On October 19, 1959, the first Special English program was broadcast on the Voice of America. It was an experiment. The goal was to communicate by radio in clear and simple English with people whose native language is not English. Experts said the goal was admirable, but the method would not work. They were proved wrong. The Special English programs quickly became some of the most popular on VOA. And they still are.
Forty years later, Special English continues to communicate with people who are not fluent in English. But during the years its role has expanded. It also helps people learn American English. And it provides listeners, even those who are native English speakers, with information they cannot find elsewhere.
Today, Special English broadcasts around the world seven days a week, five times a day. Each half-hour broadcast begins with ten minutes of the latest news followed by 20 minutes of feature programming. There is a different short feature every weekday about science, development, agriculture and environment, and on the weekend, about news events and American idioms.
Three elements make Special English unique. It has a limited vocabulary of 1500 words. Most are simple words that describe objects, actions or emotions. Some are more difficult. They are used for reporting world events and describing discoveries in medicine and science. Special English is written in short, simple sentences that contain only one idea. No idioms are used. And Special English is spoken at a slower pace, about two-thirds the speed of Standard English. This helps people learning English hear each word clearly. It also helps people who are English speakers understand complex subjects.
Through the years, Special English has become a very popular tool for teaching English, even though it was not designed as teaching program. It succeeds in helping people learn English in a non-traditional way. Individuals record the programs and play them over and over to practice their listening skills. In countries around the world, English teachers assign Special English to their students. They praise it for improving their students' ability to understand American English and for the content of the programs. Universities and private companies in many countries produce packages of Special English materials for student use.
1.At the beginning, Special English program was .
A．well received
B．rejected by native people
C．doubted by some professionals
D．intended for teaching English
2.What kind of English is spoken on Special English?
A．British English.
B．American English.
C．Both British and American English.
D．Not certain.
3.Which of the following are the elements that make Special English unique?
a．limited vocabulary
b．short simple sentences
b．good communication method
d．slow speed
e．interesting feature programming
A．a, b, c B．a, c, d C．a, b, d D．b, d, e
4.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A．Special English has been founded for less than 50 years.
B．Native English speakers don’t have a great affection for Special English.
C．Special English usually starts with 20 minutes of the latest news.
D．People can learn some idioms from Special English.
5.From the last paragraph we can infer that .
A．listening to Special English can be a student’s homework
B．listening to Special English can improve the content of the program
C．some student record the Special English material for sale
D．learning English from VOA is a traditional way for English learner.
Every evening, 15-year-old Rashida returns home from school, changes out of her uniform, and rushes to a neighboring farm to help her mother harvest vegetables. Her father is disabled, so the modest profit the two of them earn must cover food, clothing and other necessities for all seven children and their parents. Despite having precious little time to study, Rashida is one of the top students at her junior secondary school. But with so much responsibility on her small shoulders, she admits that it is sometimes hard for her to imagine a more promising future.
Last year, Rashida was invited to join 155 other girls at Camfed Ghana’s first Girls’ Career Camp, a program designed to inspire girls growing up in the country’s Northern Region to dream big, and to support them to pursue those dreams. “We organized this camp because we wanted to let girls know that even if they are struggling with poverty, their lives will not be defined by limitations,” says Dolores Dickson, Camfed Ghana’s Executive Director.
Over the course of five days, the camp led the junior and secondary school students through a range of experiences and career opportunities that were entirely new to them. Dr. Agnes Apusiga, a lecturer from the University of Development Studies, ran the workshop on goal-setting and career choices, describing the universities and training colleges in Ghana that could help them achieve their dreams. Participants then visited the University for Development Studies, where they toured the medical school and science labs. Another highlight was a workshop at the computer lab at Tamale Secondary School. Many of the girls had studied information technology from a book but had never before seen a computer.
“When the girls arrived at camp, they were not ambitious, because they didn’t have any idea what the world held for them,” says Eugenia Ayagiba, Project Officer with Camfed Ghana. “Many had scarcely traveled beyond their own villages.”
“I think the most important thing that happened at the camp is that we opened a window of hope for a group of girls coming from backgrounds of poverty,” says Eugenia. For Rashida, who has been laughed at in the past by her schoolmates because of her father’s disability, the experience was important. “She told one of the camp mentors(辅导员) that when she is at school, she often feels like a misfit, and she prefers to keep to herself,” says Eugenia. “But at the camp, it was different. She made friends with girls who have similar struggles. She took part in every single activity, every single game. On the last day, she said to her mentor, ‘The camp has challenged me to study hard. Now I see that there is light at the end of the tunnel.’
