Chinese writer Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize for Literature might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.
“Hopefully, the award means more people will read Chinese literature and more works will get translated,” says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from University of London. “Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years.”
Jonathan Ruppin, web editor of bookseller Foyles, says Mo’s win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary（富于幻想的）writer. “We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available,” Ruppin says. He made the comment after Mo became the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in its century-long history.
As East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years. Hockx explains, “It’s mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their works outside China and to interact with readers abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in the Chinese language and culture.”
University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says, “The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit （缺少）between China and its international counterparts — in particular, China knows incomparably（无比地）more about Europe and America than the other way round — and reading Chinese literature is an effective, simple means of solving that gap.”The underlined word “ignite” in Paragraph 1 probably means “________”.
| A．start out | B．burn up | C．set off | D．appeal to |
Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention mainly because ________.
| A．Chinese writers have been writing more and more books in English |
| B．the Chinese language has become the most widely used language in the world |
| C．the Chinese government attaches great importance to literature |
| D．the cultural communication between China and western countries has developed |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Chinese literature has spread with the development of China. |
| B．The Nobel Prize for Literature has a history of hundreds of years. |
| C．In the past, no Chinese writers were accepted outside China. |
| D．Foreigners know about China mainly by reading Mo Yan’s works. |
How do you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
| A．China knows more about Europe and America than before. |
| B．China knows more about Europe and America than they know about China. |
| C．China, Europe and America know one another more than before. |
| D．Compared with America, China knows more about Europe. |
Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, "Versed".
"I'm delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win," said Armantrout.
"For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising."
Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor's degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master's in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think.
In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for "Versed."
"This book has gotten more attention," Armantrout said, "but I don't feel as if it's better."
The first half of "Versed" focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq. The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.
Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not. "Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry," said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD.
"Versed", published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2,700 copies. The new edition is scheduled to appear in May.According to Rae Armantrout, __________
| A．her 10th book is much better |
| B．her winning the Pulitzer is unexpected |
| C．the media is surprised at her works |
| D．she likes being recognized by her readers |
Which of the following is true of Rae Armantrout?
| A．She published a poetry textbook. |
| B．She used to teach Denise Levertov. |
| C．She started a poets' group with others. |
| D．She taught creative writing at UC Berkeley. |
What can we learn about "Versed"?
| A．It partly concerns the poet's own life. |
| B．It is mainly about the American army. |
| C．It is a book published two decades ago. |
| D．It consists of three parts. |
Rae Armantrout's colleagues think that she __________.
| A．should write more | B．has a sweet voice |
| C．deserves the prize | D．is a strange professor |
What can we learn from the text?
A. "Versed" has been awarded twice. B. Cancer made Armantrout stop writing.
C. Armantrout got her degrees at UCSD. D. About 2,700 copies of "Versed" will be printed.
The long, lonely voyage of the Japanese ghost ship is over.
A US Coast Guard cutter poured cannon fire(开炮) into an abandoned Japanese ghost ship that had been floating since last year’s tsunami, sinking the ship into waters more than 305 meters deep in the Gulf of Alaska and removing the danger it created to shipping and the coastline on Thursday.
The cutter’s guns tore holes in the 164-foot Ryou-Un Maru, and then it began to take on water and lean to one side. In about four hours, the ship disappeared into the sea, said Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow.
The ship had no lights or communications system, and its tank was able to carry more than 7,570 liters of diesel fuel. Officials, however, didn’t know exactly how much fuel was aboard.
“It’s less risky than it would be running into shore or running into other ships,” coast guard spokesman Paul Webb said.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency studied the problem and decided it was safer to sink the ship than let the fuel evaporate and pollute the sea environment.
Ryou-Un Maru was probably among the first wave of the 1.5 million tons of garbage of refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, roofs and fishing nets heading toward North America since last March when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck Japan.
As the coast guard was ready to fire on the ship, a Canadian fishing ship, the 19-meter Bernice C, claimed the rights to save the ghost ship in international waters.
Plans to sink it were paused so the Canadian crew could have a chance to take the stricken ship. A Canadian official with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that the Bernice C was unable to drag it.
Then the Canadian boat left, and once it was about 10 kilometers from the Japanese ship, the Coast Guard began to fire, first with 25 mm shells, then a few hours later with ammunition twice that size.
