Many English learners have difficulty deciding what kind of English accent they want to have. A US accent, perhaps modeled on the way a Hollywood star speaks? Or maybe you want to imitate（模仿） the British accent of a BBC news reader?

    Young British people find the US accent attractive while young US people like a British accent. Especially when the person speaking is of the opposite sex! Let’s listen to what they have to say.

Stephen Yang, 17, from London, UK

A US accent is cute, especially when a girl speaks it. Whether it’s Jessia Alba speaking or the girl- next-door, the way US girls speak has a sweet tingle that is really sassy(时髦). A girl from Texas recently moved into our neighborhood. Her Texan twang（鼻音） had all the boys here on their knees within seconds of meeting her.

To me, accents reflect the attitudes, characteristics and lifestyles of the people.

Jennifer Sun, 16, from New Jersey, US

From watching English actors like Daniel Radcliffe, my friends and I have developed a soft spot for British men. Some are attracted to the qualities of English males, while others admire their sense of style.

Everyone, however, agrees that the most appealing aspect of an English man is his accent. For example, many American girls watch Harry Potter movies over and over again just to listen to the actors speak.

The English accent seems almost like art.

1.In Stephen Yang’s opinion, accents just show__________.

A. the beauty of the language   B. how the language is spoken

C. the cultural differences of the speakers   D. the fashion of the day

2.The underlined word “cute “probably means__________.

A. strange   B. exciting    C. attractive     D. fashionable

3.Many American girls watch Harry Porter again and again in order to __________.

A. learn the acting skills of the these stars

B. learn the magic performed by Harry Potter

C. imitate the actors’ accents

D. know more about British English

4.What is probably the best title for this passage?

A. British English and American English

B. British Accent or American Accent

C. American English Accent is Most Accepted

D. The difference between British Accent and American Accent.

 

Rules for the University Entrance Examination

●You must be at the examination center ten minutes before the examination starts. If you are more than ten minutes late, you may not enter the examination center. The examination takes place at the same time in different states.

●You must have proof of your name and grade as well as official examination number. Show these when you come to the examination center.

●Depending on which examination you are taking, you may bring certain items into the examination center. Mathematics examinations may allow you to use electronic calculators (计算器). Other subjects may allow you to use dictionaries and other reference material. Please read the notes sent with your timetable carefully.

●You must bring your own pencils. None will be provided for you. The following items are not allowed in the examination center: walkmans and radios, head sets, any food or drink, schoolbags, electronic equipment (unless specifically permitted for various subjects), and mobile phones. Zxxk

●Once in the center, you must sit at the desk with your examination number on it. When you sit down, place your examination number at the top corner of your desk.

●You must remain silent during the examination. You must not disturb other people who are taking the test.

●If you need a drink or toilet break, you should raise your hand and wait for the supervisor (监督者) to speak to you. You will be given water or the supervisor will take you to the bathroom. You are not allowed to talk with anyone during the break.

●You must write your answers in the official answer sheet. Your supervisor will provide extra paper if you wish to make notes.

●You may leave the examination room at any time if you do not plan to return. If you finish early and want to leave, please move well away from the examination center.

●The supervisor will warn you fifteen minutes, five minutes and one minute before the end of the examination. When the supervisor says that the time is up, you must put down your pencil and wait at your desk until your paper is collected.

1..

What kind of examination are these rules probably for?

A. A local exam.                      B. A final exam. 

C. A college exam.                    D. A national exam.

2..

What are you allowed to have with you when you take mathematics examination?

A. Related material.                   B. Proof of yourself.

C. A cell phone.                      D. A dictionary.

3..

What should you do if you finish the test early and want to get a better result?

A. Take some notes carefully.           

B. Leave the room immediately.

C. Remain in your seat and check again.  

D. Raise your hand to inform your teacher.

4..

What can be provided for you during the exam?

A. Pencils.                          B. Food and drink.     

C. Extra paper.                       D. Calculator

 

---What kind of house would you like?

---I’d like____ with a swimming pool at the back of ______.

A．one; it

B．the one ; one

C．one; one

D．it; it

 

This is a time of year when we think about giving and receiving presents. Can you find a little extra to give? On this page we suggest a few organizations you might like to help.

Littleton Children’s Home

We DON’T want your money, but children’s toys, books and clothes IN GOOD CONDITION would be very welcome.

