“If there is one thing I’m sure about, it is that in a hundred years from now we will still be reading newspapers. It is not that newspapers are a necessity. Even now some people get most of their news from television or radio. Many buy a paper only on Saturday or Sunday. But for most people reading a newspaper has become a habit passed down from generation to generation.

The nature of what is news may change. What basically makes news is what affects our lives — the big political stories, the coverage of the wars, earthquakes and other disasters, will continue much the same. I think there will be more coverage of scientific research, though. It’s already happening in areas that may directly affect our lives, like genetic(基因) engineering. In the future, I think there will be more coverage of scientific explanations of why we feel as we do — as we develop a better understanding of how the brain operates and what our feelings really are.

It’s quite possible that in the next century newspapers will be transmitted(传送)  electronically from Fleet Street and printed out in our own home. In fact, I’m pretty sure that how it will happen in the future. You will probably be able to choose from a menu, making up your own newspaper by picking out the things you want to read — sports and international news, etc.

I think people have got it wrong when they talk about competition between the different media(媒体). They actually feed off each other. Some people once foresaw that television would kill off newspapers, but that hasn’t happened. What is read on the printed page lasts longer than pictures on a screen or sound lost in the air. And as for the Internet, it’s never really pleasant to read something just on a screen. 

What is the best title for the passage?

A. The Best Way to Get News                    B. The Changes of Media

C. Make Your Own Newspaper                  D. The Future of Newspaper

In the writer’s opinion, in the future, _______. 

A. more big political affairs, wars and disasters will make news

B. newspapers will not be printed in publishing houses any longer

C. newspapers will cover more scientific research

D. more and more people will watch TV

What will probably be on in the newspaper made by yourself?

A. Sports and international news.               B. A menu of important news.

C. The most important news.                     D. What you are interested in.

From the passage, we can infer _______. 

A. newspapers will win the competition among the different media

B. newspapers will stay with us together with other media

C. television will take the place of newspaper

D. the writer believe some media will die out

The phrase “feed off” in the last paragraph means _______. 

A. depend on                                     B. compete with

C. fight with                                     D. kill off

So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read ．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3 000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don'ts of speed-reading．

When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously (极大的)．

How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．

The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don't say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．

The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal (水平的) surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It's hard to read a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understand of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand, Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you're using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush , start our slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase you speed．

The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals(间歇)．Read using different techniques, but make sure you understand what you're reading．

Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

       A．Now there is limited information than ever before．

     B．Now conditions ask people to use less time to know more information．

     C．Now people can read what they like．

     D．The less you read, the more time you will spend．

What is the subject discussed in the text?

       A．What speed-reading is．                                                                              

  B．Why we need speed-reading．

     C．Now it is much information time．

       D．People should practice speed-reading in different kinds of ways．

Which of the following shows the right way for the speed-reading from the text?

       a．Ask for some techniques．

     b．Look at many words and recognize them．

     c．Practice more．

       A．c,a,b          B．c,b,a       C．b,a,c       D．a,c,b

The underlined sentence“you should be focused”in the fifth paragraph means that _________．

      A．a person should devote his attention to it while reading

    B．your feelings will be hurt while reading

    C．a person should smooth away difficulties while he reads

    D．you should pay attention to your faults while you are reading

It was a Sunday and the heavy storm had lasted all night．The morning after the storm, though, was beautiful: blue skies, warm air and a calm, inviting sea touching the shore gently．

    My father realised it was a good day for fishing and invited my sister and me to go with him．I was only 14 and fishing had never been my thing, but I decided to go all the same．I’m so glad I did．

On the road to the harbour we could see the terrible destruction on the coast, but the harbour itself was in fairly good shape．After all, it was protected by the arms of a bay that had only one tiny channel to the sea．As we got on board, we noticed two big humps(脊背) in the distance．

On approaching them, we saw it was a mother whale with her baby．We couldn’t believe it —there aren’t any whales along the coast here．The storm must have driven them across the ocean into the bay, in which the still water was so badly polluted that nothing could survive．

The little baby whale — actually as big as our boat — was obviously stuck and could not move．The mother dived under the water and came up suddenly, making big whirlpools(漩涡) and waves．” She’s trying to help her baby, but on the wrong side,” my father said．At this point, my father moved our boat in a semicircle to the other side and, heading the boat towards the baby whale, pushed it gently．With our several gentle pushes the big hump turned over and disappeared under water．Then it swam up right beside its mum．They struggled in their desperate attempts to escape but missed the exit and started heading in the wrong direction．We hurried up to the whales and tried to lead them towards the bay channel．Slowly, they let us lead them, sometimes rising from the water right beside us to breathe — and to give us a trusting look with those huge eyes．Once they hit their first part of clean water flowing straight from the sea, the mum gave us a wave with her tail and off they swam into the distance．

In the excitement it had felt like only a few minutes, but we had been with those wonderful animals for almost an hour and a half．That was the simple and lasting beauty of the day, Nearly four decades later, I still look back fondly to that golden day at sea．

The author says “I’m so glad I did．” (in Para．2) because __________．

A．he witnessed the whole process of fishing

B．he enjoyed the beauty of the calm sea

C．he experienced the rescue of the whales       

D．he spent the weekend with his family

The harbour survived the storm owing to__________．

A．the shape of the harbour        B．the arms of the bay

C．the still water in the channel   D．the long coast line

The mother whale failed to help her baby because__________．

A．she had stayed in the polluted water for too long

B．the whirlpools she had made were not big enough

C．she had no other whales around to tutu to for help

D．the waves pushed her baby in the wrong direction

What is the theme of the story?

