An advance in electronic publishing could make the ebook you are reading seem as dated as a silent film. Publishers hope to explore the growing success of ebooks by releasing versions with added soundtracks and musical accompaniments.
The noises in the first multimedia books- released in Britain on Friday - include rain hitting a window in a Sherlock Holmes tale. When the plot of a book reaches the most exciting part, background scores will create tension. In America, works by Shakespeare and Jane Austen have already been released with music and background noise so that, for example, readers can hear tea cups clinking in Mr. Darcy's garden as they read Pride and Prejudice.
Supporters argue that sound effects are the next logical development for ebooks and will add excitement for younger readers. Critics, however, will argue that the noise will ruin the simple pleasure of having the imagination stimulated by reading.
Caroline Michel, chief executive of the literary agency, said the new generation of computer-literate readers was used to multiple sensory input. She said, “Young people have split computer screens where they may be watching television and replying to an email at the same time. If that's what the market wants then we should respond to the market.”
Booktrack's sound effects work by estimating the user's reading speed. Each time you “turn” a page, the software reassesses where you have reached in the text and times the sounds to switch on accordingly. If the soundtrack becomes out of synch(同步), a click on any word will re-set it.
Some authors fear that a soundtrack could destroy the peace and quiet of libraries and ruin the pleasure of reading. David Nicholls, author of One Day, the bestseller now released as a film, said, “This sounds like the opposite of reading. I have enough trouble reading an ebook because I’m constantly distracted by emails.”
Stuart MacBride, the crime writer whose novel Shatter the Bones was an ebook bestseller, sells 18% of his books as electronic downloads. He said, “If I’m reading, I will do the noise in my head. I don't need someone to tell me what tea cups clinking sounds like. That would irritate me.”
1.What's the passage mainly about?
A.Opinions about ebooks with soundtracks.
B.Response to the need of the book market.
C.Reasons for traditional ebooks becoming outdated.
D.Suggestions on encouraging readers' imagination.
2.What do publishers expect an ebook soundtrack to do?
A.Help to release an ebook as a film.
B.Help readers improve reading speed.
C.Add tension at a book's exciting point.
D.Get readers familiar with the background.
3.Who is in favour of added soundtracks for ebooks?
A.Mr. Darcy. B.Caroline Michel.
C.David Nicholls. D.Stuart MacBride.
4.What do we know about Stuart MacBride?
A.He was a person who was easy to get angry.
B.He knew a great deal about tea and tea culture.
C.Eighty-two percent of his books described crime.
D.He imagined sounds related to the story when reading.
Africa Water Week -nearly one billion people around the world have no access to drinking water, that lack of clean water association with un-proper hygiene and shortage of toilets kills 3. 3 million a year. And this is a common problem in many parts of the developing world, but its effect is not widely known, according to experts at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
As part of the World Water Day tradition, the center is screening films about international water issues at the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, D. C. The films describe a variety of conflicts over water.
“The challenge in presenting these films,” says Peter Sawyer, project coordinator at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, “is to share with a wider audience the urgent issues surrounding water. Our goal for this screening is to just get these issues out there,” he says. “We don't feel that they attract public attention and we think that they should because they are really important.”
In Dhaka's Challenge, filmmaker Stephen Sapienza explores one of the fastest growing cities in Asia. He says one-third of the 15 million people in the Bangladeshi capital live in places where safe water is limited. Each year 400, 000 newcomers join Dhaka's urban poor. City water from Dhaka's Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) comes at a price, available only to land owners. The film records how a non-profit group helped change the law to give the same equal water rights to the urban poor.
Diabalok Sing Ha, who is the group's founder, said, “A win-win situation actually occurred because Dhaka WASA wanted their incomes and on the other hand, poor people wanted the service and they immediately see the economic advantage of getting Dhaka WASA water supply because that is cheap, so they immediately buy in.”
“My story was just trying to point out that these problems are solvable on some level even if you have to start small and it's possible in the long run to save many lives,” says Sapienza.
1.Which of the following is the main purpose of the films?
A.To show the number of people lacking clean water.
B.To let more people know the serious water problems.
C.To attract people to pay attention to the world conflicts.
D.To get people to have a good knowledge of water.
2.What does Paragraph 4 mainly talk about?
A.Ways to get cheap water. B.The film Dhaka's Challenge.
C.Filmmaker Stephen Sapienza. D.A non-profit group.
3.Which of the following does Diabalok Sing Ha agree with?
A.Most people can't afford the water supply.
B.Rich people in Dhaka will buy in at once.
C.Poor people in Dhaka need the service of water.
D.Dhaka WAS A will see soon the economic advantage.
4.What does Sapienza intend to tell us by making the film Dhaka's Challenge?
A.The problem of water can possibly be solved.
B.All the people cannot get city water from WASA.
C.A win-win situation is expected by every filmmaker.
D.Dhaka WASA is very popular with the local people.
Chinese-language teacher Xie Fang is excited that one of her former students from Indonesia has been admitted to Beijing Language and Culture University. The 19-year-old student, Alivin Rizqi Adrian, achieved his dream of studying in China with a scholarship provided by the Chinese government.
Xie met the boy five years ago when she was selected to teach Chinese at Budi Utama Three Languages National School in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The school, founded in 2006 by local Chinese, teaches in three languages — Indonesian, English and Chinese. The school has more than 970 primary, middle and high students, half of whom have Chinese ancestry.
