In Europe, many people make friends between their countries through town twinning. Town or city twinning means two towns in different countries agree and decide to become "twins" with a sister-city relationship. The people find pen friends in the twin town. They exchange newspapers and stamps. The school teachers discuss teaching methods with the teachers in the twin town. Officials visit the twin town for celebrations. Ordinary people travel to the twin town, too, but not very often if it is far away. Sometimes, schools even exchange their classes for two or three weeks! For example, German middle school students study for a while at the school in their twin town in Britain, staying with British families. A few months later, their British friends come to study in Germany. Many British towns are so pleased with the results of the twinning that they set out to find more than one twin town! Tonbridge, a small town in Kent, for example, has twin towns in both Germany and France. Richmond near London has relationships with Germany, France and even a town in a Balkan country! Town twinning can help make friends. It helps students improve their language skill, and also helps people to understand the differences between nations. How many countries are mentioned in this passage? A) 7 B) 6. C) 5 D) 4
D
Once upon a time, people wrote letters mostly with pen and paper. But the Internet has changed all that. Among computer users today, between 50 and 90 percent of written letters take place through e-mail. That's much different from the days when everyone relied on "snail mail" . More and more new e-mail users are asking, "How can I write better e-mail message?" Here are six tips for you. (1) Who are you writing to? Who are you writing to? A friend, a classmate, a teacher or a boss? Be sure the tone of your e-mail message is right for the receiver. Using slang or abbreviations may be all right for your friends. But business letters should use full names and complete sentences. (2) Be direct. Readers of e-mail have little patience. Say what you want to say directly. (3) Use short sentences. E-mail is quicker and more convenient than snail mail. It's also much easier to throw away. Don't use long sentences. Make your sentences short and clear. (4) Give enough details . A terrible e-mail message reads like this: "Did you get my e-mail?" Someone reading this will wonder, "Which e-mail? Sent when? About what?" Today's e-mail users sometimes get many messages every day, so be sure your messages have enough details to be understood. (5) Use the subject line well Readers see what's in the subject line of your message before anything else. Don't say "Hi, from Wang Peng"------ they can see who sent the message from the address. A short, direct explanation of the content of your message will get you a faster answer. (6) Don't be too slow to answer. Remember that in the world of e-mail, things happen fast. If you take longer than a week to answer someone's message, it may be too late. The best title for the passage is _ . A) How To Use The Computers B) How To Write A Better E-mail C) How To Use The Internet D) E-mails Are Different From Letters
B
Q: People who daydream are often thought of in negative terms, such as being lazy or not doing what they should be doing. However, scientists who study the brain have learned many interesting things from studying the brains of daydreamers. Far from being a waste of time, recent research has shown that daydreaming is a healthy and useful activity for all of our brains. To study the brain, scientists use special devices that scan the brain and show pictures of which parts of the brain are active at certain times. When a person is daydreaming, the device will show a distinct pattern of activity in the brain called the "default" mode of thinking. In the default mode, the top or outside part of the brain is very active. Actually, several regions of the brain are interacting in this mode. Some scientists describe this mode as a time when the brain focuses on itself rather than focusing on the environment around the person. Typically, this occurs when a person is doing simple, undemanding work or performing routine actions that don't need much attention, like walking to school or cooking simple foods. People tend to daydream during such activities. The importance of daydreaming lies in developing both creative and social skills. When the mind is not engaged in dealing with one's immediate situation or problem, then it is free to wander. A time of wandering allows the mind to create things. New inventions may be imagined, or possible solutions to a problem can be planned. For example, solutions to problems in relationships with other people may spring to mind. In fact, most daydreams involve situations with others. Perhaps these are daydreams based on past memories, or daydreams of what might be in the future. In either case, daydreams help us develop the appropriate skills we can use in real interactions with others. As brain specialist Dr. Marcus Raichle of Washington University explains: "When you don't use a muscle, that muscle really isn't doing much. But when your brain is supposedly doing nothing and daydreaming,... Which statement would Dr. Raichle agree with? A) The brain develops one's muscles. B) The brain and our muscles both need rest. C) The brain is a lot like a muscle. D) The brain is different from a muscle.
A: D
*Question*
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England. He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity of the bourgeoisie . Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago. Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end. Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England? A) Oliver Twist B) The Pickwick Papers C) A Tale of Two Cities D) Great Expectations
**Answer**
B