In both 2004 and 2005, Li Yong was elected as the Most Valuable TV Show Host. He has been at the   1   of the list for two years. He is considered “  2   and intelligent(机智的)”. He not only laughs most but also laughs rather wildly in front of the camera. He moves freely between the stage and the   3  whenever he wants. He talks while he walks. He never falters (支吾地说) and he always says, “Don’t leave and we’ll be back   4   the advertisement”, at the   5  .

  6   a long face, a big mouth and small eyes, Li Yong is a sort of ugly. Someone said that the audience wouldn’t like him when he first appeared on the screen. But now he becomes China’s most popular TV show host.

“I wouldn’t have become popular without CCTV. I don’t   7   myself a celebrity(名人). I am just a host or a public   8   . I don’t feel like a famous person. I don’t believe that my   9   will always be there. I know   10   I will fall on the stage, then I will walk away. I won’t have others   11   me away,’ he said.

Maybe you don’t believe that Li Yong didn’t like to talk with others when he was young. He was born in Xinjiang. In his childhood, he loved   12   . He always went around the street with his palette(调色板) and painted everything he   13  . After   14   senior middle school, he became more and more active. He didn’t   15   his teachers’ orders. He always made much trouble. Teachers couldn’t believe he would enter a college. But he made up his mind to   16  in entering Communication University of China. Now all the teachers   17  taught him say to their students proudly, “Li Yong－my   18  .”

Do you have a dream to be a TV host? Don’t worry about your   19  .

Just try your best. Maybe one day you will also stand on the   20   of CCTV.

1. A. foot                     B. top               C. beginning       D. end

2. A. puzzled               B. humorous       C. handsome     D. funny

3. A. listeners           B. readers           C. viewer         D. audience

4. A. until                  B. after               C. soon after       D. behind

5. A. camera           B. performers    C. actors            D. other host

6. A. Having            B. growing       C. Because of       D. With

7. A. think                 B. consider         C. think about       D. look

8. A. figure            B. person              C. relation          D. pressure

9. A. popularity     B. position       C. impression      D. voice

10. A. one day       B. all day              C. another day      D. the other day

11. A. take            B. push                  C. to take                  D. to pull

12. A. singing          B. dancing              C. watching TV     D. drawing

13. A. heard           B. touched              C. saw               D. observed

14. A. leaving        B. graduating           C. entering          D. admitting

15. A. listen        B. obey                     C. hear                D. follow

16. A. try           B. succeed                  C. manage            D. attempt

17. A. what         B. which                    C. who               D. whom

18. A. friend         B. workmate         C. proud             D. student

19. A. weight            B. face                     C. height            D. appearance

20. A. studio       B. stage                    C. cinema          D. theatre

During the twentieth century, cars, electric lights, space travel and amazing advances in medicine changed people’s lives. So what might this new century bring? There are hundreds of predictions flying around — let’s have a light-hearted look at some of them.

In a recent UK survey, teenagers were asked to make predictions about the year 2020. One of the most common predictions was that school uniforms won’t be around. They also predicted that both girls and boys will wear make-up more often, and more than 75% of men will wear skirts regularly. My dad is 65 next Saturday — I think I’ll buy him a skirt as a birthday present and tell him he’ll soon be in fashion!

Other predictions involve changing roles of men and women. By 2017, some people say that single men of working age will form more than 10% of all families. It is also predicted that washing powder advertisements will include more men because more of them will do housework. I’ll tell that to my husband when he gets home and see how keen he is to wash the dishes!

Many predictions are about crime and safety problems. Some people think that crime will improve and the world will become a more peaceful place. Others believe that crime is going to worsen and that people will stay at home becoming completely dependent on the Internet for shopping and work. It is also predicted that you will need an electronic card to get into parks as parents demand safe play areas for their children. This is old news for me --- our local government is going to introduce one this summer.

Technology is predicted to play an even more important role in our lives in the future. Some parents might have cameras at home so they can keep an eye on their children while they are out. Quick, kids, turn off the TV and do your homework!

Here’s another prediction. Researchers have concluded that cultural activity may add years to your life. The cinema, theatre and concerts may give us a longer life because they encourage strong feelings. Well, we’re watching Bridget Jones’ Diary this Friday night. Will that help us live longer?

Let’s finish up with my favourite prediction. In the future, elderly people are going to make up a larger proportion of the world’s population than ever before. In Britain, an estimated 100,000 people now in their thirties may live to be 100. And that includes me! I’ll have a big, big party, I promise!

1. The writer’s father ________ .

   A. has just turned sixty-five

   B. wears skirts

   C. is very fashionable

   D. is about to turn sixty-five

2.Why might more men do housework in the future?

   A. Washing powder advertisements suggest it.

   B. Men won’t want to work in offices any more.

   C. Traditional roles of men and women will change.

   D. Women will refuse to wash the dishes.

3.According to the passage, people might ________ , if crime worsens.

