As any parent with an iPhone or an iPod Touch knows, mobile apps (手机软件) can be an engaging and entertaining experience for kids. Now, a new study of PBS Kids suggests that the experience can be an educational one as well.

The study, which was administered by PBS under a grant from the Department of Education, first tested the vocabulary level of a group of 90 Title 1 school children, aged 3 to 7. Then, the children were each given two weeks with an iPod Touch loaded with the Martha Speaks Dog Party app created by PBS Kids.

The study monitored how the children used the iPod, during what hours, and in what context. On average, the study found that kids played with the iPod Touch for a total of 5 hours across the two weeks, with half that time spent playing the Martha Speaks app. At the end of the two week trial, the children were given another vocabulary test, which revealed an increase in vocabulary acquisition by as much as 31 per cent.

The study findings are particularly useful as smart phones and mobile devices have become increasingly popular among families and parents are faced with a proliferation of mobile apps designed for kids. According to a recent Nielsen study, smart phone usage is 12% higher in households with children than other households.

“Mobile apps can be a great learning tool in the hands of children,” said Lesli Rotenberg, SVP, Children’s Media, PBS. “This research is important in helping to better understand and guide the development of new apps that improve the value of children’s screen time with significant educational outcomes.”

So what does it all mean? Well, at the very least it will help parents get over that guilty feeling when they hand over their iPhone or iPod Touch for a little peace and quiet. At best, it provides more evidence that mobile devices and apps do indeed have educational value and could be an important part of the child-learning process for many years to come.

1.What Lesli Rotenberg said in the fifth paragraph suggests that       .

A. he has a positive attitude towards mobile apps

B. he thinks children should never use smart phones

C. he is doubtful about mobile apps designed for children

D. he thinks parents should be careful with mobile apps for children

2.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph implies that       .

A. parents will feel more comfortable giving kids iPhone or iPod Touch

B. parents will know what kind of mobile phones are suitable for kids

C. parents will know what children do with mobile phones

D. parents can watch over their children now and then

3.What would be the best title of the text?

A. The popularity of smart phones among kids 

B. The entertaining function of smart phones

C. Smart phones make kids learn more.             

D. It’s too early for kids to use smart phones

 

Another day begins with the call of the phone’s alarm, Where are you? Open your eyes. Turn the alarm off and you will start working out on your apps（应用软件）.

First stop, weather: Sunny day. Look outside the window. Oh, no, it isn’t. Second stop, Air Quality Index: 344, dangerous, Level 6 Severely Polluted. Mental recheck required: It really is a sunny day and the weather app isn’t lying or in need of being replaced, it’s just that you can’t see the sun through the thick fog. Note to self: Cycling to work is out, face mask is in.

Has the world stopped turning? News app merely confirms that it’s business as usual. Another government has fallen, your soccer team has lost again, and China’s economy is still increasing steadily.

    Diary app informs you of all the things you failed to do the previous day and loads you up with another half-dozen tasks. Next, browse a couple of social networking apps to determine the status updates of friends.

    Another sound from the phone, it’s a message from your significant friend who is already at work, saying the Taobao. com order for Italian cheese is about to arrive.

    Apps have become part of our “every-moment” lives. Apps provide so much information. But the dark side to all this connectivity would be lack of privacy, being a slave to the app. The only real problem is that once you lose your smartphone, you lose your life.

    Some friends and family do not have smartphones, but prefer the old-fashioned Nokia that merely makes phone calls and sends instant messages. While I respect their purity and desire to be free of the control of technology, it’s obvious they are outsiders, and their lives are loaded up with paper and old devices. They’re still buying books at stores, complaining the lack of CDs on the market, watching TV and missing out on complete news cycles. Though I would add, they have lives that aren’t spent inside small screens.

My phone is a palm-sized one-stop shop and about the only thing it doesn’t do is teleport（心灵运输）. What’s not to like?

