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By the logic（逻辑）of geography, the continent of Australia should have been populated with Asians. Instead, by an accident of history, Australia has been mainly populated with Westerners.
Sadly, no major Australian newspaper or expert commented. This made me aware that Australians are reluctant to face Australia's painful new geopolitical realities.
Against this background, the release of the Asian Century White Paper is timely. It should provide a sharp wake-up call to the Australian population that Australia's destiny（命运）is now firmly tied to Asia. Julia Gillard is right in saying, "The transformation of the Asian region into the economic powerhouse of the world is not only unstoppable, it is gathering pace."
One truly impressive part of the paper is the data it provides on Asia's rise. It notes, for example, that "in the past 20 years, China and India have almost tripled（增三倍）their share of the global economy and increased their economic size almost six times over. By 2025, the region as a whole will account for almost half the world's output."
In this Asian century, as Western power gets weak steadily, Australia will be left "beached" alone as the only Western country （together with New Zealand） in Asia. Twenty-two million Australians will have to learn to deal with 3.5 billion Asians with great care and sensitivity.
Ignorance（无知）about Asia could prove to be fatal（致命的）for Australia's long-term future. This is why the report is right in focusing on Australian misunderstanding of Asia.
Sadly, this kind of terrible ignorance may be a result of Australian education. The report says, “Only a small proportion of Year 12 students study anything about Asia in the subjects of history, literature, geography, economics, politics and the arts under existing state-based curriculums." Worse, only 5 per cent of each Australian groups study any kind of Asian language.
Learning Asian languages would open windows to Asian cultural and political sensitivities. The time for Australians to think deeply about their Asian destiny has arrived. The sooner Australia adjusts to its new Asian destiny, the less painful the adjustment will prove to be.
Title: It's 1. to accept our place in Asian region | |
2. | 3. speaking, Australia is close to Asia, yet few Australians are willing to face Australia's new geopolitical 4.. |
Release of the white paper | Aim: To tell Australians that their5. definitely has much to do with Asia. Cause: Asia has6. the economic powerhouse of the world. 7.: China and India have tripled their share of the global economy and the region will account for half the world's output by 2025. |
Writer's opinions | Australians will be lonely if they don't learn to deal with 3.5 billion Asians. Australian8., in part, is responsible for their ignorance about Asia. It's right for the paper to 9. on Australian misunderstanding of Asia. It's high time that Asia languages were 10. to Australian children. |
The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and knocked into the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. “How embarrassing! I am getting so clumsy in my old age.”
Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said, “Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment.”
Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. “I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home.”
He looked at us and said, “I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish.”
Frank’s voice dropped a bit. “When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the school, I would shrink (畏缩) down into the seat hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch (喷出) a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!”
He paused and then went on, “I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, “No, Dad.” It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, “Dad, I’m too old for a goodbye kiss. I’m too old for any kind of kiss.” My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. Then he turned and looked out the windshield. “ You’re right,” he said. “ You are a big boy.... a man. I won’t kiss you anymore.”
Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke. “It wasn’t long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet (船队) stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a strong wind and was trying to save the nets and the floats.”
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. “Guys, you don’t know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek…to feel his rough old face… to smell the ocean on him… to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.”
1.When his father drove him to the school, Frank would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear because ________.
A.he was ashamed of his father’s old truck
B.he thought he was old enough to go to school alone
C.he didn’t want his schoolmates to see his father
D.he hated the way his schoolmates stared at his father
2.In Frank’s eyes, when his father said “You are a big boy… a man.”, he probably felt ________.
A.disappointed B.hurt C.excited D.proud
3.According to the story we can conclude that Frank’s father ________.
A.was quite confident in his skills in fishing
B.loved his children but hardly expressed it
C.seldom gave up faced with challenges
D.was full of devotion to his family
4.Which of the following may be the best title for this passage?
