The kids in this village wear dirty, ragged clothes. They sleep beside cows and sheep in huts made of sticks and mud. They have no school. Yet they all can chant the English alphabet, and some can make words.
The key to their success: 20 tablet computers(平板电脑) dropped off in their Ethiopian village in February by a U.S. group called One Laptop Per Child.
The goal is to find out whether kids using today’s new technology can teach themselves to read in places where no schools or teachers exist. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers analyzing the project data say they’re already amazed. “What I think has already happened is that the kids have already learned more than they would have in one year of kindergarten,” said Matt Keller, who runs the Ethiopia program.
The fastest learner—and the first to turn on one of the tablets—is 8-year-old Kelbesa Negusse. The device’s camera was disabled to save memory, yet within weeks Kelbesa had figured out its workings and made the camera work. He called himself a lion, a marker of accomplishment in Ethiopia.
With his tablet, Kelbasa rearranged the letters HSROE into one of the many English animal names he knows. Then he spelled words on his own. “Seven months ago he didn’t know any English. That’s unbelievable,” said Keller.
The project aims to get kids to a stage called “deep reading,” where they can read to learn. It won’t be in Amharic, Ethiopia’s first language, but in English, which is widely seen as the ticket to higher paying jobs.
1.How does the Ethiopia program benefit the kids in the village?
A. It trains teachers for them.
B. It contributes to their self-study.
C. It helps raise their living standards.
D. It provides funds for building schools.
2.What can we infer from Keller’s words in Paragraph 3?
A. They need more time to analyze data.
B. More children are needed for the research.
C. He is confident about the future of the project.
D. The research should be carried out in kindergartens.
3.It amazed Keller that with the tablet Kelbesa could _______.
A. learn English words quickly.
B. draw pictures of animals.
C. write letters to researchers.
D. make phone calls to his friends.
4.What is the aim of the project?
A. To offer Ethiopians higher paying jobs.
B. To make Amharic widely used in the world.
C. To help Ethiopian kids read to learn in English.
D. To assist Ethiopians in learning their first language.
Metrorail(地铁）
Each passenger needs a farecard to enter and go out .Up to two children under age five may travel free with a paying customer.
Farecard machines are in every station .Bring small bills because there are no change machines in the stations and farecard machines only provide up to $5 in change.
Get one ticket of unlimited Metrorall rides with a One Day Pass .Buy it from a farecard machine in Metro stations .Use it after 9:30 a,m. until closing on weekdays , and all day on weekends and holidays .
Hours of service
Open: 5a.m. Mon.-Fri. 7a.m. Sat.-Sun.
Close: midnight Sun.-Thurs. 3a.m. Fri.-Sat. nights
Last train times vary .To avoid missing the last train, please check the last train times posted in stations.
Metrobus
When paying with exact charge , the fare is $1.35.When paying with a SmarTrip
card , the fare is $ 1.25.
Fares for senior/disabled customers
Senior citizens 65 and older and disabled customers may ride for half the regular fare. On Metrorail and Metrobus , use a senior/disabled farecard or SmarTripcard .For more information about buying senior /disabled farecard , SmarTripcards and passes , please visit MetroOpensDoors .com or call 202-637-7000and 202-637-8000.
Senior citizens and disabled customers can get free guide on how to use proper Metrobus and Metrorall services by calling 202-962-1100.
Travel tips
·Avoid riding during weekday rush periods –before 9:30 a.m. and between 4and 6p.m.
·If you lose something on a bus or train or in a station, please call Lost &Found at 202-962-1195,
1.What should you know about farecard machines？
A. They start selling tickets at 9:30 a.m.
B. They are connected to change machines .
C. They offer special service to the elderly .
D. They make change for no more than $5.
2.At what time does Metrorail stop service on Saturday ？
A. At midnight .
B. At 3 a.m.
C. At 5 a.m.
D. At 7a.m.
3.What is good about a SmarTripcard ？
A. It is convenient for old people.
B. It saves money for its users.
C. It can be bought at any train.
D. It is sold on the Internet.
A schoolgirl saved her father's life by kicking him in the chest after he suffered a serious allergic (过敏的) reaction which stopped his heart.
