My teenage son Karl became withdrawn after his father died. As a single parent, I tried to do my best to talk to him. But the more I tried, the more he pulled away. When his report card arrived during his junior year, it said that he had been absent 95 times from classes and had six falling grades for the year. In this way he would never graduate. I sent him to the school adviser, and I even begged him. Nothing worked.
One night I felt so powerless that I got down on my knees and asked God for help. “Please God, I can’t do anything more for my son. I’m at the end of my rope. I’m giving the whole thing up to you.”
I was at work when I got a phone call. A man introduced himself as the headmaster. “I want to talk to you about Karl’s absences.” Before he could say another word, I choked up（哽咽）and all my disappointment and sadness over Karl came pouring out into the ears of this stranger. “I love my son, but I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried everything to get Karl to go back to school and nothing has worked. It’s out of my hands. ” For a moment there was silence on the other and of the line. The headmaster seriously said, “Thank you for your time”, and hung up.
Karl’s next report card showed a marked improvement in his grades. Finally, he was even on the list of the best students at school. In his fourth year, I attended a parent –– teacher meeting with Karl. I noticed that his teachers were surprised at the way he had turned himself around. On our way home, he said, “Mum, remember that call from the headmaster last year?” I nodded. “That was me. I thought I’d play a joke but when I heard what you said, it really hit me how much I was hurting you. That’s when I knew I had to make you proud.”
1. Which of the following has the similar meaning as the underlined word “withdrawn” in the first paragraph?
A. Quiet and lonely
B. Relaxed and excited
C. Talkative and lively
D. Happy and easy-going
2.According to the first report card, Karl ___________.
A. often went to school late
B. failed in all the exams
C. did a good job at school
D. didn’t do well at school
3.When the mother said “It’s out of my hands.” to the headmaster, she meant that she ___________.
A. didn’t know what to do about her son
B. would drive her son away from the house
C. had no money to support the family
D. she would have to hang up
4.Who was it that telephoned Karl’s mother that day?
A. The headmaster.
B. The school adviser.
C. Karl himself.
D. The passage doesn’t tell us.
5. From the passage we can learn that _____________.
A. children in single – parent families always have mental problems
B. mother’s love plays an important role in teenagers’ life
C. parents should give their children as much help as possible
D. school education still works well without support from parent
Starting from this month, you won’t be hearing the word “NBA” on sports programs on CCTV. Instead, sport hosts will give the full Chinese name when they refer to the NBA – National Basketball Association. You also won’t hear any other English abbreviations（缩写式）on CCTV’s Chinese programs, such as GDP (gross domestic product) or WTO (World Trade Organization). You will hear their Chinese translations.
CCTV received a notice from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, telling it to avoid using English-language abbreviations in their reports to protect the “purity” of the Chinese language. A few other TV stations also received the notice.
Fu Zhenguo, an editor of People’s Daily, is one of the people who proposed（提议）the change. “Using English in a Chinese-speaking environment is against Chinese law,” he said. “Using English on Chinese TV programs is unfair to people who don’t understand English. It will have a bad language influence on kids and teenagers.”
But some experts have a different opinion. Liu Yaoying, a professor at the Communications University of China, said the move shows cultural conservatism（保守主义）. “If Western countries can accept some Chinglish（中国式英语）words, why can’t the Chinese language be mixed with English?” Liu said.
A lot of people have criticized the move, saying that it will cause problems for them.
“I understand what CD, VCD and DVD mean when I hear them. But I won’t know what the TV programs are talking about if I hear those products’ full Chinese names,” a person wrote in a BBS post. Following the same post, another person wrote jokingly: “I’m not listening to my MP3 now. I’m listening to my Moving Picture Experts Group-1 Audio Layer 3.
Some people also question why CCTV is keeping its logo, since it is also an English abbreviation.
1. We can’t hear the English abbreviations from this month because___________.
A. no one can say the abbreviations
B. the abbreviations are useless
C. Chinese translations are easier to be understood.
D. the purity of Chinese should be protected
2. Which of the following is an abbreviation of an organization?
A. DVD B. WTO C. GDP D. VCD
3.What is the Chinese meaning of the underlined word “criticized”?
A. 阻止 B. 赞同 C. 表扬 D. 批评
4.From the passage, we know that.
