In North America, most students go to school by bus. The subway is also widely used in some cities. In small towns and cities, walking is still popular.
The yellow school bus is a familiar sight all over North America. It is a very convenient form of transportation because it takes students right to the entrance to the school. It also gives students opportunity to chat with their friends. However, the bus is slow and does not always pick up on time.
The subway is a means of getting around quickly in many cities. However, it is expensive and can be very crowded during rush hour. Another disadvantage of the subway is that the stops are not so close to the school, and students often have to walk considerable distance or take a bus from the subway stop to the scho
Walking has a number of advantages for those who live reasonable close to school. It's free and it provides a form of exercise. However, it's no fun if you have a large backpack full of books to carry. It's also unpleasant if the weather is either too hot or cold or wet.
【小题1】In North America, most students usually go to school by_________.
A. school bus or subway B. car or bicycle C. taxi or car
【小题2】 For many students, the yellow school bus is convenient but it is_________.
A. too expensive B. slow and sometimes late      C. crowded and dirty
【小题3】Subways are fast but the stops are often a little bit_________the school.
A. close to B. busy for C. far away from
【小题4】Walking is a good way for the students that live reasonable close to school and it is_________.
A. not convenient B. bad for health C. good for health
【小题5】This passage is about_________in North America.
A. transportation B. students C. schools

Zhalong is a nature reserve in Heilongjiang in north-east China. It is one of the world’s most important wetlands. The reserve covers an area of 210,000 hectares. The area provides food and shelter for wildlife. It is an ideal home for different kinds of plants, fish and birds.

Many birds live comfortably in Zhalong Nature Reserve all year round, while some only stay there for a short time. There are many fish in the wetlands, and the birds can easily catch them for food. Zhalong has long been called “the home of the crane”. There are 15 crane species (物种) in the world. 8 of them are in China and there are 6 species in Zhalong area. It is an important living area for the rare red-crowned cranes. There are not many red-crowned cranes in the world. Every spring and summer, red-crowned cranes lay and hatch (孵化) their eggs in Zhalong.

Some people want to change the wetlands to make more space for farms and buildings. This means there will be less and less space for wildlife. More and more birds are in danger because they do not have enough living space. Many of them died. The Chinese government wants to protect these endangered birds, and they can be safe in Zhalong.

Every year, a lot of tourists go to Zhalong to watch birds. This year, members of our Bird-watching Club are going to study the different kinds of birds in Zhalong and the changes in their numbers. The study begins next month.

We _______ once a year. We are now inviting secondary school students to help. We need more people to help us count and do something to help the birds.

Many people do not understand the importance of the wetlands. We hope this information will help them understand and make them actively take action to protect wildlife.

1. What does the underlined word “ideal” mean?

   A. Perfect.          B. Dangerous.       C. Crowded.     D. Expensive.

2. What can we learn from the second paragraph?

   A. All birds stay in Zhalong Nature Reserve all year round.

   B. There are eight species of red-crowned cranes in Zhalong.

   C. The number of the world’s red-crowned cranes is small.

   D. Every winter red-crowned cranes hatch eggs in Zhalong.

3.Which of the following can we choose for the blank (空白) in the fifth paragraph?

   A. go birdwatching   B. do a bird count  C. go bird-hunting  D. hold a bird show

4.The purpose of the article is to _______.

   A. attract more visitors to pay a visit to Zhalong Nature Reserve

   B. ask people to take action to protect wetlands and wildlife

   C. prevent people from watching birds in Zhalong Nature Reserve

   D. make people around the world know the Birdwatchting Club

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