State officials have been working to test the danger of garbage including materials affected by a damaged nuclear power plant, to see if Alaska residents, seafood or wild animals could be affected.Which of the following is NOT the reason for sinking the Japanese ship?
| A．It had no lights or communications system. | B．It might be washed up onto the shore. |
| C．It was a danger to other passing ships. | D．The oil it carried could pollute the sea. |
The plan to fire on the Japanese ghost ship was paused because ________.
| A．the ghost ship was beyond the reach of the Coast Guard’s guns |
| B．the shells were not powerful enough to sink the ghost ship |
| C．state officials worried the ghost ship might give out radiation |
| D．a Canadian fishing boat wanted to save the ghost ship |
Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Japanese ghost ship arriving at US | B．Tsunami garbage heading to US |
| C．Cannon fire sinking Japanese ghost ship | D．Japanese ghost ship polluting the Pacific |
A yoga master made a shocking statement that Abraham Lincoln had been a Himalayan yogi in a past life．Lincoln delivered a proclamation setting up Thanksgiving as an American holiday in 1863．Research throws light on a possible Hindu （印度的）origin for the American celebration of Thanksgiving．
"The holiday of Thanksgiving has a Hindu origin," says Richard Salva, author of a book on the reincarnation （转世）of Abraham Lincoln entitled Soul Journey: From Lincoln to Lindbergh which is based on a statement by the great master of yoga, Paramhamsa Yogananda, who declared that Abraham Lincoln had been a Himalayan yogi in a past life, and that he was reborn as the famous pilot, Charles Lindbergh．
“During my search for signs of a past-life yoga practice,” SaIva said, “I noticed that President Lincoln repeatedly chose Thursdays as national days of prayer, fasting （禁食），and thanksgiving．This was interesting, because Thursday is considered a holy day — a day for prayer, fasting, and spiritual reflection — among Hindus, who call it “guru day”.”
“Lincoln also set aside time on Thursdays to grieve(哀悼) for his son,Willie, who died in Washington．Clearly, Thursdays had a spiritual significance in Lincoln's mind.
In his book, Richard Salva presents more than 500 connections between Lincoln, Lindergh, and the ancient spiritual science of yoga. The connections run through every aspect of the human condition and provide convincing evidence that Lincoln had had a Hindu past life.
More than one out of every five Americans today believes in reincarnation—yet few are aware of how past-life patterns affect them. Soul Journey tries to fill this gap, by offering a substitute experience of reincarnation. Through clear and persuasive similarities between the lives of Lincoln and Lindbergh, the book discovers how the hidden laws of fate and reincarnation impact the events of his or her daily life. It addresses other issues, such as the secret spiritual history of America's greatest president, including his past life as a Himalayan yogi; the hidden clues that reveal past lives; the greatness he achieved; and the spiritual principles behind the yoga postures that millions now practice．Based on Richard Salva’s view, ______.
| A．Hindus started the holiday of Thanksgiving |
| B．the Americans copied Thanksgiving from Hindus |
| C．Charles Lindbergh had been a Himalayan yogi |
| D．Thanksgiving had Hindus roots |
We can draw a conclusion from the passage that ______.
| A．in India all the prayers are done on Thursday |
| B．in India Thursday is a religious day |
| C．Abraham Lincoln was once a famous pilot |
| D．Paramhamsa Yogananda once taught Lincoln yoga |
When it came to the comparison between Lincoln and Lindbergh, the author held a ______ attitude.
| A．neutral | B．doubtful | C．negative | D．positive |
A new report said scientists may not be far from giving apes the ability to think and talk like humans. The report is about experiments which transplant human cells into animals for medical purposes.
It claimed that concerns about the creation of talking apes should be taken seriously. It should also draw people’s attention to the possibility that the medical research about creating “humanised” animals is going to generate monsters.
A regulatory（监管的）body is needed to closely monitor any experiments that many risk creating animals with human-like consciousness or giving them any appearance or behavioural traits that too closely resemble humans, the report said.
Scientists would, for example, be prevented from replacing a large number of an ape’s brain cells with human brain cells until more is known about the potential risks. This has already been done in simpler animals like mice, which is judged to be less risky.
Under the new UK guidelines, the power to regulate tests on animals containing human material would be transferred to a body with wider responsibility for animal testing in the Home Office.
While there is no risk from experiments currently being carried out in Britain, it is possible that ethical (道德的) boundaries could be crossed within the next few years if scientists are not careful, the experts said.
Professor Thomas Baldwin, a member of the Academy of Medical Sciences working group that produced the report, said the possibility of humanised apes should be taken seriously.