Xie taught students to speak and comprehend Chinese during her year at the school. “Most Indonesian children start to learn Chinese after they enter primary school,” Xie said. “But the textbooks from Singapore seemed relatively difficult for them at that stage.” Xie modified the content of the textbooks to make it easier and more interesting for the Indonesian children to learn Chinese.
One student in particular, Alvin Rizqi Adrian, impressed Xie a great deal. “At that time, he was a middle school student. He was so interested in Chinese that he worked very hard to learn and practice,” she said. Since 2004, Guangdong has sent 1,000 Chinese teachers to more than 30 Chinese schools in 10 countries and regions.
Indonseria has the largest number of Chinese teachers sent form Guangdong, who mainly work in kindergartens, schools and universities founded by overseas Chinese. They usually spend one to two years on the foreign assignment. “Those days in Chinese that he worked very hard to learn and practice,” she said. Since 2004, Guangdong has sent 1,000 Chinese teachers to more than 30 Chinese schools in 10 countries and regions.
Indonesia has the largest number of Chinese teachers sent from Guangdong, who mainly work in kindergartens, schools and universities founded by overseas Chinese. They usually spend one to two years on the foreign assignment. “Those days in Indonesia made me feel very appreciated. The local people have respect for Chinese teachers,” Xie said. She keeps in touch with her Indonesian students through the Internet. “If I had the opportunity to go to Indonesia to teach again, I would be very happy to see the children improve their Chinese,” Xie said.
1.What made the Chinese-language teacher Xie Fang happy?
A.She realized her dream to teach in Indonesia.
B.One of her former students will graduate soon.
C.She can serve overseas Chinese in 3 languages.
D.Alivin Rizqi Adrian has been admitted to study in China.
2.What does the underlined word “modified” in paragraph 3 refer to?
A.Beautified. B.Improved.
C.Invented. D.Studied.
3.We can infer that Adrian is special because he is __________.
A.practical B.sensitive
C.diligent D.reliable
4.Which of the following can be the best title of the news report?
A.Chinese Teacher Helps Indonesian Realize His Dream
B.Adrian, an Indonesian, Has Achieved His Big Dream
C.Chinese-language Show Respect for Chinese Teachers
D.Local Indonesians Show Respect for Chinese Teachers
Lecture-related events which are free and open to the public will be held in the National Gallery of Art. Seating is available on a first-come, first-seated basis. Registration is not required. Don't miss an event!
Lecture One: The Moon in the Age of Photography
August 20 at 2:00, 2020
West Building Lecture Hall
Mia Fineman, department of photographs, Metropolitan Museum of Art
2019 marks 50 years since Apollo 11 landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, capturing the attention of viewers worldwide who eagerly awaited the first photographs taken onsite. Mia Fineman explores the fascinating history of the moon imaging.
Lecture Two: Conversation with Oliver Lee Jackson
September 15 at 2:00, 2020
East Building Auditorium
Oliver, artist, has created a complex body of work which masterfully weaves together visual influences ranging from the Renaissance to modernism. His works are drawn from his study of African cultures and American jazz.
Lecture Three: Photography and Nation Building in the Nineteenth Century
October 6 at 2:00, 2020
East Building Auditorium
Makeda Best, master of Photography, Harvard Art Museums. In this lecture, Makeda Best will explore the function of slavery and enslaved people in visual narratives about the Civil War.
Lecture Four: Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art
December 8 at 2:00, 2020
West Building Lecture Hall
The Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art features several scholars presenting original research on modern Italian art. This annual lecture series began in 1997 and is named after the great specialist of Italian art Sydney J. Freedberg (1914 - 1997).
1.When and where will Lecture One be delivered?
A.July 20, 2020; National Gallery of Art.
B.August 20, 2020; National Gallery of Art.
C.July 20, 2020; Metropolitan Museum of Art.
D.August 20, 2020; Metropolitan Museum of Art.
2.In which lecture may you see pictures of battles?
A.Lecture One. B.Lecture Two.
C.Lecture Three. D.Lecture Four.
3.What is special about Lecture Four?
A.It involves several lecturers. B.It takes place every two years.
C.It is related to the origin of art. D.It is presented by an Italian expert.
请你根据下面的提示，用英语对钟南山作简单介绍，写一篇英语作文。
出生 | 1936 年 10 月出生于南京，21 世纪最出名的医学家之一 |
教育背景 | 1953 年，就读于广东实验中学；1960 年，毕业于北京医学院 |
主要成就 | 2003 年和 2020 年，以钟南山为代表的医护工作者经长期努力,抗击 了非典和新冠肺炎；2004 年，钟南山被评为“感动中国 2003 年度”十大人物之一。 |
评价 | 他在医学领域工作 60 多年，取得了很多成就, 是一位受国人尊敬 的好医生。 |
注意：1. 词数 100 左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯
（新冠肺炎 NCP, 非典 SARS）
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假如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处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅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（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下面划一横线，并在该词下面写出改正后的词。
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。
This morning I got up early and went to school as usually, only to find there were nobody in the classroom because it is Sunday. “How a bad memory I have!” I couldn’t help laughing. Stand in front of the school gate, I began to wonder what to do next. Suddenly a good idea occurs to me. “Why not get together with some good friends for a picnic in such a fine weather?” I immediately telephoned some of my best friends, but they all agreed to join me. About two hours late, we finally arrived a pleasant park with trees and flowers here and there. We really enjoyed us greatly.
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