A.The Smell of the Ocean
B.We All Need Love
C.A Goodbye Kiss
D.Father’s Embarrassment
“A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right” says Mollie Hunter. Born and brought up near Edinburgh，Mollie has devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people. She firmly believes that there is and should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market is. In Mollie’s opinion it is necessary to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story，which is what every writer should be doing. “If you aren’t telling a story, you’re a very dead writer indeed.” She says. With the chief function of a writer being to entertain，Mollie is indeed an entertainer. “I have this great love of not only the meaning of language but of the music of language,” she says. “This love goes back to early childhood. I had a school teacher who used to ask us what we would like to be when we grew up and，because my family always had dogs，and I was very good at handling them，I said I wanted to work with dogs，and the teacher always said ‘Nonsense，Mollie；dear，you’ll be a writer.’ So finally I thought that this woman must have something，since she was a good teacher and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer.”
This childhood intention is described in her novel，A Sound of Chariots，which although written in the third person is clearly autobiographical (自传体的) and gives a picture both of Mollie’s ambition and her struggle towards its achievement. Thoughts of her childhood inevitably (不可避免地) brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village with buttercup meadows and strawberry fields—sadly now covered with modern houses. “I was once taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had lain dirty hands all over my childhood. I’ll never go back，”she said “Never. When I set one of my books in Scotland” she said “I can recall my romantic feelings as a child playing in those fields，or watching the village blacksmith at work. And that’s important because children now know so much so early that romance can’t exist for them, as it did for us.”
1.What does Mollie Hunter feel about the nature of a good book?
A.It should not aim at a narrow audience.
B.It should be attractive to young readers.
C.It should be based on original ideas.
D.It should not include too much conversation.
2.In Mollie Hunter’s opinion，which of the following is one sign of a poor writer?
A.Being poor in life experience.
B.Being short of writing skills.
C.The weakness of description.
D.The absence of a story.
3.What do we learn about Mollie Hunter as a young child?
A.She didn’t expect to become a writer.
B.She didn’t enjoy writing stories.
C.She didn’t have any particular ambitions.
D.She didn’t respect her teacher’s views.
4.What’s the writer’s purpose in this text?
A.To share her enjoyment of Mollie Hunter’s books.
B.To introduce Mollie Hunter’s work to a wider audience.
C.To provide information for Mollie Hunter’s existing readers.
D.To describe Mollie Hunter’s most successful books.
The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand—a system of rapid handwriting, and now it' s threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2011, just 15% of the most 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive (草写字母). The rest? Block letters.
And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.
At Keene Mill Elementary School in Springfield, all their poems and stories are typed. Children in Fairfax County schools are taught keyboarding beginning in kindergarten. Older students who never mastered handwriting say it doesn't affect their grades.
There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?
It was at University of Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.
The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better-a lifelong benefit.
It doesn't take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George' s County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.
There are always going to be some kids who struggle with handwriting because of their particular neurological wiring, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding.
1.What is the author concerned about after 2011 SAT exams?
A.Keyboarding. B.Shorthand. C.Handwriting. D.Block letters.
2.A poem by Robert mentioned in the passage is used to _________.
A.prove how valuable handwriting is B.explain what a famous poet he is
C.show how unique his poem is D.stress how fascinating the documents are
3.The example of Handwriting Without Tears helps to argue that_________.
A.the schools are responsible for the loss of handwriting
B.the loss of handwriting is a cognitive opportunity missed
C.it doesn't take much to teach better handwriting skills
D.the culture is turning from the written word to the typed one
4.According to the author, when is a perfect time to learn handwriting?
A.Kindergarten. B.Primary school. C.High school. D.College.
In today's fast paced，high stress world people are working longer hours than ever，and often exhaust themselves at day's end in front of the television to relax enough to begin again in the morning. However，television watching，for most people，does not really lower stress. Studies show that TV viewing more than an hour or so actually creates stress and，especially in women，may lead to the blues. Most individuals are unaware that doing some exercise after work makes them more energetic since it increases energy levels.
Wise use of free time does not mean getting an advanced degree，although the mental encouragement gained through education is unbeatable in keeping your mind active. Learning new things nearly always adds a spark to your daily life，especially if it is a favorite topic，such as sport，fashion，or art. Also，look through your bookstore or library to find books on your interests. Try to replace a half hour TV watching with reading.
