7 January, 2014

A new report says more and more international students are attending colleges and universities in the United States. It also notes a large increase in the number of international students from China.

These findings are from the latest Open Doors Report. The report documents the record number of international students in the United States during 2012, 2013 school year. It says more than seven hundred sixty-four thousand four-hundred such students were attending American colleges and universities during the last two years. That represents an increase of almost six percent than one year earlier.

On the other hand, the number of Americans studying overseas (海外) increased by one percent, which reached nineteen thousand this year.

The report says one hundred ninety-four thousand students at American colleges and universities were from

China. That is an increase of more than twenty-three percent over the year before. Peggy Blumenthal, an expert(专家) of international education, described the effect of the increase in Chinese students.

"Now they have been coming for some time. But this year was the highest level ever." She says many Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children. The children mainly choose to study in America.

"We know many of them have enough income to be able to afford to send them anywhere in the world that they want to go. And for the most part, looking around the world, Chinese students still prefer to come to the United States as their choice."

Chinese students are not the only ones who want to attend American colleges and universities. After China, India sends the second largest number of students to the United States for higher education. India has about one hundred thousand students in American schools. South Korea is third with about seventy two thousand students.

Why do so many foreign students study in the United States? Peggy Blumenthal provides one reason.

"The advantage America has is that we have a huge system and a very perfect system. So there are over four thousand universities and colleges in the United States. Among them are some top ones in the world, and what that tells us is there is still a lot of room to host international students."

Foreign students represent less than four percent of the total student population in American higher education. And from Learning English, that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Bob Doughty. Thanks for listening.

1.Bob Doughty seems to be ________.

A. an exchange student from the USA         

B. an expert of international education

C. a viewer of VOA                             

D. a reporter from VOA

2.Which country below has the fewest students studying overseas?

A. South Korea              B. India                   C. China           D. America

3.Which is NOT the reason why so many Chinese students go to the USA for further study?

A. Lots of Chinese families are able to pay for the highest-quality education for their children

B. The USA has a huge and a very perfect education system.

C. There is a lot of room to host international students in the USA.

D. The USA has some top universities and colleges in the world.

4.Which of the following statement is true?

A. China has 122,000 more students than South Korea at American colleges and universities.

B. The number of Americans studying overseas is becoming smaller and smaller.

C. The number of Asian students has an increase of 6% over the past two years.

D. Most of the international students in the United States are Chinese.

5.This passage from VOA Special English is most likely to be ________.

A. An advertisement          B. A radio programme  C. A science report           D. A tour guide

On Sunday morning, a strong earthquake hit Indonesia and then big tsunamis(海啸) followed. They soon went on to other countries in the south and southeast Asia as well as East Africa.
Tsunamis are especially dangerous for children. By Wednesday,  nearly 60 000 people died because of the tsunamis. 30% of them were children,  and most of them were 5 to 12 years old.
In open seas tsunamis are only one or two metres high. When they are near land, they are as high as 10 metres,  Houses and cars near the sea can be taken away by these big waves. Because tsunamis move fast and can travel to another side of the sea within one day, they may affect(影响)a lot of places.
The Pacific Ocean(太平洋)has a lot of strong tsunamis because of the size of the ocean and large earthquakes there. China doesn\'t see tsunamis often because its sea floor is quite flat(平的). Islands around China also help the country avoid from them.
What should you do when there\'s a tsunamis? Move to a safe place. If you are near the sea and you feel the earth shake, move to higher ground. Stay away from rivers and streams(溪流).
Reported by "China Daily" on Friday, December 31st, 2004.

1. The big Asian tsunamis first happened________.

A. on Friday morning               B. on the morning of December 26th
C. on December 31st, 2004          D. three days ago

2. Which places did the big tsunamis hit?
A. All the coastal(海岸的) countries.
B. Only in Indonesia and Sri Lanka.
C. South and southeast Asia as well as East Africa.
D. Vietnam(越南)and India.

3. Why does the Pacific Ocean have a lot of strong tsunamis?
A,  Because there are few islands in the ocean.
B,  Because of the strong wind on the sea.
C,  Because there are many Asian countries around the Pacific Ocean.
D. Because of the large earthquakes and the size of ocean.