He said, “The fear is that if you start putting very large numbers of human brain cells into the brains of primates（灵长类动物）you might transform the primates into something that has some of the abilities that we regard as distinctly human, such as speech, or other ways of being able to manipulate or relate to us.”
Professor Martin Bobrow, chair of the academy working group that produced the report, said, “The very great majority of experiments present no issues beyond the general use of animals in research and these should continue to proceed under the current regulations.”
Lord Willis, chair of the Association of Medical Research Charities, said, “AMRC only supports research that is absolutely necessary and where no suitable alternative methods are available.”What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Ethical rules to limit humanised animals. |
| B．The potential results of humanised apes. |
| C．The possibility of humanised animals. |
| D．The danger of human-like animals. |
The underlined word “manipulate” in the passage probably means “_______”.
| A．appeal | B．possess | C．control | D．associate |
Which of the following statements might Professor Thomas Baldwin agree with?
| A．It is necessary to do some experiments about humanised animals. |
| B．Experiments about humanised animals should be done within the law. |
| C．It would be dangerous to do experiments about humanised animals. |
| D．It is urgent to ban experiment about humanised animals. |
It can be inferred that _______.
| A．people should be careful when creating talking apes |
| B．Thomas Baldwin and Lord Willis are from the same organization |
| C．creating humanised animals is difficult in Britain now |
| D．scientists must be cautious not to cross ethical boundaries |
Researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology say they have found further proof that the wolf ancestors of today’s dogs can be from southern East Asia -- findings that are contrary to theories placing the birth place in the Middle East. Dr Peter Savolainen, KTH researcher in evolutionary genetics, says a new study released Nov. 23 confirms that an Asian region south of the Yangtze River was the principal and probably the only region where wolves were domesticated（驯化）by humans.
Research data show clearly that dogs are descended from wolves, but there’s never been scientific agreement on where in the world the domestication process began. “Our analysis of Y-chromosomal（染色体）DNA now confirms that wolves were first domesticated in Asia south of Yangtze River -- we call it the ASY region -- in southern China or Southeast Asia,” Savolainen says.
The Y data supports previous evidence from mitochondrial（线粒体）DNA. “Taken together, the two studies provide very strong evidence that dogs appeared first in the ASY region,” Savolainen says.
Archaeological data and a genetic study recently published in Nature suggest that dogs originate from the Middle East. But Savolainen rejects that view. “Because none of these studies included samples from the ASY region, evidence from ASY has been overlooked,” he says.
Peter Savolainen and PhD student Mattias Oskarsson worked with Chinese colleagues to analyse DNA from male dogs around the world. Their study was published in the scientific journal Heredity.
Approximately half of the gene pool was universally shared everywhere in the world, while only the ASY region had the entire range of genetic diversity. “This shows that gene pools in all other regions of the world most probably originate from the ASY region,” Savolainen says.
“Our results confirm that Asia south of the Yangtze River was the most important -- and probably the only -- region for wolf domestication, and that a large number of wolves were domesticated,” says Savolainen.
In separate research published recently in Ecology and Evolution, Savolainen, PhD student Arman Ardalan and Iranian and Turkish scientists conducted a comprehensive study of mitochondrial DNA, with a particular focus on the Middle East. Because mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother in most species, it is especially useful in studying evolutionary relationships.
“Since other studies have indicated that wolves were domesticated in the Middle East, we wanted to be sure nothing had been missed. We find no signs whatsoever that dogs originated there,” says Savolainen.
In their studies, the researchers also found minor genetic contributions from crossbreeding between dogs and wolves in other geographic regions, including the Middle East.
“This subsequent dog/wolf hybridisation（混合淡化技术）contributed only modestly to the dog gene pool,” Savolainen explains.What does Dr. Peter Savolainen believe?
A. Dogs’ ancestors came from the Middle East.
B. Wolves were probably first trained to work for humans in the ASY region.
C. Analysis of Y-chromosomal DNA should be combined with mitochondrial DNA.
D. Samples of the previous studies are enough to support the conclusion.We can learn from the passage that _______.
| A．there is a universal agreement on the place of first domestication |
| B．data from ASY may highlight where dogs came from |
| C．Dr. Savolainen’s research mainly focuses on the Middle East |
| D．the dog/wolf hybridization makes up most of the dog gene pool |
What is special about mitochondrial DNA?
| A．It is only used in studying evolutionary relationships. |
| B．It alone can provide hard evidence for Savolainen’s research. |
| C．It is the most useful in finding out the birth place of dogs. |
| D．It comes from the mother of most animals and plants. |
A 34-year-old mother has spoken of how she woke up thinking she was 15 years old and living in 1992.
