Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-analysis known as the journalism credibility project.
Sad to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combined with lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in the world those readers really want.
But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to see the world through a set of standard patterns into which they report each day’s events. In other words, there is a traditional story line in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.
There exists a social and cultural disconnect between journalists and their readers, which helps explain why the “standard patterns” of the newsroom seem foreign to many readers. In a recent survey, questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these communities were phoned at random and asked the same questions.
Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own Mercedeses, and trade stocks, and they’re less likely to go to church, do volunteer work, or put down roots in a community.
Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural elite (精英), so their work tends to reflect the traditional values of this elite. The alarming distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or poor reportorial skills but in the daily conflict of world views between reporters and their readers.
This is an explosive situation for any industry, particularly a declining one. Here is a troubled business that keeps hiring employees whose attitudes vastly annoy the customers. Then it sponsors lots of symposiums (讨论会) and a credibility project devoted to wondering why customers are annoyed and fleeing in large numbers. But it never seems to get around to noticing the cultural and class prejudices that so many former buyers are complaining about. If it did, it would open up its diversity program, now focused narrowly on race and gender, and look for reporters who differ broadly by outlook, values, education, and class.
1.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Needs of the readers all over the world.
B. Causes of the public disappointment about newspapers.
C. Origins of the declining newspaper industry.
D. Aims of a journalism credibility project.
2.The results of the journalism credibility project turned out to be ______.
A. quite trustworthy B. somewhat conflicting
C. very informative D. rather shallow
3.The basic problem of journalists as pointed out by the writer lies in their ______.
A. working attitude B. traditional lifestyle
C. world outlook D. educational background
4.Despite its efforts, the newspaper industry still cannot satisfy the readers owing to its ______.
A. failure to realize its real problem B. tendency to hire annoying reporters
C. likeliness to do inaccurate reporting D. prejudice in matters of race and gender
Cropping (修剪) an Image With the Snap Shot Program
Welcome to the world of photo-editing!
Cropping an image allows you to zero in on (对准，聚焦) just the portion that is important to your project. For example, you may want to insert an image of a covered train in a report but may not want to include the whole train. Cropping the image allows you to select only the small area you wish to retain (保留) and eliminate all other portions of the original picture.
Option 1: Cropping by Placing the Image in a Shape
Screen Shot 1
Using one of Snap Shot’s standard shapes as a photo-editing tool requires no special abilities. To crop an image with a standard shape:
a. Click Cropping & Orientation from the Effects menu.
b. Click to select one of the six shapes to frame your image.
c. Use the mouse pointer to draw a frame around the portion of the image you wish to retain. Re-size the frame by dragging the shape’s sizing handles. When you are satisfied with the results, click Cut It.
d. Snap Shot will automatically return to the project that is open. (You may also copy or cut the cropped image and paste it into another application.)
Option 2: Freehand Cropping of an Image
Screen Shot 2
If you want to trace the shape of an object in order to crop out everything else, freehand cropping is the way to go. To crop an image freehand:
a. Click Freehand Crop from the Cropping & Orientation option on the Effects menu.
b. Using the mouse pointer, trace around the shape you want to crop. Be sure to completely enclose the image by ending at the same place you began outlining.
c. Click Cut It. Snap Shot will automatically return to the project that is open.
1.The main purpose of the passage is to ______.
A. describe the features of Snap Shot
B. explain how to use Snap Shot to select sections of a picture
C. show that Snap Shot is an easy tool to use
D. discuss how to use the features of Snap Shot
2.To perform Option 2, one should first ______.
A. select the image
B. use the mouse pointer to draw a frame
C. select Cropping & Orientation from the Effects menu
D. re-size the frame by dragging the sizing handles on the shape
3.Why is freehand cropping discussed after cropping with shapes?
A. To introduce a simpler technique before moving on to a more complex one.
B. To proceed from a more useful technique to one with fewer practical applications.
C. To order the options alphabetically.
D. To arrange the text, making space for the screen shots.
A Different Kind of Spring Break
For many American university students, the week-long spring break holiday means an endless part on a sunny beach in Florida or Mexico. In Panama City Beach, Florida, a city with a permanent population of approximately 36,000, more than half a million university students arrive during the month of March to play and party, making it the number one spring break destination in the United States.
A week-long drinking binge is not for everyone, however, and a growing number of American university students have found a way to make spring break matter. For them, joining or leading a group of volunteers to travel locally or internationally and work to address problems such as poverty, homelessness, or environmental damage makes spring break a unique learning experience that university students can feel good at.
During one spring break week, students at James Madison University in Virginia participated in 15 “alternative spring break” trips to nearby states, three others to more distant parts of the United States, and five international trips. One group of JMU students traveled to Bogalusa, Louisiana, to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Another group traveled to Mississippi to organize creative activities for children living in a homeless shelter. One group of students did go to Florida, but not to lie on the sand. They performed exhausting physical labor such as maintaining roving invasive plant species that threaten the native Florida ecosystem.
Students who participate in alternative spring break projects find them very rewarding. While most university students have to get their degrees before they can start helping people, student volunteers are able to help people now. On the other hand, the accommodations are far from glamorous. Students often sleep on the floor of a school or church, or spend the week camping in tents. But students only pay around $250 for meals and transportation, which is much less than some of their peers spend to travel to more traditional spring break hot spot.
1.How many university students travel to Panama Beach City every March for spring break?
A. Around 36,000. B. Around 50,000.
C. Around 500,000. D. Around 10,000.
2.The underlined word “binge” in paragraph 2 probably means ______.
A. doing too much of something B. studying for too long
C. refusing to do something D. having very little alcohol
3.Which of the following gives the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. One group of JMU students worked on homes damaged by a hurricane.