1.How many are there in Rashida’s family?
A．Seven B．Eight C．Nine D．Ten
2.According to the passage, Camfed Ghana’s first Girls’ Career Camp is ．
A．a program to help poor girls to have ambition
B．a program to help poor girl students to get university education
C．a program to help poor girls to study hard
D．a program to help the poor families
3.Why did the camp lead the students to visit universities and training colleges?
A．To show they are better than their schools
B．To encourage them to get good education．
C．To show them what they are like
D．To get them to touch the advanced equipment there
4.What can we infer from the passage?
A．Rashida has become friends with her mentors
B．Rashida’s mentors has encouraged her a lot．
C．Rashida was sad because of her father’s disability．
D．Rashida has had her new dream since the camp
5.The best title of the passage is ___________．
A．Poor Girls in Ghana B．Girls’ Career Camp
C．Camfed Ghana D．Students in Ghana Dream Big
Directions: Complete the following passage by using OVE word that best firs the context.
You may become very unhappy sharing a room with a stranger. If you want to study quietly 48. your roommate keeps asking for nothing important or listening to rock music, you will get upset. If you feel very tired and sleepy while he turns over in bed making enough noise to keep you 49. , you are sure to become annoyed but can do noting about it 50. , in my view, sharing a room with a stranger is a good arrangement of living despite those disadvantages. First, you may not feel so lonely when you are far away from your home. 51. always have another person in the room to share your joys and sorrows. 52. , you can get a helping hand to overcome whatever difficulty you are in. You can ask advice from him on your work and study. Third, living with a stranger offers you 53.
chance of learning to get along with people. You do your best to make friends with him, thus adapting yourself 54. more complicated society upon graduation.
Therefore, I prefer to sharing a room with a stranger during my school life. I will manage to stay in harmony with my roommate. We can make progress together 55. leave a wonderful memory in both of our life.
Directions: For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A,B,C, and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
When I was little, my family used to move frequently. Before I could even get acquainted with my schoolmates, my family was on the move again. I became very 36 because of this.
But a girl with dark skin and ling shiny hair changed me. Here best characteristics are her openness and 37 . She is always smiling, like a beautiful sunflower following the sun. without doubt I enjoyed being with her and soon we became good friends. As time went by, I 38 became a happy girl. But this joyful period didn’t last long. We were admitted to different colleges. I felt like I had gone back to my always-on-the-move childhood. I felt 39 and helpless and I was afraid that I would 40 her as my best friend. She stayed calm and said to me :“Rain, you can achiever more than I do, so 1 to your dreams and make a big effort! Real friendship doesn’t fade and we will be best friends forever.” Maybe she didn’t realize what a great 42 she was to me at that time.
However, it turned out that my concerns were well-founded（有根据的）. I felt that the 43 between us was getting bigger and bigger. One day, she sent me a text message happily telling me that she had fallen in love with a handsome boy in her class.
I felt happy for her, but at the same time I was secretly worried about our friendship. I 44 her several times intending to tell her to think easefully about her relationship with the boy, but I got no more messages from her. I felt sad that perhaps our friendship would not 45 . I had almost given up hope until she visited me at my campus a week later. She looked 46 but was wearing the most beautiful smile. She gave me a big hug and said: “I’m sorry. I want to be myself and your friend forever!” We cried together, ignoring the people walking past. She told me her sad story, and we knew we had gone back to how it was before.
Now I firmly believer that distance and time can’t 47 you from a friend. If you care enough about each other, friendship never fades.
1.A．silent B．aggressive C．impatient D．greedy
2.A．faithfulness B．cheerfulness C．quietness D．kindness
3.A．gradually B．normally C．frequently D．regularly
4.A．scared B．shabby C．cold-hearted D．unreasonable
5.A．leave B．miss C．lose D．abandon
6.A．look forwardB．hold on C．get down D．give thought
7.A．burden B．example C．encouragement D．wonder
8.A．difference B．distance C．misunderstanding D．complaint
9.A．visited B．messaged C．telephoned D．wrote
10.A．negotiate B．develop C．survive D．accelerate
11.A．cheerful B．dynamic C．calm D．pale
12.A．protect B. prevent C．free D．separate
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. you keep trying, you will achieve your goals in the future.
A．In case B．Even though C．As long as D．As soon as
how to solve the problem, the little boy turned to his father for help.
A．Not knowing B．Having not known
C．Not having been known D．Not known
