Tokyo: The world’s oldest man, retired Japanese silkworm breeder Yukichi Chuganji, died in his home at the age of 114, on Monday. Family members found him dead on his mattress. Born on March 23, 1889, Chuganji worked as a silkworm breeder and bank employee after leaving school. He also served as a community welfare(福利) officer. He had been in god health, talking daily with his family members.
Washington: Every American dislikes people who talk on cell phones while driving, even those who do that kind of act. In the State of New Jersey, 84 percent of 968 cell phone owners said in recent telephone survey that they would support a state ban(禁令) on the use of cell phones while driving. However, 42 percent of cell phone owners also said they used the devices “very often” or “sometimes” while driving. Although most agree that the banning is good, only 38 percent believed such a ban would be easy to enforce(实施).
New York: A woman in the US who was being attacked by a dog said she was saved from further harm when her 13-year-old daughter distracted the dog by screaming “You want a piece of me?” and kicked it repeatedly in the head. Jane Howell said she and her daughter, Elizabeth, were taking a walk around the neighborhood on Saturday evening when they came across he big dog, unchained.
1. The main idea of the second news is _____.
A.most Americans don’t like cell phone |
B.a ban on the use of cell phones has been made |
C.few people use cell phones while driving |
D.using cell phones while driving will be banned because most Americans don’t like it |
2. The woman in the US ____.
A.was not harmed by the dog |
B.raised the dog, which attacked her later |
C.was protected from being seriously hurt by her daughter |
D.had escaped when her daughter was kicking the dog |
3. From the news we can infer ____.
A.Chuganji was living alone when he died |
B.the woman’s 13-year-old daughter was very brave |
C.cell phones are not good devices |
D.it’s easy to enforce the ban the use of cell phones while driving |
The passport photographs of the future could turn out to be more than just another pretty picture if a new computer technique developed by Israeli scientists catches on.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University, in Israel, have invented a way to hide information such as a fingerprint or signature in color images. They believe this could improve passport safety or be used to produce product bar codes(条形码) or designs that cannot be seen.
“The papers can be faxed, scanned(扫描) and reprinted without hidden data disappearing,” New Scientist magazine said last week.
Joseph Rosen and a team of scientists worked out the new instrument by creating a mathematical model.
The model turns a fingerprint or signature into a series of numbers which are used to shape the dots that make up a color picture.
“Each dot can be forced out of the usual place slightly without noticeably changing the final appearance of the image,” the magazine said.
Several images that can be hidden in a single picture are scanned into a computer which does the work.
The hidden images or fingerprints cannot be shown until the picture is scanned again.
The computer rebuilds the fingerprint by measuring the displacement of the dots in the picture.
The magazine said that if he model is used for passport checkpoints the picture can be unscrambled(解码) to show the fingerprint or signature and checked against the person holding the passport.
The researchers are now working on a handheld, and instrument which could make unscrambling the hidden information easier.
1. The new passport photos will probably contain all EXCEPT _____.
A.one’s picture |
B.one’s fingerprint |
C.one’s signature |
D.one’s blood type |
2. The writer probably got the information about the new passport photos from ___.
A.Israeli scientists |
B.a radio or TV |
C.a newspaper |
D.a magazine |
3.What is the best title for the passage?
A.A New Computer Technique by Israeli Scientists |
B.A New Way t Hide Information |
C.The New Passport Photo: More Than Meets the Eye |
D.Safe Passport Photos |
We are going to talk again this week about higher education for disabled students who want to study in the United States.As we noted last time,there are no special colleges or universities for blind students.But there are for deaf students.One of them is Gallaudet University in Washington,D.C. Gallaudet is said to be the world’s only liberal arts university where everything is designed for deaf or hard-of-hearing students.About 2,000 students attend Gallaudet.The cost for international students is about 33,000 dollars a year.
Financial aid is available in the form of scholarships,but only after the first year of studies. Most scholarship aid goes to students in financial need who do well in their first year.One scholarship for international students is for deaf students from developing countries.Another is just for students from China.The university also offers an English Language Institute.But Gallaudet says this program does not guarantee (担保)acceptance to the university.
In the past year,students at Gallaudet protested against the administration’s choice of a new president for the university.The protests led to the choice of a different president who is more popular with the students,Robert Davila.He is a former officer of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.This technical college is in Rochester, New York. It is one of the eight colleges in the Rochester Institute of Technology.
More than one thousand students attend the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. About one hundred of them are international students.They come from Africa, Asia,Europe and South America.
The cost is about 28,000 dollars a year for an international Technical Institute student.Foreign graduate students pay about 20,000 dollars. Both undergraduate and graduate student can receive limited financial aid. They can also take part in the student employment program.This program makes it possible for students to work at the school.
1. The passage is written for _______ .
A.blind students |
B.deaf students |
C.art students |
D.dumb students |
2.The second paragraph mainly shows ________ .
A.students can get scholarships easily |
B.foreign students call receive more scholarships |
C.some information about Gallaudet |
D.the costs in Gallaudet are low . |
3. Robert Davila is the president who __________ .
A.is well received there |
B.is hated by the students |
C.has high fame world-wide |
D.was appointed by the government |
4.To those who study in Gallaudet,__________ .
A.foreign students can earn more |
B.the costs are different |
C.receiving financial aid is easy |
D.every student can find a suitable job |
Public schools in New York,America’s biggest city, commonly have numbers for names.But this is unusual.In the United States,the process of naming a school often involves parents and the community
as well as elected school leaders.
