Happy April Fool’s Day! In celebration of the day, we have put together a list of some of the greatest hoaxes (恶作剧) in history. They are the lies that have been designed for innocent people who are ready to believe them.
▲INSTANT COLOR TV
In 1962 there was only one TV channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s Kjell Stepson, appearing on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily transform their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon (尼龙) stocking over their TV screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color. Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, were taken in. Actual color TV transmission only started to appear in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
▲SAN SERRIFFE
In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven –page supplement(增刊) in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean. A series of articles affectionately asked for more information about the beautiful holiday spot. Few noticed that every thing about the island was made up.
▲NIXON FOR PRESIDENT
In 1992 American National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that, Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again. His new campaign slogan was, “ I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.” Accompanying this announcement were audio clips(片断) of Nixon delivering his election speech. Listeners responded immediately to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and anger. Only during the second half of the show did the host John Huckleberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke. Nixon’s voice was copied by comedian Rich Little.
1.Which of the following countries in NOT mentioned in the text?
|
A．India |
B．The UK |
C．The United States |
D．Sweden |
2.Who worked as a host on the radio?
|
A．Kjell Stepson |
B．Rich Little |
C．Richard Nixon |
D．John Huckleberry |
3.When did the small republic San Serriffe come into being?
|
A．In 1962 |
B．In 1977 |
C．In 1992 |
D．Never |
4.Where can we probably read this article?
|
A．In the ad. |
B．In a magazine |
C．In a novel |
D．In a news report |
Florence Nightingale was born in a rich family. When she was young she took lessons in music and drawing, and read great books. She also traveled a great deal with her mother and father.
As a child she felt that visiting sick people was both a duty and a pleasure. She enjoyed helping them.
At last mind was made up. “I’m going to be a nurse,” she decided.
“Nursing isn’t the right work for a lady,” her father told her.
“Then I will make it so,” she smiled. And she went to learn nursing in Germany and France. When she returned to England, Florence started a nursing home for home. During the Crimean War in 1854 she went with a group of thirty eight nurses to the front hospitals. What they saw there was terrible. Dirt and death were everywhere to be seen — and smelled. The officer there did not want any woman to tell him how to run a hospital, either. But the brave nurse went to work.
Florence used her own money and some from friends to buy clothes, beds, medicine and food for the men. Her only pay was in smiles from the lips of dying soldiers. But they were more than enough for this kind woman.
After she returned to England, she was honored for her services by Queen Victoria. But Florence said that her work had just begun. She raised money to build the Nightingale Home for Nurses in London. She also wrote a book on public health, which was printed in several countries.
Florence Nightingale died at the age of ninety, still trying to serve others through her work as a nurse. Indeed, it is because of her that we honor nurses today.
1.When she was a child, Florence ____ .
|
A．loved to travel very much |
|
B．knew what her duty in life was |
|
C．loved to help the sick people |
|
D．was most interested in music and drawing |
2.What made Florence make up her mind to become a nurse？
|
A．Her father’s support. |
|
B．Her desire to help the sick. |
|
C．Her education in Germany and France. |
|
D．Her knowledge from reading great books. |
3.During the Crimean War in 1854, Florence served in the front hospital where ____ .
|
A．she earned a little money |
|
B．work was very difficult |
|
C．few soldiers died because of her work |
|
D．she didn’t have enough food or clothes |
4.The passage can best be described as ____ .
|
A．the life story of a famous woman |
|
B．a description of the nursing work |
|
C．an example of successful education |
|
D．the history of nursing in England |
In England a woman fell down a stair. Panic followed—178 persons lost their lives. In Michigan a woman fell ill. There was a call for water. Someone thought it meant fire---71 were killed. In Oklahoma an old man’s hair caught fire---36 died.
What should you do to be out of danger?
1. As you sit in any crowd, pick out an exit(出口) which is not the one where most persons enter and plan to use if necessary.
2. If a rush stairs, do not get into it . Stay still. Let it pass. Then go to the exit you have chosen.
3. Do not cry out. Speak quietly. Act calmly.
4.Do not stop for your hat and coat unless they are at hand.
5. If there is smoke, crouch. The best air is about three feet above the floor.
6. When you are outside the building, stay out. Many dead would be alive if they had not returned for something.
7. When you get out, move far from the door so that others can get out.
1.The first paragraph tells us that over two hundred people lost their lives because of_________.
|
A．a fire |
B．a call for water |
|
C． falling downstairs |
D．panic |
2.If you are in a crowd when panic stars, you should ________.
|
A．run with the others. |
|
B．call for help as loudly as you can. |
|
C．hurry at once to an exit. |
|
D．stay still until the crowd has passed. |
3.What should you do once out of a place where there is panic?
|
A．stay outside. |
|
B．go back for your wallet. |
|
C．return to ask people not to run. |
|
D．stand near the exit. |
4.When you are safe outside a burning building , stay away from the door so that _______.
|
A．the smoke can get out. |
|
B．you will not get burned |
|
C．others may leave. |
|
D．others may enter. |
Tim Becker and his neighbors are doing something to make their neighborhood a trouble-free area.
When Tim Becker gets in his car to go shopping, he doesn’t 36 drive to a store and back home. He always looks 37 up and down the streets of his neighborhood. He looks for anything 38 such as strange cars, loud noises, 39 windows , or people gathering on street corners.
Tim 40 to a neighborhood watch group in Stoneville Indiana, USA. The neighborhood watch group 41 on the third Wednesday of every month. That’s 42 Tim gets together with about ten of his neighbors to discuss community 43 . Members of the neighborhood watch group want to help the police 44 their homes , streets, and families safe.
Tina Stedman , president of 45 neighborhood watch group , agrees with Tim . “People seem to think that crime(犯罪) happens to other people but not 46 them. Well , it’s never happened to me,” she said, “but I don’t think anyone has the 47 to steal from other people or to make them feel 48 sitting in their own homes.
Alex, a member of the group, said that all the neighbors 49 out for one another. “We 50 each other’s homes. We keep watch on the neighborhood at night and on weekends .Usually a 51 of four or five of us goes out together. If something doesn’t look right, then we call the 52 . For example, if we notice a group of teenagers who seem to be looking for 53 , or someone destroying property（财产）, we report to the police.”
Alex feels the neighborhood watch groups 54 a lot in keeping crime down. Her husband Jim agrees, “Police are good people, but they don’t do 55 .”
|
1. |
|
|
2. |
|
3.A. familiar B. unusual C expensive. D. interesting
|
4. |
|
|
5. |
|
|
6. |
|
|
7. |
|
|
8. |
|
|
9. |
|
|
10. |
|
|
11. |
|
|
12. |
|
|
13. |
|
|
14. |
|
|
15. |
|
|
16. |
|
|
17. |
|
|
18. |
|
|
19. |
|
|
20. |
|
The old man needs _________ .
|
A．looking after |
B．being looked after |
C．to look after |
D．look after |
I think all the workers, ________ the leader _____ playing the most important role.
|
A．rather than ; are |
B．rather ; are |
|
C．more than ; is |
D．less than ; is |