B. Children living in homeless shelters enjoy creative activities.
C. Some students work to help the environment on alternative spring break trips.
D. University students do different types of work on alternative spring break trips.
4.What is implied in this article is that ______.
A. university students spend more than $250 for traditional spring break trips
B. university students complain about the accommodations on alternative spring break trips
C. university students may take fewer alternative spring break trips in the future
D. university students would prefer to wait until they have their degrees to start helping people
Technology is playing a vital role in preservation and ecology research. Drones (无人机) hold huge _______ in the fight to save the world’s remaining wildlife from extinction. So researchers can now track wild animals through dense forests and monitor whales in vast oceans. It’s estimated that up to five living species become extinct every day, making it urgent that universities develop new technologies to capture the data that can persuade _______ to act.
The British International Education Association hosted a conference in January to _______ the importance of technological solutions in protecting vulnerable (易受伤害的) species and ecosystems. Speakers underlined how technology can help _______: drones can circle high above the ocean to spot whales, while certain cameras can identify members of an individual species.
According to Claudio Sillero, biology professor at Oxford University, technology is changing how preservation research is done — but it’s in a(n) _______ way. As technology gets better and cheaper, researchers become better at doing what they were already doing. _______, remote sensing used to be a very technical tool but is now widespread, and everyone uses global positioning system (GPS) for surveying.
But teaching preservation and ecology courses in university _______. Some teach drone surveying methods in depth while others don’t even mention them. “The fact is, using drones is quite a(n) _______ to the interdisciplinary (跨学科的) ‘unknown’ of engineering, and potentially an area where lecturers may not feel confident to teach yet,” Serge Wich, an expert in primate biology says. “Students are taught about _______ technologies such as automatic sound recorders, but drones are often missing from university teaching. Consequently, drone use among researchers is still fairly ________ and focused on getting photos.”
Wich’s team of researchers used techniques to develop a fully automated drone technology system that ________ and monitors the health of endangered animals globally. It’s designed to be cheap, stable and simple to use, so that local communities in developing countries can operate it ________ without technical background. Yet it’s not more widely used on the grounds of researchers’ lack of skills to use this technology. In biology, where drones are used, few can program an algorithm (算法) specifically for their preservation or research problem. “There’s much that needs to be done to ________ those two worlds and to make AI more user-friendly so that people who can’t program can still use the technology,” Wich says.
________, the sad truth is that better technology alone will not save any more species from dying out, Greengrass warns. “As human populations increase, so do threats and pressure on wild places. Preservationists are ________ for not doing enough but it’s often an issue of people, conflict and governance.” Technology may help provide far greater knowledge, but governments still need to act.
1.A. shortage B. threats C. potential D. responsibilities
2.A. researchers B. authorities C. opponents D. professionals
3.A. highlight B. overlook C. assess D. calculate
4.A. education B. preparation C. preservation D. distinction
5.A. evolutionary B. flexible C. virtual D. dramatic
6.A. As a result B. In conclusion C. On the contrary D. For example
7.A. differs B. equals C. multiplies D. struggles
8.A. obstacle B. leap C. equivalent D. exception
9.A. ill-intentioned B. fully-prepared C. well-established D. narrowly-applied
10.A. definite B. vague C. simple D. limited
11.A. controls B. tracks C. supervises D. improves
12.A. earnestly B. independently C. secretly D. impersonally
13.A. bridge B. fix C. dismiss D. grasp
14.A. Therefore B. Moreover C. However D. Otherwise
15.A. fired B. insulted C. qualified D. criticized
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
The Best Way of Losing Weight
Forget what the skinny movie stars and the TV adverts say - losing weight is hard work. 1. you do it through exercise, diet, or a bit of both, it’s extremely challenging to lose those pounds and then to keep them off. Sometimes it can involve 2. (change) huge parts of your day-to-day life and it can mean breaking decades-old habits.
But it turns out there’s one little thing you 3. do to help you achieve your goal and it’s got nothing to do with food or exercise. The experts at Weight Watchers did research which shows many of their members were more successful and 4. (discouraged) when they shared regular updates on their new healthy lifestyle online. They found people who shared a diary of their daily lives with friends and followers were stimulated and inspired by positive feedback 5. they lost some pounds and kept them off.
More than 50 per cent of people said the support of a weight loss community was crucial when it came 6. changing their eating habits and 53 per cent shared photos of their meals on social media. With this knowledge under their belts, Weight Watchers 7. (launch) a series of short films lately which show people recording their daily weight loss journey.
One of the members who shared her journey was Danielle Duggins, and her video shows her enjoying a range of healthy meals and a few treats, while 8. (play) with her children.
The company’s marketing director Claudia Nicholls said: “The support of a community has always proved to be an effective way of forming and sustaining healthy habits, but there has never been an easier or more affordable way 9. (tap) into the power of the crowd for support and inspiration with the explosion of online communities. Weight Watchers owns a social community for members, Connect, 10. sees over 14,000 daily posts in the UK alone, and provides our members with instant access to a community of people who are on similar journeys to them.
Questions are based on the following passage.
1.
A. She bumped into a coffee table.
B. She chatted with the cafe owner.
C. She talked with someone she knew.
D. She was listening to a lively debate.
2.
A. Newspapers were given out to customers.
B. An entrance fee was charged for getting in.
C. It was the meeting place for debating clubs.
D. It was first started in Oxford in the 16th century.
3.
A. Partly right. B. Extremely interesting.
C. Very unfair. D. A bit unreasonable.
4.
A. By providing free laptops for use.
B. By making sofas comfortable to sit on.
C. By engaging them in stimulating conversation.
D. By transporting customers to various destinations.