   A. need electronic cards to get into their homes

   B. stay at home and depend on the Internet

   C. help to make the world a more peaceful place

   D. work harder and make more money

4.Which of the following is NOT true？

   A. It’s likely that the writer is to live to be 100.

   B. The writer promises that she is going to hold a big, big party soon.

   C. Without an electronic card, you can’t get into a park freely in the future.

   D. The writer holds a positive attitude towards the changes in the new century.

5.From the passage, we may infer that the writer is probably ____ .

   A. a professional news reporter.

   B. a young and attractive sales girl.

   C. a middle-aged British housewife.

   D. a responsible government official.

 

Students and Technology in the Classroom

　　I love my blackberry—it’s my little connection to the larger world that can go anywhere with me. I also love my laptop computer，as it holds all of my writing and thoughts. Despite this love of technology, I know that there are times when I need to move away from these devices(设备) and truly communicate with others.

　　On occasion, I teach a course called History Matters for a group of higher education managers. My goals for the class include a full discussion of historical themes and ideas. Because I want students to thoroughly study the material and exchange their ideas with each other in the classroom, I have a rule —no laptop, iPads, phones, etc. When students were told my rule in advance of the class, some of them were not happy.

　　Most students assume that my reasons for this rule include unpleasant experiences in the past with students misusing technology. There’s a bit of truth to that. Some students assume that I am anti-technology. There’s no truth in that at all. I love technology and try to keep up with it so I can relate to my students.

　　The real reason why I ask students to leave technology at the door is that I think there are very few places in which we can have deep conversions and truly engage complex ideas. Interruptions by technology often break concentration and allow for too much dependence on outside information for ideas. I want students to dig deep within themselves for inspiration and ideas. I want them to push each other to think differently and make connections between the course material and the class discussion.

　　I’ve been teaching my history class in this way for many years and the evaluations reflect student satisfaction with the environment that I create. Students realize that with deep conversation and challenge, they learn at a level that helps them keep the course material beyond the classroom.

　　I’m not saying that I won’t ever change my mind about technology use in my history class, but until I hear a really good reason for the change, I’m sticking to my plan. A few hours of technology-free dialogue is just too sweet to give up.

1.Some of the students in the history class were unhappy with____

A．the course material                      B．the author’s class regulations

C．discussion topics                        D．others’ misuse of technology

2.The underlined word “engage ”in para.4 probably means ____

A．explore           B．accept            C．change           D．reject

3.According to the author, the use of technology in the classroom may ____

A．keep students from doing independent thinking

B．encourage students to have in-depth conversations

C．help students to better understand complex themes

D．affect students’ concentration on course evaluation

4.It can be inferred from the last paragraph that the author ____

A．is quite stubborn

B．will give up teaching history

C．values technology-free dialogues in his class

D．will change his teaching plan soon

 

When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, “Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on.”Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on，“the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course，”she recalls.

The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her mom.“I don't know how to use a computer，”she admits.

Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award－winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. “I felt there was a need for a book like this，” she says.“I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self－controlled and do our part in managing the disease.”

But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life－changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow up—again—and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three－pack－a－day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.

Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self－pity.“Everybody on earth can ask，‘why me？’ about something or other，”she insists.“It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be.”

6. Why did Mary feel regretful?

A. She didn't achieve her ambition.

B. She didn't take care of her mother.

C. She didn't complete her high school.

D. She didn't follow her mother's advice.

7. We can know that before 1995 Mary________.

A. had two books published

B. received many career awards

C. knew how to use a computer

D. supported the JDRF by writing

8. Mary's second book Growing Up Again is mainly about her ________.

A. living with diabetes

B. successful show business

C. service for an organization

D. remembrance of her mother

9. When Mary received the life－changing news, she ________.

A. lost control of herself

B. began a balanced diet

C. tried to get a treatment

D. behaved in an adult way

10. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A. Mary feels pity for herself.

B. Mary has recovered from her disease.

C. Mary wants to help others as much as possible.

D. Mary determines to go back to the dance floor.

When I was an official of a school in Palo Alto, California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board, wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times. Polly’s son, Jim, had great difficulty in school. He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers. But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room. His parents knew his difficulties, but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride. Shortly after Jim finished high school, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. After his death, his mother submitted this letter to the newspaper.

“Today we buried our 20-year-old son. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night. How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time. If I had only known that, I would have said to him, ‘Jim, I love you and I’m always so proud of you.’ I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him. I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile, his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.

“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud, the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed, etc., I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.

“I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but, other parents, do have a chance. Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation. The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died. He called me to say, ‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you. You have to go to work now. Bye.’ That day, he gave me something to treasure forever. ”

If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people, especially family members, that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care. You may never have another chance. Do it today!

1.Who was Jim?

A．The child of the Tyners’.	B．The writer’s relative.
C．The president of a school board.	D．An official of a school.

2. What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “the educationally handicapped”?

A．The learning difficulty.	B．The physical problems.
C．The psychological problems.	D．The communication difficulty.

3.According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE？

A．He was always sad about his school marks.

B．His parents always scolded him about his bad school marks.

C．His study needed more attention from his parents and teachers.

D．He was killed in a car accident.

4.The purpose of Polly’s letter is to                .

A．memorize her son

B．teach parents to appreciate their children

C．teach children how to be good boys

D．give some advice on how to deal with children’s problems