Naomi Jacobs, from Manchester, was convinced she was still a teenager. In her mind, John Major was Prime Minister and George Bush Sr. was running the White House. She also showed how she screamed when a boy appeared and called her “Mum”. Mobile phones and e-mails were puzzling and Google, Facebook and YouTube sounded like made-up words, she said.
Ms. Jacobs, who had no memory of the years, was told by doctors that she had Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). She has now written a book about the experience which happened in 2008.
“I fell asleep in 1992 as a brave, very confident know-it-all-15-year-old, and woke up as a 32-year-old single mum living in a rented house,” Ms. Jacobs said. “The last thing I remember was falling asleep in my bed, dreaming about a boy in my class. When I woke up, I looked in the mirror and had the fright of my life when I saw an old woman with wrinkles staring back at me. Then a little boy appeared and started calling me Mum. That’s when I started to scream. I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t think he was much younger than I was, and I certainly didn’t remember giving birth to him. I began sobbing uncontrollably. I just wanted my mum. I couldn’t get my head around going to bed one night and waking up in a different century.”
TGA is a rare type of amnesia which can occur suddenly, affecting around three people per 100,000 each year. Fortunately, permanent memory loss is rare. Ms. Jacobs’ memory started to return after eight weeks.
Some people who often suffer from migraines (偏头痛) also appear to be more likely to have TGA. The cause of TGA is unknown. Some think that it may be caused by a temporary cut of blood flow to parts of the brain involved in memory.When a little boy came to call her “Mum”, Naomi Jacobs was _____.
| A．excited | B．frightened | C．worried | D．embarrassed |
What was the last thing Naomi Jacobs could remember?
| A．She was a brave and confident girl. |
| B．She met an old woman with wrinkles. |
| C．George Bush Sr. was elected President. |
| D．She fell asleep dreaming of a boy in her class. |
According to the text, TGA _____.
| A．is quite common | B．is caused by brain injuries |
| C．results in permanent memory loss | D．causes people to lose part of their memory |
What’s the main idea of the text?
A. Naomi Jacobs has a poor memory.
B. Naomi Jacobs gets an amazing career after TGA.
C. Naomi Jacobs wakes up with the memory of her youth.
D. Naomi Jacobs succeeds in overcoming the disease.According to the passage, we know _______.
| A．Ms. Jacobs’ memory returned to normal now |
| B．Ms. Jacobs often doesn’t remember things |
| C．Ms. Jacobs has not got married yet |
| D．Ms. Jacobs is very young now in deed |
When talking with young Swedish students, Mo Yan showed respect for Chinese authors that he learned writing from, particularly Shen Congwen, who was twice nominated（提名）for the Nobel Prize.
“Lu Xun, Lao She, Mao Dun and Shen Congwen, they are more qualified（有资格的）for the Nobel Prize than me,” he said,. Among the writers he learned from, he said he especially felt close to Shen Congwen, as they have similar life experiences.
Both of them left school early and did not get formal education. Shen quit after high school and Mo only finished the fifth grade. They both joined the army after school. “ We both learned from the book of life,” said Mo.
The themes of their writing are also similar. Both writers have their hometown as the theme and root of their writings. Shen’works are mostly about his hometown, Xiangxi, and most of Mo’s stories are set in his hometown, Gaomi, in Shandong Province.
Mo said he also learned from Shen how to deal with characters in a fiction. Unlike most Chinese writers, Shen has a humanistic（人文主义的） touch towards all of his characters. Said Mo, “In his works, there are no particularly bad person or good person. Even gangsters（匪徒） and thieves have their humane（仁慈的）side,” he said.
“I try to use the same approach in my writing. It shows the ability of a novelist when he treats all the characters as humans,” he said.
