Were you the first or the last child in your family? Or were you a middle or an only child? Some people think it matters where you were born in your family. But there are different ideas about what birth order means. Some people say that oldest children are smart and strong-willed. They are very likely to be successful. The reason for this is simple.1.. So this child is very likely to do well. An only child will succeed for the same reason.
2.. Middle children don't get so much attention, so they don't feel that important. If a family has many children, the middle one sometimes gets lost in the crowd.3.. He or she is the baby. Often this child grows up to be funny and charming.
Do you believe these ideas of birth order too? A recent study saw things quite differently. 4.. They didn't take many chances in their lives. They usually followed orders and seldom made their own decisions. Rules didn't mean as much to later children in the family. They went out and followed their own ideas. 5..
A.They took chances and they often did better in life
B.Parents have a lot of time for their first child, they give him or her a lot of attention
C.The youngest child, though, often gets special treatment
D.The study found that first children believed in family rules
E.What happens to the other children in the family?
Visas
Travelers to France must have a valid passport (有效护照). Visitors from EEC (欧共体) countries and America do not need visas, but visitors from other countries should contact the nearest French consulate (领事馆) or tourist office about getting one before travelling.
Arrival
You could arrive at one of the two airports serving Paris.
Charles de Gaulle is bigger and more modern. You can take a comfortable and inexpensive Air France bus to Porte Millot in the 16th district, then take a bus , the Metro or a taxi to your hotel. There are also city buses (No. 350 and 351) which go into Eastern Paris, Nation and the Gare de Train Station. A taxi takes about 40 to 50 minutes to reach the centre, and costs about 170 Francs. Add another 30 minutes for rush hours.
Orly is the other major airport, which have mostly domestic (国内的) flights. Air France buses go to the Invalides Terminal, a convenient drop off place, where you can take the Metro or RER directly. A city bus (Orly bus) comes into the southern end of Paris at the Denfer-Rochereau Metro Station every 15 minutes. A taxi ride, not during rush hour, takes 30-40 minutes and costs about 120 Francs.
If you arrive at a train station, you can follow the clearly posted signs towards the Metro or taxi stands.
Money
Many banks in Paris will change cash or travelers’ checks, and there are no special differences in rates (比率). Banking hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. The exchanges window at the Gare du Nord is open until 10 p.m. on weekdays, and other station banks are open until 8 p.m.
There are automatic (自动的) exchange machines at the Opera (the BNP Bank) and at No.66 on the Champs-Elysees that will change other bills into Francs. International VISA cards can be used in automatic tellers at many city banks.
If you lose your credit card, here are some hotline numbers: American Express (Tel: 4777-7200); Diners Club (Tel: 4762-7575); Carte Bleu Visa (Tel: 4277-1190).
1.Who do not need a visa when visiting France?
A. Germans. B. Australians. C. Chinese. D. Japanese.
2.It will take you about _________ from Charles de Gaulle Airport to the centre of Paris by car during the rush hours.
A. 30 minutes B. 40 minutes C. 50 minutes D. 70 minutes
3.If you want to go the southern end of Paris, you’d better take _________.
A. a No. 351 bus B. a No.350 bus C. an Orly bus D. an Air France bus
4.Money can be exchanged in _________.
A. any bank in Paris before 9 a.m. B. many banks after 4:30 p.m.
C. Gare du Nord after 10 p.m. D. an automatic exchange machines
5.From the passage we can learn that __________.
A. there are many tourists in Paris every year
B. during rush hours there are traffic jams in Paris
C. the best time for tourists to visit Paris is during weekdays
D. it is not very convenient for tourists to go to Paris by train
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 of international education, described the effect of the increase in Chinese students.
"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 that 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 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.
1.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
2.Which country below has the fewest students studying overseas?
A. South Korea B. India C. China D. America
3.Which is NOT the reason why so many Chinese students go to the USA for further study?
A. Chinese families can 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.
4.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.
5.This passage from VOA Special English is most likely to be ________.
A. An advertisement B. A radio program C. A science report D. A tour guide
Teenager Jake Denham was skiing with his family in the USA when he felt over and lost one of his skis. His family didn't know that he had a problem. They kept on skiing. When they got to the foot of mountain, there was no sign of Jake.
Jake couldn't find his ski anywhere. In the end, he decided to take off his other ski and walk down the mountain. But he couldn't work out the right way to go.
