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

Welcome to the 2012 London Olympic Games!

Doctor Seuss was born in 1904. By the middle 1950s, he had become one of the best-loved and most successful children's book writers in the world. His books are very popular with young readers. They enjoy the invented words and the pictures of unusual funny animals and plants.

In 1954, life magazine published(刊登) a report about school children who could not read. The report said many children's books were not interesting. Doctor Seuss strongly hoped to help children and decided to write books that were interesting and easy to read. He used words with the same ending sound, like fish and wish. He did not receive training in art. Yet, he drew the pictures for most of his books.

     In 1957, Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat. He used less than 230 words to write the book and even a six-year-old should be able to read it. It was a fun story and easy to read. Children loved it. Their parents loved it, too. Today it is still one of the stories they like best. The success of The Cat in the Hat made him want to write more books for children. In 1960, he wrote a book using less than fifty words. The book is called Green Eggs and Ham.

     In 1984, Doctor Seuss won a Pulitzer Prize (普利策奖). He was honored for the education and enjoyment his books provided（提供） American children and their parents.

     He died at the age of 87, but his influence（影响） remains. Millions of his books have been sold worldwide. People say his books helped change the way American children learned to read. Yet, his books are loved by people of all ages. Doctor Seuss once said, "I do not write for children. I write for people.

1.Doctor Seuss learned from the magazine that _______.

      A. some school children could not read

      B. many children's books were interesting

      C. children wanted to learn to read

      D. a writer for children was wanted

2.People like his books because the books ______.

     A. are cheap and easy to get

      B. were written in different languages

      C. are easy and interesting to read

      D. were written with invented words

3.He wrote the book The Cat in the Hat at the age of _____.

     A. 50          B. 53            C. 56           D. 87

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

     A. Doctor Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham with over 230 words.

     B. Doctor Seuss wrote books only for children in the United States.

     C. The Cat in the Hat was written only for six-year-old children.

     D. His books provided education and enjoyment for Americans.

5.From the text we know that Doctor Seuss __________.

A. won a Pulitzer Prize soon after his death

B. sold millions of his books himself worldwide

C. changed American children's way of reading

D. wrote the largest number of books in the world