A．Saving lives brings people a sense of happiness．

B．Fishing provides excitement for children．

C．It’s necessary to live in harmony with animals．  

D．It’s vital to protect the environment．

London Summer School in Classics

Dates

The London Summer School in Classics 2008 will be held at King’s College London. It will run from 8th July until 17th July. Applications close on 2nd June, 2008.

For an application form, please download either the 2-page PDF or the word format document from the foot of the page.

If you have any problems downloading the application form or any questions, please contact: London Summer School in Classics, King’s College London.

Tel: 020 7848 2299

Fax: 020 7848 2545

Organization

The school is organized by the colleges of the University of London. The summer school offers eight days of intensive teaching in Greek and Latin. There are four language classes each day as well as lectures and a debate, between 10:30 am and 4:30 pm. The course is not residential (提供住宿的), and there is no teaching during the weekend of 12th to 13th July.

The fee is ??85.00. Travel grants (旅行补助金) are available as a contribution to your travel costs, but may not cover all your expenses. The travel grants are arranged during the summer school.

Teaching is generally in groups of 12-15 people and it, as far as possible, comprises (包含) of students of roughly the same level of experience. The style of teaching is friendly, but demanding: a lot of work is expected from students during the school, but they usually find the whole experience both stimulating and valuable. Some classes concentrate chiefly on reading, while others offer a mixture of grammar and translation practice. Our tutors include some of the most experienced and talented teachers of Classics in the London area and beyond.

The Summer School in Classics caters for a wide range of interests and for both school & university students as well as those who wish to learn Greek or Latin, or to revive their knowledge of the languages. Our principal concern is to provide a thorough program of language learning in a lively university environment.

To join in the school, you have to apply before ________.

A. 8th July, 2008          B. 2nd June, 2008

C. 17th July, 2008         D. 13th July, 2008

As a student of the school, you are probably asked to _______.

A. do a lot of reading in Greek and Latin

B. learn the grammar of Greek and Latin only

C. do some translation work only

D. speak Greek and Latin with experienced teachers

What is the London Summer School in Classics most concerned about?

A. Providing a stimulating experience for students.

B. Promoting students to develop a wide range of interests.

C. Teaching students languages in a lively environment.

D. Improving students’ level of debating in the argument.

Which is one of the teaching ways of the school?

A. Student groups consist of the same level students strictly.

B. Students needn’t do any work in the class.

C. Students learn Greek and Latin by listening to teachers all day.

D. Students are generally divided into groups of 12-15.

Which of the following can we know from the passage?

A. The fee is ??85, including the travel costs.

B. Students needn’t go to class on 12th and 13th July.

C. People should fill in two application forms.

D. People can contact the school by phone or email.

Most mornings, the line begins to form at dawn: scores of silent women with babies on their backs, buckets balanced on their heads, and in each hand a bright-blue plastic jug. On good days, they will wait less than an hour before a water tanker goes across the dirt path that serves as a road in Kesum Purbahari, a slum on the southern edge of New Delhi. On bad days, when there is no electricity for the pumps, the tankers don’t come at all. “That water kills people,” a young mother named Shoba said one recent Saturday morning, pointing to a row of pails filled with thick, caramel (焦糖)-colored liquid. “Whoever drinks it will die.” The water was from a pipe shared by thousands of people in the poor neibourhood. Women often use it to wash clothes and bathe their children, but no­body is desperate enough to drink it.

There is no standard for how much water a person needs each day, but ex­perts usually put the minimum at fifty li­tres. The government of India promises (but rarely provides) forty. Most people drink two or three litres—less than it takes to wash a toilet. The rest is typically used for cooking and bathing. Americans consume between four hundred and six hundred litres of water each day, more than any other people on earth. Most Europeans use less than half that. The women of Kesum Purbahari each hoped to drag away a hundred litres that day—two or three buckets’ worth. Shoba has a husband and five children, and that much water doesn’t go far in a family of seven, particularly when the temperature reaches a hundred and ten degrees before noon. She often makes up the difference with bottled water, which costs more than water delivered any other way. Sometimes she just buys milk; it’s cheaper. Like the poorest people every­where, the people of New Delhi’s slums spend a far greater percentage of their incomes on water than anyone lucky enough to live in a house connected to a system of pipes.

46. The underlined word “slum” most likely means ______.

   A. a village      

B. a small town

C. an area of a town with badly-built, over-crowded buildings

   D. the part of a town that lacks water badly

47. Sometimes the water tanker doesn’t come because ______.

   A. the weather is bad

   B. there is no electricity

   C. there is no water

   D. people don’t want the dirty water

48. A person needs at least ________ litres of water a day.

   A. a hundred          B. four hundred         C. forty          D. fifty

49. Which of the following statements is wrong?

   A. a hundred litres of water a day is enough for Shoba’s family

   B. Americans uses the largest amount of water each day

   C. in Kesum Purbahari milk is cheaper than bottled water

   D. Shoba has a family of seven people

50. The passage mainly tells us ______.

   A. how women in Kesum Purbahari gets their water

   B. how much water a day a person deeds

   C. that India lacks water badly

   D. how India government manages to solve the problem of water