Researchers say school names can show civic (市民的) values and also shape them. For example,naming a school after a historic person becomes a way to teach students about that person’s importance in history.
A new study examines the naming of American public schools.The study is from the Manhattan Institute,an organization that does public policy research.The study shows that fewer and fewer schools are being named after people.Instead。more schools are being named after the local areas or natural features like hills.trees or animals.The researchers say these changes raise questions about the civic duty of public education.
The looked at seven states with 20% of all public school students in the country. They found the similar result in every state: new school are less likely to be named after people. This is true especially with presidents. For example, in Arizona, public school in the past 20 years were almost fifty times more likely to be named after such things as landforms or plants .
School officials say they try to choose names that will not offend anyone. For example, a few years ago the city of New Orleans banned the naming of any school after a person who owned slaves. Other school system have rules against naming new schools after any person, living or dead .
The researchers say naming a school after a person can lead it important debates about democratic values. They call for more research to identify the causes and effects of the changes in school names.
The causes may include changes in American culture as well as in the political control of school systems. One area worth exploring , they say, is the link between trends in school names and weak results for public schools on measures of civic education.
1.More schools are being named after the following EXCEPT ________ .
A.hills |
B.trees |
C.animals |
D.people |
2.What does “they” in paragraph 7 refer to ?
A.School officials |
B.Public schools |
C.The researchers |
D.Democratic values |
3. If the passage appears in a newspaper, which column will it be ?
A.Culture |
B.Science |
C.Travel |
D.Entertainment |
4. What’s the best title for the passage ?
A.Few Us Public School Now Are Named after people |
B.Public Schools In New York Have Numbers for Names |
C.The Various Origins of America Schools |
D.US Public Schools Value the Names of Great Persons |
Kevin DuBmw,the lead singer of the popular 1980s US heavy metal band Quiet Riot,has been found dead from unknown causes at his home in Los Vegas.
The body of DuBrow was discovered on Sunday afternoon,a spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner’s Office said.An examination of his body conducted on Monday didn’t lead to a result and more related tests were scheduled to establish a cause of his death.Police proved that DuBrow’S body was found at his home after they were called together by friends and neighbors who could not find the rocker.
A Las Vegas police spokeswoman refused to say whether there were signs of violence. “I can’t even find the words to say,”Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali said on his Web site. “Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend,Kevin DuBrow.”
Founded in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s,Quiet Riot shot to the top of the Billboard charts with their 1983 album “Metal Health”.It sold more than 6 million copies and is considered by many to be the first heavy metal record to top the pop charts.The album’s sales were improved by the quartet’s monster hit “Cum Oil Feel the Noize,” featuring DuBrow’s powerhouse vocals , and the song’s video.which was played in heavy rotation on MTV.
Quiet Riot’s following albums did not sell nearly as well and DuBrow was fired from the band among the following feeling of hatred.DuBrow regrouped Quiet Riot in the 1990s and the band has played occasionally,last releasing an album in October 2006.
1. DuBrow’s body was found _________
A.on the date of his death |
B.on Sunday morning |
C.by his relatives |
D.at his home |
2. Frankie Banali’s words suggest ________ .
A.he Was amazed at DuBrow’s death |
B.he wasn’t good at expressing himself |
C.he felt very sad at the moment |
D.he was recalling what had happened |
3. What can we learn from the passage ?
A.Quiet Riot became popular in 1970s. B.”Metal Health”was well received in 1983.
C.Quiet Riot’s conditions became worse because of DuBrow.
D.Quiet Riot has been performing in the USA.
4. What’s the best title for the passage?
A.Quiet Riot’s Lead Singer Was Found Dead in Las Vegas. |
B.DuBrow’s Death Shocked the Public. |
C.Quiet Riot—a Famous Band. |
D.Police Looked for DuBrow’s Death. |
Country singer and songwriter Adrienne Young brings together music and agricultural activities.She even included seeds in the album cover of her first CD.
Adrienne Young wants people to know that she supports the movement in America to increase local farming.She offers information about agricultural issues on her Web site.And now part of the moneyfrom her third and newest release, “Room to Grow”,will be donated to help support community gardens.
Adrienne Young’s family has lived in Florida for seven generations.Her ancestors helped develop the agriculture industry there.The state of Florida is the nation’s second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, 'after California.
Adrienne Young has said that her interest in nature was shaped by the fact that she did not grow up on a farm.She grew up in a house her grandfather build on what had been farmland two generations ago.But the land was developed and was now part of a highway.
Adrienne Young has teamed up with two organizations that support local farming and gardening efforts.One is the American Community Gardening Association.The other is FoodRoutes,a group she has represented for several years.
FoodRoutes says buying locally grown food is not only about taste and freshness.The group says buying locally also helps to strengthen local economies and protect the environment.Exports say food in the United States travels all average of more than three thousand kilometers from farm to store.
1.The aim to write the passage is to _________ .
A.tell us a singer aims to grow interest in local farming |
B.show Adrienne Young promotes her third CD album |
C.praise Adrienne Young for her contributions to agriculture |
D.call on singers to learn from Adrienne Young |
2.Adrienne Young supports to increase local farming in _______ ways.
A.two |
B.three |
C.four |
D.five |
3.It can be learned from the passage that ________ .
A.Adrienne Young’s parents used to be farmers |
B.Adrienne Young grew up on a farm |
C.Florida is good for farming |
D.no old houses existing on the farm belongs to Adrienne Young |
4. Buying locally grown food has many advantages EXCEPT _________ .
A.it is fresh |
B.it’s tasty |
C.it’s environmental protection |
D.it raises local production |