12-year-old John Thomas Robertson is a born train fan. "I’ve liked trains probably from the day I was born," he told Good Morning America. "When I was very little," he said, "my grandpa got me a train model. I would just watch it go round for hours and hours."

When Robertson finally had the opportunity to ride on a train, he felt great. His journey was so mind-blowing that he couldn’t keep it to himself: he decided to take all his classmates to go on a ride with him. When he found that some of his classmates couldn’t pay the fare, he collected cans (罐子) and bottles and raised more than $1,000 for them.

That trip was such a happy one that he made it a yearly action. "It never gets boring for some reason; it’s just fun," he said. "It really lets people get away from their busy life and have fun.

Every October, Robertson takes a new group of children to ride on the train —but now, he has a problem. Several disabled children were refused because the train was not accessible (可用的) to disabled people. "He was angry to think that children of his own age couldn’t ride a train," his mother said.

But he wouldn’t say no: he recently sent a letter to the train office for help. To his surprise, the leader, Ty Pennington, accepted the letter in person. He said that he and his workers would work on making a train accessible to disabled people.

1.The first time John Thomas Robertson took a train, ________.

A．he was frightened by it

B．he acted as a driver

C．he watched it for hours

D．he fell in love with it

2.The author says John Thomas Robertson is a born train fan, because he ________.

A．was greatly attracted to trains since early childhood

B．said so in Good Morning America

C．took a group of disabled children to travel by train

D．was taken to a train the day he was born

3.The underlined words "mind-blowing" can be replaced by ________.

A．important         B．terrible           C．amazing           D．disappointing

4.The disabled children were refused to get on the train because _________.

A．the trains then weren’t accessible to the disabled

B．Robertson had not saved enough money for the tickets

C．they couldn’t afford the train tickets

D．the driver would not allow them to do so

5.According to the last paragraph, we can see that Robertson is a ________ child.

A．helpful and crazy                       B．kind and clever

C．kind but boring                         D．lazy but kind

 

Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends．A new device（装置） called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English, Korean or Japanese．Bow-Lingual Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks．They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, assertion and desire．

Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar．The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner．When the dog barks, the unit displays translated phrases．

Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual．“Who would pay $120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask．

But those who have purchased（购买） Bow-Lingual praise the device．Pet owner Keiko Egawa, of Japan, says it helps her sympathize（同情） with her dog Harry．“Before we go to the park, he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa, “and after a walk, he always says he is hungry．”

Bow-Lingual is not yet available（可用的） in Chinese．So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom, or soon your dog may know more English than you do!

This passage is mainly talking about _____．

       A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors       B．dog barks and their different emotions

       C．talking dogs                   D．a little help for dog owners

Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better．

       B．Bow-Lingual enables dogs to talk in English, Korean or Japanese．

       C．People who have used Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs．

       D．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs．

What does “scoffed at” mean in the fourth paragraph?

       A．Shouted at．               B．Questioned about．      

       C．Laughed at．               D．Doubted about．

The writer of this passage is most likely to be _____．

       A．a reporter            B．a dog owner

       C．an advertiser      D．an expert on dog barks

Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends．A new device（装置） called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English, Korean or Japanese．Bow-Lingual Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks．They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, assertion and desire．

Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar．The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner．When the dog barks, the unit displays translated phrases．

Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual．“Who would pay $120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask．

But those who have purchased（购买） Bow-Lingual praise the device．Pet owner Keiko Egawa, of Japan, says it helps her sympathize（同情） with her dog Harry．“Before we go to the park, he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa, “and after a walk, he always says he is hungry．”

Bow-Lingual is not yet available（可用的） in Chinese．So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom, or soon your dog may know more English than you do!

1.This passage is mainly talking about _____．

         A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors           B．dog barks and their different emotions

         C．talking dogs                      D．a little help for dog owners

2.Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?

         A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better．

         B．Bow-Lingual enables dogs to talk in English, Korean or Japanese．

         C．People who have used Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs．

         D．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs．

3.What does “scoffed at” mean in the fourth paragraph?

