Tim Richter and his wife, Linda, had taught for over 30 years near Buffalo, New York--he in computers, she in special education."Teaching means everything to us," Tim would say. In April 1998, he learned he would need a heart operation. It was the kind of news that leads to some serious thinking about life's purpose. Not long after the surgery, Tim saw a brochure describing Imagination Library, a program started by Dolly Parton's foundation that mailed a book every month to children from birth to age five in the singer's home town of Sevier, Tennessee. "I thought, maybe Linda and I could do something like this when we retire,"Tim recalls. He placed the brochure on his desk,"as a reminder." Five years later, now retired and with that brochure still on the desk, Tim clicked on imagination library .com. The program had been opened up to partners who could take advantage of book and postage discounts. The quality of the books was of great concern to the Richters. Rather than sign up online, they went to Dollywood for a looksee. "We didn't want to give the children rubbish," says Linda. The books reviewed each year by teachers, literacy specialists and Dollywood board members included classics such as Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day and newer books like Anna Dewdney's Llama Llama series. Satisfied, the couple set up the Richter Family Foundation and got to work. Since 2004, they have shipped more than 12,200 books to preschoolers in their area. Megan Williams, a mother of four, is more than appreciative: "This program introduces us to books I've never heard of ." The Richters spend about $400 a month sending books to 200 children. "Some people sit there and wait to die," says Tim. "Others get as busy as they can in the time they have left." According to the text,Dolly Parton is _ . A) a wellknown surgeon B) a mother of a fouryearold C) a singer born in Tennessee D) a computer programmer
C
(Question)
As the railroads and the highways shaped the American West in the past centuries, a new electrical generating and transmission system for the 21st century will leave a lasting mark on the West, for better or worse. Much of the real significance of railroads and highways is not in their direct physical effect on the scenery, but in the ways that they affect the surrounding community. The same is true of big solar plants and the power lines that will be laid down to move electricity around. The 19 th century saw land grants offered to railroad companies to build the transcontinental railroads, leaving public land in between privately owned land. In much of the West, some of the railroad sections were developed while others remained undeveloped, and in both cases the landownership has presented unique challenges to land management. With the completion of the interstate highway system, many of the small towns, which sprang up as railway stops and developed well, have lost their lifeblood and died. Big solar plants and their power lines will also have effects far beyond their direct footprint in the West. This is not an argument against building them. We need alternative energy badly, and to really take advantage of it we need to be able to move electricity around far more readily than we can now. So trade-offs will have to be made. Some scenic spots will be sacrificed. Some species will be forced to move, or will be carefully moved to special accommodations. Deals will be struck to reduce the immediate effects. The lasting effects of these trade-offs are another matter. The 21st century development of the American West as an ideal place for alternative energy is going to throw off a lot of power and money in the region. There are chances for that power and money to do a lot of good. But it is just as likely that they will be spent wastefully and will leave new problems behind, just like the railroads and the highways. The money set aside in negotiated trade-offs and the institutions that control it will shape... Which is the best title for the passage? A) How the Railways Have Affected the West B) How the Effects of Power Plants Can Be Reduced C) How Solar Energy Could Reshape the West D) How the Problems of the Highways Have Been Settled
(Answer)
C
Ques: Does this situation seem familiar to you? Your English is progressing well, the grammar is now familiar, the reading comprehension is no problem, you are communicating quite fluently, but: Listening is STILL a problem! First of all, remember that you are not alone. Listening comprehension is probably the most difficult job for almost all learners of English as a foreign language. The most important thing is to listen as often as possible. The first step is to find listening resources. The Internet is really a useful tool for English students. You can download The RealPlayer from RealMedia.com. The RealPlayer allows you to use the Internet like a radio station. Once you have begun to listen on a regular basis, you might still be frustrated by limited understanding. What should you do? Here is some of the advice I give my students: *Accept the fact that you are not going to understand everything. *Stay relaxed when you do not understand -- even if you continue not to understand for a long time. *Do not translate what you hear into your native language. *Listen for the general idea of the conversation. Don't concentrate on detail until you have understood the main ideas. I remember the problems I had in understanding spoken German when I first went to Germany. In the beginning, when I didn't understand a word, I insisted on translating it in my mind. This method usually resulted in confusion. Then, after the first six months, I discovered two very important facts. Firstly, translating creates a _ l between the listener and the speaker. Secondly, most people repeat themselves constantly. By remaining calm, I noticed that -- even if I didn't pay much attention, I could usually understand what the speaker had said. Which of the following is a good habit when listening? A) Try to understand everything. B) Try to get the main ideas. C) Pay much attention to details. D) Translate each word in your mind.
Ans: B
What's going to happen in the future? Will robots take over our planet? Will computers become smarter than us? Not likely. But here are some things that scientists say are most likely to happen 10 to 30 years later from now, according to the BBC. 1.Digital money We used to pay with cash for everything we bought. Now when we swipe our bus pass or use a credit card to shop online, money is spent without us even seeing it. In fact, we are already using one type of digital money. You have to admit that using a card is much easier than searching your pockets for change. It is also safer than carrying a lot of cash. When ATM cards were first introduced, they were not accepted everywhere. But now it's hard to live without them. People in Sweden completely stopped using cash last year, according to the Associated Press, and the US might be next. 2.Bionic eye It's no longer something only in a scifi movie. People who are blind may have a chance to get their sight back--by wearing bionic eyes. A blind eye can no longer sense light, but a bionic eye can use a camera to "see" the environment and send data directly to the brain. Although the bionic eye that's out now only allows patients to see lights and unclear shapes, a highresolution version could be just a few years away. 3.Selfdriving cars Everything is going automatic these days--washing machines, ticket selling machines and even cars. Unlike a human driver, a selfdriving car won't get _ by a phone call, the radio or something outside the window. Sensors and cameras on the car would allow it to stick strictly to the rules of the road and keep a safe distance from other cars. This would greatly reduce the number of road accidents. You could even take a nap while the car drives itself. Many vehicle companies are now planning selfdriving cars. "By 2040, driverless vehicles will be widely accepted and possibly be the dominant vehicles on the road," said Jeffrey Miller, professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, US, in Wired magazine. Which section is the article most likely to be found in the newspaper? A) Learning Kit B) Campus Trends C) Entertainment D) Technology
D