Stuck on a desert island（被困荒岛）？
http://www.TalkingPoints.com/ Started on 23rd April by Steve
Post 1 Steve USA	Hi, everyone. What would you miss most if you were stuck on a desert island? For me, I’d probably miss the rain. What about you?
Post 2 Tomas Germany	Good question. Steve, I think I’d miss different types of bread, and shopping at the supermarket. I’d miss the food most.
Post 3 Miko Japan	It would have to be music. I couldn’t live without my music. I wouldn’t miss going to school at all!
Past 4 Jayne UK	Why hasn’t anyone mentioned their family? I’d be lost without my husband and two kids. They’re the most important for me.
Post 5 Jaime Mexico	Hi, I would miss the Internet and Japanese food, like sushi. I’d also miss TV shows and shopping for clothes.

1. Who would miss his or her family most?

A. Steve.         B. Tomas.         C. Jayne       D. Jaime.

2.Miko would feel bad if there was no ______.

A. rain           B. food           C. family      D. music

3. How many of them mentioned that they would miss food?

A. One.          B. Two.           C. Three.      D. Four.

 

 

Hangzhouhua (杭州话)：use it or lose it

There are about 6.000 languages in the world and some experts say that as many as half of these languages will disappear(消失) in the next one hundred years. Will Hangzhouhua be one of 1)________? It’s a 2)________ that more people are asking.

In China, Putonghua is the official language. That 3)________ it’s the language of government, business and the media (媒体). And it’s also the language that is 4)________ in schools.

Hangzhou is a special city. It used to be the capital of Wu and Yue States in the 10th century during the Five Dynasties period. Now it is modern, fashionable and also beautiful. And Hangzhouhua shows that by being modern, fashionable and beautiful.

Young people still speak Hangzhouhua but not as 5)________ as their parents and grandparents. They are under more and more pressure to speak Putonghua. So the language is being used 6)________ often in everyday life. Some people want to keep the language from disappearing completely 7)_________ building museums and having cultural festivals to save it. But a language isn’t a painting 8)________ a book. It’s a living thing and you 9)________ use it or lose it.

If people 10)________ using it in their daily lives, a museum or a festival will not help. It will be lost forever, like the Yangtze River dolphin.

 

In London, there has always been a main problem. In order to solve this problem, the government has decided to have a bike revolution(革命). It has decided to provide 6,000 bikes for the people to rent. The government encourages local people to ride bikes in order to solve the traffic problem.
More than 12,000 people have agreed to the idea. Some of them ask for more than one key. Although there are not enough bikes, an official(官员) from the government said that they would find some ways to deal with such a shortage.
Local people can get these bikes at special docking stations（停靠站）.There are about 315 docking stations across the city. About 12,450 keys have already been handed out to the local people, but only 6,000 keys can be used now.
Let’s see the cost you need to pay. One key costs ￡3, and the cost of using the bike is ￡1 for an hour. The cost per hour increases as the hours increase, so it will cost ￡50 if you rent the bike for 24 hours.
The official from the government said they also needed to face a lot of problems, for example, some bikes may be lost. But they said they would try their best to solve all the problems to make sure the success of the program.
【小题1】In London, the government has decided to provide bikes for local people to rent in order to solve ______________.

A．the traffic problem	B．the population problem
C．the family problem	D．the health problem

【小题2】About ____________ keys have already been handed out to the local people.

A．315

B．6.000

C．12.000

D．12.450

【小题3】In the passage, the underlined word “shortage” means “_________” in Chinese.

A．挑战

B．缺点

C．短缺

D．困难

【小题4】 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The government provides a bike for each family.

B．Local people can get these bikes at special docking stations.

C．If you want a key, you need to pay ￡5.

D．Few people have agreed to the idea.

【小题5】 What’s the best title for the passage?

A．The people in London.

B．The transportation in London.

C．The traffic problem in London.

D．The bike revolution in London.

Imagine the situation. You are driving along a desert or on a mountain. You have no idea where you are. You passed the last house two hours ago. Then your car breaks down. It is night and it is cold. You have no mobile phone. What do you do? Well, next time take a GPS with you. This invention may be able to help you. It is a device(装置) which uses satellites (卫星) to find the user’s position(位置). It can find your position to within 20 metres. A GPS cannot start your car, but at least you will know where you are.

GPS, which means Global Positioning System, is a small radio receiver. It looks like a mobile phone. You can hold it in your hand, or put in your pocket. It is sometimes put into a watch or a telephone. We also find GPS devices in cars, planes, or boats. Some of these devices have electronic maps, so you know where you are. For example, in a city they can tell you the name of the street.

There are three parts to the Global Positioning System. The first part is the receiver. You can hold it in your hand, or have it fixed into your car, plane, etc. The second part is a group of satellites orbiting the Earth. The receiver contacts at least four of the satellites and calculates(计算) its position. The third part of the system is a network of ground stations. They are all over the world. They control the satellites and make sure they are working well.

Some people think that in the future the GPS will be as common as the mobile. They are becoming cheaper and more and more accurate(精确的). There are also new uses for the GPS. Perhaps they will become like watches. Everyone will have one and you will never be lost again.

1.According to the passage, with the help of the GPS, people __________.

A．can’t be lost in a new city

B．can’t find their way in different countries

C．can learn about the culture of an unknown place

D．can spend the least time getting to another place

2.We can learn from the passage that ____________.

A．there are three parts to the GPS

B．a GPS can’t be put into a watch

C．a GPS can help you start your car

D．the GPS are becoming more and more expensive

3.The underlined word “They” in paragraph 3 means “____________”.

A．Receivers         B．GPS devices        C．Satellites          D．Ground stations

4.The passage is mainly about _______________.

A．the history of the GPS                    B．the introduction of the GPS

C．the shape of the GPS                     D．the three parts of the GPS

5.What can we infer(推断) from the passage?

A．All GPS devices have electronic maps.

B．People in many countries will use the GPS for free.

C．The receiver of the GPS contacts at least five of the satellites.

D．The GPS will become more and more common in everyday life.

 

当今，微博越来越普及，尤其在年轻人的日常生活中已经成为不可缺少的一部分。与博客不同，微博的内容要少一些。不过过度或不当地使用微博会浪费时间、精力和金钱，我们初中生更不能沉溺其中。请根据下图提示，用英语写一篇短文, 描述图片所示现象，并谈谈个人对此事的观点（至少两点）。

要求：1、词数100左右 (开头已给出，不计入总词数)

      2、可参照图示及上面的说明作必要的想象和发挥，但不要逐句作简单翻译。

3、参考词汇：微博 microblog  n.； 便利 convenience  n. ；沉溺于 be lost in

Microblog, as its name shows, is a kind of blog, which is different from a traditional blog in that its content is smaller in size. ___________________________________________________

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