Mo said he also learned Lu Xun’s depth and Lao She’s humor. “They are all my teachers, and I am the student,” he said. “I feel ashamed from my heart that teachers did not get the prize, but the student got it.”Which of the following is NOT mentioned as the similarity between Mo Yan and Shen Congwen?
| A．Writing themes | B．Sense of humor |
| C．Life experiences | D．Approaches in writing |
By saying “We both learned from the book of life”, what did Mo Yan mean?
| A．They both love reading throughout their life. |
| B．They both earned their living by writing books. |
| C．They both got nutrition（营养）from life. |
| D．They both experienced many difficulties. |
According to Mo Yan, Shen Congwen was special in the way _________.
| A．he described bad persons | B．he created characters |
| C．he made sentences | D．he told stories |
From what Mo Yan said in the last paragraph, we can learn that ________.
| A．he is a modest person | B．he feels shy |
| C．Lu Xun’s depth influenced his early life | D．he thinks he doesn’t deserve the prize |
First lady Michelle Obama urged students to visit China at the “100,000 Strong” China Study Abroad Forum at Howard University.
President Barack Obama announced the “100,000 Strong” Initiative（十万强计划）during his 2009 visit to China. The program aims to increase the number of American students studying in China by making study abroad more affordable.
During the event at Howard, Mrs. Obama spoke about the importance of studying abroad. “Studying in a country like China is about so much more than just improving your own prospects（前途） in the global market. The fact is that with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish you are shaping an image of America projected to the rest of the world and making America known better.” she said.
Mrs. Obama encouraged students to set aside the opinion that studying abroad is for “rich kids only” or for those attending “certain schools”. The first lady also announced that the Chinese government is giving 10,000 “Bridge Scholarships” to cover costs for American students studying in China.
Some students who had studied in China shared their experiences. David Marzban from Pepperdine University recalled a time when he formed a cross-cultural bond with a complete stranger at a restaurant near Fudan University in Shanghai. He noticed a young chef signaling him to come over. “He pressed the play button on his media player and started singing California Dreaming and wanted me to sing along with him,” Marzban said. “At that time I knew a great friendship had started during my first two weeks in China.”
Nicole Baden from Howard University recalled how her time in China really helped her master the language. “You have to experience the culture while learning the language to really master it to understand why things are how they are compared to your own culture,” Baden said.
12-year-old Sarah Davis, who studied in China last summer, said she was very excited to hear Michelle Obama talk about the country. “I love Chinese. Out of all the languages I’ve learned, Chinese is the most difficult and interesting.” She said. According to the passage, the “100,000 Strong” Initiative ______.
| A．provides convenience for American students to study in China |
| B．was made by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009 |
| C．got little support from the Chinese government |
| D．isn’t well-accepted among American students |
According to Mrs. Obama, ______.
| A．American students used to be unable to study abroad |
| B．Studying in China can make American students’ future better |
| C．the Chinese government will offer all the US students scholarships |
| D．American students’ studying in China helps improve the relationship between China and the US |
Three examples are given mainly to indicate that ______.
| A．American students are very popular in China |
| B．Chinese is the most difficult to learn in the world |
| C．Many US young people have actually been studying in China |
| D．American students’ studying in China is important and worthwhile |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A great program for American students to study in China |
| B．Michelle Obama encourages students to study in China |
| C．More American students will go to China to study |
| D．China is attracting more and more American students |
That Upper class people generally have more educational opportunities, greater financial security, and better jobs than people from lower social classes, but that doesn’t mean they’re more skilled at everything. A new study finds, surprisingly, that lower class people are better at reading the emotions of others.
The researchers were inspired by observing that, for lower class people, success depends more on how much they can rely on other individuals. For example, if you can’t afford to buy support services, you have to rely on your neighbors or relatives to watch the kids while you’re busy.
One experiment researched on volunteers who worked at a university: some had graduated from college and others had not. Researchers used the educational level as an indicator（标志）for social classes. The volunteers did a test of emotion perception（感知）, in which they were instructed to look at pictures of faces and indicate which emotions each face was displaying. People with more education performed worse on the task than people with less education.
In another study, university students who were of higher social status had a more difficult time accurately（准确）reading the emotions of a stranger.
These results suggest that people of upper-class status aren’t very good at recognizing the emotions other people are feeling. This is because they remember their upper status and they think they can solve their problems without relying on others.
In the third experiment, people were made to feel that they were at a lower social class than they actually were, and they got better at reading emotions.