1.The functions of apps mentioned in the passage can be listed as follows EXCEPT that _______.

A. the apps can show you weather forecast

B. the apps can tell you how to work directly

C. the apps can inform you the latest news

D. the apps can tell you what you failed to do

2. According to the passage, the author thinks that _______.

A. people’s life is governed by apps

B. people feel bored about the use of apps

C. people can’t live without apps

D. people hate apps with powerful functions

3.It can be inferred from the last paragraph but one that _______.

A. more and more people like Nokia more than apps

B. using Nokia can be free of the control of technology

C. all people don’t like the advanced smartphones

D. ordinary people don’t like shopping online

 

For those who are tired of doing the laundry, Samsung has found an answer: a washing machine that can tell you when your laundry is done via a smartphone app (application).
Strange though it may seem — "my wife already does that" was a common response among attendees viewing the device when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week — Samsung is just one of many appliance makers racing to install a large number of internet-connected features in machines in an effort to make them "smart".
Last year, it was a refrigerator that tweeted. This year, it's Wi-Fi-enabled laundry machines and fridges that can tell you when your groceries are going bad.
The washers and dryers, available starting in the spring, connect to any smartphone through a downloadable application. The phone can then be used as a remote control, so the machines can be turned on and off while their owner is at work or on the bus.
Samsung says it's not just something new — the app connection actually has some practical uses.
"If you started to dry clothes in the morning and forgot to take them out, you can go to your phone and restart your dryer for the time when come home, so your clothes are refreshed and ready to go." said spokesperson Amy Schmidt.
The company also says that with electricity rate (电价) varying depending on the time of day, more control over when the machines are used can help save money.
Perhaps, but what they will probably really accomplish is what all good technologies do — enable laziness. Rather than getting up to check on whether the laundry is done, users will instead monitor it on their phones while watching TV.
【小题1】 What can be inferred from the common response of the attendees at the CES?

A．The machine will be a big success.

B．their wives like doing the laundry.

C．The machine is unrelated to their life.

D．This kind of technology is familiar to them.

【小题2】We can conclude from Samsung's statements that ________.

A．the app connection makes life easier

B．it is better to dry clothes in the morning

C．smartphone can shorten the drying time

D．we should refresh clothes back at home

【小题3】What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A．The laundry should be frequently checked

B．Lazy people like using such machines

C．Good technologies also cause problems

D．Television may help do the laundry

Anger at the practice of demanding dowries (嫁妆), which can lead to violence against brides, has prompted a takeoff of “Angry Birds” called “Angry Brides” that aims to highlight the illegal practice still prevalent in many South Asian countries.

Dowries-such as jewelry, clothes, cars and money-are traditionally given by the bride’s family to the groom and his parents to ensure she is taken care of in her new home.

The custom was outlawed more than five decades ago. But it is still widely practiced, with the groom’s family demanding even more money after marriage, leading to mental and physical annoyance that can drive the woman to suicide.

“The Angry Brides game is our way of throwing a spotlight on the nuisance(陋习)of dowry.” said Ram Bhamidi, senior vice president and head of online marketing for Shaadi.com, a matrimonial(婚姻的)website with two million members.

“According to a 2007 study, there is a dowry-related death every four hours in India, We condemn this and have consistently run campaigns on social media to help create awareness of the issue”.

The name of the app, available on the group’s home page, is a spinoff from the globally popular “Angry Birds” game, Its home page shows a red-clad, eight-armed woman resembling a powerful female Hindu goddess. Underneath, there is a caption: “A woman will give you strength, care and all the love you need … NOT dowry!”

To play the game, users have to try and hit three dodging grooms--a pilot, a builder and a doctor. There are a variety of weapons to choose from, including a frying pan, broomstick, tomato and loafer.

Each groom has a price tag, starting at 1.5 million rupees($29,165). Every time the player hits a groom, his value decreases and money is added to the player’s Anti-Dowry Fund,which is saved posted on their Facebook page.

