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On 23rd December, 2013, Michael Schumacher — the famous Formula-One race car driver — received serious brain injuries after hitting his head on a rock while downhill skiing with his son. The accident happened during a family holiday in the French Alps. Although he was wearing a helmet, which broke apart on impact, the F1 celebrity was moving at speeds of up to 62 mph and skiing outside the off-piste safety demarcations (滑雪场地外的安全区). Doctors reported that he would have died on impact if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet. He has been in a coma (昏迷) since arriving at a nearby hospital where he was airlifted to from the site of the accident.
Michael Schumacher grew up in frugal (简朴的) conditions and started what would become his remarkable professional career when his working class father — a bricklayer — built him a go-kart from where he started participating in competitions. He started his adult career racing for Formula Ford in 1988 and later raced for Formula One Ford, Ferrari, and Mercedes AMG. He holds numerous F1 world records including most race victories, fastest laps, and most races won in a single season. According to the Formula One website, he is “statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen”. Also notable are his contributions to charity, during the peak of his career he has given away more than 50 million Euros to a variety of charity organizations, most to help children around the world.
Millions of Europeans and other fans around the world are holding their breath and waiting for information about his hopeful recovery. We wish him and his family the best.
1.Michael Schumacher is in a coma after ________.
A. crashing in an airlift accident
B. a Formula One Ford car crash
C. a skiing accident during his holiday
D. a bump onto a rock in a skiing race
2.What is a go-kart most likely to be?
A. A medical instrument.
B. A small car-racing field.
C. A racing-car driver’s safety helmet.
D. A small motor vehicle used for racing.
3.From the passage we can learn that Michael Schumacher ________.
A. is recovering quickly at the Alpine Hospital in France
B. gave all his money to charity during the height of his career
C. raced for Ferrari and Mercedes before becoming a celebrity
D. came from humble origins to become the greatest F1 driver ever
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Music
Little Red
Katy B
Katy B has clearly made it to the world stage since the release of her 2011 debut (首次) album On a Mission. Three years later, she’s fully established herself as a dance floor singer. On her new album Little Red, the 24-year-old British singer sounds more confident and assured, and finds meaningful connections in club-friendly songs with real heart.
Here’s to the Good Times
Florida Georgia Line
The debut album of the US country duo (两人搭档) was released in late 2012, but it didn’t gain popularity until almost a year later when the single (单曲) Cruise became a chart-topping hit. The song is certainly excellent for its catchy chorus and overall country/rock sound, but the rest of the album is also full of energy and emotion.
Games
Toca Cars
The new gaming app made by children’s app developer Toca Boca is just as fun for adults. It’s simple to pick up and play. Players choose a racer and then start steering (操舵) it around a virtual environment simply by touching the screen. The game also allows players to create the racing ground from scratch (白手起家) by placing buildings and objects.
Jet Car Stunts 2
The free gaming app by True Axis is the long-awaited sequel to the physics-based racing and stunt (绝技) car game that was a hit way back in 2009 in the App Store. This new installment expands on the original game with new tracks, cars, and game modes that are both fun and addictive.
1.The newspaper’s special column is to inform the readers of ________.
A. some brief accounts of new computer games
B. some up-to-date information about entertainment
C. the introduction of some celebrities and their works
D. the introduction of catchy chorus and overall rock sound
2.We can infer from the Music that ________.
A. the last three years has witnessed Katy B going up to the world stage
B. the single Cruise that became a chart-topping hit was released in early 2013
C. the US country duo gained their popularity on the release of their debut album
D. in her debut album On a Mission Katy B sings club-friendly songs with real heart
3.Which of the following is true of the Games?
A. Toca Cars is enjoyed by children and adults alike.
B. Jet Car Stunts 2 was a hit in 2009 in the App Store.
C. Both of the games provide confidence for car racers.
D. Both games offer players chances to create new racing grounds.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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A Korean wave is sweeping across China, with many Chinese women worshipping South Korean actors Kim Soo Hyun and Lee Min Ho as demigods (半神半人). Chinese netizens have always been divided over South Korean TV dramas, but there is no doubt that programs from the neighboring country are now enjoying a new round of popularity in China. And a big part of the credit for that goes to You Who Came From The Star, the South Korean TV series which is on the air now.
Top South Korean actors Jun Ji-hyun and Kim Soo Hyun recently earned a popularity rating of 24.8 percent in their country, considered strong by Nielsen Korea. You Who Came From The Star and The Heirs have been subjects of hot online discussions throughout Asia. Besides, the book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, read by the hero in You Who Came From The Star was a hard-to-get item on Amazon for a while.
The two TV programs have several common elements: a tall, handsome, and rich hero who loves the heroine blindly and always protects her, and an equally handsome man madly in love with the same woman. Both programs portray the purity of love, which is expressed through a kiss or a warm hug. Perhaps that’s the secret of their success; perhaps people are still fascinated by Cinderella-type stories.
The growing wealth gap is a matter of social concern both in South Korea and China, and the challenges that young people face in their search for a better life might have prompted (激起) many ordinary girls to dream of marrying rich, caring men. This is precisely what the popular South Korean TV dramas portray. In fact, South Korean TV dramas are tailored to meet the market’s demands.
In contrast, Chinese TV screens are flooded by knock-off (山寨) or poorly made soap operas. There are too many Chinese TV dramas that are either of the stereotyped (刻板的) war theme or just blindly copy foreign programs. The lack of good stories has resulted in loads of TV series on time travel or fights in the harems (后宫) of Qing Dynasty emperors. These, in short, are the pain of Chinese TV productions.