“The differences between upper-class people and lower-class people are not something ingrained（根深蒂固的）,” Kraus says. “It’s the cultural environment leading to them.” This work helps show that the traditional image of the classes is wrong. “It’s not true that a lower-class person, no matter what kind of person, is going to be less intelligent than an upper-class person. It’s all about the social environment the person lives in, and the specific challenges the person faces. If you can change the environment even temporarily, social class differences in lots of behaviors can be removed.”According to the passage, when lower-class people meet problems, they tend to ______.
| A．turn to others | B．work even harder |
| C．feel more frustrated | D．learn from upper-class people |
Why did people perform better in emotion perception in the third experiment?
| A．Because they became less independent. |
| B．Because they didn’t know they were cheated. |
| C．Because they felt they must ask for help from other. |
| D．Because they were made to understand lower-class people. |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Upper-class people are not skilled at everything. |
| B．Upper-class people have trouble recognizing others’ emotion. |
| C．Lower-class people need to be given more employment opportunities. |
| D．There are many differences between upper-class people and lower-class people. |
Chelsea Clinton, the 31-year-old daughter of former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, is stepping into her own spotlight.
According to the New York Times, NBC has hired Clinton to become a full-time special correspondent（记者） for NBC News. Her feature stories will reportedly be used in the “Making a Difference” series, which runs on “NBC Nightly News”. The sections attract people who volunteer to improve the lives of others in their communities.
When Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992, the first lady asked the press to keep Chelsea out of the public eyes. As a young adult, Chelsea continued to avoid media attention in order to attend college and quietly enter the business world. Once her mother decided to run for the presidency in 2007, however, Chelsea made hundreds of public appearances, mostly on college campuses, to support the campaign. More recently, she has worked for New York University and promoted her father’s latest book. She is currently pursuing a doctor’s degree at Oxford.
Clinton is the second daughter of a president hired by NBC News; Jenna Bush Hager, daughter of former President George W. Bush, works as a correspondent for NBC’s “Today” show. Chelsea Clinton continued to stay out of media attention to _____.
| A．improve the lives of others |
| B．help her father in the election |
| C．study and go to the business circle |
| D．support her mother for the presidency |
What does the underlined word mean in Paragraph 2?
| A．is shown | B．flows | C．is managed | D．spreads |
Which is the right order of the events?
a. Chelsea helped to sell Bill Clinton’s latest book.
b. Chelsea pursues her doctor’s degree.
c. Chelsea supported her mother’s career.
d. Chelsea was out of the public attention.
| A．d, a, c, b | B．c, d, b, a |
| C．c, b, d, a | D．d, c, a, b |
According to the text, we can conclude that _____.
| A．Chelsea Clinton is the second daughter of Bill Clinton |
| B．Chelsea Clinton is in favour of her parents’ careers |
| C．Chelsea Clinton always follows her mother’s advice |
| D．Jenna Bush Hager is a correspondent for “NBC Nightly News” |
In November of 2007, NBC Universal launched its first official Green Week. Throughout the week, NBC Universal presented over 150 hours of environmentally themed content through multiple platforms (平台).
Now, NBC Universal is proud to present Green Week 2012. With a new theme and message of “Green Your Routine”, NBC and NBC.com presents green-themed tips in several of our daytime life, among several other features here on the “Green Your Routine” site.
Fashion & Beauty
Throw a clothes exchange party! Are you dying for that sweater your friend wore the other day? Well, maybe she’ll trade for that old T-shirt you have. Here’s a website that helps you organize an exchange party (www.swapstyle.com), or just plan your own!
Go natural with organic make-up. Applying unnatural products on your skin wasn’t exactly that nature intended. Try switching to a line of organic make-up and cosmetics for a different way to bring out your natural beauty.
Home
Drop a brick in your toilet tank! Literally! According to the EPA, flushing (冲洗) makes up 30 percent of a household’s water use (about three to six gallons per flush). By placing a brick in your toilet tank, you can help to conserve the amount of water used during each flush.
Work
Print smarter. Printing and copying can be one of the most costly operations in any office. To save on ink and paper costs, print double-sided and try to fit more than one page on a sheet. More printing tips can be found here: lifehacker.com
Turn off your computer. Do you leave your computer on over night? If so, you’re using up a good amount of electricity. If you can, try turning off your computer and the power strip it’s connected to. If you can’t, shut off your monitor at least.
Transportation
Organize a car pool (拼车). There are many benefits to carpooling. You save on gas and you get to ride in the HOV lines. Get connected with your neighbors and co-workers to start sharing rides and check out this website for more tips: www.erideshare.com.
Lose the car and get a bike. If you live close to where you work, try taking a bike instead of driving. You’ll keep in shape and save on gas!