         A．Shouted at．                    B．Questioned about．       

         C．Laughed at．                   D．Doubted about．

4.The writer of this passage is most likely to be _____．

         A．a reporter             B．a dog owner

         C．an advertiser                D．an expert on dog barks

 

Answering the Community Needs of Our City

The Silver City Council（议会） recognizes that citizens have certain needs.  To better meet your needs, we have made several changes to community facilities(设施） in 2004. This chart shows how we have tried to make your life better.

Transport Three stations for the suburbs have been added to the western train service.20 new buses for the southern line were purchased（购买）in January. 50 percent of city bus-stops have been upgraded（升级）. Buses to the eastern suburbs will run every15 minutes.

Communication  Broadband cable（宽带揽线） is now available（可用的） to all parts of the city. All of the new Government buildings are ' smart'-wired for better computer service!

Medical Facilities The new state-of-the-art Nightingale Hospital was opened in June. To overcome a shortage of trained medical staff（工作人员） at Dover Hospital, 10 doctors have been employed from overseas.Some facilities at Station Street Hospital have been upgraded.

Education  Textbooks will be free to all primary students in 2004 ! Rent for private schools has been reduced. Teachers report that the 'no hat - no play' rule has been successful.

Protection and Security  Extra police now patrol (巡逻 ) the tourist areas. 50 new police officers graduated in July and have taken up duties in the city area.

Entertainment / Recreation  The John Street basketball courts have been re-surfaced ! The new Central Community Building opened in May. 5,000 new fiction books were bought for the Silver City Library.

1.The public notice is from _____________.

A．the community

B．the local government

C．The citizens

D．a travel agency

2.The notice is mainly about ____________.

A．the work carried out by the people of Silver City

B．the facilities available in Silver City

C．some improvements in Silver City

D．information for interested tourists

3.All the following are true EXCEPT that __

A．both residents and tourists can enjoy more security now

B．Station Street Hospital had out-dated facilities before 2004

C．primary students had to pay for their textbooks in 2003

D．Dover Hospital is still short of trained medical staff

4.Which of the following changes would tourists to Silver City be most happy with?

A．Travel books are provided in the new library.

B．Traveling by train is more convenient in Silver City.

C．Free medical treatment is available at Station Street Hospital.

D．There are more police officers on duty now.

 

Dog owners now have a little help understanding their furry friends．A new device（装置） called Bow-Lingual “translates” dog barks into English, Korean or Japanese．Bow-Lingual Japanese inventors spent much time and money analyzing dog barks．They found that dog noises can be broken down into six different emotions: happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, assertion and desire．
Part of the Bow-Lingual device hangs on the dog’s collar．The other part is a handle-held unit for the owner．When the dog barks, the unit displays translated phrases．
Some people have scoffed at Bow-Lingual．“Who would pay $120 to read a dog’s mind?” they ask．
But those who have purchased（购买） Bow-Lingual praise the device．Pet owner Keiko Egawa, of Japan, says it helps her sympathize（同情） with her dog Harry．“Before we go to the park, he always says he wants to play,” says Egawa, “and after a walk, he always says he is hungry．”
Bow-Lingual is not yet available（可用的） in Chinese．So you’d better keep studying Studio Classroom, or soon your dog may know more English than you do!
【小题1】This passage is mainly talking about _____．

A．Bow-Lingual’s inventors	B．dog barks and their different emotions
C．talking dogs	D．a little help for dog owners

【小题2】Which of the following sentences is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Dog owners now can understand their dogs better．

B．Bow-Lingual enables dogs to talk in English, Korean or Japanese．

C．People who have used Bow-Lingual say it helps them better understand their dogs．

D．More and more Chinese dog owners would keep studying Studio Classroom in order to know more English than their dogs．

【小题3】What does “scoffed at” mean in the fourth paragraph?

A．Shouted at．	B．Questioned about．
C．Laughed at．	D．Doubted about．

【小题4】The writer of this passage is most likely to be _____．

A．a reporter	B．a dog owner
C．an advertiser	D．an expert on dog barks