Izzy, nine, restarted father Colm's heart by stamping (踩) on his chest after he fell down at home and stopped breathing.
Izzy's mother, Debbie, immediately called 999 but Izzy knew doctors would never arrive in time to save her father, so decided to use CPR.
However, she quickly discovered her arms weren't strong enough, so she stamped on her father's chest .
Debbie then took over with some more conventional chest compressions (按压) until the ambulance arrived .
Izzy, who has been given a bravery award by her school, said: "I just kicked him really hard. My mum taught me CPR but I knew I wasn't strong enough to use hands. I was quite scared. The doctor said I might as well be a doctor or a nurse. My mum said that Dad was going to hospital with a big footprint on his chest.
"
She's a little star," said Debbie, "I was really upset but Izzy just took over. I just can't believe what she did. I really think all children should be taught first aid. Izzy did CPR then the doctor turned up. Colm had to have more treatment on the way to the hospital and we've got to see an expert."
Truck driver Colm, 35, suffered a mystery allergic reaction on Saturday and was taken to hospital, but was sent home only for it to happen again the next day. The second attack was so serious that his airway swelled, preventing him from breathing, his blood pressure dropped suddenly, and his heart stopped for a moment.
He has now made a full recovery from his suffering.
1.Izzy kicked her father in the chest ______ .
A. to express her helplessness B. to practise CPR on him
C. to keep him awake D. to restart his heart
2.What's the right order of the events?
a. Izzy kicked Colm.
b. Debbie called 999.
c. Izzy learned CPR.
d. Symptoms of Colm's allergic reaction.
A. cabd B. dbca C. cdba D. dcab
3.What does Paragraph 8 mainly talk about?
A. What Colm suffered.
B. Colm's present condition.
C. What caused Colm's allergy.
D. Symptoms of Colm's allergic reaction.
假定你是李华。你收到了美国笔友彼得寄来的最新英文小说。请给他回信，内容包括：
1.小说收到；
2.回赠礼物；
3.礼物意义；
4.邀请来华。
注意：1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear Peter,
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Best wishes.
Yours,
Li Hua
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在此符号下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Today is my mum’s birthday. This afternoon, I went to the biggest shopping center downtown, and buy a present for her. Then I took the subway home. Sitting on the train, I thought my mum would very happy when she saw the presents. At the next station, an old man, that carried two heavy bags, got on the train but stood in front of me. He looked tired. I hesitated for the moment, and then offered my seat to her. The old man thanked me a lot of and sat down. Seeing his smile，I felt happily.
From this experience, I will be ready to helping others in the future.
Rene Laennec was a French doctor who learned to tap on people’s chests to find out illness from an Austrian doctor named Leopold Auenbrugger. As a boy, Leopold used to tap wine1.(contain) in his father’s inn to see how much wine they held. A full one made2.different sound from an empty one. When he became a doctor, he 3. (tap) people’s chests to see how much liquid was in their lungs. Laennec did the same and learned to tell by tapping carefully on a chest 4.it was diseased or not. But he was even more interested 5.diseases of the heart, and he wished that he could hear heartbeats clearly. In those days, a doctor would place his head on a patient’s chest to listen, but if the patient was 6. (extreme) fat it was impossible to hear any heartbeat at all.
One day when Laennec 7.(walk) in the park, he saw some girls playing with a see-saw(跷跷板). One of them scratched the end of the board while the others placed their ears against the other end. On walking up, the doctor was asked why the sounds travelled along the wood. “The sounds are magnified(放大), girls, er…”Suddenly he turned and rushed back to the hospital. Quickly8.(take) some thick paper, he rolled it up like a tube and began listening to patients’ chests. He heard the heartbeats and 9. (they) breathing clearly. Laennec soon made a better instrument of wood, one he called a stethoscope(听诊器). Later, they 10. (make) of steel and rubber.
