Now, it’s time for some brief news items.

Teens Go Online

Some 13 million European children under 18 use the Internet for schoolwork, games and music according to research done by Nielsen’s “Net-rating”. The study covered Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Experts advised parents to limit the time their kids spend on line and keep them away from chat rooms.

Chat to the magic Mum

British author J. K. Rowling, mother of magic boy Harry Potter, will do an Internet interview about her new book “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” on June 26. Before the event, children are invited to send their questions about Harry to the website. The book will hit stores in the US and UK on June 21 and will arrive in China in August.

School Soldiers

Russian school students will have to do basic military training in their final year of school, the government has decided. The lesson will include learning to fire guns, marching drills and how to deal with a chemical, nuclear or biological attack. The activity is seen as part of a drive toward the education of their love for their country.

Is it hard for you to get up early and get ready for classes? Some students at Winter Park High School just roll out of bed in their pajamas (睡衣) and go to class in their own bedrooms, Of course, their teachers and classmates do not see them because all their class work is on the computer. The Florida High School, the state’s only online school, has 250 students who are taking classes at home by computer. Students in this first online program take classes in algebra (代数), American government, chemistry, computer, economics, and web-page design. They also have to go to regular school to attend other classes.

1.In the first news item, which country is NOT covered in the research?

A. Britain.                    B. France.          C. Sweden.                           D. Spain.

2.What is the second news item mainly about?

A. J. K. Rowling will have an Internet interview.

B. Children will meet Harry Potter’s mother.

C. The Harry Potter book will be available on the Internet.

D. The Harry Potter book will arrive in China in early June.

3.Why will Russian school students have basic military training?

A. To get ready for a military parade.

B. To learn to protect themselves.

C. To gain some military knowledge.

D. To develop their love for the country.

4.The news from Florida can be given a title “____________”.

A. Get up Late            B. Online School         C. Magical Computers            D. No Teachers  

Wednesday, January 7,2009

    A blacklist of 19 leading search engine portals (门户) and websites, including Google and Baidu, which “spread vulgar (lacking in good taste) content and harm the young people” has been published, the Chinese government said Monday.

    According to Xinhua News Agency, six central departments conducted a month – long campaign to clean up the Internet of unhealthy and vulgar materials.

“The government will continue to punish or even shut down those shameful Websites that refuse to correct their wrongdoing.” Cai Mangzhao, director of the State Council Information Office, said. “Immediate action is needed to clean up the Internet environment.”

The government demanded the web portals, a number of video sharing sites, including Sina, Sohu and NetEase, Google in Chinese and other websites to remove vulgar photos after due notice but they failed and continued providing links to these unhealthy sites.

    Google China’s spokeswoman Cui Jin, however, explained that “Google is neither the owner of those Websites nor does it spread (that) information intentionally. We have also adopted ‘safe search’ to block sites with such content automatically. ”

    Baidu, NetEase. com. Inc and SINA Corp., in web statements on Wednesday, admitted their guilt, and apologized for failing to control such contend. Google China, on the other hand, promised to cooperate with Internet users and society to help build a healthy Internet culture. “After we received notice from relevant government departments, we cleaned up links to vulgar content that could have harmful effects on Internet users,” it added.

45. What is the text mainly about?

         A. How the Chinese government manages the leading search engine portals.

         B. How the leading search engine portals react to the government’s criticism.

         C. What the government is trying to do to clean up the Internet environment.

         D. What the leading search engine portals are doing to improve their service.

46. Which of the following is TRUE about Cai Mingzhao?

         A. He works for the Ministry of Public Security.

         B. He called on the shameful Web sites to correct their wrongdoing.

         C. He apologized for failing to clean up the Internet of unhealthy materials.

         D. He is working hard to make the definition of “spreading vulgar materials” clear.

47. According to the text, which company took the most positive attitude?

         A. Google China                 B. NelEase. com. Inc.      

         C. SINA Corp.            D. Baidu

48. We can learn from the last paragraph that             .

        A. China’s Internet environment is getting better and better

         B. China still has a long way to go to build a cleaner Internet environment

         C. China has made laws to protect the environment of the Interned

         D. China has not realized the harm of illegal information from the Internet  

An old problem is getting new attention in the United States—bullying．Recent cases included the tragic case of a fifteen-year-old girl whose family moved from Ireland．She hanged herself in Massachusetts in January following months of bullying．Her parents criticized her school for failing to protect her．Officials have brought criminal charges against several teenagers．

Judy Kaczynski is president of an anti-bullying group called Bully Police USA．Her daughter Tina was the victim of severe bullying starting in middle school in the state of Minnesota．She said, "Our daughter was a very outgoing child．She was a bubbly personality, very involved in all kinds of things, had lots of friends．And over a period of time her grades fell completely．She started having health issues．She couldn't sleep．She wasn't eating．She had terrible stomach pains．She started clenching her jaw and grinding her teeth at night．Didn't want to go to school．"

Bullying is defined as negative behavior repeated over time against the same person． It can involve physical violence．Or it can be verbal — for example, insults or threats．Spreading lies about someone or excluding a person from a group is known as social or relational bullying．

And now there is cyberbullying, which uses the Internet, e-mail or text messages．It has easy appeal for the bully because it does not involve face-to-face contact and it can be done at any time．

The first serious research studies into bullying were done in Norway in the late 1970s．The latest government study in the United States was released last year．It found that about one-third of students age twelve to eighteen were bullied at school．

Susan Sweater is a psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and co-director of the Bullying Research Network．She says schools should treat bullying as a mental health problem to get bullies and victims the help they need．She says bullying is connected to depression, anxiety and anti-social behavior, and bullies are often victims themselves．

From the case of Tina, we can know that            ．

         A．bullying is rare                     B．victims suffered a lot

         C．schools are to blame                   D．personalities are related

Which of the following is NOT bullying?

         A．To beat someone repeatedly．                  B．To call someone names．

         C．To isolate someone from friends．  D．To refuse to help someone in need．

Why is cyberbullying appealing to the bully?

         A．Because it can involve more people．      B．Because it can create worse effects．

         C．Because it is more convenient．               D．Because it can avoid cheating．

According to Susan Sweater,           ．

         A．bullies are anti-social                            B．bullies should give victims help

         C．students are not equally treated      D．bullies themselves also need help

Which of the following can be the best title of the text?

         A．Bullying—Old Irish Girl Committed Suicide

         B．15-Year-Old Irish Girl Committed Suicide

         C．Cyberbullying-Taking Off in Schools  

D．How to Find Bullying among Teens

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑). Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder（谋杀）, while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The argument advanced by those who are against the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is a mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent (威慑物) to crime (罪行) anyway.

In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others. For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.

The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered----some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.

1.The main purpose of this passage is to _________.

A．speak for the majority

B．argue against the value of the death penalty

C．speak ill of the government

D．argue for the value of the death penalty

2.Which of the following is among the heated arguments across the USA besides death penalty?

A．Air pollution.                           B．The war against Iraq.

C．Equal rights.                           D．Election of president.

3.The numbers in the last paragraph show that ______.

A．if they stick to death penalty, the number of murders will be reduced

B．death penalty almost stopped from 1954 to 1963

C．the population of California has risen

D．death penalty is of little value

4.It can be inferred that the writer thinks that ______.

A．the death penalty is the most important problem in the United States today

B．the second type of murderers (in Paragraph 2) should be sentenced to death

C．the veto of the law about death penalty is of little importance

D．the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be discussed