It is reported that in the United States recently，many individuals have as few as two good friends. Long work hours and car commute act to separate people from each other. This separation is deadly. Find ways to meet people at the end of the day and on weekends. Often this can be best done by combining activities，such as by joining a walking group to get both exercise and companionship. Taking a class will lift your spirits and allow you to meet others with similar interests. Hobbies are great for reducing stress and provide another opportunity for social interaction.
Using your free time to aid your health may include these elements and many more，such as going to concerts and spending time with family. Overall，the key is to spend less free time being passive. The best ways to use free time are to be mentally and physically active，spend some time outdoors，and interact with other people on a regular basis.
1.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Watching television may cause women to feel depressed.
B.Finding interests and hobbies in common means taking a class.
C.Going to concerts is the best way to make you mentally active.
D.Getting an advanced degree in education always lights up your life.
2.What does the underlined word “commute” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A.The arrangement to work every day.
B.The journey to work every day.
C.The communication between people.
D.The separation between people.
3.Which would be the best title for the passage?
A.Live a Happy and Healthy Life
B.Relax Yourself in Various Ways
C.Spend Your Free Time Wisely
D.Interact With Others Outdoors
"Mum, can I invite my classmate Brett over to stay tomorrow night, please? It's Friday, and we don't have any _______. Can I, please?" Mum was sitting at the kitchen table. Dad was _______next to her, resting his head on his arms. Mum could _______that James wanted so badly to have his friend over.
"I'm so sorry, James," she said.
"I'm never allowed to have friends come to the house? Why, Mum?" James asked sadly, almost in _______.
"I know it's _______for you," Mum said softly. "But I'm just worried other people might think we're a little. . . strange. And then they would make fun of you. "
"No, they wouldn't, Mum," James protested. "We're not _______at all. We're just ordinary people. "
Mum sighed heavily. "To tell you the truth, James, my neck has been so painful that it's given me a heavy _______. And your poor father — he doesn't feel _______. He really needs a rest. "
"I can help, Mum!" James said. " _______I can make you and Dad feel better, can Brett come over? Please?"
"Well. . . " Mum began.
"Great! Thanks, Mum!" James almost shouted. "Just sit there, don't move. " He rushed over to the kitchen drawer and ________what he needed — two spanners(扳手). "Hang on, Mum," he said. "This won't take a second. " After some ________, James was finished. With a smile of ________on his face he said, "There! How does that feel?" "Oh, James," Mum said. "That's much better! How did you do it?"
"Easy," James said ________. "Dad had tightened your neck bolts(螺栓) too much! I just________them slightly! I learned that in robotic science at school. "
"What about your father? Can you ________him?" asked Mum.
"I'll try," James replied. He ________up Dad's hair at the back of his neck, and plugged the electric wire into Dad's head. Then he turned the ________on. Dad opened his eyes and ________immediately. "He just let his ________run too low, that's all," James said. "Shall I tell Brett to come over straight after school tomorrow?"
"I guess so," replied Mum. "Your friends will just have to ________that we are a very unusual family. Thanks, son!"
1.A.chance B.message C.homework D.difficulty
2.A.asleep B.reading C.alone D.standing
3.A.explain B.see C.agree D.doubt
4.A.terror B.tears C.surprise D.silence
5.A.fair B.easy C.good D.hard
6.A.strange B.normal C.popular D.anxious
7.A.headache B.loss C.task D.day
8.A.ill B.funny C.sorry D.well
9.A.As B.If C.Since D.Before
10.A.kept B.controlled C.found D.returned
11.A.requests B.thoughts C.repairs D.instructions
12.A.sympathy B.satisfaction C.bitterness D.politeness
13.A.embarrassedly B.gratefully C.impatiently D.proudly
14.A.adjusted B.collected C.produced D.covered
15.A.greet B.accompany C.help D.ask
16.A.lifted B.caught C.gave D.filled
17.A.television B.power C.light D.gas
18.A.grew up B.lay down C.broke down D.sat up
19.A.food B.temperature C.battery D.blood
20.A.prove B.expect C.suspect D.accept
