Young people in the United States do not have a strong understanding of the world and their place in it.
Two U. S.—based groups, the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Geographic, Society commissioned an online survey earlier this year. They wanted to know what young people educated in American colleges knew about geography, U. S. foreign policy, recent international events, and economics.
The survey was given to over 1,200 Americans between the ages of 18 and 26 years. All of them presently attending, or having previously graduated from, a 2-or 4-year college or university.
The average test score, out of 75 total possible answers, was 55 percent. The study identifies a few important problems. For example, only 30 percent knew that the only part of the U. S. government that can declare war is Congress. Only 60% of those taking the survey could identify Brazil on a world map.
Part of the problem, argue the organizers of the survey, is the internet. They say it is becoming harder to find high-quality information about world events amongst all the fake news and trivia which swamp the web. Forty-three percent of those questioned said they read about the news on Facebook.
Another problem is that most college courses do not require students to learn about international issues. If such information is not required, Richard Haass from the Council on Foreign Relations said, then the United States could have leaders like Gary Johnson. He was a recent presidential candidate who did not know about the Syrian city of Aleppo when a reporter asked him about it.
The survey results were not all bad. The young people also demonstrated a good understanding of climate change and renewable energy. And the majority of them said that international issues were becoming more important to them.
Haass says these findings suggest the need to find was to get good information to students, both in school and online. To help, the Council on Foreign Relations is creating a new program called CFR Campus, designed to help build knowledge about global issues.
1.What can we learn about the survey?
A. All the participants were recent university graduates
B. It was an online survey conducted by two US universities
C. Its aim is to figure out what the young people know about America
D. It was given to over 1,200 American people aged from 18 to 26
2.What’s one reason survey organizers give for young people’s lack of knowledge?
A. Young people are unwilling to travel abroad
B. The sources from which they get their information
C. The US university system is of poor quality
D. Their lack of interest in knowing more about the world
3.According to the survey, what topic did the young Americans understand best?
A. Environmental matters B. Geographic information
C. Foreign relations D. Government organizations
4.In which column of a newspaper could we find this article?
A. Economics B. Entertainment
C. Politics D. Education
The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
I bought a box set of four Winnie the Pooh books while on holiday when I was eight years old. I adored Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. They became very real to me and I credit them with starting a lifelong love of reading.
I still have the box set, and loved reading the stories to my children when they were small. Part of me secretly believes A. A. Milne’s wonderful characters are all alive and well and still having their adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood.
-----Roberta Smith
Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights by Charlotte and Emily Bronte
I can never separate Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights when I think about books that have stayed with me. Both had a deep impact on me when I read them as a teenager.
They were the first classic books I read purely for pleasure, rather than because I had to for school.
I grew up in Yorkshire, not far from where the Brontes lived, so part of me really understood the depressing landscape. That close geographical connection led to a lifelong interest in the authors as much as in the books themselves.
I wrote a high-school essay on the contrasts and similarities between Charlotte and Emily and their heroines. I’d be fascinated to read that essay now to see what conclusions I reached as a 17-year-old.
----Jane Lee
1.What do we know about the Winnie the Pooh books?
A. They are very romantic
B. They are designed for children
C. They describe summer holiday stories
D. They encourage people to have all kinds of adventures
2.One reason why the writer likes Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights is that __________.
A. the stories are in the background of an area that the writer knows well
B. the stories helped the writer with her essay writing
C. they were recommended by the teachers in her school
D. they were easy-to-find classic novels
3.The text intended to tell us _________.
A. to introduce the books’ authors
B. to improve some classical literature
C. to explain the influence of these books on the writers
D. to make comments on the books’ leading characters
假设你是李华，校学坐会主席，想邀请外教Henry先生一起参加学校举办的中秋节晚会。请给他写封邮件，内容包括：
1.介绍写邮件的目的； 2.晚会时间、地点：9月30日晚6点、学校报告厅：
3.晚会内容：同学们表演节目、吃月饼、赏月。
注意：1.词数100左右；2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；3.开头与结尾己给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Mr. Henry,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Yours sincerely,
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短文。短文中共有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。
Dear Bill,
How time flies!I went back to school and begin my lesson last month.It will be ten months before I attend the College Entrance Examination,that makes me worried.I failed pass the English test last term because of I had difficulty with it.I will never give up and determine to give myself the second chance to pass them.I will ask my teachers and friends for advices on how to improve it and work out a detailed plan.Besides,I'll make fully use of time. Do you have any good ideas? Tell me or I will be grateful to you.
I'm looking forward to hear from you.
Yours,
Li Hua
Jin Hanmiao,a first grader from China,received a reply letter from Buckingham Palace1.(recent) after writing to introduce the China-Britain express railway service.
The letter is based2.the 19-day journey of the first China-U.K.freight（货运）train.3.(see) the news of its return to Yiwu,Jin's mother encouraged him to write about it and then send the letter to Queen ElizabethⅡ.
In his letter,Jin introduced4.(he) and Yiwu,as well as his hope5.the Queen would appreciate6.(tradition) Chinese culture.He also expressed his interest in the U.K.,after mentioning some British famous persons and places including Isaac Newton,Charles Darwin,and the British Museum.He then sent his letter to the Queen.
Jin's mother helped translate the letter into English,and sent both the original letter and the translation to London on May 8.Two months7.(late),a reply from Buckingham Palace8.(receive).The letter talked about the living and working conditions of the Queen at9.early age,and included a detailed10.(introduce) of the Palace.
When I was just out of college, I managed to get my dream job as a trader in New York City on the floor of the American Stock（股票）exchange.
Though it was a proud_______,the job was simply too physically_____—I must stand in a crowd every day, which often_______me in a mindset（心态）that held me back.
Manhattan is a walking town and it's difficult to ______when you have a disability. Taxis are expensive and riding the subway _______dozens of steep steps to get below ______.This left me only one________—the bus.
One night, after the _______for my job, I was aching with self-pity________it started to rain on my walk to the bus stop. I became more and more________without an umbrella, thinking I’d never________it in this city. Telling myself, "this city is just too hard" and "maybe it is just not possible for a guy like me".
And then, I ______the most beautiful, short moment. A couple came rolling by on roller skates, hand_______hand as they skated what seemed like the tango. They were all wet but they saw the_____as an opportunity and romance.
I suddenly became grateful for waiting in the rain because I________have missed this beauty___________if I had been in a taxi or on the subway. This, although _______, was an important moment on my journey to discovering the________of achieving health and happiness. When I change my mindset, ______for a moment, to what is possible and work to get rid of the self-limiting beliefs that________my daily actions, I will be on the road to a healthier, happier life.
1.A. adjustment B. achievement C. agreement D. treatment
2.A. tiring B. boring C. relaxing D. disappointing
3.A. reminded B. expected C. took D. left
4.A. go up B. get around C. set off D. show up
5.A. requests B. supports C. requires D. surrounds
6.A. ground B. street C. town D. city
7.A. change B. chance C. idea D. choice
8.A. struggle B. work C. experience D. influence
9.A. before B. while C. when D. after
10.A. nervous B. curious C. scared D. upset
11.A. get B. make C. put D. watch
12.A. recalled B. observed C. witnessed D. realized
13.A. on B. by C. to D. in
14.A. rain B. tree C. wind D. cloud
15.A. shall B. would C. need D. must
16.A. exactly B. instantly C. entirely D. suddenly
17.A. strange B. small C. normal D. different
18.A. humor B. honest C. power D. principle
19.A. still B. yet C. also D. even
20.A. affect B. follow C. forbid D. harm