A. Not all the people are satisfied with the move.
B. All the people are pleased with the move.
C. CCTV has given up its logo.
D. The Chinese language can’t be mixed with English .
5. The seventh paragraph shows
A. a bad language influe nce on kids and teenagers
B. it is unfair for our Chinese to use English abbreviations.
C. problems caused by not using the English abbreviations
D. cultural conservatism
The first ever trans-Atlantic（跨大西洋的）telephone call was made from New York City to London in 1927. In keeping with this spirit, we’d like to tell you some of our other communication records：
● Most spammed person（收到垃圾邮件最多的人）
Microsoft chairman William H．Gates III（the U.S.A.）receives up to four million spams（垃圾邮件）each day. However, with the help of all the people who are working in Microsoft and anti-spam technology, only around ten spares reach his inbox per day．
● Earliest e-mail
In l971，Ray Tomlinson，an engineer at the computer company, and Newman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the U.S.A. sent the first e-mail．At first it was an experiment to see if he could get two computers to exchange a message.（It was Ray who decided to use the @ symbol to separate the other’s name from their location. The first e-mail message was “QWERTYUIOP”）
● Largest LAN（局域网）party
The largest LAN（Local Area Network）party was made up of 8531 unique computers and 9184 members in Sweden from 30 November to 2 December 2006．
● Most telephone books torsi（撕）in three minutes
Tina Shelton tore 21 telephone books at last, each with l028 numbered pages in a time of three minutes in California, the U.S.A. on 9 February 2007．
1.When was the first trans-Atlantic telephone call from New York to London made?
A. In2006． B. In l927． C. In l971． D. In l928．
2. Who is the person that receives up to four million e-mail spams（垃圾邮件）each day?
A. William H. Gates Ⅲ．
B. Ray Tomlinson
C. Newman
D. Tina Shelton
3.Ray who decided to use ________to separate the other’s name from their location．
A. exchange a message B. “QWERTYUIOP”
C. the @ symbol D. an experiment
4.How long did the largest LAN party last?
A. Two months． B. Three days．
C. Four days． D. Two days．
5. How long did Tina Shelton tear all the telephone books'?
A. Three minutes．
B. Sixty-three minutes．
C. Two minutes．
D. Sixty-two minutes．
Who wants to carry a bulky bag to school? No children. Nobody wants one shoulder to be lower than the other, and paining（疼痛）too. In India, most of us would look at the reduction（减少）of textbooks as a way out. But in a country like America, there are always more choices. A company called goReader has created a "school bag" which is the size of a laptop computer（笔记本电脑）, weighing about 2.5 kg. The goReader has a color screen and can "hold" all the textbooks that a student may need, says a report in 'The Asian Age' newspaper.
The company plans to work closely with the publishers（出版商） of textbooks so that these books can be supplied on the Internet. All the students will have to do is to download（下载） their textbooks. Making notes and marking important parts of a lesson can be done just as lots of students have done on their textbooks before.
At present, the plan is being tested out in a university. Richard Katzmann, the owner of the company is having his creation tested at Chicago's DePaul University, where he studied. Does that mean it is goodbye to the new paper, and the smell of the black ink?
1. What does the underlined word “bulky” in the first line mean?
A. light B. small C. big and heavy D. old
2. What would Indians do to solve（解决）the problem?
A. They would reduce the textbooks.
B. They would tell the parents to help students.
C. They would tell the teachers to help students.
D. They would take students to school by bus.
3.The writer may think that Americans have a ________ way to solve the problem.
A. more stupid B. worse
C. better D. quicker
4. The goReader may be a machine ________.
A. that can work as a teacher
B. that can be used as textbooks
C. that can cheat students
D. that can hurt students
5.When the new machine is used, it is possible that ________.
A. students might study harder
B. students might study at home
C. students might not need teachers
D. students might study without paper textbooks
—Can you sing this English song?
—Of course, I can. It ______ many times on the radio.
A. taught B. has taught
C. is taught D. has been taught
— Could you tell me when Mr. Li ______in Jinan?
— Sure. When he _______, I’ll call you.
A. arrives; will arrive
B. will arrive; arrives
C. arrives; arrives
D. will arrive; will arrive
