose children to more vegetables is meaningful. "If children are learning about vegetables at school，it's important to encourage this interest，" says Jones.Parents can listen to their children about what they have learned and read the handouts they bring home from school.Parents and children can also read books together.Younger children can enjoy reading stories about vegetables with parents who offer useful message.Older children may enjoy searching through cookbooks with parents to find new dinner ideas to cook vegetables in a tasty way.Besides，a small planter box in a sunny part at home can encourage children to understand more about where their food comes from.
Teaching children to grow their own produce is a great way to increase their preference for the produce.If children are taught to enjoy vegetables early in life，they will probably continue eating vegetables in the long term.
（1）What did children do in the gardening program？
A.They did research on new plants.
B.They grew fresh produce at school.
C.They took home green vegetables.
D.They built gardens for their classes.
（2）Which of the following would be the best heading for Paragraph 4？
A.Ideas to Encourage Children to Cook at Home.
B.Ways to Expose Children to Vegetables at Home.
C.Reasons Why Parents Should Understand Children.
D.Suggestions Which Children Could Get from Parents.
（3）What can we learn from the program？
A.Parent' support might improve children's reading.
B.School programs could develop students' creativity.
C.Doing studies can prepare students for future learning.
D.Hands﹣on experience may influence children's preference.