Also, we are looking for friendly families who would take our children into their homes for a few hours or days as guests. You have so much ─will you share it?

Phone Sister Thomas on 55671

Children’s Hospice

We look after a small number of very sick children. This important work needs skill and love. We cannot continue without gifts or money to pay for more nursing staff. We also need storybooks and toys suitable for quiet games.

Please contact the Secretary, Little Children’s Hospice, Newby Road.

Street Food

In the winter weather, it’s no fun being homeless. It’s even worse if you’re hungry. We give hot food to at least fifty people every night. It’s hard work, but necessary. Can you come and help? If not, can you offer a little money? We use a very old kitchen, and we need some new saucepans(平底锅). Money for new ones would be most welcome indeed.

Contact Street Food, c/o Mary’s House, Elming Way. Littleton Phone 27713

Littleton Youth Club

Have you got an unwanted chair? ─a record-player?─a pot of paint ? Because we can use them!

We want to get to work on our meeting room!

Please phone 66231 and we’ll be happy to collect anything you can give us.

Thank you!

The Night Shelter

We offer a warm bed for the night to anyone who has nowhere to go. We rent the former Commercial Hotel on Green Street. Although it is not expensive, we never seem to have quite enough money. Can you let us have a few pounds? Any amount, however small, will be such a help.

Send it to us at 15, Green St, Littleton. Please make check payable to Night Shelter.

1. What kind of people are these organizations designed for?

A．Homeless and sick children

B．Less fortunate members of our society

C．Hungry people who have no beds to sleep in

D．Friendly members of our society to help others

2.If you like children and you could offer a happy family to a homeless child, you may contact _____.

A．Street Food	B．The Night Shelter
C．Littleton Children’s Home	D．Children’s Hospice

3. What can be concluded from the passage?

A．There are too many social problems in this society.

B．People are very poor during the time of giving.

C．To offer help is just an excuse for these organizations to collect money.

D．There are many organizations trying to solve social problems.

 

After blogging regularly for two months, people felt they had better social support and friendship networks than those who didn’t blog. Blogging can help you feel less isolated, more connected to a community and more satisfied with your friendships. Both online and face-to-face, a new Australian research has found

Researchers James Baker and Professor Susan Moore from Swinburne have written two papers investigating the psychological benefits of blogging-regularly updating personal web pages with information that invites others to comment.

The first, published in the latest issue of the journal CyberPsychology and Behaviour.  compares the mental health of people intending to blog with that of people not planning to blog. Moore says the researchers messaged 600 MySpace users personally and directed them to an online survey. A total of 134 completed the questionnaire. 84 intended to blog and 50 didn’t.

“We found potential bloggers were less satisfied with their friendships and they felt less socially integrated; they didn’t feet as much part of a community as the people who weren’t interested in blogging …”Moore says. “It was as if they were saying ‘I’m going to do this blogging and it’s going to help me’.”

And it seemed to do the trick, as the researchers’ second study shows. This study which is yet to be published, was conducted two months later. The researchers sent out questionnaires(调查问卷)to the same group of MySpace users, this time 59 responded Bloggers reported a greater sense of belonging to a group of like-minded people and feeling more confident because they could rely on others for help. All respondents, whether or not they blogged, reported feeling less anxious, depressed and stressed after two months of online social networking.

“So going onto MySpace had lifted the mood of all participants in some way,” Moore says. “Maybe they’d just made more social connections.”

Moore acknowledges this is early research and hopes to follow a larger group of people for a longer period time to test some of the research findings.

66. What does the passage mainly tell us?

A. The mental health of bloggers.

B. Blogging improves one’s social life.

C. What kind of people are likely to blog.

D. Blogging has become more and more popular.

67. It can be inferred from the fourth paragraph that _________.

A. those who were not interested in blogging didn’t have good mental health

B. people were likely to become bloggers if they felt socially isolated

C. potential bloggers were those who had mental health problems

D. potential bloggers usually held a wrong view about blogging

68.The purpose of the second study is to find out _________.

A. what people do on MySpace

B. how many people became bloggers

C. how people felt after blogging for two months

D. how many people kept blogging after two months

69. The second study shows that________.

A. online social networking can do people good

B. only bloggers benefit from online social networking

C. not many potential bloggers became real bloggers

D. not all bloggers found the help they needed

70. The main purpose of people going onto MySpace is probably to _______.

A. exchange goods                  B. entertain themselves

C. seek help                           D. exchange views