“Since we launched the game last week, more than 270,000 people have liked the app. Both men and women seem to be playing it”, said Bhamidi.

56.What caused “Angry Brides” to appear online?

   A.Women’s rightsbeing seriously abused.B.Anger at the practice of demanding dowries.

   C.The bride’s giving a great many dowries. D.The popularity of Angry Birds online.

57.Which of the following is TRUE about “Dowries”?

 A.The custom of giving dowries has been in practice for five decades.

B.Lack of abundant dowries may lead to the bride’s being in violence.

C.The illegal practice of dowries is still popular in many African countries.

D.More dowries the bride gives mean a high social status of her family.

58.The underlined word “spinoff” probably means____.

A.relation         B.connection        C.copy         D.fake

59.Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the game “Angry Bride”?

A.There are a variety of weapons to choose from.B.Ram Bhamidi thinks highly of the game.

 C.Men players don’t find the game enjoyable.D.The game character looks like a Hindu goddess.

60.What is the text mainly about?

A.Women’s unfair treatment in the marriage.B.The popularity of the game “Angry Brides”

C.The groom’s demanding too many dowries.D.How to build an equal relation it the marriage.

Angry Birds is a video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mohile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple’s mobile operating system in December 2009.Since then, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from Apple’s App Store.

With its fast-growing popularity worldwide, the game and its characters---angry birds and their enemy pigs---have appeared in television programs throughout the world. The Israeli comedy A Wonderful Country ,one of the nation’s most popular TV programs, satirized(讽刺) recent failed Israeli-Palestinian peace attempts by featuring the Angry Birds in peace negotiations with the pigs. Clips of the segment (片段)went viral, getting viewers from all around the world. American television hosts Conan O’Brien ,Jon Steward ,and Daniel Tosh have referenced the game in comedy sketches for their programs, Conan, The Daily Show, and Dash. O. Some of the game’s more famous fans include Prime Minister David Cameron of UK, who plays the iPad version of the game, and author Salman Rushdie, who is believed to be “something of a master at Angry Birds.”

Angry Birds and its characters have also been featured in advertisements in different forms. In March 2011,the characters began appearing in a series of advertisements for Microsoft’s Bing search engine. In the same year, Nokin produced an advertisement in Austin, Texas that included the game’s characters on a downtown building for its new mobile phone. Later, a T-Mobile advertisement filmed in Spain included a real-life mock-up(实物模拟)of the game in a city center .Nokin also used the game in Malaysia to promote an attempt to set a world record for the largest number of people playing a single mobile game.

Angry Birds has even inspired works of philosophical analogy（哲学类比）.A five-part essay with the title“ Angry Birds Yoga（瑜伽）---How to Eliminate the Green  Pigs in Your Life” was written by Giridhari Dasar in Brazil ,utilizing the characters and game play mechanics to interpret various concepts of yoga philosophy. The piece attracted much media attention for its unique method of philosophical presentation.

1.What is the purpose of the passage?

A．To explain how the video game Angry Birds was devised.

B．To investigated why Angry Birds has quickly become well-liked.

C．To introduce Angry Birds characters in TV programs and advertisements.

D．To report on the spread of Angry Birds in different media around the world .

2.Which of the following is closed in meaning to the word “viral “in Paragraph 2?   

A．apparent

B．popular

C．exciting

D．disgusting

3.According to the text, Which of the following persons is good at playing Angry Birds?

A．Salman Rushdie

B．Conan O’Brien

C．Giridhari Dasar

D．Daniel Tosh

4.Which of the following is TRUE about the use of Angry Birds according to the text?

A．It has been used by UK Prime Minister to explain political issues.

B．Its characters are used in advertisements mainly for Apple’s products.

C．It has been developed into a film about the life of a Brazilian yoga master.

D．Its real-life mock-up has appeared in an advertisement for mobile phones.