Every small step and efforts makes a difference! Be sure to GREEN YOUR ROUTINE!NBC Universal holds Green Week activities ________.
| A．in a university | B．in a park |
| C．in an office | D．on the Internet |
This year, Green Week welcomes________.
| A．advice on how to improve the website |
| B．suggestions about how to make their activities more interesting |
| C．tips on what to do to make our life greener |
| D．opinions on whether we should have campaigns |
Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the passage?.
| A．Never use make-up and cosmetics any more. |
| B．Putting a brick in the toilet tank can help flash quickly. |
| C．Printing double-sided can save paper costs. |
| D．You’ll keep fit through carpooling. |
The passage is mainly intended to _______.
| A．call on readers to be environmentally friendly and present some good tips |
| B．tell readers to be environmentally friendly while travelling |
| C．persuade readers to ride bicycles when travelling |
| D．inform readers of measures to improve our environment |
The US government has started a website, Admongo, to help children think critically about the advertising aimed at them. It claims to provide visitors with an “education” through games and other entertainment.
A cartoon man dressed in old time pilot clothing greets visitors to Admongo. "Call me Haiz", he says upon arrival in a rocket ship that opens up with a crazy world inside it. Spacey dance music plays in the background as Haiz tells visitors that they need to learn about advertising.
Its inventors say eight to twelve years old is the age kids develop their critical thinking abilities. Kids of that age are also a big market for advertisers.
The idea behind Admongo is to teach children three things: To identify the advertiser. To know what the advertiser is really saying. And to know what the advertisement is trying to get the child to do.
Children learn these things through a video game. They create their own game character. They can choose different skin colors, hair styles, eye and mouth shapes. Then they begin a trip through ad-land, where there are ads on buses and billboards. The players have to find all the marketing in the neighborhood before they can move on to the next level.
The Admongo game takes players inside a home, to the advertising studio and everywhere else ads can be found. It is a complete exploration of the world of marketing.
One such area is food marketing. The Federal Trade Comission (FTC) says it is a big business. The FTC estimates that food, drink and fast-food restaurants spent more than one and a half billion dollars on advertising to young people in 2010.
The FTC says children are important for three reasons. They buy products. They influence parents and caregivers to buy. And they are the future adult buyers of the products.
A recent study says most advertising aimed at children is for foods of the lowest nutritional value. First Lady Michelle Obama has said she would like to see advertisers marketing healthy foods for children.The best title of the text may be ________.
| A．The guide of Admongo | B．An education website for children |
| C．A popular online video game | D．An advertising website |
The government started the website to _________.
| A．attract the biggest market of buyers. |
| B．sell the products of its company. |
| C．help children know about advertising. |
| D．advertise the video game for children. |
Players in the website game can_________.
| A．choose hair styles for their character. | B．travel to a supermarket. |
| C．eat in a fast-food restaurant. | D．play video games during the trip. |
According to Michelle Obama, lots of food advertised for children are _____.
| A．healthy | B．of high nutrition | C．yummy | D．of low quality |
Last week Adele's second album, 21, sold 257,000 copies in the UK, a sales figure that would look incredible as an opening sales week for any album by any global superstar. The fact that the album was celebrating its 10th week at No.1, and that each of the previous nine weeks it had sold over 100,000 copies, makes what Adele has achieved look miraculous. The last female singer to spend that long at No.1 in the UK was Madonna in 1990 with her greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection.
For Adele, the success of 21 is part of a perfect storm of talent, timing and a connection that went beyond gender, age and credibility. But what does it say about the state of the music industry? Does Adele's success signal a return to the MOR(适合大众口味的音乐) musical depression, when the likes of James Blunt dominated the charts? Her success may well lead to a great many similar acts aiming for an MOR audience, but that's more the fault of an industry desperate to recreate any kind of success by creating poor copies until the world shouts "stop now".
What seems to have set Adele apart is her apparent ordinariness, besides that incredible voice. While Gaga parades around in a dress made of meat and Beyonce orbits a world out of touch to the majority of most human beings, Adele's chain-smoking, girl-you'd-like-to-go-to-the-pub-with persona stands out. Even for a British act, her ordinariness goes against trend, with fellow Jessie J adopting a very American habit of over-emoting, talking about a "journey" and making the idea of being a pop star seem fairly difficult.