The shooting for South Korean productions generally starts when the scripts (脚本) are just one-third ready. Many popular productions have their own websites, where scriptwriters post part of the finished scripts, inviting viewers to leave messages, discuss the plot and come up with suggestions for future events. This not only keeps viewers’ interest in the TV dramas alive, but also helps scriptwriters and directors make changes to the storylines to suit the audience’s demand.
Hopefully, the innovation-induced (创新引导的) success of South Korean TV programs will prompt Chinese TV drama makers to think up new ideas and abandon their bad practice of copying foreign productions in order to attract more viewers at home, and possibly abroad.
1.The main point the author emphasizes in this passage is ________.
A. why Korean actors are more popular than Chinese actors
B. how the three Korean actors became famous around East Asia
C. what modern TV dramas need is not copying foreign programs but innovation
D. the Cinderella-type stories are an ever-lasting theme people are fascinated with
2.Which of the following best explains people’s favor for The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane?
A. The celebrity effect is powerful.
B. Drama stars are the best advertisements.
C. Rich and handsome heroes in dramas usually love reading.
D. A successful drama generally originates from a good novel.
3.According to the passage, the secret to Korean TV dramas’ being successful is that ________.
A. drama stars must be tall, rich and handsome or beautiful
B. scriptwriters should choose the appropriate themes for all viewers
C. drama producers have creative ideas to adapt to viewers’ interest and demand
D. people’s concerns such as wealth gap both in Korea and China are taken good care of
4.What does the last paragraph imply?
A. Abandoning copying foreign productions is the only way to attract viewers.
B. The Chinese TV drama makers should follow in the footsteps of the Koreans.
C. It’s hard to predict what the future TV dramas in China and Korea will be like.
D. A bright future of Chinese TV dramas can be expected prompted by the Koreans.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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Hacking our senses to boost learning power
Some schools are pumping music, noises and pleasant smells into the classroom to see if it improves exam results. Could it work? Why do songs stick in our heads? What does your school smell like? Is it noisy or peaceful?
It might not seem important, but a growing body of research suggests that smells and sounds can have an impact on learning, performance and creativity. Indeed, some head teachers have recently taken to broadcasting noises and pumping smells into their schools to see whether it can boost grades. Is there anything in it? And if so, what are the implications for the way we work and study?
There is certainly some well-established research to suggest that some noises can have a harmful effect on learning. Numerous studies over the past 15 years have found that children attending schools under the flight paths of large airports fall behind in their exam results. Bridget Shield, a professor of acoustics (声学) at London South Bank University, and Julie Dockrell, from the Institute of Education, have been conducting studies on the effects of all sorts of noises, such as traffic and sirens (汽笛), as well as noise generated by the children themselves. When they recreated those particular sounds in an experimental setting while children completed various learning tasks, they found a significant negative effect on exam scores. “Everything points to a bad impact of the noise on children’s performance, in numeracy, in literacy, and in spelling,” says Shield. The noise seemed to have an especially harmful effect on children with special needs.
Whether background sounds are beneficial or not seems to depend on what kind of noise it is — and the volume. In a series of studies published last year, Ravi Mehta from the College of Business at Illinois and his colleagues tested people’s creativity while exposed to a soundtrack made up of background noises — such as coffee-shop chatter and construction-site drilling — at different volumes. They found that people were more creative when the background noises were played at a medium level than when volume was low. Loud background noise, however, damaged their creativity.
Many teachers all over the world already play music to students in class. Many are inspired by the belief that hearing music can boost IQ in later tasks, the so-called Mozart effect. While the evidence actually suggests it’s hard to say classical music boosts brainpower, researchers do think pleasant sounds before a task can sometimes lift your mood and help you perform well, says Perham, who has done his own studies on the phenomenon. The key appears to be that you enjoy what you’re hearing. “If you like the music or you like the sound — even listening to a Stephen King novel — then you do better. It doesn’t matter about the music,” he says.
So, it seems that schools that choose to prevent disturbing noises and create positive soundscapes could enhance the learning of their students, so long as they make careful choices. Yet this isn’t the only sense being used to affect learning. Special educational needs students at Sydenham high school in London are being encouraged to revise different subjects in the presence of different smells — grapefruit scents for maths, lavender for French and spearmint for history.
1.The four questions in the first paragraph are meant to ________.
A. create some sense of humour to please the readers
B. provide the most frequently asked questions in schools nowadays
C. hold the readers’ attention and arouse their curiosity to go on reading
D. declare the purpose of the article: to try to offer key to those questions
2.What does the conclusion of the studies of noise conducted by Bridget Shield and Julie Dockrell suggest?
A. Peaceful music plays an active role in students’ learning.
B. Not all noises have a negative impact on children’s performance.
C. We should create for school children a more peaceful environment.
D. Children with special needs might be exposed to some particular sounds.
3.Ravi Mehta’s experiment indicates that ________.
A. students’ creativity improves in a quiet environment
B. we may play some Mozart music while students are learning
C. a proper volume of background noises does improve creativity
D. noise of coffee-shop chatter is better than that of construction-site drilling
4.Towards the positive impact of appropriate background sound and smell on students’ learning and creativity, the author’s attitude is ________.
A. ambiguous B. doubtful C. negative D. supportive
5.Which of the following is most likely to follow up the research findings?
A. Experts’ research into other senses that can improve students’ grades.
B. More successful examples of boosting learning power by using music.
C. Suggestions for pumping lots of pleasant smells into school campuses.
D. Debates on whether noises can really have positive effect on students’ performance.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