It was now getting dark and he was a long way from any place of safety. He knew that he might die that night in the cold temperatures. But Jake kept calm. At home, Jake watched a lot of TV programmes about living in difficult situations. He remembered the advice from these programmes and knew that he should build a hole in the snow. He made a hole and pointed it up the hill so the wind couldn't blow into it. Outside the temperature fell to a dangerous -15~C that night, but inside it Jake was safe from the cold.
But he had to get down the mountain. The TV programmes always said. "If you are lost, you should find someone else's tracks through the snow and follow them. ""I wanted to live my life." remembers Jake. "So I got up and I found some ski tracks and I followed those." He walked and walked and finally he saw lights. Nine hours after he lost his ski, he found a team of workers who came to save him. He was safe！
His mum was very happy when she heard the news. Amazingly, Jake didn't even have to go to hospital. He got through the terrible experience without any injuries.
So, the next time someone says that watching TV is a waste of time, think of Jake. Sometimes TV can save your life.
1.Jake's parents didn't know that he was missing until .
A. they reached the foot of the mountain
B. they began to ski down the mountain
C. a team of workers found Jake
D. Jake lost one of his ski
2.What was the most important decision Jake made for his safety?
A. To go skiing with his family in the USA.
B. To search for the ski that he had lost in the snow.
C. To take off his other ski and walk down the mountain.
D. To build a hole in the snow to keep himself warm.
3.The underlined word “track” in Paragraph 4 mean________.
A. 跑道 B. 跟踪 C. 踪迹 D. 小路
4.What was the correct order in which these events happened?
a.Jake made a hole in the snow. b.Jake lost one of his skis.
c.Jake finally saw lights. d.Jake skied with his family.
A. d--b-- a -- c B. a--b--c--d C. b--a-- d -- c D. c--b--a--d
5.Facing the difficulties, Jake Denham was .
A. polite and hardworking B. calm and clever
C. outgoing and helpful D. warm and friendly
Doctor Seuss was born in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.
In 1954, life magazine published a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books.
In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book is called Green Eggs and Ham.
In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策奖). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided American children and their parents.
He died at the age of 87, but his influence remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, “I do not write for children. I write for people.”
1.Doctor Seuss learned from the magazine that _______.
A. some school children could not read
B. many children's books were interesting
C. children wanted to learn to read
D. a writer for children was wanted
2.People like his books because the books ______.
A. are cheap and easy to get
B. were written in different languages
C. are easy and interesting to read
D. were written with invented words
3.He wrote the book The Cat in the Hat at the age of _____.
A. 50 B. 53 C. 56 D. 87
4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Doctor Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham with over 230 words.
B. Doctor Seuss wrote books only for children in the United States.
C. The Cat in the Hat was written only for six-year-old children.
D. His books provided education and enjoyment for Americans.
5.From the text we know that Doctor Seuss __________.
A. won a Pulitzer Prize soon after his death
B. sold millions of his books himself worldwide
C. changed American children's way of reading
D. wrote the largest number of books in the world
A young British woman had shortly arrived in Hong Kong and had not yet learned anything about the Chinese culture.
One day she went to the home of a Chinese friend and was immediately given a cup of Chinese tea. She was not ______ and she also found this type of tea rather ______. However, since she had been given the tea, she felt she should drink it. Hoping to finish it ______ so that she would not feel about having to drink this tea which she did not ______, she started to drink as much of it as she could. But as soon as her cup became half-full, the host insisted on giving her more. Several times she told the host that she had had ______, but it seemed to have no_______. Her cup kept being ______, and she kept on drinking.
During the time of her ______, she drank about twelve cups of tea. Later she found out that she should have just left the tea, and that this would have meant that she had had enough. Influenced by her ______ culture, she felt it too ______ to leave the tea and could not understand why the host took no notice of her protests (抗议) that she had had enough!
1.A. tired B. happy C. thirsty D. interested
2.A. bitter B. sweet C. nice D. cold
3.A. in time B. slowly C. gradually D. quickly
4.A. take B. have C. like D. buy
5.A. some B. enough C. all D. a little
6.A. value B. end C. effect D. importance
7.A. filled B. moved C. changed D. emptied
8.A. talk B. visit C. party D. investigation
9.A. modern B. ancient C. Western D. Eastern
10.A. impolite B. polite C. easy D. uneasy