It's this universality and broad appeal that's helped her translate talent into sales. While the first single from 21, Rolling in the Deep, appealed to Radio 1 listeners and bloggers, the second single, Someone Like You, is so successful that silenced the grand O2 Arena during this year's Brit Awards. The press can write pages and pages in that there's enough of a connection of musicians – Rick Rubin worked on the album, there's a cover of the Cure, Mumford & Sons were an influence – while the gossip magazines have been excited by the fact that the album is one long break-up record, eager to find the ex.
In 1990, Madonna was a global superstar with a back catalogue of era-defining hits to her name. She was untouchable and, tellingly, unknowable. She was (and still is) a megastar, but a megastar of a different age. These days, we want to know a bit more about our artists; that they have relationship problems, walk their dog. Her selling point and appeal is precisely the fact that she exists at the point between everyday ordinariness and pop star.
For now, Adele's success should be celebrated, especially for becoming an unlikely global star on her own terms. The danger is that we're headed for a lot of fairly boring pop, a situation that led to the "birth" of Gaga a few years back. Pop goes in cycles and it feels like we're headed back towards the very middle of MOR.Adele’s achievement seems unbelievable for the reason that ____________.
| A．the sales of her second album achieved an incredible success last week in the UK |
| B．her second album ranked first in a row with the incredible average sales per week |
| C．Madonna was the last female singer in the UK to stay at No. 1 as long as she did |
| D．she is such an ordinary singer with so fascinating a voice in the music industry |
According to the author, the success of Adele’s second album __________________.
| A．to a large extent depends on her apparent talent for music |
| B．is because of her extraordinariness and the wonderful voice |
| C．lies in gift, timing and something beyond sex, age and trust |
| D．is largely due to the state of the music industry currently |
Compared with other female pop stars, what does the author think of Adele?
| A．She stands out in a totally different way from Gaga and Beyonce. |
| B．She and Madonna are contemporary megastars in music. |
| C．Only she and Madonna spent that long at No.1 in the UK. |
| D．Jessie J and she both have an American habit of expressing themselves. |
What helped Adele successfully turned her gift of singing into sales?
| A．Her musical talent. |
| B．The joint work of musicians in the album. |
| C．Her incredible voice. |
| D．Her universality and broad appeal. |
The author thinks that the current musical trend in the UK is _______________.
| A．satisfying | B．disappointing | C．dangerous | D．desperate |
A new study gives us the warning that about thirty percent of the world's people may not have enough water by the year 2025.
A private American organization called Population Action International did the new study. It says more than three-hundred-thirty-five-million people lack enough water now. The people live in twenty-eight countries. Most of the countries are in Africa or the Middle East.
P-A-I researcher Robert Engelman says by the year 2025, about three-thousand-million people may lack water. At least 18 more countries are expected to have severe water problems. The demand for water keeps increasing. Yet the amount of water on Earth stays the same.
Mr. Engelman says the population in countries that lack water is growing faster than in other parts of the world. He says population growth in these countries will continue to increase.
The report says lack of water in the future may result in several problems. It may increase health problems. Lack of water often means drinking waters not safe. Mr. Engelman says there are problems all over the world because of diseases, such as cholera, which are carried in water. Lack of water may also result in more international conflict. Countries may have to compete for water in the future. Some countries now get sixty percent of their fresh water from other countries. This is true of Egypt, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Syria, Sudan, and Iraq. And the report says lack of water would affect the ability of developing to improve their economies. This is because new industries often need a large amount of water when they are beginning.
The Population Action International study gives several solutions to the water problem. One way, it says, is to find ways to use water for more than one purpose. Another way is to teach people to be careful not to waste water. A third way is to use less water of agriculture.
The report also says long-term solutions to the water problem must include controls on population growth. It says countries cannot provide clean water unless they slow population growth by limiting the number of children people have.__________ are expected to have severe water problems by the year 2025
| A．No countries | B．18 countries | C．46 countries | D．28 countries |
All the following are true except____________.
| A．Lack of water may cause conflict between countries |
| B．Egypt now has enough fresh water |
| C．There are solutions to the water problem |
| D．New industries need a lot of water |
It can be inferred that _____________.
| A．There is connection between providing clean water and slowing population growth |
| B．Lack of water may also result from international conflict |
| C．The ability of developing has nothing to do with lack of water. |
| D．It is not known whether diseases have something to do with lack of water |
What is the solution to the water problem for a long time?
| A．Not to waste water. | B．Less developing industries. |
| C．Less international conflict. | D．Control the population |
The best title of the passage would be __________.
| A．World Conflict | B．Diseases and Water |
| C．World Water Shortage | D．Population and Water |
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