4. Which of the following is wrong?
A. In open seas tsunamis are one or two metres high.
B. Tsunamis can\'t travel to another side of the sea within 24 hours.
C. Most of the children who died in tsunamis were under 5-12 years old.
D. China\'s sea floor is quite flat and tsunamis seldom happen.

5. You should________ when there\'s a tsunamis according to the passage.
A. listen to a weather report
B. try to find out what will happen
C. run to the policeman for help
D. get to a higher and safer place as soon as possible

There are many things we need to know that we do not learn at school. For example, if we want to use our money wisely(智慧地), we need to shop carefully. We need to know how to compare the prices of the thing in different shops. We need to be able to compare the quality of different brands(品牌). We need to know how to make a choice(选择) when we shop.

?? Knowing how to make such choices is a “life skill”, and we need these skills if we want to live useful and happy lives.

?? Some of these choices are small. For example, will I take an apple for lunch or a pear? Will I go to school by bus or on foot? Will I wear the red T-shirt or the blue one to the movies? Other choices are more important. For example, will I eat healthy food for lunch or will I eat junk food because it is nicer? Will I work hard in all my classes or will I only work hard in the classes I enjoy? We make choices like this every day.

?? We have to realize that the choices we make can affect(影响) the rest of our lives. Just as importantly, our choices can also affect other people. The next time you decide to waste time in class, play a joke on someone or talk loudly at the movies, think about this: Who else does your choice affect?

1.This passage mainly tells us that it’s important to _____________.

A. make the right choices

B. know how to compare prices

C. know how to shop carefully

D. learn everything at school

2.We need “life skills” if we want to ____________.

A. know how to choose a part-time job

B. compare brands and prices

C. live useful and happy lives

D. learn things at school

3.Which choice is more important according to the passage?

A. Which fruit to take for lunch.

B. Which kind of food to eat, healthy food or junk food?

C. Which T-shirt to wear to the movies.

D. How to get to school.

4.From the passage we know that our choices can affect ______________.

A. nobody???? B. the people around us?

C. just ourselves???? D. the prices of the things

5.According the article which statement is True?

A. We face all kinds of choices every day.

B. We can learn everything at school.

C. Knowing how to make choices isn’t necessary.

D. Our choices won’t affect others.

You may know about “ junk food” like French fries. But do you know about “junk sleep”?

    Recently, a British survey found that electronic(电子) products in teenagers bedrooms are affecting(影响)their sleep.

    The survey was done among 1,000 British kids from 12 to 16. It found that percent of them got just 4 to 7 hours sleep every day. But doctors say they need 8 to 9 hours.

    Almost a quarter of the kids said they fell asleep more than once a week while watching TV, listening to music or using other electronic products.

“This is very worrying.” Said Dr Chris Idzikowski, a British expert, “We call it ‘junk sleep’, It means you don’t get enough sleep and the quality of the sleep is bad, too. If you don’t get good rest, you don’t perform well in school the next day.”

The survey found that 40 percent of the kids felt tired each day, with girls between 13 and 16 feeling the worst. Nearly all the teenagers have a phone, Mp4 or TV IN THEIR BEDROOM. And many of them have all three.

1. This passage is mainly about______.

A. junk food                B. junk sleep

C. electronic products        D. the importance of sleep

2. _______of the children in the survey sleep only 4 to 7 hours a day.

A. 200                    B. 300

C. 500                    D. 1,000

3.“Junk food” and “junk sleep”are similar to each other in the way that_______.

A. they are both low in quality                    B. they are both produced in factories

C. people enjoy both in their spare time            D. they are both good to people’s health

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Teenagers need 4 to 7 hours of sleep each day.                 

B. Few of the teenagers have a phone in their bedrooms.

C. Teenagers spend too much time on electronic products.

D. Girls between 15 and 16 spend the least time on electronic products.

5. Which of the following is the best solution to the problem?

A. Parents watch TV together with their children                  

B. Forbid teenagers to use any electronic product.

   C. Teenagers limit (限制) their use of the electronic products.                 

   D. The use of mobile phone and Mp4 is not allowed at school